Truth Magazine

By Andy Alexander

Members of the body of Christ who are worldly minded do not appreciate or want sermons that expose and condemn sin in all its hideous forms. Sometimes they are heard to say that we should just preach “Christ and him crucified” and leave those “questionable” teachings alone. “Teaching directly about sin might cause some to leave and not obey the gospel, ” is another cry from the worldly. The “questionable” things they usually have in mind are immodest dress, social drinking, mixed swimming, dancing, and such like.

It is imperative that we teach and preach about the sacrifice of Christ and what that sacrifice means; but, preaching “Jesus and him crucified” requires more than just teaching about the atoning death of Christ. It means that we must teach all that Christ taught, and stand for that teaching in the face of the most perilous danger (Matt. 28:20; Acts 7:51-60). We must be balanced in our teaching of God’s word and teaching the lost about the efficacy of the blood of Christ is certainly necessary, but there are other pertinent truths that must be discussed.

A better example could not be found than the sermons we have recorded for us by the Holy Spirit. We certainly would be presumptuous to think that we could put together a better outline than the Holy Spirit, who guided the speech of the apostles (Acts 2:4). Let us begin with Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost.

Assembled on that day was a group of devout Jews who had come to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 2:5). The apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit and this caused the people to come together to witness the events that were transpiring (Acts 2:1-6). A charge of drunkenness was leveled at the apostles.

Peter quickly responded to this charge and then proceeded to explain the events they were witnessing (Acts 2:15-21). Following this, Peter began to convict this assemblage of Jews of the crime of murder (Acts 2:23). Why would Peter do this? Was he trying to drive them away from God, Did he love them The Spirit is aware that the conscience of the sinner must be pricked or he will take no action to correct his course. He must realize that he is in danger and Peter did his utmost to convince this audience of the danger they were in, so that they could repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:40). Preaching “Christ and him crucified” includes preaching that convicts of sin.

The sermon that the apostle Paul preached in Antioch of Pisidia contained a message that would cause some in the audience to feel uncomfortable. He preached that Jesus was the Savior and that belief in him was necessary in order to be free from sin, which the Law of Moses could not accomplish (Acts 13:23,38-39). This was repulsive to some of the unbelieving Jews and they stirred up a great persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of the city (13:50).

Should Paul and Barnabas have softened the message? Was it necessary that they teach something that they knew was going to be offensive to some? These persecutors trusted in the Law of Moses and Paul taught a very unpopular doctrine when he declared that one could not be saved under that Law. Preaching “Christ and him crucified” includes preaching that is unpopular and unwanted by some people. Peace with Christ must come before peace with people and we cannot be at peace with Christ and preach a watered down gospel. The problem rests not with the truth, but with the hearer who is unwilling to repent.

Another sermon preached by the apostle Paul is recorded in Acts 26 when the apostle to the Gentiles stood before King Agrippa. This sermon contained an admonition for men to repent and turn to God and perform deeds worthy of repentance (Acts 26:20). This is a message that many people in our country do not want to hear today. They want a religion that requires little or no sacrifice; however, if our preaching is to be patterned after the inspired preaching of the first century, then we must exhort the lost to repent and bring forth works meet for repentance.

Was Paul centering his message on the cross when he preached in such a negative manner? Certainly he was, because this is what it means to preach “Christ and him crucified.” Did Agrippa obey the gospel? No, as far as we know Agrippa never went past the “almost” stage. Was it the Holy Spirit’s fault for the way the sermon was presented? No one should dare make such a charge. No, the fault was not in the truth, nor in the presentation of the truth, but in the sinner who was not willing to obey.

The lesson that Paul taught Felix contained teaching on righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (Acts 24:25). These three elements must be included when we preach “Christ and him crucified.” Again, this message was not too favorably received, but the fault lies at the feet of the hearer and not the one who taught the gospel.

We learn from God’s instruction to the prophet Ezekiel that it is the preacher’s responsibility to proclaim God’s word to mankind (Ezek. 3:16-21). When this is done, the gain or loss of a soul becomes the responsibility of the hearer alone. When this is not done, and a sinner dies in his sins, the one who should have taught him the truth will share in his guilt (Ezek 3:18).

This same lesson is learned from the discussion between Paul and the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. Paul declared that he was free from the blood of all men, because he did not shrink from declaring the whole purpose of God to them (Acts 20:26-27).

Preaching “Christ and him crucified” means that we must teach the whole purpose of God. All that Jesus taught must be included, because we will be judged by all that he taught (John 12:48). And, if men reject the words of Jesus, they are rejecting Jesus.

Disrespect for the commandments of God is equivalent to disrespect for God. We must teach the disciples to obey all that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:20). The New Testament contains the doctrine of Christ and if we are to have God, we must abide in that doctrine (2 John 9). If members are having a problem that centers around the atoning death of Christ, then that must be discussed, but if they are being deceived by Satan and lured back into the world, then those issues must be addressed.

Avoiding issues that are uncomfortable or that might drive the unrepentant away will not please God and as preachers of righteousness, we should always be trying to please God and not man (1 Thess. 2:4). Brethren, let us always demand that sound, healthy or wholesome, doctrine be preached for this is the kind of preaching that will turn the good and honest of heart to God (Tit. 2:1; Lk. 8:15).

Guardian of Truth XXXVI; 17, pp. 533-534
September 3, 1992

By Dan King

I am not sure where the saying came from originally, though I suppose it to be an old cowboy expression; but like so many other witticisms and adages, there is a lot of truth in it. It goes like this: “When the horse is dead, dismount.” I can picture in my mind a fellow on horseback, spurring, whipping the reins back and forth, and shouting “Giddy-up!” – but to no avail. The equinus (“hoss”) is deceased! Pretty silly thought, isn’t it?

Yet in such a comical notion there lies much homespun wisdom. In fact, it is wisdom which is found in the Word of God in quite different settings, and in different words – but the idea is exactly the same. Let me point out how:

1. God Gives Up On People. This may be a notion that is hard for you to accept, but it is true. At times people reach a point beyond which they may no longer be helped. It is not that God will not forgive them if they repent. It is rather that they will not repent.

The book of Hebrews (6:4f) describes such folk as having “fallen away” from all the good things in Christ, and having reached a point where they cannot be touched by anything the gospel has to offer. “it is impossible to renew them again unto for the forgiveness of the sins of people like this: it is sin unto death (1 Jn. 5:16, 17).

Paul writes that God abandoned many Gentile people to their evil ways and dishonorable practices: “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness . . . God gave them up unto vile passions . . . And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28-29).

Please understand, God gives up on people! And he will even give up on you and me if we force him to do so. “When the horse is dead, dismount!”

2. God Gives Up On Churches. Jesus warned the church at Ephesus, though it long had served faithfully, that he would come and “move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent” (Rev. 2:5). God takes more into account than the sign on the building! A congregation of saints must be about the task of fulfilling its mission as a church of Christ, else the Lord will not identify it as such. It is not the larger brotherhood of believers that will ultimately judge a congregation repentance” (v. 6). John says we should not pray as “sound” or “unsound,” “faithful” or “unfaithful,” nor is it a “directory of churches” that will put us on the right list, but God who is the judge of all the earth.

3. God Gives Up On Cities. People who collect into localities very often think alike and act similarly. That is one of the reasons they stay together rather than going somewhere else to make a life for themselves. The Christ instructed his disciples to be selective about how they spent their precious time and efforts in spreading the Word. Where people were responsive they were to remain and work, but where people were not, they were to “shake the dust from off their feet” (Matt. 10:14-15). Often brethren today do not show the same wisdom. Though the horse is dead, they fail to dismount! They will spend many years working in an area where the gospel does not thrive or grow, when people in other areas are much more reachable. Jesus said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine” (Matt. 7:6). Our time and labor is too precious to throw away!

4. God Gives Up On Nations. When God promised Abram the land of Canaan, he put off the realization of the promise for four generations, saying that “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:15). Later, in a chapter that sums up a number of moral evils, and warns the Israelites not to take up such behavior, Moses says: “Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am casting out before you defiled themselves; and the land became defiled, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” (Lev. 18:24, 25).

Frankly, when I read of the evils of our nation today, and see illustrations of it in the public media, it concerns me deeply. At times I wonder how long the righteous God of heaven will endure such vileness without bringing an end to it. At this point there is little we can do, except: Take our religion deadly seriously, raise up our families in the wisdom of the Lord, and live exemplary lives. Hopefully, by our prayers and our “light seen in the world,” we will not have to leave it. But if such a time ever comes, let us have the courage to “dismount.” Remember Lot’s wife!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 18, pp. 545, 567
September 17, 1992

By Johnie Edwards

Sabbath keeping or the first day of the week? Which day is it that Christians are taught to keep? A lot of religious folks are divided on this issue. The only way one can know which day to observe is to study the Word of God and see. To this end, we study.

Sabbath Keeping Belonged to the Jewish Age

During the 2500 years of the Patriarchal Age, there was no command for or example of anyone keeping the sabbath day as such. Just prior to the giving of the sabbath, God told the children of Israel not to gather any manna on the seventh day as a test run. The only thing God was doing on this occasion was: “that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no” (Exod. 16:4). The fact that Moses told them exactly what to do on this occasion shows they had not been observing such a day (Exod. 16:22-26). It was new to them!

For the 1500 years of the Jewish Law, we can read of the sabbath command and penalty for violating it. A careful reading of the Bible will clearly show when the sabbath day observance was given, and to whom.

1. The sabbath was given when the children of Israel came out of Egyptian bondage. “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. . . Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exod. 20:1-2,8).

2. Purpose of the sabbath. The sabbath observance was given to the Jews as a memorial of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15).

3. A sign between God and Israel. “The sabbath is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever . . . through out their generations” (Exod. 31:12-17; Ezek. 20:10-12). Sabbath keeping was a sign between God and Israel. It was never given to any other nation.

4. Sabbath given at Sinai. “Thou comest down also upon mount Sinai, and speakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant” (Neh. 9:13-14).

5. A special law for the fleshly descendents of Jacob. “The Lord made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day . . . keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee” (Deut. 5:2-12). A careful reading of the context will show the covenant Moses refers to in this passage is the sabbath law, as he listed all the ten commandments.

No Distinction in the Law of God and the Law of Moses Sabbatarians teach that the law of God and the law of Moses are different laws. They tell us that the ten commandments, which includes the sabbath, is the law of God, and is still binding today. Sabbath keepers say that the law of Moses is merely the ceremonial law, and that law has been done away with.

The Bible makes no distinction in the “law of God” and the “law of Moses.” They are one and the same law! The law of God is called the law of Moses and the law of Moses is called the law of God. Please take note: “And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the preist found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses” (2 Chron. 34:14). Ezra said, “This Ezra went up from Babylon: and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given” (Ezra 7:6). In fact, one the ten commandments, which we are told is the “Law of God,” is referred to as being said by Moses. “Moses said, honor thy father and thy mother” (Mk. 7:10). Please observe that some elements which are in the so-called “ceremonial law” are said to be in the law of the Lord! “He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feast, as it is written in the law of the Lord” (2 Chron. 31:3). Did you ever read any thing about burnt offerings in the ten commandments?

The truth of the matter is this: God gave the law of Moses and Moses gave the law of God! Moses was only the law giver. For the law was given by Moses” (Jn. 1:17). It was all God’s law! It’s like Nehemiah said, “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel” (Neh. 8:1). Moses was simply carrying out the wishes of the God of heaven. “And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month” (Neh. 8:14).

The sacrifice for purification, as offered by Mary, is not part of the ten commandments, yet is called the law of the Lord. “And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord; And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons” (Lk. 2:22-24). Which law was this, the law of Moses or the law of God, since both are mentioned in this passage?

To make a distinction between the law of God and the law of Moses is to make a difference when God made none! The only reason folks even make an attempt to show there is a different in the law of God and the law of Moses is to bind sabbath keeping on people today.

The Covenant, Including the Ten Commandments, Done Away in Christ

The covenant, which contained the ten commandments, was made at the time the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt. “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kgs. 8:9;21). The sabbath law was written on two tables of stone. “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded your to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone” (Deut. 4:13; 9:9-11; Exod. 34:28).

Just what happened to that covenant that was given when the Jews came out of Egyptian bondage, the ten commandments? Let the Bible answer the question. The apostle to the Hebrews said it in such a way that there can be no doubt about it. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (Now watch it, JE); Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord” (Heb. 8:7-9). This is a quotation from the weeping prophet Jeremiah as he looked down the stream of time, to the coming of a new and different covenant (Jer. 31:31-32). God made a new covenant which does not contain the command to keep the sabbath day. “A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13).

Christians are dead to the law that commanded sabbath keeping. The apostle Paul used the marriage relationship to teach that folks cannot be under two laws at the same time, no more than a woman could be married to two men at the same time. The Holy Spirit then drew this conclusion: “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God… But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom. 7:1-6). Just what law was that from which “we are delivered”? Again, let the Word of God answer: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Rom. 7:7). Where is the law that says “thou shalt not covet”? It’s found in the ten commandments, which contains sabbath keeping (Exod. 20:17)! And, it’s the law that the Bible says we have been delivered or discharged from.

The law which commanded sabbath keeping has been “nailed to the cross.” Paul wrote the Colossians, “Blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Col. 2:14). Since these ordinances, which contained the command to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exod. 20:8), has been taken out of the way, we must “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Col. 2:16-17).

Sabbath keeping has been done away. Remember the ten commandments, containing the sabbath law was written on “two tables of stone” (Deut. 4:13). Now watch what the New Testament says about these commandments, as the writer spoke of the apostles of Christ:

Who also made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done way was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. . . And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ (2 Cor. 3:6-14).

Please take your New Testament and underscore the words “engraved in stones”; “done away”; “abolished”; “done away in Christ.” If you can see through a barrel with both ends knocked out, you can see it is just as Paul told the Ephesians: “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconciled both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Eph. 2:15-16).

We, today are reconciled to God in the New Testament church which was made possible by the death of Christ on the cross, when we obey the gospel.

Sabbath Keepers Do Not Keep the Sabbath Properly

Those who demand that the sabbath day is still binding, fail to follow the Lord’s instructions in regards to its observance. Please notice:

1. The sabbath was a day of rest. “And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy :lay, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day” (Exod. 35:1-3; 20:8-10). Do you know any sabbath keepers who observe this rest-rule today?

2. Penalty for violating the sabbath law. The penalty for breaking the sabbath law was physical death. A man who failed to observe the day as a day of rest, but was found working, paid the price of disobedience.

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. . . And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses (Num. 15:32-36).

Here is a good example that God means what he says and says what he means! Where is the passage of Scripture that teaches the sabbath day is binding, but the penalty is for violating the sabbath law is removed?

3. A burnt offering. Sabbath observance was to be accompanied with a burnt-offering. “And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof: This is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering” (Num. 28:9-10). Sabbath keepers do not observe this command today. Why not? Where is the passage that teaches the sabbath day is still binding but not the burnt offering?

4. Travel restricted. The Bible speaks of “a sabbath day’s journey” (Acts 1:12). During the time when sabbath keeping was in force, God expected his people to stay at their place and rest. “Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day” (Exod. 16:29). Travel was restricted to less than a mile on the sabbath day. Why don’t sabbatarians respect this regulation? It looks like people would try to be more consistent in their teaching and practice!

The First Day of the Week

In the New Testament, God chose the first day of the week as the “Lord’s day.” John said, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day’ (Rev. 1:10). Just what day is the Lord’s day? Sabbath keepers tell us it is Saturday or the seventh day of the week. Sabbatarians say that men changed the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Many refer to the Lord’s day as a “Christian Sabbath.” The first day of the week is never called the sabbath.

The New Testament finds the Lord’s people meeting on the first day of the week. In fact, a number of things took place on the first day of the week as recorded in the New Testament.

1. Christ arose from the dead. Mark said, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week” (Mk. 16:9). Luke records the same thing (Lk. 24:1).

2. Jesus met with his disciples. Between his resurrection and ascension, Jesus met with his disciples on a number of occasions on the first day of the week (Jn. 20:1,19,26).

3. Great events of Acts 2. Pentecost day always came on the first day of the week (Lev. 23:15). Think of all the things which occurred in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit “gave utterance” to the apostles as they preached (Acts 2:4). The first gospel sermon was preached (Acts 2:22-36). The Lord’s church had its beginning as men heard, believed and were baptized “for the remission of their sins” (Acts 2:38,47).

4. The church assembled. We read of the church coming “together” (1 Cor. 11:18-20; 14:23). What did they do on the first day of week when they came together? They observed the Lord’s supper. “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them” (Acts 20:7). By the way, a sabbath day passed by while Paul waited for the first day of the week, and he was as silent as a tomb about keeping the sabbath day! The fact that Christians were assembling on the first day of the week to worship God can be seen in Paul’s order for the Lord’s people to give of their means. “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you Jay by him in store, as God hath prospered him that there be no gatherings when I come” (1 Cor. 16:1-2).

Isn’t it strange if the sabbath day was binding on these early Christians, they were never told to do anything on that day? If sabbath keeping is binding on New Testament Christians, looks like we would find them meeting on that day to worship God. Jesus who was said to be “the Lord of the sabbath” (Mk. 2:28), never commanded Christians to keep the sabbath.

Conclusion

The sabbath day served its purpose and then was taken out of the way. Those who demand that the sabbath law must be observed today need to answer Paul’s question to the Galatians, “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” (Gal. 4:21) The greatest argument against Judaism, including sabbath keeping, was in the form of an allegory of two women. Take your Bible and study this story and you can see that we are not under the old law but under the law of Christ. “So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (Gal. 4:21-3 1; 6:2).

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 17, pp. 528-531
September 3, 1992

By Randy Harshbarger

Take the time to read the following:

“Let’s suppose that you had a bank that each morning credited your account with $1440 with one condition: Whatever part you had failed to use during the day would be erased from your account – no balance to be carried over. What would you do? You’d draw out every cent every day and use it to the best advantage. Well, you do have such a bank, and its name is time. Every morning it credits you 1440 minutes. It rules off as forever lost whatever portion of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. Nor is there any drawing against tomorrow” (entitled the Time Bank).

The Bible abounds with admonitions concerning time. Ephesians 5:15-16 says: “Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ” Paul says we must open our “spiritual eyes” and walk in the light of truth and use what time we have left to rescue ourselves and others from sin. This present evil world (Gal. 1:4) demands a sober realization that “time” is the stuff life is made of. We better use whatever time we have left as a gift from God for service unto him. In Colossians 4:5-6 Paul said, “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one.” We must buy up every opportunity to grow spiritually and to influence others for truth.

It was in “the fulness of time” (Gal. 4:4; Mk. 1:15) that God sent his Son into the world to die for our sins. When the time was right, God sent forth his Son to the earth, bringing the possibility of salvation to all. While on earth, Jesus felt the necessity to use every opportunity to do the Father’s will, as time for doing so would soon be gone. “I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (Jn. 9:4). Job said, “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Job measured his life in days. Life must be lived one day at a time. Anxiety about a tomorrow that may never come robs us of the will to live and serve the Lord today. Remember that anything that is done for the Lord must be done today because today is the only time we have.

The Psalmist said: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten, Or even by reason of strength fourscore. . . For it is soon gone, and we fly away” (Psa. 90:10-12). Life is short at best. Just ask someone who has lived sixty or seventy years. “Where did all the time go?” they ask. It is not so much how long a person lives that is important, but how a person lives. As the Psalmist says, let us realize that life is soon gone and we need wisdom from the Lord for living upon this earth. “Jehovah, make me to know mine end, And the measure of my days, what it is; Let me know how frail I am” (Psa. 39:4). Man can get so caught up in pursuing the things of this life that the Lord is shut out altogether. Life is held together by a brittle thread at best; man will ultimately come to the end of the way. Then what? As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need to know who our Lord is. Now is time for that.

James says that we make plans for tomorrow without consulting the Lord (4:13-17). We make elaborate plans about what we are going to do. We speak of job promotions and transfers. We covet that new house and begin making plans to get it. We continue on as though we will always have enough time to chase and fulfill our dreams. We are going to do what we want, when we want, where we want, to get what we want. James says that our plans must be made in consideration of what the Lord demands and expects of us. Time spent with no thought of the Lord and his will is wasted time. Job said, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle” (7:6). Life is soon over and then we must account for how we used the time the Lord gave us. Are we faithful stewards of that precious commodity (1 Cor. 4:2)?

The problem of time can be solved by being totally devoted to the Lord. Jesus spoke of a single-minded adherence to his kingdom and righteousness. “For where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matt. 6:21-22). If our faith is in the Lord then whatever time we have left will be used in faithful service.

Then, we must use today as it comes, for service to the Lord. Why do we talk about the past and look to the future? When we do that, today is soon gone. We must not disdain the present. Now is all we have. “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Prov. 27:1). We do not even know if tomorrow will come. How sad (and sinful) it is to waste today, worrying about tomorrow. “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. 6:34).

Finally, the problem with using the time God gives us in the right way is in reality a value problem. What is truly most important to us? Is Bible study a high priority in your life? Do you spend much time in prayer? Can you “find the time” to worship, visit the sick, and teach the gospel to the lost? Whatever is important to us, we find time for. Spending time to get our heart right is time well spent. The Lord made time for us. Let us make time for him.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 17, p. 532
September 3, 1992