Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Old and New Testaments

There are many parallels between what is taught us in the Old Testament and what is taught us in the New Testament, for God’s moral laws have not changed. And whereas all those old liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification and dietary laws and restrictions of the Old Covenant were done away with under the New Covenant, God’s moral laws have remained.

 

Leviticus 19:1-2 ESV

1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV

 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

 

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, not like our old lives, but now free from our slavery to sin. So we are to no longer conform our lives to the passions of our flesh, walking in the flesh, doing what our sinful flesh desires. We are to not let sin reign any more in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death, but if we obey obedience, it leads to righteousness.

 

[Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:17-24]

 

But we are called of God to be holy in all our conduct (actions, words). And to be holy means to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, if indeed we are. It means our lives are no longer being conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but now we are being conformed to Christ and to his righteousness and holiness, in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant. So this involves obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[Rom 1:6-7; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-29; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 1:9; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; Gal 5:13-21; Eph 1:3-4; Eph 2:10,21; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col 3:12; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:5-9,24; 2 Pet 1:3; Tit 2:11-14; Lu 9:23-26; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 2:3-6]

 

Leviticus 19:4 ESV

Ephesians 5:5 ESV

 

“Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.”

 

“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (cf. 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 5:16-21; Col 3:5-6)

 

We are not to be idolaters, making other people or things our gods instead of God being our only God. We are to give our worship to our creator and not to the created things. For anything we obey in place of God can become our idol, as can be anything we give our undivided loyalties to and our passions and our hearts and our praise and adoration. And definitely we should not be making any sinful practices our gods we worship in place of God, for we should no longer be those who practice sin.

 

Leviticus 19:11 ESV

Ephesians 4:25-28 ESV

 

“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.”

 

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

 

I hate lies! Do you hate lies? God does! We should not be people who tell lies, not even what some people call “white lies.” We should always be in the practice of telling the truth, but in love, and with kindness. And thieving is not just taking worldly possessions from others, but it can be stealing from people to whom it is due love, kindness, faithfulness, truthfulness, and respect. So the opposite of stealing is giving love, kindness, and respect, and it is providing for people’s needs rather than taking from them.

 

Leviticus 19:12 ESV

Matthew 15:8-9 ESV

 

"You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

 

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (cf. 1 Co 15:2,58; 2 Co 6:1; Gal 3:4; Php 2:16)

 

Many people today in America are making shallow confessions of Christ as Savior and Lord, largely based on Scriptures taught outside their context and twisted to say what the Scriptures do not teach. But lip service only is not going to secure heaven and eternal life for us. We must now walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. Sin must not be our practice, but righteousness and obedience to our Lord are to be what we practice, for if they are not, we will not inherit eternal life with God, and heaven will not be our eternal destiny.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Leviticus 19:17-18

1 John 4:20 ESV

 

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

 

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (cf. 1 Jn 3:15; 1 Jn 2:9-11)

 

Hate, in this context, is to be seen as detesting and denouncing our fellow believers in Jesus Christ, treating them with less value, rejecting them, casting them aside, saying to other parts of the body, “We have no need of you,” etc. And this is being done a lot in some of these institutional churches where pastors are being trained to get rid of Christians with “strong convictions,” and those who are “needy” in favor of people who they can easily mold into their image (the market-driven image).

 

So, please take these things to heart, and please take notice of how many of these things are said to impact our relationships with our Lord, and how many will impact where we spend eternity, too. For if we make sin our practice, and if we hate our fellow Christians, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

Pray, Pray, Pray  

 

An Original Work / September 6, 2012

Based off Various Scriptures

 

Pray that eyes may enlightened be,

So they may know Christ.

Pray that they may Him better know,

Strengthened by His pow’r.

Pray that they may grasp

How wide and long

And high and deep

Is Christ’s love.

Pray that they may be filled

To the fullness of God’s love.

Pray with thanksgiving.

 

Pray for an open door for me,

So I may share Christ.

Pray when the gospel is proclaimed –

Shared with clarity.

Pray words are given me so

I declare the gospel fearlessly.

I pray for you to be active

Sharing your faith, too.

Pray continually.

 

We oft not know for what to pray,

So we ask for help.

The Spirit intercedes for us –

Words cannot express.

Just keep on praying for the saints

With all kinds of requests to God.

Pray they may have faith to

Please their God in ev’ry way.

Pray with joyfulness.

 

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