Subtle Jabs

    In teaching the book of Job in a Bible class on Sunday mornings, one thing that we have pointed out a number of times is the verbal "jabs" thrown by the friends, as well as Job, in their exchanges of speeches. Several of these are direct, and some--especially by the friends--are downright cruel.

    However, sprinkled throughout the narrative are also a large number of more subtle jabs. For example, in Job 18:2, Bildad begins his second speech to Job with this question: "How long will you hunt for words?"

    On the face of it, that is already fairly mean. After all, Job is going through horrific suffering, and he has still managed to keep speaking and to be clear in expressing what is going on in his mind. However, this question is an even more subtle jab than it appears at face value. In ancient cultures, those who were considered wise were those who spoke with very precise language and who were very controlled in their language.

    So, while Bildad's question is somewhat mean on the surface, just consider the subtle undertone of it. He is basically saying that Job is unwise, uncontrolled, and foolish!

    As our Bible class has noticed these more subtle jabs, it has caused me to do a lot of self-reflection. How do I talk both to and about other people? Sometimes, it can be tempting to take jabs that are more subtle so that I can claim innocence in a situation. As we hear it said, sometimes, we can "say something without saying something."

    But is that the way Christians should treat people? Think of three basic Biblical principles that need to guide our words. This is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive list, but maybe it will cause us to think about those times when we are in a moment of conflict or when we have to deal with someone in a tense situation.

    1. Matthew 5:37: "But let what you say be simply 'yes' or 'no'; anything more than this comes from evil." While this statement by Jesus is made in the context of making oaths, the principle is invaluable to all our communication. Followers of Jesus should be known for language that reflects exactly what needs to be said.

    2. Colossians 4:6: "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Take note of the word "always." Taking subtle jabs at people certainly is not gracious speech, and it is very difficult to see how this type of language is a proper "answer" to anyone.

    3. Matthew 18:15: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." While this has a specific context (believer sinning against believer), notice that Jesus says the conversation is to be both private and clear. The fault is to be told. We are not to beat around the bush. However, we are also not to take any type of verbal jab at the other person in order to try to put ourselves in some type of "stronger" position. Instead, go to them and say what you believe they have done that is sinful toward you.

    It is easy to excuse subtle jabs, but we simply cannot be the type of people who speak this way. For one thing, it violates the Golden Rule. None of us would want people taking these types of shots--no matter how subtle--at us, so we simply cannot excuse that type of behavior in ourselves.

    But further, to do this is to treat another person as "less than." These types of shots are meant to put the other person on a lower plane than we are, but we should always remember that all people are created in the image of God. As such, there is not a greater or lesser. There are just people, and we need to treat every other person as one made in His image and who has infinite value to Him.

    So, no matter the situation--even if it is tense or heated--let's remember to be direct but also to remember the soul of the other person. Or, to use the words of Paul, let's always remember to be "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). - Adam Faughn 

 

- Adam Faughn preaches for the Central Church of Christ in Paducah KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org Visit the Faughn Family blog, A Legacy of Faith

 

A Plan for Unity

In 1941, the 14-year project begun by Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum—his “Shrine of Democracy Sculpture,” better known as Mount Rushmore—was completed by his son. This monumental work, depicting George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, draws visitors from around the world each year.     Few people realize there is a hidden chamber behind Lincoln’s eyebrow. Its 18-foot-tall doorway leads to a room about 75 feet long with a 35-foot ceiling. Called the “Hall of Records,” it was originally intended to preserve artifacts about our nation’s founding and principles for future generations—and even, as some have suggested, for visitors from beyond this world (history.com).     Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a place to preserve the secret of Christ’s church and its success?     We do—it is the New Testament. If the Lord’s church were ever to disappear from the earth, and some distant civilization later discovered a copy of the New Testament, they could fully reproduce what we enjoy today. This divinely inspired blueprint never loses its relevance. It reveals the truths through which God’s people can always find unity—not through personal opinions or preferences, but through faithful acceptance of God’s given basis for unity (Ephesians 4:3–5).     Whenever division threatens to separate two Christians, one thing is certain: one or both are failing to follow the clear teaching of Scripture. The Bible teaches and produces unity. If the church is to truly bless the world, it must value and practice genuine biblical unity (John 17:21). - David Bragg is co-editor of BulletinGold and former minister with the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC.. He may be contacted through his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/

The Astonishing Servant of Jehovah

By David R. Ferguson     In the final portion of the Book of Isaiah, a dramatic shift occurs. No longer is it the book about condemnation for Judah’s and Israel’s rebellion, chapters 40 through 66 of Isaiah are all about grace and salvation, and grace and salvation. Now, who’s going to bring this grace and salvation to the world? Who’s going to be the one to provide this deliverance? The answer is the Servant of the Lord, the Servant of the Lord. I say it twice because that’s how Isaiah says it. That’s how Jesus is designated here. The Hebrew word used is ebed, and it means slave or servant. It’s used many hundreds of times in the Old Testament. So what we have here from Isaiah is a prophetic Messianic reference to Jesus as the Slave of Jehovah, the Servant of Jehovah. He’s the One Who will bring salvation. He’s the One Who will bring us comfort. He’s the One Who will bring us the forgiveness of sins. He’s the One Who becomes the theme of this final section of the Book of Isaiah.     Now let’s go to chapter 53 for a moment, with just that kind of broad picture. And you will find in verses 13 of 52, “Behold My Servant, Behold My Servant,” My ebed, My Slave. This is the same designation that has been indicated much earlier in this section of the Book of Isaiah. This is the fourth of specific prophecies regarding this Servant to come. Chapter 42 is one, chapter 49 is another, and chapter 50 verses 4 to 11 is the third. This here is the fourth of what we would call Isaiah’s Servant songs, or Servant prophecies.     Now in this presentation of the Servant before us, the Prophet calls on us to look at this Servant and be astonished. This is the most complete, most powerful, and most important revelation of the Messiah in the entire Old Testament, right here in front of us in Isaiah.     In Isaiah 53, we read of the Suffering Servant to come. “All of us like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He didn’t open His mouth. Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away, and as for His generation, who consider that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of My people to whom the stroke was due. His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief.”     May God bless you in the knowledge that His Servant died for you! May this knowledge grant you further peace in knowing that Jesus is the way of life to life eternally in Heaven!

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com

The Remarkable Book of Isaiah

By David R. Ferguson     Isaiah 43:1 tells us that we are redeemed, for God has redeemed us. Literally, this means I want to continue our series of looking at the Gospel of Isaiah this morning. As was mentioned the last two Sundays, the Book of Isaiah was written some 700 - 750 years before Jesus Christ came into this world as a Baby born of the Virgin Mary.     The final 27 chapters of the Book of Isaiah are simply amazing. Chapters 40 through 66 are practically a mirrored foretelling of the last 27 books of the Bible, what is commonly referred to as the New Testament. The theme of this second half of Isaiah is grace and salvation.     These 27 chapters, starting in chapter 40, are the most sublime and richest portion of Old Testament prophecy. In a sense it really is a single prophecy, one glorious vision, and one majestic revelation of salvation which will arrive through the coming Messiah. The last half of Isaiah is supreme. It’s sweeping. It’s comprehensive. It encompasses not only the deliverance of Israel from Babylon, not only the deliverance of sinners from sin, but the deliverance of the nations from the curse of sin and death and then being brought into the Kingdom of the Messiah. So, it has those same elements. The first part if Isaiah talks about judgment upon Israel, it talks about judgment upon sinners, and it talks about final judgment. The second half of the Book of Isaiah talks about deliverance for Israel, deliverance for sinners, and a final deliverance of the redeemed into the Eternal Messianic Kingdom.     Most interestingly the second half of Isaiah, chapters 40 to 66, begins where the New Testament begins. If you look briefly at chapter 40 for just a moment, the parallel is quite interesting. In chapter 40 we read, “Comfort, O comfort My people, says your God.” And that’s the turn that occurs in the Book of Isaiah. It goes from the pronouncing of judgment in the first 39 chapters, to offering comfort in the back half because of grace and salvation coming from God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem,” we now read. And then comes the prophecy in verse 3 regarding the coming of John the Baptist. “A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”     And, of course, it was John the Baptist who came, who was the fulfillment of that prophecy. He was the forerunner of Messiah, he was the voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make in the desert a highway for our God.” Just as John is featured in the gospels as Jesus begins His ministry, so, too, does the New Testament end in Revelation speaking of the same new heavens and new Earth, just as Isaiah does in the end of his book!     May the Lord bless you in knowing that Jesus is the way of life to life!

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com

Redeemed

By David R. Ferguson

    Isaiah 43:1 tells us that we are redeemed, for God has redeemed us. Literally, this means God has purchased us and set us free. That’s what it means to be redeemed in this case, to be set free.

    Just as God rescued His people from slavery in Egypt, and set them free, God has rescued us. Our baptisms teach us that in a very powerful way. The water overwhelming us in baptism reminds us of God’s people journeying to freedom through the Red Sea as a cloud of water overhead completely enveloped them in water, and years later they entered the Promised Land by crossing the River Jordan, the very same river in which Jesus Himself centuries later was baptized.

    Our baptism sets us free, but free from what? Well, what do we need to set free from? We’re set free from sin, death, and the Devil. But what would you say? How might you answer this today? What do you need to be set free from personally?

    Let me ask it a little differently: What keeps you up at night? What do you worry about, and just can’t seem to stop? Maybe that’s what God wants to set you free from – free from those things that keep you up at night. Just remind yourself that God’s got this. Turn your worries into prayers and be at peace.

    Or, let me ask it another way: Where in your life do you feel stuck, or maybe even trapped? Where in your life are you coming up short in how you want to live? God also wants to free you from whatever is causing you pain and anxiety. He won’t force you, but He wants to help you.

    God wants to set us free, and He has sent His Son into this world to bear our sins and to show us how to live. And our baptism into Jesus Christ set us free from our sin and from whatever is separating us from God’s love.

    Do not fear. In other words, cast away your fear and realize that God has redeemed you, God has purchased you, God has adopted you, God has made you a joint heir with His one and only begotten Son, and that God has set you free. Live in the truth and the promise of that freedom, and live free from fear and worry and anxiety that plague your heart. Trust God. And trust in God’s promise to you. There is nothing more freeing than letting go and letting God be the Source of all true joy and happiness in your life, not only now, but throughout eternity as well!

    May the Lord bless you in knowing that Jesus is the way of life to life!

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com

Yesterday, Today, and Forever

By David R. Ferguson

     In Hebrews 13:8, the writer says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever." What’s significant about these three time periods the Holy Spirit instructed to be written: Yesterday, today and forever? Why does it matter that the Jesus Christ of today remains the same as the Jesus Christ of yesterday and the time to come?

    Yesterday is significant because it’s crucial that Jesus Christ be the same yesterday as He is today, because yesterday was when Jesus Christ showed us historically what He’s really like. The significance of Today is that it’s crucial that Jesus Christ is the same today as He was yesterday, because today is when those of us who are His can have fellowship with Him. It’s how we relate to Him as the person we know by reading about His life and work He accomplished yesterday. Forever’s significance stems from it being absolutely crucial that Jesus Christ remains the same tomorrow and forever as He was yesterday and today, because all our hope for everlasting life and joy with Him hangs ultimately on us being able to relate to Him unceasingly.

    Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. What once was true about Christ always will be true about Christ, so we don’t need or want new doctrine. And what was once satisfying about Christ will always be satisfying about Christ, so we don’t need or want money as the means to lasting happiness. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever – the same truth and the same treasure. He’s also promised to save us. This promise is clear, and it’s also part of what makes Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. Paul wrote in Romans 10:13, "for, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." When a lost sinner comes to Jesus through obedient, saving faith, he’s saved by grace and prepared for Heaven. This, too, is a promise that will never change! Therefore, don’t let the Devil play mind games with you. If you’ve trusted Jesus Christ for salvation, as the Bible teaches, then you’re saved and going to Heaven. If not, then you need to be saved by doing what the word of God tells us. Receive Him on His terms and be free by having your sins washed away in the watery grave of baptism today. Then you, as did the Apostle Paul, can have the same assurance to say, "For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Since He’s the same, He’ll never lose His saving power! As the Hebrews writer states in Hebrews 7:25, "Wherefore also He is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them."

    May the Lord bless you in knowing that Jesus is the way of life to life!

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com

The Gospel of Isaiah

By David R. Ferguson     I’m sure every one of you have heard of the four gospels, The Gospel of Matthew, The Gospel of Mark, The Gospel of Luke, and The Gospel of John. But believe it or not, it really is true that there was another gospel account of the life and death of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ. As amazing and as wonderful as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are, this additional gospel of Jesus Christ is arguably even more amazing, for it was written 750 years before Jesus was born! You heard me correctly. There’s a prophetical book in the Old Testament that’s so declarative, so prescient, and so detailed regarding the coming life, mission and death of Jesus that it rightfully can be called The Gospel of Isaiah.     Many people are familiar with Isaiah Chapter 53 and its graphic description of a suffering Messiah, and we’ll be spending much of our time in it this morning, but that’s not the only place in Isaiah Jesus’ life is so vividly portrayed. Isaiah is chockfull of messages regarding our Savior, and Jesus had to fulfil every single one of these. And that’s absolutely what He did.     As was mentioned earlier, this book was written some 750 years before Christ came into this world as a Baby born of the Virgin Mary. Think about that for as moment. Just how difficult was this going to be for Jesus to fulfill a prophecy that demanded He be born of a virgin! You can search everywhere but you won’t find predictions about anyone else who was to bring us to God who was going to be born of a virgin. In fact, there are many religions around the world, but not a single one of them had anything written about their leaders before they were born. Not a single one. All other religions were manmade. Mohammad, Confucius, Buddha or any other man or being were self-proclaimed by man. They have nothing written about their coming as God with man. Only Jesus fits this bill, and only Jesus was spoken of even before He was born.     The elements of the gospel of Jesus Christ were foretold by Old Testament Prophets. It was prophesied that there would be the coming of the Messiah. Concerning the establishment of His coming Kingdom, much was written. It was this fact of the establishment of a coming Kingdom that the Jews at the time of Christ grasped onto the most, and pictured in their minds that the much anticipated and longed for Messiah would be a great warrior King like David of old who would overthrow militarily the yokes of the Roman Empire that had enslaved them, and this warrior King would establish a new Israel who would rule the world from Jerusalem. But what God had in mind, and what the expectations are of what man desires, rarely, if ever, are the same thing.

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com