The Tithe: It Predates the Law

This post is going to appear very long; however, be of good cheer... it's not quite as long as it seems :).  About half of it is all Scripture (some bolding added for emphasis). Rather than just reference it, I am going to post it here in full to read (NKJV).

The "First Mention Principle" is a principle of Bible interpretation in "hermeneutics". Hermeneutics (a fancy word) basically means the art of interpreting texts; in this case, the Bible. When is the first time the word or event appears in the Bible?  Go there, and see what the context is.  What is it telling you about it.  Find the place that this particular thing is spoken of for the very first time. Finding this can often be a gateway to understanding the topic at hand when it appears later.  There, don't you feel scholarly now?  I believe this principle is important in understanding the tithe.  That's what I'm going to do now, as I seek to convince.  Let's go to the first place the tithe is mentioned.

Genesis 14:14-24

Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.  And he blessed him and said:
 

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he gave him a tithe of all.
 

Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
 

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
 

So Abram (before he was called Abraham) comes back from winning a battle, with goods from the victory.  It is important to note that Abraham's tithing was in no response to any command from the law, as the law was not yet given.  Abraham wasn't acting out of obligation (1 Cor 9:17) or being legalistic.  On the contrary, it was in faith!  Again, this was before the law, and that's one of my main points.  Also, along with a tenth of all the plunder given to Melchizedek, Abraham received bread and wine from Melchizedek in return.  Where else does bread and wine come into play in the Christian life?  Does it remind you of anything?  Sure it does--communion!  It is in communion, brought to us by Jesus, where we receive bread and wine/juice in remembering Him.  Here the king of Salem (Salem means peace, by the way... he was the king of peace) shows up a bit mysteriously (as Hebrews will go into later), providing bread, wine, and collecting a tenth of Abraham's profit (in faith).  Interesting.

Psalm 110:4

The Lord has sworn

And will not relent,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.
 

The Lord has sworn, and will not relent.  You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.  Interesting enough, I thought it worthy of repeating.  This is the second time Melchizedek is mentioned in the Bible.  Who is he?  He is not mentioned again until the NT, in Hebrews chapters 5-7.  In Hebrews Melchizedek is called a forerunner of Jesus (as you will see) saying that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek like in the Psalm above.  Jesus is a priest from the same order of Melchizedek who shared wine with bread, and collected a tithe (specifically) out of faith, not according to the law.

Now to the New Testament passages speaking of Melchizedek, and the tithe that predated the law.  Pay attention to where Melchizedek is mentioned here--it is several times.

Hebrews 5:6-11

As He also says in another place: You are a priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek”; who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

 

 

I find it interesting that God tells us in Hebrews that there is much to say about Melchizedek, but it is hard to explain.  Why?  Since you have become dull of hearing.  Let's not be dull of hearing.  If you do feel you are finding this character and topic to be dull, pray about it.  Ask God why this might be.  If you are finding the topic uninteresting or dull, God's Word tells us it's a personal problem.  We're the ones that are dull--it's certainly not His Word that is dull.  If you don't consider this to be dull, then you're ready for what is otherwise hard to explain.  Let's go on!

Hebrews 6:19-20

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek
 

The forerunner has entered for us, Jesus... our High Priest FOREVER, according to... the order of Melchizedek.  Very interesting.  This same Melchizedek who brought bread and wine, and whom received a tithe from Abram well before the law was given.

Now, the "big" one... this one may take some digesting.  Pray that we would not be dull of hearing.

Hebrews 7

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
 

Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
 

Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies:
 

"You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
 

For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
 

The Lord has sworn and will not relent,‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’”), by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
 

Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
 

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
 

Speaking of Melchizedek ("first being translated, 'king of righteousness'"), "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually."  Who was this Melchizedek, really?  Some say he was Jesus, before the time He came fulfilling prophecy, to die for the sins of the world.  I don't know what to believe, regarding who he was really.  No matter your belief on who he was, suffice it to say he was "different", and there are some interesting things here to discuss.

Speaking of the tithe, consider where we're told "but he whose genealogy is not derived from them" (the Levites) "received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises".  Melchizedek was not from the genealogy of the Levites who received the tithe according to the law.  He was apart from any genealogy that handled the law.  We see then in turn that Melchizedek "blessed him" (blessed Abraham, who was operating on faith) "who had the promises."  Abraham had the promises of God.  You know who else does?  The born again believer does.

This passage in Scripture form the NT comes to mind from 2 Cor 1:20, which says, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."  Did you know that because you have been born again, and all of your sins dealt with, all the promises of God for you are who are in Him and He in you, are YES and AMEN.  Here we're told that Abraham, who had the promises of God, was blessed upon giving the tithe to Melchizedek.  We have access to any and all the promises Abraham would have had.  We have the promises of God.

Furthermore we're told, "Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives."  Mortal men receive tithes, this is true.  BUT, we are more than mortal men and women if we've been born again.  We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) with eternal--not mortal--life.  Melchizedek received tithes of whom it is witnessed that he lives.  Well, have we been born again and not witness that He lives?  Sure we have, otherwise we would not be born again.  We have become witnesses for Christ that He lives!  He is Our Witness to the truth  (John 18:37).  How should we not tithe in faith as Abraham did?

Just consider these things.  If you haven't tithed (given a tenth, specifically) back to God, consider God's Word and really consider doing so.  As I've pointed out, the tithe predates the law and the Levites.  It was first given to a priest who was not after the order of the Levites, but before the Levites and of a different order entirely.  This tithe that many brush off (as I have in times past), is far more than just a ritualistic or legalistic act to give a specific 10%.  There is a Biblical reason for it, and a promise (which we will discuss next time).  We should not be dull of hearing regarding the mysteries of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:11).  He was of a priestly order, of whom Jesus Himself is also a part!

Point number one done--the tithe predates the law.  A tenth of all of Abraham's spoil was given to this king of righteousness!  This king of peace, a forerunner of the priesthood of Jesus, our High Priest; before and apart from the law.  It was done in faith!

Next week: The special blessing that goes along with the tithe, and a unique challenge from God to do it.  We'll discuss how releasing a tithe (again, a tenth, specifically) from all our profit carries a weighty challenge and promise from God.

The Tithe: It's For Today

There was a time in years past where I didn't tithe.  I was without knowledge of the true origins of the tithe, and felt keeping the tithe was merely a religious, possibly legalistic ritual that was not in line with the completed work of Christ.  However, I believe the opposite today.  And, over the next few weeks on each Sunday morning, I am going to explain why, using three main reasons to show the literal 10% tithe is still for today.  That's what a tithe is--it's 10%.

Some will say/ask, as I did some years past, "Hey, don't you know this isn't Old Testament times?  What is this OT stuff about keeping the tithe?  Why be legalistic?  Just give with your heart like stated in 2 Cor 9:17."  I have personally made those statements and questions regarding the tithe, before I actually understood the tithe and its blessing.  It's a good Word (it's God's Word, of course it's good) and I would in no way seek to undermine, change, or discourage anyone from doing what it says, whatsoever.  I've noticed, however, that many people misuse the word "tithe" by applying it to freewill giving.  That's really not what the tithe is at all.

What many people actually do (as we all should do) is 2 Cor 9:17.  Again, this is good, but then we should not call it the tithe--because it is not tithing.  Tithe has a specific meaning, command, and blessing.  It isn't giving as we purpose in our own hearts.  The tithe is giving 10%, as best you can humanly calculate.  I will seek to convince, to the glory of God and the edification of His body, that a literal 10% tithe should be observed by all believers, and that it in no way negates or changes the will of God stated in 2 Cor 9:17.  God loves a cheerful giver!

Looking to the future, here is a little preview...

1. The tithe predates the law and is therefore not nullified by any end or completion to the law

2. There is a special blessing that goes along with the tithe.  You will miss it if you don't tithe.

3. Lastly, simply, Jesus approved/approves of the tithe.

The Son of David -- WAS He... or IS He...?

Have you believed Jesus *WAS* perhaps a powerful man and a wise man; perhaps even a Godly man protected by God? Are all of your thoughts about Jesus regarding what Jesus *WAS* in the flesh, or *WAS* in the past?   Or, do you consider and believe what Jesus *IS*, right now? *WAS* He a good guy, or *IS* He at the right hand of God? That's a major difference, really. Do you believe Jesus *WAS* many things... or do you believe He *IS* many things?  Did God raise Him from the dead; if so, where did He go? Did Jesus speak some good things then, back when He was alive, or is He speaking in the present while being alive right now?  What do you believe about Jesus being the "Son of David"?

If you read though the Gospels you will notice that Jesus is sometimes referred to as the son of David (Matthew 9:27-31, for example). Both Matthew and Luke give us the genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:23–38 and Matthew 1:1–17) showing us that He is a direct descendant of David. It was understood by the Jews and should be understood by us that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. Jesus is called the son of David because He was a descendant of David. But David would have had many descendants, Jesus just being one of them.

Being a descendant of David alone did not make you The Son of David, of course.  What did it really take to be the Son of David?  It was being the Son of God, as Jesus claimed to be.  The blind Pharisees were looking for man... a man's man (not a Godman), descended from David and raised up by God to be given special protection by God; perhaps much like David, conquering armies, ruling, and reigning. Someone who, coming from the righteous bloodline of most Jewish of Jews, would establish them as a powerful rule on Earth. But, they were missing a huge part of the puzzle. Is that what it meant to be the Son of David? Jesus says otherwise. Jesus says it's much deeper than that... and much more spiritual, powerful, and eternal. Here is a discussion between Jesus and some Pharisees regarding this.

Matthew 22:41-44

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁴ “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’

⁴⁵ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

⁴⁶ No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Who is Jesus to you? Jesus asks how can the Messiah be merely David's son, if David calls Him Lord? These Pharisees were still just looking at the physical; looking for a strong man descended from king David, who could lead them into battle and conquer the nations of this world--as in days of old. Jesus points out that the Son of David must be more than this--much more--because David calls Him, the Messiah, "Lord". How can a person, who comes after David, be called Lord by David? That is of course, unless this Messiah was before David and above David. The Messiah Who comes after David as "The Son of David" must actually be *before David*.  That's what Jesus is saying here.

Jesus is pointing out here that there is more going on than just being related as a blood descendant of David; something they had not or would not consider.  God was doing something new that had never been done before.  The Messiah would be much more than a man of flesh and blood, or even a prophet. The Messiah would supersede time and authority in any normal way of decent they thought of or had seen previously.  He would not just be a man... but much more.  David called Him Lord... and this perplexed those whose minds were not actually tuned in to the spiritual truth God's Word reveals.  God in the flesh would come, bear our burdens and take away our sins.

Isaiah 29:13-19

¹³ Therefore the Lord said:

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
¹⁴ Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

¹⁵ Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
¹⁶ Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?

¹⁷ Is it not yet a very little while
Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
¹⁸ In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
¹⁹ The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
And the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.

 

Acts 2:29-39

²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,  ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
³⁵ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’

³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

-------------------------


If Jesus was just a good guy, descended from a king who once was, but is no more... then we are without Hope. He is dead, and gone.  Let us move on, to the next man or woman who can provide us with the words that move us for today.  On the other hand, if Jesus right now IS and WAS and IS TO COME, then that's an entirely different Son of David.  The Words He spoke are eternal, they are THE Words of Life, and they are good for every day past, present, and future.

Psalm 84:10 [ESV]

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Think about that for just a minute.  Really think about it...

Now, if you didn't think about it... go back and do it.  Stop and think about it.  Slow down in this life... and take in God's Word.  Stop, go back... read it again and think about it.

...


Now that you have thought about it, is it true?  Which part?  The first part or the second?  Yes, there are two parts--go back and read...

*First we acknowledge in our mind that a single day with God is better than a thousand days on this Earth.

*Second, we accept in our hearts and commit to rather being a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

How about you?  Do you realize both, just one of them, or perhap neither?  I will suggest that it is not enough to merely acknowledge the first part that it is better to be in the courts of God.  That part is easy for me.  A single day in the presence of God is better than a thousand days on the Earth in this age. I accept that.  Now to the second part.  This takes commitment and action that is much harder to accept. It requires choices and desires that will result in change.  We need to commit our hearts to whatever it takes to really fulfill the second part--choices that will change the very shape and image you take on in life; molded by decisions that are truly based on God's Word, which you will keep in your heart at all times.

What are you striving for?  Is it monetary riches or fame?  Is it a better house, a bigger barn, or a faster mule merely for the sake of your own life on this Earth?  Or, do you strive to be truly rich in heaven?  Do you strive to be considered good among your peers on Earth, or good among your peers in courts of God (namely, God Himself, of course) in heaven?

What are you fighting for?  Is it your guns rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, or the right to party?  Or, is it that you name the Name of Christ with ingegrity and honor, with humility and faith in the sovereign Lord Who gives us eternal life--that you would truly seek Him and serve Him all the days of the life He has given you?

Hard questions we all (myself included) need to answer on a daily, moment to moment basis.

Knowing that this is true:  For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

There is no doubt that is true.  Think about it... acknowledge it... and decide on the second part.  Can you decide what is best?

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

What is true, for you?  What is truly, true?

Judge Your Brother With Righteous Judgment

We have all heard "Judge not lest you be judged" ripped out of context, and applied to a situation where someone is pointing out another person's offense and/or sin.  Never mind that a few verses later Jesus actually gives instruction on how you ought to judge your brother righteously by first removing the plank from you own eye.  There may not be a more often part of Scripture that is quoted by the world.  It's one of the few times in the modern vernacular that so many people use the otherwise uncommon word, "lest".  It just seems more official when quoting something old sounding.

I earnestly believe this is a ploy of the devil to get us all to hold hands and give ourselves false warm-n-fuzzy feelings while our houses made of straw burn down around us.  "Don't correct your brother... don't bother inspecting your own heart in the hopes that you can approach him or her rightly.  Just don't pass judgment at all.  Just let it continue without saying a word until they meet the judgment of God head on some day.  God will judge them, and only God can judge them."  God's Word says no such thing.  And, I will argue that there is nothing more that Satan would love than for you to let your brother or sister slip deeper and deeper into sin on your watch when you could have pulled them out from the fire with a well placed and Spirit lead, loving, and meaningful judgment.

Now that said, it is true that we aren't suppose to judge ignorantly, unfairly, or void of a heart of restoration.  Our heart in all correction, rebuke, and judgment of sin, ought to be that of construction instead of destruction of the eternal person, with the destruction of the flesh.  God will separate the sheep from the goats someday, as only He can.  We have all sinned... we have all fallen short of the glory of God.  We are all hopelessly doomed without His mercy... and we woudl all do well to remember this in every word we speak.

There is a lot to be said about judging in the Bible, so I will try and keep this short with only a few versus.

John 7:24

Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.

Jesus was inditing those who were judging others for circumcision according to the flesh, and passing judging on those who "worked" on the Sabbath.  One thing that can be drawn from this is that there is righteous and unrighteous judgment.  Of course Jesus says to judge using righteous judgment.  Don't merely judge according to the flesh, or according to your own standard... judge according to the righteous standard of God.

1 John 2:10-11

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

What is a plank in the eye, but something that would make it hard to see?  When you judge another, is it truly in love or is it in hate?  Do you seek to ultimately build up the person or to destroy?  Though it's true we seek to destroy the flesh, we seek to build up and save the person from trouble—all by the power and leading of God's Spirit.  Is that your goal?  Before you judge, ask yourself this question.  Do you love him/her?  If you can't first say honestly and sincerely—before God whom all things are laid bare—that you love him/her, then it may be certain that you are not ready to judge.  You need to go back to the drawing board, work on that plank, and return when it is removed.  A hard thing to do in and of ourselves, but judgment can be righteous if motivated by love.  God help us.

Romans 2:1

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Do you judge hypocritically?  An interesting passage.  Read what Paul writes, by the Spirit of God.  If Paul is saying you can't judge others, then he ought to have gone back and had the very sentence erased.  In the very sentence Paul says not to judge, Paul passes judgment—does he not?  He is judging while saying not to judge.  He is correcting those who are judging hypocritically—those who are doing the same things they judge others for.  What is Paul's judgment of said people?  It is quite stern and firm!

(v5) But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

Woah Paul, that was kind of harsh.  Did you just mention God's wrath?  I mean, calm down buddy... easy goes it.  You need to remember Jesus said judge not lest you be judged Paul!  More often than not, when the "judge not lest you be judged" is whipped out of context by others, they are the ones falling under the righteous judgment of Romans 2:1.  They, ironically, are the ones passing judgment on others while saying that someone else should not pass judgment on another person.  In the very breath they condemn themselves while they pass judgment on another person for judging another person!  That's the way hypocrisy goes.  Is an endless circle of error and blindness. When you judge, use righteous judgment.  Only by the power and help of God's Spirit, Who reveals to us all things... can we truly and fully do so.  Judge according to His Word, not your own.  Do not jump to conclusions.  Instead, leap to faith!

1 Corinthians 2:15-16

The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

If you are a spiritual person, and if you have the mind of Christ, then the Spirit within you will be leading you; you will be inclined to judge all things according to His Word.  You will seek things that are above, not below, seeking to please your Father in heaven and see Him glorified.  When we judge, we judge for the edification of others and the glorification of God

Now go and judge all things—all things.  All in love.  Do you love your brothers or sisters enough to see them spared from the fire?  Do you love your brothers or sisters enough to see them built up by correction and not torn down by sin?  Then go judge yourself, and then go judge your brother with righteous judgment.  It may be you whom God uses to spare others from His wrath.  Those are the kinds of things I (and we) should hope for in return.  I desire to have a brother come to me in love, sincerity of heart—sometimes softly and other times sharply—to correct me when I am missing the mark.  As I write this, I can honestly say I desire that in fellowship. I desire that it would continue to be my desire in fellowship.  I desire Spirit lead correction from you, brother.  I believe if it is, we would all serve the Lord more effectively.

The "Apple" Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree...

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”  -Genesis 2:16-17

At home we have a wood burning stove. The stove sits on a tiled platform that I built, keeping it up and off the carpet. It is clearly separate from the rest of the room. Micah (and future children) is instructed at a very early age that he is not allowed to touch it. This is the forbidden fruit of our home right now. Where as Adam could not eat, Micah is not even allowed to touch the platform that the stove sits on.  Micah has never been burned, and he has no idea what it means to be burned.  He has really little concept of hot and no concept of fire. He does, however, know what the word "no" means, and that's what we work with. "No" is probably the first word Micah ever learned to comprehend when he hears it. It will likely be the first word any of our children learn. Therefore, because he comprehends it and may do it anyways, there is now moral consequence to what he does, and discipline needed.

Why no?  Is it because we are mean? Is it because we don't love him? Is it because we don't want him to someday learn to harness the power of fire? No. It's a no because we know what's better, and if he were to reach up and touch the stove, or manage to open the stove, he could be severely burned or even set the entire house on fire.  Micah doesn't know that, but we know that. We know better for Micah than Micah knows for himself.  We know things Micah doesn't know.  When he does touch the platform anyways, he is disciplined and told "No"; then there are tears. How much better is that discipline and those tears, than being severely burned or burning the house down around you?

Now, back to Adam in the garden.  We know that nothing died before Adam sinned (ate the fruit). There was no death, and it was by one man's sin that death entered the world (Romans 5:12). If you were in Adam's situation, would you have eaten the fruit? What do you think? Adam was the first human being ever created by God. Created before sin had given way to entropy in this fallen world; what a perfect creation he must have been. Imagine in your mind the perfect man, with perfect body and mind—that was Adam.  Perfect in strength and immunity.  Free of any disease or sickness.  He was probably more perfect than we can imagine.  As great as God made Adam—perfect in the Garden—Adam still took the fruit, didn't he?  The champion representative of mankind, the best representative of human body and mind; the "genuine article", fallen prey to sin.  Do you think you would have refrained from sin?  I think not.  Truly all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:21-26). We are not better than Adam in any way. We all need the grace of God.

That's just the honest truth. I believe we all would have sinned.  Furthermore, regarding things in this life now, I have sinned—I have taken the fruit. Certainly there are sinful things we have all been told not to do, did it anyways, and agreed later we ought not to have done. Consequently our eyes were opened to things we would have otherwise never known. Things that increase our struggle with sin still today.  Truly, ignorance is bliss, and there are things better left unknown.  How better is it to just take God at His Word?  We need Jesus, every moment of every day.  Both on the days you think you're doing "good" and on the days you think you're doing "bad".  We are constantly at the mercy of God, and Jesus is the means by which that mercy flows constantly.

Whereas Adam was perfect in ways we were not, we have many things I would call "advantages" over Adam.  We have God's complete and inherent written Word giving us the history of the fall of man, combined with the example of Christ and His Holy Spirit within us giving us ALL instruction for ALL things pertaining to this life (2 Peter 1:2-4).  Even though we have sinned intentionally and willfully—ignorant or not of the consequences—Christ died for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). For those of us not under the law but under grace, that grace is abounding much more than our sin (Romans 5:15-20).  We have been living on this Earth as mankind, for thousands of years. We have seen sin and the consequence thereof throughout generations of history. We have examples throughout time of men and women before us.  So, what excuse then do we have to keep on sinning? None at all.  Yet, we do still sin.  It is no wonder that God's grace must be abounding, much more, if any one could be saved.  Where Adam might have pleaded ignorance compared to us (not that he was ignorant, he disobeyed), what will we plead?  Our only hope is that we will plead Jesus!

Knowing all of these things should cause us to cling to God even more, secure in His salvation apart from any works of your own.  And, it should cause you to sin less because you do not take for granted the price that was paid and the grace that was given by Him who died for you—in all of our ignorance, willful ignorance, and sin—while you were actively sinning.  Not just as Adam sinned the once, but many more in many other ways.  Who is less deserving than us?  Who would be more justified in condemning us than God?  Yet, Christ died for us while we were sinners, in the very act of many sins and knowing that we would continue to sin.

This is why we are told, and how I will conclude...

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  -Romans 8:35-39

A New Year... A New You

A new year. What is a new year to God? What is time to the timeless?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. -2 Cor 5:17

That Scripture is true every time you read it (and even when you don't read it). If you are... then you are. If you aren't, then you aren't.

What are you plans for this New Year? Have you made any resolutions? I believe that in God's eyes, you're either already new or you're not; you're new or your old, and there is no in between.

ANYONE in Christ, IS a new creation.

If you're in Christ, you ARE new, every moment of every day.

You're either a saint, or you're an aint!