Category: Uncategorized (Page 52 of 52)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).
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Contents:

1) Why Forgive? (Joe R. Price)
2) What If I Am A One Talent Man? (Marc Gibson)
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Why Forgive?

Joe R. Price

The world is an unforgiving place. Worldly people view compassion as weakness and vengeance as strength. The opposite is true. On the cross the great Son of God said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Lk. 23:34). Far from being weak, Jesus showed great strength of faith and character in this extreme moment of pain. He calls on us to follow His example (1 Pet. 2:18-24).

And, we can. It is not easy to forgive those who sin against us (Matt. 6:14-15). Yet, faithful Christians follow the example of Jesus by faith, putting on a heart of forgiveness and “forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Col. 3:13).

To forgive (aphiemi, Matt. 18:21; apoluo, Lk. 6:37) means “to send away, to let go, to keep no longer, to release” (Thayer, Strong’s).

Understanding why we must forgive will help strengthen our resolve to be like Jesus. Why should we forgive?

We forgive because God commands us to forgive. Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:21-22). We cannot be faithful disciples of Jesus and yet refuse to forgive sinners. We are living proof of God’s loving forgiveness. Shall we be so unlike Jesus as to refuse to have forgiveness in our hearts and actions toward those who sin against us?

The fact that God commands us to forgive does not mean God is pressuring us to forgive. Far from it. It means forgiveness is an act of loving faith in Jesus: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jno. 14:15). And again, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 Jno. 5:3). We obey the command to forgive because we love Jesus.

We forgive in order to be like God. God is “the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deut. 7:9). God’s loving kindness (grace) prompts Him to forgive sinners (Eph. 1:7; Titus 3:4-5). (Truly, sinners must repent in order to receive His forgiveness, Lk. 17:3; Acts 8:22; 1 Jno. 1:9. Here we are discussing forgiveness from the giver’s point of view.) Unless there is grace in the heart, forgiveness will never be extended to others.

We forgive those who sin against us because we want to be like God. We intend to forgive in the way He forgives us. The parable of the unforgiving servant teaches that our heavenly Father forgives us out of compassion, and we must do the same (Matt. 18:21-35, 27, 33). Paul wrote, “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32). It is the calloused person who refuses to have compassion and forgive “from his heart” (Matt. 18:35). This person will not be forgiven. We are able to forgive by devoting ourselves to being like our Father in heaven.

We forgive so that we can be forgiven. Jesus was very plain about this. Unless we forgive others we will not be forgiven:

“Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Lk. 6:37).

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mk. 11:25-26).

When teaching how to pray, Jesus said to ask God “to forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt. 6:12). If we do not, then we will not be forgiven (Matt. 6:14-15). This is a clear and unambiguous standard by which to assess our own forgiveness as disciples of Christ.

It is a sin not to forgive! Christians who will not forgive others like Jesus on the cross can only expect the eternal torment reserved for sinners (Matt. 18:34-35).

We forgive because it is also good for us. Not only does forgiveness bless the one being forgiven, practicing it also frees one’s heart from bitterness, malice and anger (Eph. 4:31-32). Forgiving others rejoices the heart through obeying the Lord (Psa. 19:8). Forgiveness engenders restoration and renewal, and brings refreshment to the soul.

God’s forgiveness is offered to all in His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14). Christ calls on us to forgive as we have been forgiven. “Be imitators of God” and forgive one another when complaints arise (Eph. 4:31-5:2; Col. 3:12-13).

— Via The Spirit’s Sword, August 31, 2014, Volume 17, Number 14
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What If I Am A One Talent Man?

Marc Gibson

Jesus taught the Parable of the Talents to His disciples to teach them the need to be productive in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 25:14-30). Talents were measures of money, and a man delivered these talents to his three servants. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. Talents were given to each “according to his own ability” (v. 15).

Obviously not all the servants had the same ability because they each received a different number of talents. While one servant could work with five talents, another could only work with two, and another only one. It is a fact of life that everyone possesses different abilities. Some might be a five talent person, or perhaps a two talent person. I might be just a one talent person. What if I am a one talent man?

1. If I am a one talent person, I should not feel inferior to anyone in the work of the Lord. The servant who received one talent was expected to use his ability to work with what he had been given just like the two talent and five talent man. Everyone has work that they can accomplish in the kingdom of God, and no labor is insignificant in the eyes of the Lord.

The church is pictured as a body with parts that are considered as weaker and unpresentable (1 Corinthians 12:20-25). On these we bestow greater honor because they are just as necessary as any other part. Everyone has a vital place in the kingdom of heaven, even the one talent man!

2. If I am a one talent person, I should not “bury” my talent. This was the mistake of the one talent man in the parable of Jesus (v. 25). He said he was afraid because he knew his master to be a demanding man. He should have known that doing nothing would be the worst possible choice he could make. Perhaps he was afraid of losing his one talent. There is no shame or loss in giving every effort to do good with what we have.

A buried talent does no one any good. Our Father in heaven provides blessings and abilities for us to use, not to bury in fear or self-pity. There are things each of us can do to further the cause of the kingdom. Let us do it with one or five talents!

3. If I am a one talent person, I should not forget the reward that awaits the faithful servant. The master told the faithful servants that had gained more talents, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (vv. 21, 23). No matter how many talents you start out with, if you strive to be faithful and fruitful for the Lord, a joyous reward awaits!

No reward awaits those who do nothing. If the five talent man had done nothing he would have heard the same condemnation of the unfaithful one talent man: “You wicked and lazy servant…cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (vv. 26a, 30). The joy of reward is worth every effort, every hurdle, and every sacrifice.

Conclusion. You and I may be one talent folks. There is no shame in that. Use that talent to the glory of God. Great good will be done in His service and an eternal reward will be yours!

–Via The Knollwood Messenger,  July 2014
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21)
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA  31501
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go (older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html (audio sermons)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).
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Contents:

1) The Parable of the Elder Son (H.E. Phillips)
2) Am I Honest? (Gary Henry)
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The Parable of the Elder Son

H.E. Phillips

Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived upon earth. He taught his disciples by many different parables, and often made the application for them. The fifteenth chapter of Luke contains three well known parables: the parable of the lost sheep — verses 3-7; the parable of the lost coin — verses 8-10; and the parable of the lost son — verses 11-24. The point of these parables is the rejoicing over finding that which was lost and found. Those things that were lost were of such value that when they were found there was great rejoicing.

Turn now to Luke 15:25-32 and read of the elder son who would not rejoice at the restoration of his brother. He was also alienated from his father.

The account of the elder son is a part of the parable of the prodigal son who took his inheritance and went into a foreign country where he wasted it in riotous and evil living. When all of his money was gone, and he found himself in great need, he “came to himself” and resolved to return to his father and seek forgiveness. He repented of his sins and returned home. His father saw him coming and ran to meet him and welcome him home. He rejoiced because “this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

Now the elder son was in the field. As he came to the house and saw the celebrating because of the return of the younger son, he called a servant to find out why his father had made a feast. When he learned of the return of his younger brother, he was angry and would not go into the house. No doubt this elder son represented the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ lesson. They were angry at Jesus for receiving sinners who repented. They were envious of all who did not stand with them in their attitude toward Jesus.

There are five things about the elder son to which I want to call attention:

1. He was angry. Verse 28: “And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.” He was angry because his lost brother was found and had been restored to his father. Anger expresses resentment. It also indicates selfishness in most cases. The elder son had a bad attitude toward both his father and his brother: he did not want his brother to receive the blessings of his father, and he did want his father to rejoice at the return of his brother. He was envious of his brother, and therefore was angry because he was received home with joy.

2. He was self-righteous. Verse 29: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends . . . . ”

The younger son who repented said: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son” (verse 21). The elder son said: “Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment . . . ” (verse 29).

A self-righteous person will not obey the righteousness of God. They go about to establish their own righteousness. Romans 10:3 says: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” The elder son did not consider himself a sinner, and he did not seek any favor from his father.

3. He was ungrateful. He said to his father: “…and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends” (verse 29). But his father told him: “…Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine” (verse 31). His father said he had anything the father had, but he was so ungrateful that he did not consider himself to have anything. Ingratitude is a terrible sin. It hardens the heart to the manifold gifts of God and the blessings available every hour of the day and night to his saints. We must “. . . let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Col. 3:15).

4. He hated his brother. He was envious of his brother and did not want him to receive anything from the father. Verse 30 says: “But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.”

The New Testament teaches that we cannot hate our brother and be saved. 1 John 3:15: “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” 1 John 4:20 says: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” We must love our brother if we want to be saved.

5. He was not happy. He would not rejoice because his brother had quit his sinning and returned to his father. His father said unto him: “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:32).

Those who have the attitude of the elder son must look at themselves and repent as the younger son did, if they want to be received and be blessed of the Father in heaven.

—  Via hephillips.org
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Am I Honest?

Gary Henry

Generally, we wish to get correct answers to the questions we ask. The more important the questions are, the more we would like to feel were on track in getting the right answers to them. It would seem obvious that correct answers are nowhere more critical than with respect to the general question of religion. And when we are confronted with the religious claims of Jesus of Nazareth — not only that a right relationship to the Creator should be our ultimate concern, but that such a relationship is possible only through Jesus Himself — we have a specific set of questions that we ought to want to have answered with nothing less than the full truth.

But getting the right answers to the questions of religion in general, and of the gospel of Jesus Christ in particular, is not a mechanical process. We cant assume the truth is going to yield itself up automatically to anyone who pushes the right logical buttons, regardless of what his character or his intentions might be. To the contrary, this happens to be a subject in which getting the right answers depends largely on whether we are a certain kind of person and whether we are asking for a certain kind of reason.

To put it more bluntly: whether we are able to get at the truth about Jesus Christ and His church depends on what we intend to do with the truth. Before we can be in a position to ask questions about the thing called Christianity, there is a more fundamental question we are required to ask about ourselves — and that is whether we are really honest inquirers who intend to do what is right about the truth, whatever it may turn out to be. Jesus went a good deal farther than merely saying we must be “intellectually honest” folks who are willing to weigh the evidence objectively. While the Bible certainly does talk about loving the truth, Jesus explained exactly what that means — and how essential it is — when He said, “If anyones will is to do Gods will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority” (Jn. 7:17). What that says is simply that if I don’t have the integrity and honesty to do what I know I ought to do about the right answers I say Im looking for, then I may not even recognize those right answers when I come across them.

There is really no more sobering text in the New Testament than 2 Thess. 2:11,12, which asserts that God will actually lead those away from the truth who are not honestly looking to obey it: “Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” The armchair religionist is bound to get tangled up; he may even go astray on the fundamentals of his subject, let alone the more difficult questions. No matter how diligent and scholarly his pursuits, his investigations will be skewed by the fact that he is merely looking for curiosities to think about. But the fellow who waits only for a reasonable assurance that the truth is really the truth before he is ready to render obedience to it, that is the individual who is going to get the information he is seeking.

It is of utmost importance, then, that we be honest about the truth. The trouble is, we are often not willing to be honest about whether we are honest. As a person claiming to want the truth about the questions of religion, how can I know whether I am honest or not? And if I’m not willing to search for, accept, and act on the truth about myself, would I do any better about other truths?

One good place to begin testing our own honesty is asking what we are doing about the religious truth we already possess. The person deserves no additional light who is wasting what he presently has, and if we are avoiding dealing with obligations that have been in plain view for quite some time, there is little point in debating the finer points of the law.

But there are some other tests that may help us focus on our honesty. Am I, for example, capable of being persuaded, or is my mind basically made up already? Am I a person who decides questions on the basis of evidence, or am I guided by prejudices and preconceptions? Do I tend to believe that the truth is whatever I want it to be? How hard am I willing to dig for truth? How careful am I in approaching weighty issues? Am I fair? On the question of God, do I harbor any reservations about how far I’d be willing to go in accepting the implications and consequences of the truth? Questions like these ought to tell us some significant things about the level of honesty at which we approach the issues of life.

Jesus taught on one occasion that His word germinates in the “honest and good heart” (Lk. 8:15). Deciding to have just that sort of heart has got to be the beginning point for any serious quest for truth. It is, as Jesus said elsewhere, the truth that will make us “free” (Jn. 8:32) — but the truth is a maiden who will not be wooed by just anybody. Anything less on our part than a bona fide commitment to be faithful to truth — whatever that may entail, at whatever cost — and truth will disguise herself from us. If we are serious about getting at the right answers to the questions that pertain to life’s deepest meaning, then we can ill afford to have anything other than the attitude of the Psalmist: “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long” (Psa. 25:4,5). It’s that kind of honesty that gives us a chance to make progress. Without it, we are as lost intellectually as we are spiritually.

— Via WordPoints, January 2, 2015
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21)
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA  31501
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go (older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html (audio sermons)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).
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Contents:

1) The Potter and the Clay (Tom Edwards)
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The Potter and the Clay

Tom Edwards

A familiar, figurative phrase found in the Bible, as well as in some spiritual songs, likens God to a Potter and His people to the clay that He fashions according to His desire.

One of the particular hymns, which uses this metaphor, is entitled, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.”  The first stanza declares, “Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me After thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.”

In this song, we are probably not thinking on the same as the Psalmist in Psalm 139:13,14, who acknowledges unto God, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.”

So, though, we certainly can think of God as being the One who formed our physical bodies, yet that is probably not what is in our minds when singing this song.  Rather, we are more likely to be focusing on that spiritual part of us, our souls, and realizing the need for God’s help in developing more of the nature of Christ in our own lives. It, therefore, is a “molding” and “making” of our spiritual, inner man that we are reflecting on when blending our voices in this particular song. For we are to abide in the vine; bear the fruit of the Spirit and increase in that fruit; to grow spiritually; to become more like Jesus, our perfect example.  It is to His likeness we are to be “molded.”

Also in this figure of God being the Potter and His people being the clay, what else does it imply?  Do we not see the greatness of the Potter over the clay?  Isaiah rhetorically asks, “Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made should say to its maker, ‘He did not make me’; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” (Isa. 29:16).  And elsewhere, “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker — An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’” (Isa. 45:9).

In view of Isaiah’s confession that “…all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa. 64:6), he then looks to God and says, “…You are our Father, We are the clay, and You are the potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand” (v. 8).  Yes, it is to God whom Isaiah looks for help. But was it God who made them unclean?

Paul also likens God to a potter in Romans 9:20,21: “On the contrary, who are  you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”

But, again, is it God who simply makes some people good and some people bad by merely His own discretion or arbitrary choice — and apart from anything pertaining to the individual?

In the comparative use of God being the Potter and His people the clay, we must be careful not to infer more than what the Lord intended.  For is it God who makes people to be liars, thieves, murderers, gossipers, drunkards, immoral persons, and any other specific kind of sinner that you can imagine?  How could God, who commands us not to sin and doesn’t even tempt anyone to transgress (1 Jn. 2:1, Jms. 1:13), be charged with causing every sinner to unchangeably do whatever wickedness that person will do?  And if man sins because God fashioned him to, then how could a sinner ever be accountable for his own actions?

The same can also be said about those whom God wants to live righteous lives.  Isn’t that what He really wants all to do?  Yet, similarly, that, too, requires the individual to make up his own mind to live that way.  For we are each responsible for determining the course of our lives, whether it be for good or for evil; and we do that with the free will that God has given to each one of us.

Though God’s greatness, if illustrated with the dimensions of space would be infinite, while ours would hardly be the size of a grain of sand, yet man has the ability to stubbornly, foolishly, or for whatever reason, keep the power of God out of his life.  And that is because the Lord will not intrude.  He does not force His will against another. Rather, His word is to be lovingly and willingly obeyed through humble submission.

But though God does not coerce His way into the heart of others, He sometimes will use events or circumstances in His divine providence to help the hardhearted and erring come to their senses and turn from their wicked ways and return to Him.  We saw recently that this was the case of the Psalmist who points out that “Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word” (Psa. 119:67).  He saw “good” in being afflicted, for it led him to the study of God’s word (v. 71).

For another example, Hosea’s wife Gomer had left him.  She had the spirit of harlotry and was going after her lovers and looked to them for her bread, water, wool, flax, oil, and drink  (Hos. 2:5).  But consider what God was going to do: “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths. She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them…” (vv. 6,7).  God was going to make her wrongful way more difficult for her.  As a result, “…she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now’” (v. 7).

Gomer was just one person, but the Lord has also dealt with many in similar fashion.  For instance, God says, “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained calf; Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God’” (Jer. 31:18).

Of course, the affliction that God would bring, whether directly during the Old Testament Period or providentially in our time, has not always caused the wayward to repent.  Various factors can hold one back; but it can all be summed up as putting ourselves above God, wanting to have our own way, rather than His.  In rebuking Judah for a time they went into idolatry and had as many false gods as their cities, God says, “‘Why do you contend with Me? You have all transgressed Me,’ declares the Lord. ‘In vain I have struck your sons; They accepted no chastening. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion” (Jer. 2:29,30).  They cannot say that God did not reach out to help them.  They simply rejected His help.

While God’s word will sometimes cause folks to be “pierced to the heart” and want to respond to the gospel plan of salvation like those 3,000 on the day the church was established (Acts 2:36-38), in other cases, individuals were “cut to the heart” with that message and reacted by gnashing their teeth at the messenger and stoning him to death (Acts 7:54-60).  It wasn’t the message, it was the condition of the hearts of the people that made that difference in their reactions.  In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, for example, Paul figuratively speaks of the knowledge of God as being “a sweet aroma”; and, therefore, also says that “…we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life…”  So, again, what made the difference wasn’t the message; but, rather, the hearts of those who heard it.

As pointed out earlier, God doesn’t cause anyone to be evil. Many simply choose to be that way. For we are born into this world in an innocent state (cf. Matt. 18:3; 1 Cor. 14:20; Luke 12:16) and do not become sinners until we reach an age of accountability and violate God’s law.  For “…sin is the transgression of the law” (1 Jn. 3:4). As Solomon wisely declares in Ecclesiastes 7:29, “…God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”  These “devices” have been referred to as “an immense number of inventions, in order to find happiness in the world, without God, which have only proved so many variations of impiety and iniquity” (Treasury of Scripture Knowledge).  For instance, in the days of Adam and Eve, it was the forbidden fruit.  In the time of Noah, “…the wickedness of man was great on the earth” and “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).  In our time, the world abounds with sin that keeps people in a lost condition.

Metaphors can illustrate a point, but we must be careful not to deduce more from them than is intended.  In God being the potter and His people being the clay, does this mean that they are just a mindless, will-less, irresponsible entity in the Potter’s hands, like an actual lump of clay?  Surely not.

For one thing, in order for clay to be molded, it must be malleable.  For if it hardens, it cannot be shaped.  So we can think of this malleability as representing man’s willingness and determination to yield to God, and faith and obedience to His word as what it takes to put ourselves in the Potter’s hands.  And when one does so, then the Lord can truly work in that individual. Compare, for instance, Philippians 2:12,13 that shows the need for man to cooperate with God.  Preceding the thought that “it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure,” is the instruction for the Christian to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”  So to have God working in us, we need to also be cooperating with Him.

The idea of God being like a potter is also seen in Jeremiah 18.  God told Jeremiah to “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you” (v. 2). Jeremiah obeyed. He saw the potter making something on the wheel. But Jeremiah also noticed that the object was spoiled, so the potter reworked it into another vessel to his liking.  God then said, “‘Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it’” (vv. 6-10).

So what do we see in this?  God’s course of action was based on the direction that His people had chosen to go. It would either lead to blessings or wrath, depending on whether they would choose the way of the Lord or not.

This same principle is also seen in the New Testament: “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:20,21).

How does one become an honorable vessel? By cleansing himself from “these things,” which refers back to the “wickedness” in verse 19, which requires being “sanctified” in Christ, thus also becoming “useful to the Master” and “prepared for every good work” (v. 21).

So we are the work of God’s hands as we submit to His word to work in us — and we certainly can put the emphasis on God’s part in all of this.  For without Him, our own achievements would be nothing.  For as Jesus informs, “…he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (cf. Jn. 15:5).

May we each, therefore, always look to God through His word and yield to that message so that the Lord can fashion us into the people He wants us to be!
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation

1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21)     
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA  31501
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 614-8593
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go (older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html (audio sermons)