The Milk and Meat of the Word
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? (1Corinthians 3:2-4)
“HOW TO BE SAVED" and “How to live after we’re saved” needs to be clear. In a world that is exploding in population and swimming in immorality, some church leaders are trying to make the Gospel of Christ as easy as possible to attract as many people as they can. But Jesus said, up front: … If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS both preached out of the Old Testament, because there was no other testament to preach from. They both preached repentance (a change of mind that results in a change of behavior). Paul summarized his preaching: Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21
RECENTLY, I LEARNED THAT A “respected name” pastor in Atlanta, Georgia has given up preaching from the Old Testament and does all of his preaching out of the New Testament. He’s tired of defending the Old Testament against all the accusations brought against it.
JESUS NEVER PAINTED AN EASY, ROSY PATH: And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23) This is up front! The cross is an instrument of death and He is saying that we are to embrace the cross daily. “If you accept me, this is what you are getting into.” His disciples had a hard time getting it.
LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE INCLUDES the assembling of ourselves together for feeding and fellowship, but it also includes death to self and being alive unto God. It doesn’t take much to stop a surface believer, one whose commitment is barely skin deep. It has always been that way. In the above verse (Luke 9:23) Jesus was giving us the attitude we are to have if we are going to follow Christ. I memorized this verse in 1953.
SOMETIMES THERE IS A BIG COVER-UP of the real Gospel. God will save people in the hog pen but loves them too much to leave them there, wallowing in the mud. Getting saved is like being converted from a hog into a sheep. The nature of a hog is to wallow in the mud and filth. The nature of a sheep is to leave the hog pen and get on high, dry ground. God requires that we accept Christ as Savior and Lord. We are to repent of our sins and put our faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross. HE WILL NOT ACQUIT THE GUILTY. ACQUIT means to count one as not guilty of sin. He will not count as His own, those who persist willfully in sin. When we are saved, we have two opposing natures and they are at war with each other.
PETER SAID: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1Peter 2:2) We understand that. What a nice thought that a Christian must begin with the milk of the Word. He says it is to be sincere milk. I once read that in Roman pottery shops, the glazed vessels would sometimes come out of the kiln with a hairline crack. To cover up the crack, they would rub the vase with a wax that would make it hard to detest the crack until after it was sold. To counter this cheap trick, merchants began labeling their perfect vases with the word sincere (meaning: without wax).
•These words: Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, (1Peter 2:1)
•come before: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1Peter 2:2)
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 19, 2019 - WEDNESDAY
A.M. Numbers 1-2 P.M. Mark 3:1-21
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Verse to Memorize:
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. (Luke 19:40)
Song for Today:
Let the Rocks Cry Out (2:48) (Calvary Memorial Church)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RB339rbvNU
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