Matthew 17:24-27

 No detail of our life goes unnoticed. I had just finished the final details of Mom’s taxes when He led me to this passage in Scripture. I love how He works this way!!

Thank you for loving me, help me to love others in the same way!

Matthew 17:24-27

24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”

25 He said, “Yes.”

And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?”

26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”

Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

Unique to Matthew’s Gospel, this passage addresses whether Jewish followers of Jesus’ day should continue to pay the temple tax. This was particularly relevant to Matthew’s audience, since they were most likely Jews. Jesus’ response not only communicates the continued sanctity of the temple, but also demonstrates the miraculous ways in which God provides for His people.

Every Jewish man 20 years and older was required to pay the temple tax, which was used for the general maintenance of the temple. Priests (Levites) were exempt, and by Jesus’ time some rabbis were as well. 

This section is particularly significant if Matthew’s Gospel was compiled and circulated after ad 70. After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in ad 70, they continued to enforce the temple tax. However, rather than use the funds to maintain the Jewish religious centers, the Romans used them for the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. In doing so, they punished the Jews for their revolt. Matthew could have included this passage for the sake of his Jewish audience, who probably struggled with the idea of paying taxes for a pagan temple. Matthew might be advising his readers to pay the tax out of respect for their overlords instead of enlisting further reprisals from Rome. In doing so, they also would maintain a good testimony among their neighbors. Jesus gives instructions that allow Peter to pay the tax voluntarily, to avoid offending the authorities. Faithlife Bible.

The temple tax was a tax given annually by every adult Jewish male over 20 years of age for maintaining the temple. This tax amounted to two day’s wages for a common laborer. Evidently Jesus had not yet paid the tax, and the temple tax collector was following up on it. Peter, desiring to maintain the best reputation and also assuming the best of his Master, replied to the tax collector that Jesus had paid the temple tax. Anticipated implies that Peter was about to speak, evidently about the matter of Christ paying the temple tax, when Jesus spoke first. Their sons may refer to citizens of a country as opposed to conquered peoples or strangers. However, citizens often pay customs and taxes. More likely the contrast is between the imperial family and the common people. NKJ Bible.

Isaiah 6:3-7

 Water Baptism is for the repentance of sin and a public statement of your acceptance of Jesus as your Lord and Savior. It atones us from sin and makes us acceptable in the eyes of the Father…He sees His spotless Lamb in our place.

Jesus gives us baptism by fire. 

He gives us Holy Spirit who  resides in those who accept His Son for remission of their sins. He will accomplish in our lives what we are incapable of and get us safely home to our heavenly abode.

Isaiah 6:3-7

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King,

The Lord of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;

Your iniquity is taken away,

And your sin purged.”

The threefold repetition intensifies the superlative. For example, the “holy of holies” is the holiest part of the temple (the most holy place). This line is often translated as a statement, “the whole earth is full of His glory,” but it could also be translated as an invocation, “may His glory fill the whole earth”—looking ahead to the ultimate fulfillment of Yahweh’s visible earthly reign. The glory of Yahweh is His visible earthly presence. Isaiah’s vision recalls a past time in Israel’s history when Yahweh was visibly present among them. 

Isaiah is cleansed of sin so that he can remain in the divine presence and live to tell about it.

Atonement achieved a ritual cleansing of sin, usually by means of blood sacrifice. The Hebrew word used here can mean covering over or wiping away. Atonement restores the relationship between God and sinners. 

Isaiah’s atonement without sacrifice illustrates God’s freedom to extend mercy by His grace. Faithlife Bible

To say the word holy twice in Hebrew is to describe someone as “most holy.” To say the word holy three times intensifies the idea to the highest level. In other words, the holiness of God is indescribable in human language. To be holy means to be different, distant, or transcendent. Thus the song of the seraphim is a constant refrain that the transcendence of God is indescribable. 

Although the Lord is totally different from us—He is perfect—in His mercy He still reaches down to take care of us. 

The Hebrew word order is, “The fullness of all the earth is His glory.” 

We know that the glory of God transcends the universe yet in order to balance the expression of the transcendence of God in the first half of this verse, the words of the second half emphasize God’s closeness to His creation—His involvement with the earth and its people.

If even the doorposts of the heavenly temple shook in response to God’s holiness, how much more will the whole earth shake when the Lord visits it.

Confronted with this vision of the Lord, Isaiah realized that he was under judgment—that he was undone. He must have thought that he had come to the end of his life. Isaiah knew that he was a sinner. He realized that his lips were the only ones not giving God praise in that setting Isaiah’s plight is the plight of every person. No one, in his or her present state, is capable of standing before the Holy One. After contemplating the death of Uzziah, Isaiah had seen the King who will never die.

The live coal … from the altar symbolizes both the purification of blood and the fire of the Spirit that enabled the prophet to speak. From that point on, his words would be light to his hearers and power to those who would listen. 

The fact that a coal from the altar was used reminds us that ultimately all sin is forgiven because of a sacrifice. The sacrifices on the temple altar point to the ultimate sacrifice of the Savior Jesus. The Hebrew word translated purged means “covered” and is the same word that is translated atonement. NKJ Bible

Numbers 14:21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD—

Psalm 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.

Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me:“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

2 John 4-11

My dearly loved Brother in Law passed March 13th from covid-19. Hospitalized on January 27th he was an example of courage in trial. He was only 59. That he and my sister were Christ followers is my biggest joy and consolation right now. Texas is a long way from here but I am wrapping her and their son in love and prayers.

There is no other way for man to be saved than through the blood of Jesus Christ!

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

2 John 4-11

4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received a commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

This warning echoes that of 1 John and seems to address a similar situation. John warns the congregation to beware of false teachers—those he calls the antichrists who contest Jesus’ true identity as the Son of God who came in the flesh. John aims to cut off the influence of the false teachers by denying them hospitality in the homes of believers. Faithlife Bible.

Walking in truth means having an authentic relationship with God. Our walk with the Lord if genuine must be based upon His Word. Specifically, our walk with God is based on His commandment to love one another. God’s love is the basis of His desire for our obedience, and it is the reason He has revealed His will through His commandments in His Word. We prove our obedience to Him by demonstrating love toward one another. Love is an unlimited resource readily available to us, and it is tremendously effective in furthering the work of Christ.

Coming in the flesh refers to the Incarnation, the fact that Jesus is the God-man. The humanity of Jesus provides a test by which false teachers can be identified. The Gnostic heresy, against which John wrote in 1 and 2 John, included a denial of the physical body of Christ. People who deny the physical reality of Jesus are not Christians, but antichrists.

Every believer has the potential of a full reward or a complete loss of reward. The determining factor is our faithfulness to Christ. Justification is not in view here because it is not something we worked for, but something we received as a gift from God. This doctrine refers to the Christian belief that Jesus is God come “in the flesh” He is completely human and completely divine. NKJ Bible

The deceiver and his deceit are described: he brings some error concerning the person or office of the Lord Jesus. Such a one is a deceiver and an antichrist; he deludes souls, and undermines the glory and kingdom of the Lord Christ. Let us not think it strange, that there are deceivers and opposers of the Lord Christ’s name and dignity now, for there were such, even in the apostles’ times. The more deceivers and deceits abound, the more watchful the disciples must be. Sad it is, that splendid attainments in the school of Christ, should ever be lost. The way to gain the full reward is, to abide true to Christ, and constant in religion to the end. Firm cleaving to Christian truth unites us to Christ, and thereby to the Father also; for they are one. Let us equally disregard such as abide not in the doctrine of Christ, and those who transgress his commands. Any who did not profess and preach the doctrine of Christ, respecting him as the Son of God, and salvation by him from guilt and sin, were not to be noticed and countenanced. Yet in obeying this command, we must show kindness and a good spirit to those who differ from us in lesser matters, but hold firmly the all-important doctrines of Christ’s person, atonement, and holy salvation. Matthew Henry Commentary.

1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 2:23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

3 John 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.

John 8:9-11

His banner over us? LOVE.

His love covers a multitude of sin! 

John 8:9-11

9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Sin no more implies that Jesus forgave her. He did not condemn her, but neither did He condone her sin. NKJ Bible

The legal problems intended to entrap Jesus always result in embarrassment for the accusers or questioners, as Jesus’ response is always unexpected and cuts directly to the heart of the problem. Jesus makes the case that no one is without sin other than God, and thus no one is permitted to pass judgment by any authority other than what God has given them. Only God has a pure motive. Faithlife Bible

In this matter Christ attended to the great work about which he came into the world, that was, to bring sinners to repentance; not to destroy, but to save. He aimed to bring, not only the accused to repentance, by showing her his mercy, but the prosecutors also, by showing them their sins; they thought to insnare him, he sought to convince and convert them. Matthew Henry Commentary

Luke 9:56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Mark 2:17

There is no man righteous…no not one!

We are all in desperate need of our Savior,

 Christ the Lord.

Mark 2:17

17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

With this statement, Jesus is neither affirming nor denying that the Pharisees are righteous. He is simply pointing out that the call to repentance and offering of forgiveness are for those who need it—sinners. Faithlife Bible

In this instance Jesus was speaking tongue-in-cheek when He used the word righteous. None are righteous, though some, such as the Pharisees, fancied themselves as such. Instead, Christ came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus did not condone the activities of sinners, but required repentance—a change of mind that recognizes the need of a Savior and recognizes Jesus Christ as the only Savior. NKJ Bible

Matthew was not a good character, or else, being a Jew, he would never have been a publican, that is, a tax-gatherer for the Romans. However, Christ called this publican to follow him. With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins, and grace to change the greatest sinners, and make them holy. A faithful, fair-dealing publican was rare. And because the Jews had a particular hatred to an office which proved that they were subject to the Romans, they gave these tax-gatherers an ill name. But such as these our blessed Lord did not hesitate to converse with, when he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh. And it is no new thing for that which is both well done and well designed, to be slandered, and turned to the reproach of the wisest and best of men. Christ would not withdraw, though the Pharisees were offended. If the world had been righteous, there had been no occasion for his coming, either to preach repentance, or to purchase forgiveness. We must not keep company with ungodly men out of love to their vain conversation; but we are to show love to their souls, remembering that our good Physician had the power of healing in himself, and was in no danger of taking the disease; but it is not so with us. In trying to do good to others, let us be careful we do not get harm to ourselves. Matthew Henry Commentary

Matthew 6:8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Matthew 9:12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Zechariah 13:9

 God corrects those He loves, those believers who have chosen to accept Jesus. He will not leave us as He found us. 

It is said that in the process of refining silver the silversmith can never take his eyes off the silver until he can see his image in it.

Zechariah 13:9

9 I will bring the one-third through the fire,

Will refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will answer them.

I will say, ‘This is My people’;

And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

A covenant formula expressing the intimate relationship between Yahweh and Israel. Hosea uses this formulaic language to describe breaking as well as restoring the relationship. Faithlife Bible.

The remnant that survives will be purged, purified, and reestablished in a covenant relationship with God. The smelting pot uses intense heat to separate the dross from pure metal. Once refined, precious metal must be analyzed to determine its value. The expressions this is My people and the Lord is my God recall the covenant and speak here of a covenant renewal to a spiritually revitalized Israel. NKJ Bible.

Because of the sin of the Jews in rejecting and crucifying Christ, and in opposing his gospel, the Romans would destroy the greater part. But a remnant would be saved. And if we are his people, we shall be refined as gold; he will be God, and the end of all our trials and sufferings will be praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry commentary.

Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Jeremiah 30:22 ‘You shall be My people,And I will be your God.’ ”

Malachi 3:3 | He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Galatians 5:1-6

Those whom He makes free…are free indeed!

We are now free to do all things in faith through love. 

We are totally and completely made whole in the love of God which He gives in Jesus. We love because He first loved us!

Galatians 5:1-6

5 Stand  fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

The goal of the Christian life is to express faith in Christ through love, not to live under the requirements of law. Believers are called to demonstrate their faith through sacrificial love for others because their faith is placed in the one who first demonstrated such love.

The freedom given by Christ liberates believers from the law. In Jewish tradition, the image of the yoke was often used to describe the law’s role of guiding people in righteousness. Paul redirects this imagery to clarify the law’s effect now that Christ has come: It does not lead or teach people anymore, but instead enslaves them. 

Paul’s use of “slavery”  and “freedom” echoes the story of the exodus, when God delivered Israel from the Egyptians through a series of mighty deeds. He led them out to the wilderness  to make a covenant with them. God saved them without their obedience to the law, as the law had not yet been given to them. Soon after, however, the people began to complain about God’s provision and leadership. Some even pleaded for a return to Egypt—the land of their enslavement. Because of their ingratitude and disobedience, God allowed a generation of Israelites to wander and die in the wilderness.

If the Galatians allowed themselves to be circumcised, they would nullify Christ’s work on their behalf, since His death had already redeemed them from the law. Paul does not mean that (circumcised) Jews cannot become believers or that Christ’s value can be diminished by the law. His point is that anyone who insists on living under the law fails to trust in Christ. For Paul, Christ’s work is completely sufficient in the life of the believer. Therefore, to trust in the value of circumcision is to diminish the worth of Christ. If someone depends on the law for justification, they have effectively rejected God’s gift of grace in Christ. 

God’s gift of the Holy Spirit confirms believers’ status as His children and empowers them to obey God. God’s people are no longer defined by their keeping of the law; rather, their status before God depends exclusively on their faith in Christ. Paul therefore asserts that it no longer matters whether people are circumcised—that is, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Because of the new creation begun by the work of Christ, all who trust in God’s gift of grace and receive His Spirit belong to the family of God. Faithlife Bible

The legalistic Jewish teachers in Galatia were urging believers to be circumcised. Paul points out that being circumcised changes the entire orientation of salvation away from God’s grace to one’s own actions. One who is circumcised in an attempt to gain God’s acceptance is obligated to keep the whole law, which history has abundantly demonstrated no one can do.

Fallen from grace is understood by some to refer to the loss of salvation. However, fallen from may refer to their attitude and to the message that it communicates, rather than to their eternal salvation.

Faith in Christ brings about not only justification before God, but also growth in the Christian life until we are completely glorified by God and freed from the presence of sin. This is the hope of righteousness. We can be assured that we will be declared righteous before the Lord on that last day, because we have a foretaste of that righteousness from the Spirit who lives within us.

By faith it is possible to fulfill Christ’s command to love one’s neighbor. NKJ Bible

Let us learn, therefore, to magnify this our liberty, which no emperor, no prophet or patriarch, no nor any angel from heaven hath obtained for us, but Jesus Christ the Son of God, by whom all things were created both in heaven and earth. Which liberty he hath purchased with no other price than with his own blood, to deliver us, not from any bodily or temporal servitude, but from a spiritual and everlasting bondage under most cruel and invincible tyrants, to wit, the law, sin, death, and the devil, and so to reconcile us unto God his Father. Now since these enemies are overcome, and we reconciled unto God by the death of his Son, it is certain that we are righteous before God, and that whatsoever we do, pleaseth him. And although there be certain remnants of sin yet still in us, they are not laid to our charge, but pardoned for Christ’s sake. Luthers commentary.

True faith is a working grace; it works by love to God, and to our brethren. May we be of the number of those who, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. The danger of old was not in things of no consequence in themselves, as many forms and observances now are. But without faith working by love, all else is worthless, and compared with it other things are of small value. Matthew Henry commentary.

John Piper has said, “Slavery is when you choose to deal with [God] as a banker who needs your investment to produce dividends for his customers.” If your aim is to increase dividends, Christ will be a poor fund manager. The dividends God pays aren’t based on our investment, but his. The reality is this: There’s nothing we can do that will make God love us more than he does already, nor is there anything we can do that will make him love us less. Christ is the surety of that. Denial and hopelessness are remedied only by living in this truth more deeply. Otherwise every force of the world, the flesh, and the devil will conspire to drive us back into ourselves, to redirect our attention onto our performance—filling us with pride when improvement seems at hand or despair when it doesn’t—rather than looking at the cross objectively before us. Live in Liberty the spiritual message of Galatians.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,

Ezekiel 20:21-25

We cannot ignore Gods’ presence in our lives and expect His guidance. He will allow us to fail so that we, in repentance, can be changed by the power of Holy Spirit!

God is worthy of all glory. He will not allow us our idols of money, power and control over Him. 

Only for His names sake are we saved.

Our praise, our obedience, is in thankfulness for His enduring love and patience. The salvation in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the sanctification process through Holy Spirit are His gifts offered freely. He gave everything to save all who accept Him.

Ezekiel 20:21-25

21 “Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, 24 because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.

25 “Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the Lord.” ’

The laws and rules were deemed not good in that the people were unable to meet the standard they set. The people’s failure placed them under the condemnation of the law rather than the blessings of the covenant. The verse expresses the people’s experience of the law and the crisis of judgment present in their lives. Faithlife Bible.

God commands that His Sabbaths be continually maintained by His people as sacred—distinct and separate from all ordinary days. NKJ Bible.

Numbers 25:2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

Ezekiel 6:9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations.

John 1:9-11

Every person born in to this world has been given the light of Jesus Christ. We can accept Him or reject Him. God wants a family of those who embrace Him, not out of fear but of love.

God is love.

No greater love exists than the love of a Father who allowed His only begotten Son, all God and all  man, too willingly die for the sins of the world. This agape love is beyond our human comprehension and remains with us all the days of our existence here and after our physical death. 

John 1: 9-11

9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

The Greek word used here, kosmos, the world, occurs 78 times throughout John’s Gospel. Sometimes it refers broadly to the whole created order, but most of the time it refers specifically to humanity in rebellion against God and hostile to Christ. Not only did the entire world not recognize its Creator, but God’s chosen people rejected their Messiah. Faithlife Bible.

In order to give due notice to the incarnation of Jesus, this verse may be rephrased: “That was the true Light coming into the world, which enlightens every man.” Jesus became man in order to reveal the truth to all people. Depending on the context, world can refer to (1) the universe; (2) the earth; (3) humanity; or (4) the human system opposed to God.

Receive here means “to receive with favor” and implies “welcome.” Instead of a welcome mat, Jesus had a door slammed in His face. The themes of rejection and reception appear again and again throughout the Gospel of John. NKJ Bible.

Christ was the true Light; that great Light which deserves to be called so. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation; and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. Christ was in the world when he took our nature upon him, and dwelt among us. The Son of the Highest was here in this lower world. He was in the world, but not of it. He came to save a lost world, because it was a world of his own making. Yet the world knew him not. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Isaiah 49:6 Indeed He says,‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

We are not called to judge society. God will handle that. We are called to judge those who are believers in Christ. Keeping in mind that we also were once just like them!

With humility we judge knowing that we were once in their same shoes. 

Holding each other accountable for our actions. 

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges.

Paul is not referring to the sexually immoral people of the world (his mission field), but to those who call themselves Christians and participate in sexual immorality. He views such people as dangerous to the overall health of the congregation since they may entice others to follow them in sin. Paul may be referring either to meals in the church community or to all meals in general, even those between individuals. Faithlife Bible.

Paul here corrects a misunderstanding arising out of his previous letter. He had commanded the Corinthians to withdraw themselves from sexually immoral people. In this letter, Paul explains that he was not speaking of the pagan culture around them. If they withdrew totally they would be unable to function in the world. Instead, he was talking about the immorality in their midst. They should judge the sin among themselves, while still reaching out to the lost in Corinth. Christians are called to influence the world, not run away from it. They are agents of God to carry the light of Jesus Christ into a dark world. Eating together is a key part of fellowship and closeness with others. The Corinthians were not to have fellowship with those who claimed to be Christians but whose lives were dominated by sin.

The church’s responsibility is to discipline its members while trusting the Lord to judge the world. NKJ Bible.

Christians are to avoid familiar converse with all who disgrace the Christian name. Such are only fit companions for their brethren in sin, and to such company they should be left, whenever it is possible to do so. Alas, that there are many called Christians, whose conversation is more dangerous than that of heathens! Matthew Getty Commentary.

Matthew 18:17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Luke 6:37  “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Ephesians 5:5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.

Hosea 9:7-9

The Church, is not to be a place to weld political or cultural power, it is a place to worship and ask for the intervention of God in our lives and the lives of all people. 

In His house there should be mercy, compassion and acceptance. We should  be caring  for the poor, the oppressed and the immigrant in our midst.

Was George Floyd our violent deed that ignited civil war in America?

Without love as our center for all of Gods’ creation we are without the only power that matters…the power of Holy Spirit to accomplish for Gods’ Kingdom what we ourselves cannot.

Hosea 9:7-9

7 The days of punishment have come;

The days of recompense have come.

Israel knows!

The prophet is a fool,

The spiritual man is insane,

Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.

8 The watchman of Ephraim is with my God;

But the prophet is a fowler’s snare in all his ways—

Enmity in the house of his God.

9 They are deeply corrupted,

As in the days of Gibeah.

He will remember their iniquity;

He will punish their sins.

The man of the spirit refers to the prophet who experienced God’s revelation through His Spirit. These lines about the prophet being a fool and a madman likely reflect Israel’s reaction to the prophet’s preaching. Israel never repented from iniquity, making the prophet’s conditional message of restoration appear foolish. A prophet, like a watchman, was responsible for giving warnings about danger. Faithlife Bible.

Sinful Israel disdained God’s true prophets, regarding them as raving maniacs. The Hebrew word translated insane is used of David when he pretended to be a madman before the Philistine king. Enmity refers to strong resentment that can give rise to violent behavior. A watchman would look for approaching armies and then warn the people so that they could secure the city and prepare for battle. The prophets were like watchmen because they were sent by God to warn the people of judgment and urge them to repent.

As in the days of Gibeah is a reference to the rape and murder of a young woman by men of Gibeah, an event that started a civil war. Those who witnessed this violent deed remarked that it was the worst crime committed in Israel’s history until that time. However, the sins of Hosea’s generation rivaled the infamous Gibeah murder. NKJ Bible.

Time had been when the spiritual watchmen of Israel were with the Lord, but now they were like the snare of a fowler to entangle persons to their ruin. The people were become as corrupt as those of Gibeah, Jud 19; and their crimes should be visited in like manner. At first God had found Israel pleasing to Him, as grapes to the traveller in the wilderness. He saw them with pleasure as the first ripe figs. This shows the delight God took in them; yet they followed after idolatry.  Matthew Henry Commentary.

Isaiah 10:3 What will you do in the day of punishment, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your glory?

Lamentations 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.

Hosea 10:9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah; there they stood.The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

Zechariah 7:9-11

We will learn our lessons one way or another…but we will learn them. Why? Because He loves us and will not leave us as He found us! To act differently brings division. Without love as our motivation…we are just useless noise.

God cares for the poor, the oppressed and the immigrant.

Micah 6:8

Be fair.

Be forgiving

Be humble

Zechariah 7: 9–11

 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Execute true justice,

Show mercy and compassion

Everyone to his brother.

10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,

The alien or the poor.

Let none of you plan evil in his heart

Against his brother.’

11 But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.

Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.

The prophets continually emphasize that the ethical aspects of God’s law are just as important as the ritual aspects. Social justice is a prominent theme of prophetic teaching. Israel’s stubborn refusal to listen to the prophets and repent resulted in the judgment the prophets warned about. The prophet describes the hardening of one’s heart—an act of defiant stubbornness. Faithlife Bible.

Zechariah’s four admonitions highlight the practical social concerns that many of the prophets emphasized. 

Execute true justice: Judicial decisions must be made without partiality or bias. 

Show mercy and compassion: Loving commitment and concern should guide our relationships with others. 

Do not oppress: No advantage is to be taken of the helpless and less fortunate. Let none of you plan evil: Evil scheming against others is prohibited. 

Sacrifices and worship are of little interest to God if they are not accompanied by practical piety. The consequence was God’s judgment—they were scattered. NKJ Bible.

Zechariah 8:16 These are the things you shall do:Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;

Luke 8:45-48

 Faith alone pleases God! 

In order to have faith you must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who believe that through Him nothing is impossible.

Luke 8:45-48

45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Luke’s third demonstration of Jesus’ messiahship in this chapter involves two miracles. The first testifies to His power over sickness and the human body; the second shows His power over death.

The woman might have feared that Jesus would be angry, since she did not ask permission—especially if touching Jesus made Him ceremonially unclean. Alternatively, her trembling may simply indicate an appropriate level of awe and reverence at the display of Jesus’ healing power. Faithlife Bible.

This miracle highlights not only the authority of Jesus, but also the response of faith that God honors. NKJ Bible.

Mark 5:34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Luke 7:50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”