The Excellency of Christ

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. - Luke 12:1-3 Jesus began this portion of scripture (Luke 11:14 - 12:12) responding to the blasphemous accusation of the Pharisees, who accused him of casting out Demons by the name Belzeebub.  The Lord responded by saying that a Kingdom divided against itself could not stand, and that, If Satan was divided against himself, his Kingdom would not stand.  Jesus truly casted out the demon in power, but this was done by the finger of God, for the Kingdom of God (himself) had come.  He overcame the enemy and divided his spoils, demonstrating the power of God over the evil one. It is a great concern how religious men who are fully convinced of their Knowledge and standin...

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ - 1 Peter 1:13 The Christian life is not an easy journey, in fact, we are promised that we will encounter many trails and have to endure much suffering on our journey ( Acts 14:22 , 1 Peter 1:6-7 , 2 Corinthians 1:6-7 , Romans 8:17 ).  Grieved by various trials, enduring wave after wave of affliction, and surrounded by many whose hearts have grown cold; we are vulnerable to the tempters voice to give up and go back to the ease of the world, conforming to our former lusts.  However, suffering in the Christian life is to be expected, and is in fact necessary.  It is not merely said that we will endure trials, but that we will be grieved by them.  There are seasons when trials will be heavy upon our shoulders, and you can do nothing but shed tears of sorrow. There are many reasons God may have for our sufferings: figh...

This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart. Matthew 18 ends with a story from the Lord Jesus, regarding forgiveness.  The story highlights our foolishness when we do not forgive our brother or sister in Christ, and also tells us what we can expect when we are unforgiving.  “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ato settle accounts with his servants.7 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him bten thousand ctalents.8 25 dAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him eto be sold, with his wife and fchildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant9 gfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and dforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred hden...