'THE WALKING DEAD'

Pardon me, but I cannot understand the demand for and the enjoyment of the popular television series, “The Walking Dead”. Nor do I appreciate the multiplicity of such shows as “Grim” and other programs that deal with magic, sorcery, communicating with the dead and the demonic world. Personally, I want to stay as far away from the devil and his demons as far as possible. And then there are police and detective series wherein there are several killings of criminals, sometimes as many as a dozen or so and the law enforcement agents seem not to have any emotional problems for taking the life of another human being, even though the person killed was a lawbreaker. This is not the way it is in real life.

The television and movie industries are influencing our society and generally speaking, not for the good of mankind. We have been desensitized and our reaction to the violence, sexual scenes, vulgarity, and the ‘undead’, etc. has become a matter of indifference and apathy.

Lest I become too involved with a variety of subjects, permit me to say that I do believe there are some people who are walking around dead!  They may have perfect health. The doctor may inform them following an examination that all their vital signs could not be better. But they are dead! In fact the Bible teaches that certain people are dead while they are living. How can this be?

First of all, we need to understand the word ‘dead’. It basically means a separation of the spirit of a man from his body. In the New Testament, James wrote: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Please observe that a person is not dead period. There is a part of man that continues. In Ecclesiastes 12:3, the Preacher wrote: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.” The spirit of a man is never referred to in Scripture as being ‘dead’, only the body. It is wrong thinking to understand that when a person is dead he is like the dog rover and he is dead ‘all over’.

But, who are the people who are ‘the walking dead’? In Ephesians 2:1 we read, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” How are we to understand that statement? Please continue to read the following in verses 2 and 3: “(I)n which you once walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of he mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Paul had reference to their former manner of life, that is, they were dead (separated from God in their sins) before they were saved by His grace through faith (Ephesians 2:5, 8).

The prophet Isaiah clearly taught that it was sin that separated man from God (chapter 59:1, 2). The apostle Paul wrote about one class of widows in I Timothy 5:6: “But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” Alive physically but dead spiritually! How is this possible? He clearly states that she was living in “pleasure”, that is, she was indulging in sinful acts. Devout Christians should be concerned about real (live) people walking around ‘spiritually dead’ in our society than to be interested in “The walking dead” in a fictitious program on television.

The ‘walking dead’ (spiritually speaking), if not penitent of their sins and obedient to the commands of the gospel will receive their wages one day and that is an eternal death (separation from God) (Romans 6:23). Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-4 that a person who dies to sin in repentance, is buried with the Lord in baptism and is raised to “walk in newness of life” in Christ Jesus.

'LOVE LETTERS' FROM THE LORD

     Before the preacher began his lesson from one of the epistles of the apostle Paul he stated that we were reading a letter written to someone else. And in one sense that is true because the epistles were written to various congregations and different individuals. Some were general epistles that were written to no one church or individual. But that does not mean that other persons could not read the same epistles. While there are various passages that would teach that the letters written in the first century could be read by others, I think I Corinthians 1:2 would be sufficient: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (NKJV, Emphasis, mine, RE).
      Some religious leaders in an effort to lessen the need of obedience on the part of the believer, and, to emphasize that we are saved by grace and not by any works on our part refer to the epistles as ‘love letters’. Personally I have no problem in speaking of the epistles as ‘love letters’. All that God has done for mankind in the matter of salvation and instructing us what we should do and become has been done because He loves us.
     The words of Jesus written in red letters as found in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in some Bibles can be misleading. In actuality, all the New Testament is blood red. In Luke 22:20 we read, “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Emphasis, mine, RE). In reference to Jesus, the inspired writer penned these words, “But He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was based on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives” (Hebrews 9:15-17). The New Testament was dedicated with the precious blood of Jesus Christ so it would be reasonable to understand all of the writings contained therein to be called books and letters of love from the Lord Jesus Christ.
     These ‘love letters’ did not originate in the wisdom of men. Before Jesus departed from the world He made promises to His apostles regarding the sending of the Holy Spirit to be with them. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you” (John 14:26). “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13, 14). Please observe that the Holy Spirit would only speak what He would hear and that it would glorify Jesus Christ; and whatever the Spirit would declare to the apostles would have been from the Father and the Son.
      Please read carefully these words from the apostle Paul as found in I Corinthians 2:12, 13, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” In short, the epistles that Paul and the other New Testament writers wrote were what Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, had them to write. In Ephesians 3:3-5, Paul wrote: “How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets…” In other words, the epistles are really ‘love letters from the Lord’. Furthermore, what is said of the Son can most certainly be said of the Father. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). In summary, the source of all the books of the Old and New Testaments is God the Father.
     The ‘love letters’ in the New Testament’ do not in any sense lessen my response to the directives and commands of the “law of the Spirit” (Romans 8:2) and the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). The truth is that we must respond in love, being submissive to the will of our Lord.
     Jesus plainly taught that true love requires actions on the part of mankind in order to prove our love for Him. He told his disciples, “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Jesus stated it very plainly that we show our Love for Him when we do what he requires of us. In John 14:21, He said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
      Jesus obeyed His Father’s will and was loved by His Father and He loves those who keep His commandments (John 15:10). The Lord said in John 14:31, “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandments, so I do. Arise let us go from here.” Jesus proved beyond a shadow of doubt that He loved His Father by keeping all the commands He received from Him. To be like Jesus, we must also obey the commands our Lord has given to us. Otherwise, we show that we do not love Him as we should. Jesus expressed it in this fashion as recorded in John 14:24, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”
     The apostle of love, John, wrote in I John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” God does not require anything of us except it be for our ultimate good. We should respond to His commandments out of a heart of love. When love is the motive, His commandments are not grievous or overbearing. The precious words of our Savior bring joy to the heart of a Christian as is found in John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” When we sing the hymn, “I’ll Be a Friend to Jesus”, it means that we will be submissive to His will. We should not respond to the commands and directives of our Lord merely because ‘we have to’; rather it should be our “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

DOES LOVE DEMAND WHAT GRACE DISAPPROVES?

I often grow weary over the labels we place on one another in the church of Jesus Christ.  Brethren refer to one another as belonging to either the ‘grace oriented’ or the ‘work oriented’ groups.  Could I not belong to both at the same time?  Do I have to join only one group?   After all, I truly desire to associate with all my brethren, if possible.  I sincerely long for and pray for faithfulness and peace among my brethren.  It seems that we are people of extremes.  It is either one way or the other.  It just could not be both at the same time.  Where is the balance that is sorely needed in a time of doubt, disbelief and disunity?  I have no problem in understanding that we are saved by the grace of God for the Word of God clearly teaches such as is found in Ephesians 2:5.  Yet, in verse 8 of the same chapter, we learn that we are saved by grace through faith.  There is a sense in which I do not contribute anything to my salvation since it is a gift from God; nevertheless, if I do not manifest my faith by doing what God wants me to do, I will not benefit from the unmerited favor of the Lord in the matter of salvation from sin.   No, the works of the law or the meritorious works of man’s devising cannot and will not save.  However, all those works ordained of God must be done by His children (Ephesians 2:10).

Consider also the very nature of God.  He is not self-contradicting.  Yes, His infinite grace saves us but we are also saved by His infinite love (Hebrews 2:9; John 3:16).  God would not disapprove of something on one hand and demand and commend the same on the other hand.  Jesus plainly taught that true love requires actions on the part of mankind in order to prove that love for Him.  He told his disciples, “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  Jesus stated it very plainly that we show our Love for Him when we do what he requires of us.  In John 14:21, He said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”  As you can clearly see, even the Father loves the person who loves His Son and keeps His commandments.  Even Jesus obeyed His Father’s will and was loved by His Father, even as He loves those who keep His commandments (John 15:10).  When you think about it, keeping commandments is not so bad after all.  Even the Son of God complied with the directives of His Father.  The Lord said in John 14:31, “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandments, so I do.  Arise let us go from here.”  Jesus proved beyond a shadow of doubt that He loved His Father by keeping all the commands that He received from Him.  To be like Jesus, we must also obey the commands our Lord has given to us.  Otherwise, we show that we do not love Him as we should.  Jesus expressed it in this fashion as recorded in John 14:24, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”    The apostle of love, John, wrote in I John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome.”  God does not require anything of us except it be for our ultimate good.  We should respond to His commandments out of a heart of love.  When love is the motive, His commandments are not grievous or overbearing.  We obey because we are heirs and not slaves.  The precious words of our Savior bring joy to the heart of a Christian as is found in John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”  When we sing the hymn, “I’ll Be a Friend to Jesus”, it means that we will be submissive to His will for us to do.

Yet, my response to God’s grace and love by the works I do will not save me.  I cannot merit salvation on my goodness.  The words of Jesus as found in Luke 17:10 remind me of this truth, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.”  No, grace does not disapprove what love demands; rather, it is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

LESSONS FOR PARENTS IN ECCLESIASTES 12:1

            “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in time.”

 This passage of scripture is ordinarily used in encouraging young people to remember God and to give their lives to the Lord; however, I believe there are several lessons contained in this text that would be applicable for parents.

First of all, parents should remember that children are not ours to rear as we choose to do so. The Psalmist declared,” Behold children are a heritage from the Lord…” (Psalm 127:3). We should have the same attitude of Hannah when she made this vow to God, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head” (I Samuel 1:11). Our attitude should be same, that is, when God gives us children, we should give them back to Him by rearing them in the “training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Second, youth is the time to teach our children of God and Jesus Christ. Their hearts are receptive and not filled with prejudice. Children trust their parents and they can be impressed with the teaching they receive from the Word of God. Jochebed, the mother of Moses, must have greatly influenced him while he was in her care. It was in his adulthood that this man of God made an important decision as is recorded in Hebrews 11:24-25, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” Then there is the case of Timothy who was greatly influenced in his youth to give his life to Christ. The apostle wrote concerning who taught Timothy the Word of God as found in the book of 2 Timothy: “When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded in you also’ (2 Timothy 1:5). “And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Third, parents should realize that soon the difficult (evil) days will come. Parents will not always be around to help their children in making the decision as to what is right or wrong. It is when the child is at home that parents must prepare them to be able to face the “difficult days” when they are away from home. There is the example of a young soldier in the Far East when the time came for him and his buddies to have a period of ‘rest and relaxation’. The decision was made by the majority of the soldiers to go to a town and commit sins of immorality and drunkenness. The young Christian soldier refused to follow the crowd because he remembered that his parents were praying for him and his safety. He also remembered the lessons from the Word of God relative to keeping his body pure (I Timothy 4:12).

Fourth, parents know their children are growing older and will soon leave home in a matter of a few years. It is during the age of innocence that children should be influenced to give their lives to the Lord. Youth is not the only time to “remember God” but it is the best time. The case is, the older a child becomes, the more difficult it is to make the decision to obey the gospel. The reason being, Satan can harden the heart through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12, 13).

In conclusion, the inspired writer states in this text that there is a point of no return. There are many influences such as higher education that can destroy the young person’s belief in God as being the Creator of the universe and can cause one to become an agnostic or even an atheist. The practice of sin can hardened the heart of an individual that he will have no desire to repent and return to God. Because of the influence of evil companions, a son or a daughter can be led astray (I Corinthians 15:33). Many a young adult no longer has any pleasure in the former years when he was at home and associating with friends who were Christians and all were attending the various assemblies of the church. It is sad to say that not all stories about ‘prodigal’ children end well as did the one in Luke chapter fifteen. 

A PIECE OF CLAY

I took a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it one day,
And as my fingers pressed it still,
It moved and yielded at my will.

I came again when days were past;
The bit of clay was hard at last,
The form I gave it still it bore,
But I could change that form no more.

I took a piece of living clay,
And gently formed it day by day,
And molded with my power and art
A young child’s soft and yielding heart.

I came again when days were gone;
It was a man I looked upon;
That early impress still he wore,
And I could change it never more.

- Author Unknown