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November 2008
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Dividing the Word of Truth
(2
Timothy 2:15)
This
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Romans by the Book Lesson
100
I want to welcome
everyone to Home Bible Study©
If this is your
first visit, I want to extend the hand of friendship to you and your loved
ones. Please take the time to look us
over. Then if you think this is
something you might be interested in, come on back, the Light is always on.
The most recent
Bible lesson appears first in line and then the older lessons follow in their
proper order. FYI: Every lesson published since 2008 has been
saved in the archives and is readily available on this website.
Please understand
I’m not a pastor or a priest or a seminary graduate for that matter. I’m a layperson just like most of you. I’ve spent half of my life working for the
federal government and the Department of Veterans Affairs in particular. I was approached and officially asked to
teach the Bible to children, teen-agers, and adults about 20 years ago by BSF
International. The majority of my
teaching experience has been in a classroom setting, but at the other end of
the spectrum I’ve taught many Bible lessons in log cabins and around a roaring campfire
in a woodland setting while serving in the Camp Cherith Christian ministry.
I came up with the idea
of a Home Bible Study for practical reasons and after several conversations
with Mr. Les Feldick. Using the www as a
means to reach a larger audience with God’s Gospel actually commenced in
2008. Since the onset I’ve never solicited this
group for donations or for financial support and don’t intend to – that’s not
what this is about. I’m not trying to
plant another church group, or build a following. I’m simply trying to help people understand
what their Bible says and in some cases what it does not say. In this age, this is equally as important.
Please
open your Bible at Romans 12:1.
Romans 12
1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (worship) service. (KJV)
The
ancient Greek word for reasonable (logikos)
can also be translated “of the word”
as it is in 1 Peter 2:2-3: like newborn babies, long for the pure milk
of the word, (by this Peter means not watered-down or
contaminated by an outside source - pure)
so that by it you may grow in
respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
Reasonable service then is a life of worship according
to God’s Word. In the O.T. the sacrifice
of an animal was reasonable service, but only for the one bringing the
sacrifice and not for the sacrifice itself.
Under God’s New Covenant we have far greater mercies, so it is reasonable (logical) to offer a far
greater living sacrifice.
Let’s
move on.
Romans 12
2: And do not be conformed
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that
you prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect. (NASB)
And do not
be conformed to this world: this is a command,
in case you missed it.
The
word conformed in the Greek language
is: Suschematizo
(pronounced: soos-khay-mat-id’zo) and
means – to conform oneself (i.e. one’s mind and character) to another’s
pattern.
The
word world, as it’s used here, in
the Greek language is translated Aion (pronounced: ahee-ohn’) and means – an unbroken age.
Paul
declares this present (unbroken) age evil, which is no revelation to those who
are saved and on the “inside track” with their Lord and Savior, but I want you
to see what this book says: who gave Himself for our sins so that He
might rescue us from this present evil age (Aion), according to the will of our God
and Father, (Galatians 1:4)
There’s
a before in every saved individual’s
life. This is true now just as it was in
Paul’s day. These Believers in Rome used
to “walk” in step with their pagan peers and they walked in step with the god of this age (Aion),
literally according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan). Scripture says: And
you (insert your name here) were (past
tense) dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly (did what) walked according to the course of this world (Kosmos – in the Greek language: meaning
– the entire earth), according to the
prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons (and
daughters) of disobedience. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
Before
the Lord Jesus Christ rescued you from this present evil age were you
focused on God and fulfilling His will or did the world and its enticements have you firmly in its grasp?
I
won’t attempt to speak for anyone else but for me God wasn’t in the picture. I certainly didn’t have a relationship with
His Son. My own self-interests motivated
me and I filled my day and my life with things that I wanted to do. I didn’t need God. To be honest I had my own opinions about God
and the Bible (a book I never read) and lived my life according to these. I didn’t think for one minute that this made
me a terrible person.
Regrettably,
this describes the majority of people living in the world presently and
Scripture has something to say about this mental attitude: Do not
love the world. If anyone loves
the world (Kosmos in the Greek
language meaning: the entire earth), the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is
not from the Father, but is from the (prince of the power of the air who
controls the) world. (1 John 2:15-16; Genesis 3:6)
If
you were here for our Genesis Bible study, then you know after Adam sinned he
lost dominion over the LORD God’s
creation (Genesis 1:26). He fumbled the
ball and Satan was there to pick it up; consequently the devil has had control
of God’s creation ever since: And we know (positively) that we (Believers) are of God, and the whole world (around
us) is under the power of the evil
one. (1 John 5:19 - Amplified
Version Bible)
A
Scripture reference just came to mind so I’m going to use it. This verse may be the one that helps you understand
that Satan is in control of things down here.
Please turn to Matthew 4:8. This is
the account of the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness just prior to the
start of His earthly ministry to the Jews:
Again the devil took Him to a
very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world (Kosmos) and their glory; and he (Satan) said to Him, “All these things I will (now watch this) give You, if You fall down and
worship me.” (Matthew 10:5-7)
What’s
this verse saying? Satan will give all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus Christ for one moment
of worship from Him; but were they his to give away? Absolutely! Satan is the god of this world (Kosmos) until Jesus Christ returns and God makes His enemies a footstool for His feet. (Psalms 110:1b)
I’m
definitely not the first person who thought they could get by without God. Everything under the sun has a beginning and
an end. Using the Law of First Mention,
we find ourselves in the book of Genesis at chapter 4 right after the LORD God
punished Cain: he went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod (means: wandering), east of Eden.
Now
Cain was a man without faith; a fact no one should overlook because this was
the source of his problem with the LORD and affected his decision making. Cain wandered
away from there, downcast (depressed)
to the east of Eden. He decided to put some distance between him
and the LORD God to forget about Him and to prove that he could get along
without Him; and he built a city so he wouldn’t have to wander any longer and filled it with “earthly
delights” to satisfy his selfish desires.
Satan
permits people to build their “little kingdoms” within his kingdom of darkness
and their oblivious to him and his tactics.
Unsaved people have adopted Cain’s mindset and practices, which suits
the father of lies. (2 Corinthians 4:1-4)
However,
what I find alarming is almost 50% of polled Christians couldn’t get behind
what God said in His Word about Satan! A
Barna Group poll conducted in April 2009 asked 1,871 Christians if they
believed Satan exists: 40% of these
people said, “Satan isn’t a living being, he’s just a symbol of evil found in
the Bible.” 8% of these Christians polled said, “they
weren’t sure…”
We
live in a world where the majority
of people reject God, thoroughly reject Biblical Truth, and live their lives
without the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives.
They don’t want anything to do with God because they love their sinful
ways. That is why Scripture calls us
Believers “peculiar people,” and to most of the world we are extremely peculiar
and in some cases hated to the point of death because of our devotion to our
Savior. People who love the world and thei sinful lifestyles don’t
want to face, think about, or deal with the Truth! They go about their existence believing the
untruth. They think by denying its accuracy
or ignoring the Truth of God and His coming judgment altogether that somehow
they can escape it. These people view
Believers as the enemy.
Satan
has developed this fatal “world-order” with its philosophy (man’s explanation of all things – but constantly
changing), its science (ever seeking
to eliminate God from the equation), its government
(which is man exalting himself), its amusements
(modified frequently to blot out realities from the mind), and its religion (personalized to soothe man’s
conscience and allay fears of final judgment).
But Paul says: do not to be conformed (fashioned) according to this world.
To
put it another way, our apostle Paul is saying, do not “feed at Satan’s trough,” or “follow the standards” of the god of this world. For these “world
systems,” the popular way of life and its associated manner of thinking is in
rebellion against God. Furthermore,
these world-systems will attempt to deceive us, seduce us, and then conform us to their ungodly patterns and
this, my friends, we must constantly resist!
People
are not resisting their conforming to this
world (Aion). As a result, this is
the most narcissistic culture in all of human history. We’re living in a radically individualistic
society and it is at the root of many of our social ills including the concerns
surrounding our sexual orientation issues.
Psychologists
Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell in their book titled: “The Narcissism Epidemic” (2009) explores the
rise of narcissism in American culture and explains how this can lead to
aggression, materialism, “shallow values” and a lack of empathy.
Not
only are there more narcissists than ever, but non-narcissistic people are
seduced by the increasing emphasis on material wealth, physical appearance,
celebrity worship, and attention seeking. In data collected from 37,000 college
students, narcissistic personality traits rose just as fast as obesity from the
1980s to the present. One popular dance
track repeats the words "money, success, fame, glamour" over and over
again, declaring that all other values have "either been discredited or
destroyed."
In
this present age self-sacrifice has
been spun to be referred to as self-importance and self-fulfillment. This mindset says, “You owe me!” It encourages a person to demand that you do
something for “me,” that you treat me uniquely, or give me something, just
because… and I have no particular responsibility in return. If you’ll recall, last week I brought forward
a church statistic showing churchgoers with an entitlement mentality instead of a servant mentality. This is contrary to Romans 12:1-2 and clearly
shows that these individuals have been seduced
(deceived - Genesis 3:6) and are conforming
to this world.
…but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind:
this
is the direct opposite of conformed to this world. Note Paul didn’t say renew your heart for the
heart is desperately wicked. But a
willing mind and an upright heart always
seek the Truth. (Ecclesiastes 7:25; Matthew
15:15-20; John 7:17)
The
word transformed in the Greek
language is Metamorphoo (pronounced: met-am-or-fo’-o) meaning: to
change; to transfigure. Our English
word metamorphosis is derived from this word and it’s the same word in Matthew
17:2 used of Jesus Christ, “He was
transfigured.” He was transformed to appear as He will appear
at His second coming to this earth. (2
Peter 1:16-18) Our Lord was “changed” in
such a way that His inner glory became visible on the outside.
As
the word is used here and in 2 Corinthians 3:18, it references the
transformation process which takes place in the Believer’s life as they are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ
(I’m more like Him today than I was yesterday; and I’ll be more like Him
tomorrow than I am today). This “change”
or transformation is produced by the Holy Spirit and is the result of the
Believer beholding the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ through the written Word
and gradually being transformed into the likeness of God’s Son (Romans
8:29).
I
can be disagreeable, ask my wife. I’m a
sinner saved by God’s Grace and I understand all too well what Paul means by
the “conflict of two natures” in
Romans 7. But I also remember what my
attitude and my life was like without my Lord and Savior walking with me
daily. But I’m different now, and that’s
what Paul is teaching us. We’re not to
walk in our old sinful ways we’re to
walk in newness of life; we’re to be
different!
The
tense in 2 Corinthians 3:18 is present, which means we are constantly to be
transformed. This isn’t going to happen
in a day, a month, or ten years. It’s a
process. It
will not cease until we are with the Lord Jesus Christ: Therefore,
if you have been raised up with Christ (born again), keep seeking the things
above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not
on the things that are on earth.
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3; Romans 6:2; 1 John 3:2)
The
verb is passive in 2 Corinthians 3:18, which means we do not change or
transform ourselves. We must be transformed. This is something God does in and through us.
This
is accomplished when we trust Him and allow Him to do what only He can do.
The
Spiritual battle ground between conforming to the world and being transformed is within the mind of the Believer. Paul is saying we must think differently than the world. Believers are not to fashion themselves after this Satanic
“order of things,” which he has corrupted but we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind,
and this is that amazing portion of our salvation which is ministered by the
Holy Spirit.
Make
no mistake this is a mental process, we must readjust our thinking to the mind
of God. This will have a transforming
effect upon the life of a Believer. We
must saturate our mind with the Word of God (instead of People Magazine) so
that we might see and think, as God does:
Do not lie to one another, since
you laid aside the old (Adam) self
with its evil practices, and have put
on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge
according to the image of the One who created him – (Colossians 3:9-10)
Prove what the will
of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
As
we are being transformed internally,
the proof of this “change” will be visible externally. Others will be able to see what the good and acceptable and perfect will of God
is through our life.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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