Thursday, February 12, 2015

2015 Bible Reading Challenge - Week 6


Here are some more devotionals from our 2015 Bible Reading Challenge.  You can join the challenge by visiting our church website.

February 2, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:1-21:32 and Matthew 21:23-46

Devotional:

Today we come to the Ten Commandments.  Yes, commandments.  Not suggestions.  We could focus the rest of this year's devotionals on the Ten Commandments and still not exhaust all that there is to say about them.  You are likely very familiar with the list.  Maybe you have the list memorized in order.

1. No other gods.
2. No idols.
3. Do not take the Lord's name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not bear false witness.
10. Do not covet.

As you look at this list, you will notice that the first four commandments focus on our relationship with God.  The final six commandments focus on our relationship with one another.  In a few days we will see Jesus' response to the Pharisees in Matthew 22 when asked which commandment is the greatest.  Jesus responded by summing up the Law, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  He then gave the second greatest commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Note that the two commands Jesus gave in response to the Pharisees' question correspond with the two tables of the Law.  Jesus' first command has to do with our relationship with God, and summarizes the first four commands.  Jesus' second command has to do with our relationship with other people, and summarizes the final six commands.

This is important because it helps us to see that the list of commands in Exodus 20 is not exhaustive.  It is not intended to be a list prohibiting every possible sin.  In fact, we could say that just as Jesus' list of two commands in Matthew 22 is a summary of what God requires of us, so is the list of ten commands given to Moses in Exodus 20.

Jesus said as much in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:27-28).  Jesus said similar things with regard to anger, divorce, oaths, and loving our enemies.  Jesus makes it clear that obedience to God is not limited to rigid obedience to a list of ten commands.

I love the way the Westminster Larger Catechism deals with the Ten Commandments.  As an example, it asks in Question 136, "What are the sins forbidden in the sixth commandment?"  To which it replies, "The sins forbidden in the sixth commandment are, all taking away the life of ourselves, or of others, except in case of public justice, lawful war, or necessary defense; the neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means of preservation of life; sinful anger, hatred, envy, desire of revenge; all excessive passions, distracting cares; immoderate use of meat, drink, labor, and recreations; provoking words, oppression, quarreling, striking, wounding, and whatsoever else tends to the destruction of the life of any."

The WLC does the same thing for all ten commands, making clear the broad scope of each command.  You can read what the WLC has to say about the other nine commands here.

My point is that we may be tempted to look at the Ten Commandments and think we are in pretty good shape.  I have never murdered anyone.  Check.  I have never committed adultery.  Check.  I am not a thief.  Check.  But the WLC, and Jesus in Matthew 5, make it clear that we have all broken all ten commands.  There is none righteous, no not one.

So what hope do we have?  Our only hope is Jesus.  He is the only one to perfectly obey the Law.  He is the one who died in our place to pay for our sin.  His righteousness is credited to the account of all those who repent of their sin and place their faith in Him.  This is our source of hope.

Seek today to live a life pleasing to God by the power of the indwelling Spirit in your life.  But when you fail, and you will, trust in the one who already lived the perfect life in your place.  It is only through His righteousness that you can truly please God.

Prayer Focus:  Pray that God would help you to obey His commands by the power of the Spirit in your life.  Pray that God would direct your attention to Jesus when you fail.


February 3, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 21:33-23:33 and Matthew 22:1-33

Devotional:

As I read the laws given by God to His people in Exodus 21-23, I am reminded that God loves His creation.  He certainly loves His covenant people, the spiritual children of Abraham, with a special love.  But He loves and cares for all of His creation.

People sometimes think of the God of the Old Testament as a God of judgment.  He doesn't care about people.  He just goes around killing and destroying.  The people of Israel are protected, while everyone who gets in their way is destroyed.  But today's reading should give us a different perspective.

The list of laws given in this section of Scripture is intended to protect.  Slaves, sojourners, orphans, widows, poor, and others are protected by these laws given by God to His people.  We are reminded that God cares about the oppressed.  He cares about those who suffer.  And not just the oppressed of Israel, Exodus 22:21 provides protection for sojourners as well.

Don't just skim over the laws found in Exodus as if they are unimportant.  Take time to consider the love and care God has for the people He created, His image bearers.  We talked at length about our status as image bearers of God as we were moving through Genesis.  The same principle is found here.  God cares for those who bear His image, and we should too.

Think also about yesterday's devotional.  The final six commands focus on loving our neighbor.  That is exactly the focus of the list of laws in today's reading.  These laws contain clear applications of the sixth commandment (do not murder) and the eighth commandment (do not steal).
We sometimes think of the law as an unnecessary burden.  But the reality is that God has given us His Law as a gracious gift.  He desires good for us.  Allow today's reading to give you a renewed understanding of and appreciation for the Law.

We will continue to consider God's Law more as we move through the Old Testament.

Prayer Focus: Pray that God would help you to care for the oppressed as He does.  Pray that God would give you a renewed understanding of and appreciation for the Law.


February 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 24-25 and Matthew 22:34-46

Devotional:

We looked at the great commandment a couple days ago when talking about the Ten Commandments.  As we read today the passage that contains the first and second greatest commandments, I want to consider them a little further.

It is interesting that the two greatest commandments were given in response to a question by the Pharisees.  Jesus was always receiving questions from the Pharisees.  These questions were usually intended to trick Him into saying something they could use against Him.  You would think they would get the hint.  Jesus answered in a way that silenced them and made them look foolish every single time.

This occasion was no different.  The Pharisees wanted to know which commandment was the greatest.  Maybe Jesus would say, "You shall have no other gods before me."  Or maybe the prohibition against murder or adultery would top Jesus' list.  No.  Jesus refused their trap and essentially said that no command of God can be pitted against another.  They are all important.  Obedience to all of them is essential for walking in righteousness.

The commands to love the Lord with all that you are and to love your neighbor as yourself sum up the entire Law.  You cannot love neighbor and murder someone, or even have hatred in your heart toward them.  You cannot love God and take His name in vain.

We sometimes like to pit one command against another.  We like to think of some commands as more important, usually the ones we are more inclined to observe anyway.  But this is not the way Jesus spoke about the Law.  He made it very clear that there is a God in heaven.  He has revealed His Law to mankind.  His Law is perfect.  And He requires perfect obedience to His perfect Law.  There is no way around His requirements.

This quickly reminds us that we do not measure up.  There is no escape route.  We need Jesus.

Unfortunately, the Pharisees thought that they were Law keepers.  They looked at themselves and their level of obedience, and they were proud.  Look at us.  See how faithful we are to God's Law.  They too had elevated some commands as more important than others by their thoughts and actions.  While they may not observe some commands, they always kept the most important ones.  Or so they thought.

In this passage, Jesus confronts them in their self-righteousness as He did throughout His ministry.  He was always pointing to Himself as the only way for man to be made right with Him.  This was true for the Pharisees.  It was true for His disciples.  It was true for Jew and Gentile alike.  We all need Jesus.

If you are like me, you are tempted to think of yourself as a Law keeper.  You are tempted to look at the way you live your life and see righteousness.  This passage reminds me that I am not righteous.  It reminds me that I do not always love God.  It reminds me that I do not love others as I should.  I need a righteousness that is not my own.  I need the righteousness of Jesus.  And you do too.

Prayer Focus: Ask God to help you see the unrighteousness in your life.  As you see areas of sin, confess them to God, repent, and trust in the righteousness of Jesus as your only hope of being right with God.


February 5, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 26-27 and Matthew 23

Devotional:

The scribes and Pharisees do not have the best reputation among Christians.  We love to give them a hard time, and rightly so.  Jesus gives a whole list of reasons why in today's New Testament reading.

Matthew 23 contains seven woes against the scribes and Pharisees.  Each woe focuses on the hypocritical practices of these religious leaders.  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you clean the outside of the cup and the plat, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence," Jesus said.

The problem was not that they had laws.  The problem was not that they expected obedience to these laws.  The problem was that they themselves did not keep the Law as they should.  Oh, they obeyed some of the laws.  They wanted everyone to look at them and see how righteous they were.  But they were not really concerned with obedience to God.  They were not worried about the issues of the heart that people could not see.

Jesus was always rebuking the Pharisees.  He was always pointing out their hypocrisy.  But people often misunderstand why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees.  He didn't rebuke the Pharisees because they were too righteous.  He didn't rebuke them because they erected really high standards for themselves and kept those standards.  Instead, He rebuked them because they were not righteous enough.  They did not meet the standards they had established, and they did not meet God's standard.

Christians sometimes like to point to Jesus' treatment of the Pharisees as a reason why we should not have high standards.  High standards lead to pride and self-righteousness.  Seeking to live a godly life means that you are like the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked.

But God has given us a very high standard.  He has given us His Law.  Godliness and obedience to the Law is actually a standard so high that we cannot attain it on our own.  This was the problem with the Pharisees.  They failed to recognize that they fell woefully short of obedience to the Law.  In fact, they were always trying to trap the only one who never sinned.  Rather than placing their trust in Jesus and depending on His righteousness, they sought to destroy Him.

We have a lot to learn from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees.  The lesson is that of not being hypocritical.  We do not avoid hypocrisy by lowering God's standards for us.  No, we avoid hypocrisy by striving to put off the works of the flesh and put on the fruit of the Spirit.  We avoid hypocrisy by recognizing when we fail, and clinging tightly to the cross of Christ as our only hope.

Prayer Focus: Pray that God would help you to flee from hypocrisy.  Pray that God would help you to do this by striving for righteousness and clinging to Jesus when you fail.


February 6, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 28-29 and Matthew 24:1-14

Devotional:

We began Matthew 24 today, and will be looking at the rest of the chapter over the weekend.  This is a chapter that often elicits significant debate concerning various perspectives on the end times.  There is a lot that we don't know from this passage, likely because God never intended for us to use it to develop extensive charts and make sure predictions concerning the last days.  But there are some things that we see very clearly in Matthew 24.  I want to focus this devotional on a few of those things.

The first thing that stands out to me is the promise of false teachers in verse 5.  The New Testament is full of warnings concerning those who seek to lead the people of God astray.  Such is not unique to the last days, but this verse seems to indicate that that kind of thing will only increase.

The reality that false teachers have always existed, and will always exist until Christ returns, should motivate us in our efforts to know God's truth through His Word.  It should also cause us to be alert.  The Bible is our standard of truth.  If it contradicts God's Word, it is false.  May we be people who commit ourselves to God's truth.

The second thing I notice is the promise of persecution.  This also is something that Jesus promised throughout His ministry.  It is not unique to the last days.  Jesus experienced persecution.  His disciples experienced persecution.  Countless Christians around the world today choose daily to follow Christ even though it may cost them their lives.  Certainly persecution will increase in the last days, but it is not unique to a certain period of time.

I like what Jesus says in verse 13, "But the one who endures to the end will be saved."  Jesus is not saying that we somehow earn our salvation by enduring.  Rather, He is saying that those who endure to the end prove that they are the ones whose lives have truly been transformed by the gospel of Christ.  Jesus' words here should motivate us to endure.  By this we prove to truly be His disciples.

Finally, I want to point out the uncertainty Jesus left His disciples with concerning the timing of His return.  This was not by accident.  Jesus did not intend for them or us to know when He will return.  But that hasn't stopped people from creating prophecy charts and attempting to predict Christ's return. 

Ignore those predictions.  Jesus told us that no one knows when He will return.  He has made clear for us what we are to do while we wait.  We must commit ourselves to being conformed more and more to the image of Jesus through the work of the Spirit in our lives.  And we must devote ourselves to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to all people.

May we cling to the reality that Christ WILL return.  And may we ignore man's predictions in favor of God's instructions.

Prayer Focus: Pray that God would help you to be obedient to the things He has given you to do prior to the return of Jesus.

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