Monthly Archives: April 2021

The Good Shepherd

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The Good Shepherd

In multiple passages of the Old Testament, God criticizes and pronounces judgment on the shepherds of Israel. See for example Ezekiel 34, Jeremiah 6, and Zechariah 10. The problem was that the shepherds, in other words, the priests and prophets, were taking advantage of their position, and instead of feeding their flock, they were letting them go to the wolves while enriching themselves. In Ezekiel 34:11, the prophet writes, “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day’” (NKJV).

Jesus fulfills that promise as He gives us a picture of the good shepherd in Matthew 18:10 -14 as He describes the shepherd leaving the 99 and going after the one lost one. And then in John 10, He tells the people very clearly that He is the good shepherd. Let’s turn to John 10 to see what we learn from Jesus’ explanation of Himself as The Good Shepherd.

He explains in this passage that the one who enters the sheepfold another way than through the door, is a thief and a robber. Such a “shepherd” does not really care for the sheep, but does what he does for his own gain. And when danger comes, he runs away, because he has no concern whatsoever for the sheep.

In John 10:7, 11, and 14, Jesus tells us that He himself is both the door for the sheep and also the Good Shepherd. What I want to do now is look at the characteristics Jesus gives of Himself as the Good Shepherd, and those of His sheep.

First, in verse 3, we learn that the real shepherd calls his sheep by name. He knows each of His sheep individually. In Isaiah 43:1 we read: “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.’”

In Jeremiah 31:3, Jeremiah writes, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’” In this passage, it doesn’t mention that God used Jeremiah’s name, but it does say that God had an everlasting love for Jeremiah as a person. That love is what motivated God to draw him to Himself with lovingkindness.

There are many other examples. When Samuel was lying in bed, he heard a voice saying, “Samuel, Samuel.” When Elijah was pouting by the cave entrance, God came and said, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” When Moses went to check on the bush that was burning but wasn’t consumed, the voice came from the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And one last example: When Saul was on the road to Damascus and the light shown down from heaven, the voice of God came to him saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” God knows His sheep and calls them by name.

Next, the Good Shepherd leads the sheep, and they follow (John 10:3, 4). Notice that there are two parts to this. The shepherd leads, and the sheep follow. Sheep naturally need to be led, just as we human beings need to be led, especially when it comes to spiritual things. We need the shepherd. Alone, we wander and get lost. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and His sheep follow Him. Why? Because they know the voice of the shepherd (10:5). The Bible says explicitly that they will by no means follow a stranger (10:5). Why? Because they don’t recognize the voice of a stranger. Notice that the sheep don’t merely know who the shepherd is and observe him leading. They follow. This should cause some self-examination in each of us. Are we following the Good Shepherd, or merely observing what He is doing? If we claim to be one of the sheep, and yet are not following, this is an indication that we are not among His sheep. How can I say that? Because Jesus says that the sheep follow Him. They recognize His voice and the fact that He is their leader in the pastures of life, and they follow. They know Him (10:14). And get this: They don’t follow the stranger, the false shepherd. They don’t recognize his voice. So if you see others following someone other than Christ, or if you yourself are doing that, you must not be one of the sheep. The sheep don’t follow the stranger.

Next, we see that the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep, and gives abundant life (10:10,11, 15). Unlike the false teachers and the worldly system all around us, the Good Shepherd has laid down His life for us so that, as a result, He is able to give us abundant life. And, as the Bible says it, not just life, but life more abundantly! Unlike all of the human shepherds in Israel and many in the world today, the Good Shepherd actually cares for the sheep and their most essential needs. That need is eternal and abundant life. In order to satisfy the righteousness of a Holy God, the Good Shepherd sacrificed Himself to take upon Himself the sins of the world.

Another thing we learn from this passage is that there are other sheep which also must be brought into the fold. Jesus said, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

Jesus said there were other sheep. It was His intention to go get them. Would He be successful? Jesus says He will be. He says, “Them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock” In other words, He is saying the same thing He said earlier, “My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.” In this particular context, I think He is talking about the fact that He is going to go out and call a people for Himself from among the Gentiles and they, together with Jewish believers, will be one body. (See also Acts 15:14-17.) According to the book of Revelation there will be people from “every tribe and language and people and nation” in His flock (Revelation 5:9).

As Jesus was teaching these things, there was a division among the Jews as to Jesus’ authority and the statements He was making. Some said He had a demon and others said that someone with a demon could not teach this way. They asked for a plain explanation. He told them that He had already explained it to them, but they didn’t believe Him. He then made an astounding statement: “You do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.” Jesus didn’t say that they were not His sheep because they didn’t believe. He said the reason they didn’t believe is because they weren’t His sheep!

To explain this more clearly, He repeated what He had said earlier. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” It can’t be any clearer than that. Think about your own life. Do you claim to be a Christian? The question is, do you hear the voice of God through His Word, and does He know you, and do you follow Him? Jesus said that if we don’t take up our cross and follow Him, we can’t be His disciple (Matthew 16:24). You can’t really be a Christian unless you are a follower, a disciple, a learner. That’s what a Christian is.

But for those who truly are His sheep, what does He provide? He tells us in verse 28: “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

There you have the bottom line. The sheep are in the best hands possible. The Shepherd has them in His hands and God the Father has them in His hands as well. No one is able to get them out. No wolf, no false teacher, no incompetent shepherd. The sheep are safe eternally. Why? Because there is a Good Shepherd, and His name is Jesus.

Ephesians 5:5

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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.

In verse 4, Paul had finished telling us that sexual immorality, filthy talking, and crude joking were not to be found among us as Christians.

Now in verse 5 he says that there is something we may be sure of. We can be confident of a particular truth. What is that truth? Read the verse. Everyone. Let that word sink in. Everyone who is sexually immoral or unclean or covetous (which is the same thing as idolatry) has no inheritance in the kingdom of God.

Now we can try to skirt around this in any number of ways, but I don’t think there is a way of dodging it.

How can this be. Aren’t we all sinners? Putting this verse together with the rest of the New Testament, I think we can say a couple of things. First, I think this has to do with a way of life and not with momentary temptations and transgressions. Any of us can be tripped up by any number of things. As Christians, all of our sins are forgiven — past, present, and future.

For example, if we are tempted with and fall into a sexually immoral sin, this does not mean we are living in a sexually immoral lifestyle.

We have to be careful though, because we are so susceptible to self-deception. We can commit a sin here, and then another there and continue in that pattern and then tell ourselves that we aren’t immoral, when in fact that is our behavior pattern.

John tells us in his first epistle that a person who has been born of God does not practice sin (1 John 3:6-10). So don’t let yourself be deceived. If you are living a sinful lifestyle, no matter what you have professed about your faith, your deeds betray you. If that is the case with you, you need to go to God, admit the sinful nature of your life, repent of that sin, and accept Christ’s forgiveness.

When you are born again, you will have new motivations, the law of God written on your heart, a new heart, and the Holy Spirit, all of which will work against the sin that has been defeating you in the past.

Your love for God’s word will grow, your desire to be with God’s people will increase. Your desire to keep your communication with God strong through prayer will become a central part of your character and life. All of these will help maintain the victory that the new birth brings.

It is only through the rebirth of your spirit that you can be assured that you will inherit the kingdom of God. Professions and commitments are meaningless if your being has not been transformed by the saving work of Christ.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:09 AM April 19, 2021.

Ephesians 5:4

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Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

In verse 4, Paul continues his list of things which should not be present in a Christian’s life. Here he mentions filthiness. Another word would be baseness. The Greek word is derived from words that mean shameful or disgraceful. It refers to anything, either words or deeds, that deviates from purity.

Next comes foolish talk. The Greek word here actually has the word moron in it. It is moronic speech. Speech that is foolish. Often we speak foolishness when trying to be cool or funny. We need to be careful about such talk.

The next one is crude joking. Some versions say coarse jesting. Obviously we want to stay away from filthy or dirty talking, but some of what is referred to here is just empty jesting. Sometimes we want to be cute or funny and so we make off-handed comments that are not particularly uplifting, and, which sometimes can cause embarrassment or discomfort.

According to this passage, these things are out of place. They are never appropriate. But remember, we are not only to take off, but to put on. So instead of these kinds of talk, there should be the giving of thanks. In other places in the Bible we are told that our speech should only be for edifying, building up of another person.

This section should really challenge us to think before we speak to make sure what we are going to say is fitting, proper, and helpful.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:39 AM April 14, 2021.

Message of the Cross

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Part 6

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5–11, NKJV)

The mind of Christ was such that even though He was God himself, He purposely and consciously took the form of a bondservant and stooped down to serve us, even to the point of death of the cross. As a result, God highly exulted Him and gave Him an exulted position such that every knee will someday bow to Him.

The challenge to us is to have this kind of mind. We are to have a mind to humble ourselves and to stoop to serve others. Since Christ died for all, then all should no longer live for themselves but for the one who died for them. “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14–15, NKJV)

Having just come through the Easter season we should consider all that Christ has done for us to rescue us from condemnation, and we should realize that we don’t belong to ourselves to live for our own agenda and own interests, but for God and others.

Ephesians 5:3

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But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

In the previous chapter Paul taught us the principle of putting off and putting on. Here in chapter 5, we are learning that we should be imitators of God. Here again we are given instruction as to what should be part of our Christian life and what should be avoided.

In verse 3 we are given some additional things that should not be part of our Christian life. The first is sexual immorality. The Greek word here is porneia. We can immediately see that we get our word pornography from this Greek root word. Pornography is basically sexual immorality displayed in word or picture form.

God tells us here that sexual immorality should not even be named among us. Two other things will be included in this list. But think of it! Immorality should not be even named among us. However, in our day, because of our ability to see virtually any immoral behavior portrayed on our computers or phones, porneia is not only named among us, but indulged in enthusiastically. This should not be!

The second thing he says shouldn’t even be named among us is impurity, uncleanness. This fits in with the idea of sexual immorality because we all, especially as young people, knew the difference between a “clean” or a “dirty” joke. We know the kinds of things that pollute our minds and hearts. None of this uncleanness should be representative of our character.

The last thing he mentions in this short list is covetousness. In Colossians 3:5, Paul calls covetousness idolatry. When we covet something, we are revealing the existence of an idol in our lives. Idolatry is not part of the character of a Christian.

These three things, sexual immorality, uncleanness, and covetousness should be put off so that the true character of the new man can be put on.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:16 AM April 14, 2021.

Message of the Cross

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Part 5

“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Romans 6:6, NKJV)

As I mentioned in one of the previous articles, the Bible teaches us that if we have trusted in Christ, we have been placed into Christ. Since that is the case, God considers us to have died with Christ when He died on the cross.

In this passage, Paul writes that when that happened, our old man was crucified with Him. By old man he is referring to the old self. Some people call it the old nature. The Bible says that “if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. Old things are passed away and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Our passage for today, Romans 6:6, tells us the purpose for this crucifixion of the old man – that the body of sin might be done away with. Some translations say that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, or made of no effect. The ultimate goal is so that we should no longer be slaves for sin.

What we as Christians need to do is to practice believing what God says is true. No matter how we feel about our sinfulness and the power of sin over us, the Bible says that our old man was in fact crucified so that the body of sin would be made ineffective so that we would not be a slave of sin. If we find ourselves in slavery to sin, it’s because we have voluntarily yielded to it, not because it has power or authority of us.

At this time of year when we’ve just gone through Good Friday and Easter, let’s remind ourselves of what God says is true – our old self has been put to death.

Message of the Cross

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Part 4

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NKJV)

In this passage Paul gives us a very important truth about our relationship and oneness with Christ. Here, just as in Romans 6 and Colossians 2, Paul teaches us that we died with Christ. There are all sorts of practical implications in this truth. In this passage we see that since we have died with Christ, it is no longer we who live, but it is Christ who lives in us. As Jesus himself taught us that he is the vine, and we are the branches. The life is in him.

As we live our life, then, we need to recognize that moment by moment our goal is to live out the life of Christ who lives in us. Our life is a life of faith in the Son of God, trusting him to live his life effectively out through us. Paul says it this way in his letter to the Corinthians: “and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:15, NKJV)

I heard Kevin DeYoung quote John Calvin the other night. I think this is a fitting summary of this truth. Calvin said, “We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to our flesh. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.”

Message of the Cross

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Part 3

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14, NKJV)

Paul’s focus on the cross was exceptional. In this verse he emphasizes that there is nothing to boast about except the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. That should be our focus as well. What is there to boast about in life? Anything we have has been given to us as a gift from God to be used for His glory (1 Cor 4:7).  We cannot boast that strengths and abilities come from inside of us because they were planted there by God.

Note also that the cross is a demarcation between us and the world. The cross is a turning point. Every true Christian was crucified with Christ on the cross, and we have been raised with Him. At the cross the world was crucified to me and I to the world. The world should not have the kind of influence over us that it often does. John writes that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15).

The cross was a place of death and we need to recognize more and more that our death with Christ there means there is a decisive separation between us and the world system. That separation from the world and to God should be lived out every day in our walk of faith.

Ephesians 5:1-2

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Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

We have now arrived at Ephesians 5. Verse 1 begins with “Therefore.” Because of all that has been said, there are some resulting behaviors and admonitions that are the natural consequences of what has already been said.

The first is, be imitators of God. There are a lot of things and people that we tend to imitate. Someone said that imitation is the best form of flattery. Much of what we imitate is for the purpose of gaining prestige or favor with a certain group or to be seen as sophisticated and “with it.” But here, we are told to imitate God. Copy God. Have attitudes like God has. Obviously, this is quite the challenge because God is so much higher, more powerful, and perfect than we are. But that is to be our goal. That what is meant when the Bible calls us to be godly.

And then in verse 2, we are to walk in love. To walk in love means to live a life where love is the central attitude and motivation. God says that we are to love God first of all, and then love our neighbors as ourselves.

Since we are to be imitating God, this verse says that we should walk in love as Christ loved us. He is our example. How did He love us? He gave Himself up for us as a sacrifice to God — a fragrant sacrifice that was acceptable to God as the payment for the sins of the world.

This kind of love should make us thankful, certainly, but it should also be an encouragement to love others, forgive others, and in as many ways as possible, model Christ for them.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:43 AM April 3, 2021.

The Message of the Cross

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Part 2

“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:13–15, NKJV)

We’re looking at the importance of the teaching about the cross from the instructions given in the New Testament epistles. So let’s examine this passage.

  1. We as gentiles (the uncircumcised) have been, as Paul says in another place, “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12, NKJV). Paul tells us in our passage that even though we were dead and outside the covenants and without hope, God has made us alive with Christ. Christians have gone through the resurrection with Christ (Eph 2:6). Great Easter news!
  2. God has forgiven all our trespasses! If you are a Christian, let your heart rest in this truth.
  3. And finally, here is where the cross is specifically referenced in this passage. “The handwriting of requirements that was against us” has been taken out of the way. What is that handwriting? I believe he is referring to the law which is constantly accusing us of our sin. That handwriting has been wiped out and taken out of the way.  It has been nailed to the cross. Crucified! And in doing this, God has disarmed principalities and powers and made a spectacle of them in triumph. You know the passage that says that we wrestle against principalities and powers. These powers have been disarmed!

All of this through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.