SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/13/2017 8:37 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “Purity”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 5:12b-14
Message of the verses: “They
were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. 13 But none of the rest dared to associate with them;
however, the people held them in high esteem. 14 And all the more believers in
the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number;”
2 Timothy 2:19-21 speaks of
purity, and being pure means you can be useful to the Lord: “19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God
stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and,
"Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness." 20 Now in a
large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of
wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses
himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master,
prepared for every good work.”
John MacArthur quotes
from the nineteenth-century Scottish pastor and evangelist Robert Murray
McCheyne as he gives the following sage advice to a young man who was about to
enter the ministry:
“Do not forget the culture of the
inner man—I mean of the heart. How
diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he
rubs off with the greatest care.
Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument—I trust a chosen vessel
unto Him to bear His name. In great
measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the
success. It is not great talents God
blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.
A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hands of God.” (Andrew A. Bonar, ed., Memoirs of McCheyne [reprint, Chicago:
Moody, 1978], p. 95)
As we look at what
happened to Ananias and Sapphira in recent SD’s we see that God intervened in
the church to make the church pure. As
we read this quote from McCheyne to this young man who is about to go into the
ministry we can say that what he is saying to this young man can be said to the
church, for purity of the
church begins with the individual’s who are in it. Now as we look at how God intervened in this
early church what we can learn is that the church is to take the responsibility
of discipline, something that is not done much in churches today. John MacArthur writes that “it has fallen
prey to the unbiblical notion that loving people and building up their self-esteem
means tolerating their sin. Biblical
love, however, seeks the well-being of others.
Since the goal of discipline is to deal with sin, which is harmful, love
and discipline are not mutually exclusive (cf. Prov. 27:6). [“Faithful are the
wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”] It is because
God loves believers that He chastens them (Heb. 12:5-6).” “5 and you have forgotten the exhortation
which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE
DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; 6 FOR THOSE
WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE
RECEIVES."”
Now as we look at the
New Testament we see that there are examples of confronting sin in the
church. I remember what Paul writes to
the Corinthians who were tolerating a step-son living with his step-mom which
certainly goes against the Law of Moses.
Now the Corinthian church was mistakenly proud of tolerating this sin as
they were mixed up with what Paul told them about unbelievers. Paul tells them that they must judge the
things that were going on in their church, not the things going on in the
world, as the Lord will care for that.
There are other examples from the New Testament, but we want to look at
the most extensive teaching on how to exercise church discipline as this comes
from the lips of our Lord from Matthew 18:15-20.
“15 "If
your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you,
you have won your brother. 16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one
or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT
MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church;
and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile
and a tax collector. 18 "Truly I
say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and
whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. 19 "Again I
say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask,
it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 “For where two or
three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."”
MacArthur writes “The
church pays a steep price for disobeying the Lord’s clear teaching on this
matter. The impure, worldly church that
is the inevitable result of the absence of confrontive holiness will not be an
effective witness for Jesus Christ.
Discipline of sinning saints is not an option but an obligation.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today:
If I keep myself pure before the Lord, if I ask each day for the
Lord to search my heart and listen to what the Spirit of God speaks to my heart
through His Word or preaching or other means He uses and then confess that sin
to the Lord, repenting and turning away then this will help me to live a pure
life. Jesus washed the feet of the
disciples telling them that they were saved but as they walked around in the
world they would sin and in need of a spiritual foot washing each day. John tells us in his letter of 1 John that we
do sin and when we sin we need what he writes in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.” He goes on in
verse ten “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word
is not in us.”
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust that the Lord will give me the verses I
need to fight against the evil one when I am tempted to sin, that I may use
them as Jesus did in Matthew chapter four.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:
“Canaan” (Genesis 12:5).
Today’s Bible question: “To whom
did Elijah say it would not rain until he said so?”
Answer in our next SD.
10/13/2017 9:30 AM
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