We often think about inheritance in terms of the will of the deceased. What I mean is that each person gets what someone left to them in their last will and testimony. The will functions to express the wishes of the person who owned the assets. I suppose our reasoning is that since the property belonged to this person, their personal property rights extend to their posthumous will. I must admit to my modern sensibilities this seems correct. This post is not intended to be a full treatment of a Biblical view of personal property rights. To be clear, I think that the Lord gives us the privilege, authority, and responsibility of personal property ownership in the pages of Scripture. But this post is about what God may be teaching us through the rules of inheritance in the Scriptures. In Numbers 27, we see God amending the inheritance stipulations for Israel so that daughters can inherit in the absence of any brothers. The context goes on to explain how the nearest relative of a person had the right of inheritance. What is interesting about this is that God did not leave it up to the will of the individual to decide who would receive the inheritance but rather God chose through the mechanism of the legal code. It is clearly true that many of these kinds of civil laws given to Israel are specific to Israel in that they are meant to show the distinction of Israel from the other peoples around them. These laws also serve to preserve the tribes and their allotments which is an important part of why the familial connections are so important. Keeping the land or possessions in the family also keeps them in the tribal portion. But what if there is still another reason for this instruction? Could this other reason be that God is showing us that the requirement for the true heirs is relationship? I think so! Heirs of Abraham After God initiates His covenant relationship with Abraham and the promises that belong to the future new covenant, all the believers throughout the Old Covenant period recognize their inheritance comes through their relationship to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is because God made and reestablished His covenant relationship with them and their descendants (Genesis 12;15;17;26;35). However, not all the physical descendants were spiritual heirs of the New Covenant promises. Even while they were under the external demands and privileges of the Old Covenant. This is why the opponents of Christ are so adamant that they are not illegitimate but are Abraham’s children, because their relationship to Abraham truly is their relationship to God (John 8:39-45). They truly thought that God was more concerned with external obedience and genetic connection than true love of God and man from the heart (Matthew 22:34-40). But the true sons of Abraham may not have the blood of Abraham but they have his faith (Romans 4:13-25). Heirs of Christ The reality is that now after Jesus has come and brought us into the New Covenant through His mighty death and resurrection, we are made true heirs of Abraham because of our relationship with Christ (Galatians 3:23-29). The inheritance we receive as believers is the result of the relationship we have with God. Because we are now in Christ and indwelt with the Holy Spirit and at peace with God the Father, we are therefore, fellow heirs with Christ and heirs of God (Romans 8:12-17). So, dear Christian, rejoice! For you are an heir of God by sheer grace and according to the electing, redeeming, and adopting will of God. This inheritance is sure because it is kept in heaven where no capture or corrosion or corruption can ever happen (1 Peter 1:3-5).
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Services I am writing this blog on Wednesday evening, March 20, 2024. Today, I attended two funerals. As a pastor, I assume that I probably attend more funerals than the average person. But, of course, not as many as the folks who work for the funeral homes. But two funerals in one day is unusual for most of us. These experiences are made more difficult because none of us attend them passively or casually. We attend these services usually because of what this person who has passed away meant to us or because we care deeply for someone who was close to this person. Regardless of the precise reason, we are engaging in grieving to some degree. Memories The first service I attended today was for Randall Gardner. Randall was my father’s first cousin’s husband. But they were married when I was still an infant so I have never known our extended family in any form that did not include Randall. Today at the service and during the conversations afterward many stories were told relating his wit, his diligence, and his dedication. All true and admirable qualities. I always thought of Randall as the kind of person you can really count on. I remember a time when he really came through for me. Laura and I had been married less than 3 months, and I was in college at the time. That summer, I had started a young filly, but of course I hadn’t ridden her since Labor Day because of school. It was early October and I was going to ride her up the river road. As I rode along I saw Randall at the back of the field cutting wood and I went to speak with him. As I came back from our conversation, just before getting back to the road, the filly threw me and injured my shoulder. I tried to get back on (you know how cowboys are supposed to), but because of my injury I couldn’t. I walked back across the field, and Randall hauled me out so that I could get to the hospital. I remember how encouraging and reassuring Randall was as he came to my rescue. The second service I attended today was for Clarence Phillips. Clarence has been the music leader at Immanuel Baptist Church in Clinton, Arkansas for many years. Clarence was a ball of energy. He was not a very large man, trim and not tall. But from the first handshake, to him belting out those wonderful hymns, he always gave one hundred percent effort and enthusiasm. Clarence had an evident love for the Lord and for praising the Lord through gospel music. Clarence was also a man that could be counted on. Both of these men had impacted many lives and it will take many people to fill their shoes. But even more important than the things they did, these men are going to be missed for the people they were and that is irreplaceable. Hope Many things are being accomplished through the process of having funeral services. One thing is the opportunity for people to show their love, support, and respect for the deceased and the family. Another purpose is to give a point of closure. Though it is certainly not the end of the grieving, it marks the move into the new era of life without this person. But still another purpose is to encourage us all to grieve with hope. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul encourages the Christians that they are not to grieve like the unbelievers but rather with great hope because of their faith in the powerful salvation provided to all believers by our Lord Jesus Christ. We grieve differently because of our hope of resurrection and eternal life. Paul also tells the Corinthian Christians that because of the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection promise for believers, death has lost its sting and power having been overtaken by the victory of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)! Common We tend to think of things that are common as ordinary. Common things are not considered special or exciting things. Things that are common occupy a place among the regular or mundane aspects of life. In our hypersensitive and over stimulated culture we tend to crave things that are new and exciting. We may think that modern experience is unique but the Bible tells us that the Athenians also spent their time seeking after the next new thing (Acts 17:21). So, maybe it is not just our modern age but rather the joint inheritance of this age of sin following the exile from the garden of Eden that attracts us to the next new thing. If that is the case then we should expect that those of us who have been rescued from the tyranny of this sinful state would be free also from this lusting after something new. Is it possible that in Christ we have been given regenerate hearts that have an affinity and appetite for a common experience. Fellowship In Acts 2:42, Luke records for us the very first experience of Christians being together after three thousand were saved at Pentecost. In this passage, Luke refers to them being devoted to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. The word that is translated as fellowship is koinonia. The root of this word is koine. You may have heard people refer to the particular dialect of Greek that the New Testament is written in as koine greek. That means it is the common Greek, the word on the street. But the word koinonia means partnership or fellowship. The common part is in reference to the relationship. Those first converts to the way of Christ were from many different parts of the Roman world and even spoke many different languages, but they had this one thing in common and that one thing is Christ! Human beings are traditionally very tribalistic. By this I mean that we tend to form associations around various shared backgrounds and experiences. But for the Christian our deepest and strongest fellowship must be with the saints who along with us have experienced regeneration (Titus 3:5). We share the common purpose of knowing Christ and making Him known.(Philippians 3:8-11) We share the common joy of worshiping Christ and praising God for the great things that He has done (Luke 1:46-49). We have a common source for truth and the wisdom to apply that truth in the Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16). We have in common the love of God that the Holy Spirit of God has put into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The list could be endless of all the things that we who are in Christ now have in common because we have Christ! Spectators So much more could be said about our mutual love for one another. But we will save that for another post. But maybe you are reading this post and you don’t have the experience of grace mentioned above. Possibly as you have read these prose about the joy of knowing and worshiping Christ no affections have been stirred in you. Could it be that to base everything about the way you live on the Bible seems strange or radical to you? Does it seem impossible for you to love other Christians to a greater degree than your extended family or your friends? May this be because you are not a Christian? If you do not have any of these common traits that are the normal fruit of the Christian experience then friend let me urge you and exhort you to turn to God from your sins and self and trust full in Jesus to save you by His grace (Ephesians 2:1-10)! Normal Most of us think of ourselves as “normal.” I know that our culture is overrun with a victim mentality that causes people to believe that they are truly afflicted in some special way. Others are convinced that they are genuine snowflakes, as unique as their own fingerprint. Still some are filled with hatred and pride because they belong to a particular tribal affiliation. But in truth, we all think that we are rather normal. We assume that our experiences, thoughts, understandings, and emotions are like most other people’s. Or, more accurately, we believe that other people are like us. We are even likely to do things purposefully or subconsciously to try to fit in when we feel like we are outsiders. I believe that this sense of normalcy is closely connected with our innate understanding that we are made in God’s image. This goes deeper than just our outward, corporeal existence because the image of God is reflected in our whole being including both our rational mind and soul. Even though because of sin we are plagued by the sins of partialism, kinism, and tribalism, we all also have a common understanding of our connection as human beings. Excluded Because we have this natural sense of belonging, we tend to think that to be excluded is somehow unfair. But when reading through the many laws given in the Old Covenant to the nation of Israel, it becomes very apparent that God took very seriously who could and could not come near to worship Him. For a specific example, consider Leviticus 21:16-13, in this text the Lord is giving specific instructions about who is prohibited from serving as priests because of physical deformities. To understand these exclusions, we must remember the external nature of the Old Covenant. But still reading the list it is striking to see these people excluded from this service and access to God because of physical defects. For the most part these are not necessarily the outcome of any moral or ethical failure on the part of the individual person. I am sure that many enemies of God would want to use this as evidence that God is capricious and unfair. However, we must understand that the purpose of these holiness codes and ceremonial commandments were to communicate the perfection and holiness of God Himself. God is not condemning people because of these things nor is He being unfair because in truth no one should be allowed to approach His holiness, rather He is communicating His greatness and holiness to His people and to the world through the law code which is a revelation of His righteousness (Romans 3:21). Accessible I must admit as I was reading the text in Leviticus 21, I was reminded that in that covenant I would have been excluded from the service and access to Yahweh. This thought caused me to immediately reflect on the amazing grace of God. In Christ, I am given free access to the very throne of grace and presence of God (Hebrews 4:14-16)! I must add that this access has nothing to do with my calling or vocation being in service to the church but rather it is the heritage of every member of the New Covenant (1 Peter 2:9). In Christ, all believers are priests and have access to God through Jesus. This last Sunday, we considered Paul’s teaching about the fact that through the doctrine of adoption Christians have been brought into God’s family. Paul goes on in Ephesians 2:18-21, to tell us that through Christ we have access in the Holy Spirit to the Father. He then explains that we are therefore, citizens in God’s kingdom, saints in God’s service, and members in God’s household. When we come to God through the transforming power of the gospel and the sanctifying work of God we are given access to God both free and forever! That is something worth singing about, worth preaching about, worth living for with our whole life! False Teachers The Scripture is clear that we should expect false teaching in the world (1 John 4:1) and false teachers to even arise among us (2 Peter 2:1-2). Therefore, we should be vigilant that there are wolves who would seek to devour the sheep with the infectious disease of their heretical teaching. Many of these wolves even disguise themselves in sheep’s clothing and bring reproach upon the name of Christ (Matthew 7:15-20). In the passage just mentioned, the Lord Jesus instructs us to judge the teachers according to the accuracy of their teaching. Of course the only way to measure the accuracy of their teaching is against a sure and common standard. The only perfect and inerrant standard by which to judge Christian teaching must be the eternal word of God (2 Timothy 3:14-17). The Apostle Peter is quick to remind us that it is the living and abiding word of God that is the imperishable seed by which we have been born again (1 Peter 1:22-25). False Teachings Several heresies exist which have been repeated over the centuries since the establishment of the church. Heresies are different from errors. Error in doctrine or Biblical teaching is simply a wrong or ignorant view of a particular doctrine. But heresy is the denial or contradiction of an essential doctrine of the Christian faith. The distinction is about the serious nature of the specific incorrect teaching. For example, a differing view on the administration of baptism and the Lord’s supper would usually fall into the category of being in error, while denying the full humanity and deity of Christ would be heretical. The kingdom of God will be full of believers who had differences in this life of practices regarding the ordinances of the church. But everyone will have believed in the perfect God and man mediator, Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:3-6). This means that with the world full of both religious and secular false teachers we must be on our guard against every doctrine that conflicts with the message that has been given to us by our great God (Galatians 1:6-9). Historically, the doctrines that have been attacked by heretics are those dealing with the person and work of Christ, as well as the nature and extent of the gospel. So, the target of the enemy is Christ and His bride, the church. The doctrines are essential to the hope of salvation and so they are malined by the debased and demonic enemies of God. True Teachings However, the danger of false teachers is not only the dissemination of false teachings, but also in introducing confusion about true teaching. False teachers do not only teach lies but also teach some things that are true. This is of course necessary for one purpose of making their false teachings believable. But this mixture of truth and error can also cast doubt on true doctrines. Just because a teaching was taught by a prideful and abusive false teacher does not mean that the doctrine itself is an error or a heresy. It also does not mean that the teaching is itself abusive or harmful. For example, a hammer can be used as a torturous tool of abuse or even murder, but it can also be used to build a home. Remember even Satan attempted to utilize and twist Scripture while tempting the Lord Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). My point in this post is that while we must be careful not to just accept every plausible or hopeful teaching that comes along (Ephesians 4:11-14), we also should not discount or disregard everything that may have been taught by a false teaching on the basis that it was taught by them, but we must test the teaching by the measure of the Scriptures. |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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