SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/11/2014 11:34 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: The
Distinctiveness of Believers’ Behavior
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1
Thessalonians 5:6-8
Message of the
verses: “6 so then let us not sleep
as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their
sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we
are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
To begin with I am happy to write that it was forty-one
years ago today that my wife and I were married, and then in January of the
following year I became a believer in Jesus Christ who saved my soul six months
after my wife and I were married. I want
to also say that we are actually going over the same verses that we went over
yesterday, but will look at them in a little different way as we try and find
some more nuggets of gold from these verses.
John MacArthur writes that the words “so then” “emphasize
the inseparable link between Christians’ nature and their behavior, between
their character and their conduct.” This
is something that is a truth that is taught throughout the NT. Now as we go on looking at these verses Paul
writes that believers are not to sleep, something that is a part of the
believers conduct and character, and also to be alert and sober too. There are many things that happen to a
believer when they are first born into the family of God through the blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and one of those things is that a believer is given a
new nature, a new nature that always wants to do good and this shows that all
believers have a different way of living their lives and as the believer continues
to grow in their new life with Christ they continue to learn more and more of
what they have in Christ. A believer has
two natures in them, the old that they were born with and the new that was
given to them when they were born again.
In order to continue to grow the believer has to follow their new nature
and say no to their old nature, and this is something that is difficult to
do. Paul speaks of this in the seventh
chapter of Romans where he writes: “14 For
we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I
would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very
thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is
good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells
in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of
the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the
very evil that I do not want (Rom. 7:14-19).”
I once heard a sermon a very long time ago that was entitled “Becoming
what you are.” This is part of the
sanctification process that all believers have to go through, for we have to
live in the way that we actually are, that is what is a part of our new nature,
and this is what Paul is telling the Thessalonians in this section, that they
are not to sleep and they are to be alert, which is a part of their new nature,
thus making it a part of their character.
Now we went over the word “sleep” in our SD from
yesterday, so we will not go over it again in todays.
MacArthur writes:
“Living consistent with their nature as day people provides believers
with comfort, because living a righteous, godly life brings assurance of
salvation (cf. 2 Peter 1:5-10). When day
people walk in the darkness, however they forfeit that assurance and become
fearful of God’s judgment. They become
‘blind or short-sighted having forgotten [their] purification from [their]
former sins’ (2 Peter 1:9). Though it is
not possible for day people to be caught in the Day of the Lord, it is possible
for sinning ones to lose assurance and fear they might be.”
We mentioned yesterday about the spiritual armor that is
found in different places in the NT, and we see it in verse seven, however Paul
often writes about faith, hope and love in his letters and that is what we see
in verse seven. MacArthur writes “They also
provide an excellent defense against temptation. Faith is trust in God’s power, promise, and
plan. It is the unwavering belief that
God is completely trustworthy in all that He says and does.”
He goes on to give four points about faith, 1. Believers can trust God’s Person, and 2.
Believers can trust God’s power, third believers can trust God’s promises, and
forth believers can trust God’s sovereign plan, which can neither be halted nor
hindered.
Next we look at Faith:
“Faith provides a defense against temptation, because all sin results from a lack of trust in
God. For example, worry is the
failure to believe that God will act in love on behalf of His people; lying
substitutes man’s selfish plans for God’s sovereign purposes; adultery denies
God’s wisdom in instituting the monogamous marriage bond. Thus faith is an impenetrable breastplate, providing sure
protection against temptation.
But to put it on, believes must study and meditate on the rich depts of
God’s nature as revealed in Scripture, and then translate that knowledge into action
in their lives.”
“Love
toward God involves delight in a devotion to God as the supreme object of
affection. It, too, provides a
powerful deterrent to sin, since all sin involves a failure to love God. The greatest command, the injunction that sums
up the whole law of God, is to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (Matt. 22:37).” “So love and faith form an impregnable
barrier against temptation; it is only when one or both are lacking that Christians
fall victim to sin. Perfect trust in and
love for God leads to perfect obedience.”
When Paul writes about the “helmet of the hope of
salvation” he is writing about our future aspect or glorification that we will
receive when we get to heaven, and as we focus on this it will help us defeat
temptation.
MacArthur finishes by writing “When faith is weak, love grows cold. When love grows cold, hope is lost. When hope in God’s promises of future glory
is weak, believers are venerable to temptation and sin. Only those who keep the breastplate of faith
and love, and the helmet of hope of salvation firmly in place can resist
effectively the onslaught of the forces of darkness.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I have some new
things to think about when I put on my spiritual armor each morning; especially
the helmet of the hope of salvation, for this has always been something that I
have not understood until now.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Fight the good fight to win over temptation.
Memory verses for the
week: Colossians 3:1-5.
1 Therefore if you have
been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set
your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you died and your life is not hidden
with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who
is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 Therefore consider the members of your
earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed,
which amounts to adultery.
Answer to yesterdays Bible
question: “Four.”
Today’s Bible
question: “What was Jacob’s name changed
to?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/11/2014 12:29 PM
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