Works of the Flesh: part 12 : Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, Fornication, Uncleanness, Lasciviousness, Idolatry, Witchcraft, Hatred, Variance, Emulations, Wrath, Strife...."

STRIFE

Defined and Described: “Strife” is defined by Webster  “as act of striving or vying with another; contention, competition; A quarrel, struggle conflict, To strive as in a good effort, try very hard, in a negative or fleshly sense to struggle for superiority, to fight.  

Strife is a form of division that is characterized by contentions and quarreling which have the tendency to reveal hard lines of separation between individuals. Often we hear of strife being present in a local church. The fact that strife is one of the works of the flesh is a reminder of the need for local churches to be washed with the washing of water by the Word. Too frequently, in many local churches, some individuals have a reputation of causing strife. It seems that some people feel the need to constantly be involved in controversy. Strife is the type of fleshly work that usually involves numerous individuals in some form of ongoing conflict.

“Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy pres­ence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues” (Psa. 31: 20).

It is usually ignited by controversial remarks made by someone often referred to as an instigator. All individuals who become involved in strife need to experience the power of the Spirit of God to produce the fruit of the Spirit. Peace is usually produced when a person takes time to think before answering or taking action concerning controversial remarks.

“A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife” (Prov. 15:18).

Strife is often a progression from other fleshly mani­festations. It is constantly the result of two or more individuals insisting on having their own way. Some people specialize in sowing the seeds of strife through whispering and indulging in secretive conversations. Sometimes the chief instigator of strife will pretend to be the most spiritual member in the local church. This is natural since Satan himself is a pretender. The talebearer does not care whether an incident that they are spreading is true or not—their desire is to promote controversy. Gossip and rumors lead to strife and strife causes fuel to be added to the coals of contention and division.

“A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends “(Prov. 16:28).

“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife” (Prov. 26:20, 21).

A very prominent sign of carnality is the presence of strife. As Paul spoke to the Corinthians about being carnal, one of the elements he mentioned was the apparent strife within the local church at Corinth. The works of the flesh are destructive and they consume all who yield to their influence. A Christian who lets himself become involved in situations of strife will eventually lose his/her spirituality.

“For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Cor. 3:3).

”Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunken­ness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying” (Rom. 13:13).

Christians who observe the scriptural principle of putting others first and esteeming them above themselves will avoid being instruments of strife. Those who are filled with the Spirit of Christ will speak in a manner that will disarm those who desire to cause strife. Christians have to be diligent, and make sure Satan is not able to get them involved in situations that could lead to strife among the members of their local congregations. Paul warned the Philippians about strife:

 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Phil. 2:3).

Then he instructed Timothy on the need to beware of the dangers of strife and the need to exhort members to avoid situations that could lead to divisions:

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is accord­ing to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings” (1 Tim 6:3, 4).

While it is expected that the world would be dominated by strife, it is not acceptable for the Body of Christ to be plagued by divisions and unrest. Members cannot mature to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ if they allow strife to abide among them. Satan knows that if he can cause strife among the members of the Church, he can prevent the members from reaching perfection. Bitterness does not have any place among the children of God. Bitterness will produce strife in the heart where love should abide in the inner man.

“But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:14-17).

If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)  

May God through Christ bless you!

If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:

https://prayerchangesthings8.blogspot.com/

If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com

Think Twice Before You Disobey Your Parents

May 13: Disrespect for Parents

5. Honor Your Father and Mother

What About The Sabbath? When Should a Christian Worship?

 SABBATH

 “The observance of the Sabbath was a requirement of Jewish law, and as such, was not carried over into the Grace Dispensation. Sunday is not the Sabbath, but is merely a day set aside to give special attention to the worship of God. Instead of keeping only the Sabbath day holy, we are required in this dispensation to keep every day holy. The Jewish Sabbath is a type of Christ, who is our rest rather than the day” (See Hosea 2:11, Romans 14:5, 6; and Colossians 2:16, 17).

Hos 2:11  I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Rom 14:6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

Col 2:16  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Col 2:17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Under the law, obedience to the commandments was mandatory. Failure to comply amounted to SIN, for sin was disobedience to the law of God. Sin was punishable by death; as Paul says, “The wages of sin is death...” (Rom. 6:23). He was speaking in the New Testament context of eternal death, which was the death that was prefigured under the law. Disobedience to God is still punishable by death, but under grace, “...mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13). This does not mean that God has set aside His judgment against sin, or that He has altered His Word. Excerpts from two statements by Peter serve as an illustration:

(1) “...Once the longsuffering of God waited [120 years] in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (1 Pet. 3:20). But eventually, judgment fell upon all who had treated the longsuffering of God with disdain.

(2) “The Lord is not slack [neglectful] concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward...But the day of the Lord will come...” (2 Pet. 3:9a, l0a). When He delays punishment or judgment, He is not being “slack,” but “longsuffering” in mercy and grace. We will take note of this concerning the Sabbath commandment further along in this lesson.

 “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them...” (Acts 20:7).

I. THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT (Exo. 20:8-11; Psa. 95:10, 11)

A. Under the Law: It must be understood that the Ten Commandments are the basic eternal principles of God’s will for man. At Sinai, they were given to Israel as a part of “the law,” or “the law covenant” that was “added because of transgressions, till the seed [Christ] should come to whom the promise was made” (Gal. 3:19). As “law,” they were a part of a “penal code”; there was penalty for breaking the commandments. But we see from Psalm 95:10, 11 that the people failed in their obedience, and were therefore not allowed to enter the Promised Land, or their ‘rest,” or God’s rest for them.

When the people began to work on the tabernacle in the wilderness, “...The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep...for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall be put to death” (Exo. 31:12-15). In repeating the requirement and the penalty, the Lord strongly emphasized His will in the matter.

We see this Old Testament law requirement reflected in the Jews’ obsession with Sabbath-keeping in the New Testament era. They repeatedly accused Jesus of breaking it.

B. Under Grace: Since, as has been said above, the Ten Commandments are the eternal principles of God’s will for man’s conduct, they were not abolished by Christ’s fulfillment of the law (Matt. 5:17-20). In fact, under grace, our righteousness must exceed that which the law required. But “His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:3, 4). In other words, the born-again believer does not obey the commandments reluctantly, but victoriously. By justifying faith we are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4), or the nature of our Redeemer, who took delight in doing the Father’s will (See Psalm 40:8 and Hebrews 10:5-10).

 Hebrews 10:1

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Col. 2:16-17

16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday (festivals or the feasts), or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days (Sabbath or Shabbat in Hebrew):

17. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

The ceremonial law, which consisted of types and shadows of good things to come (Heb. 10:1; Col. 2:16, 17), was done away by actual substance. As we shall see, the Sabbath in its true meaning is not done away with under grace, but only the mode of “keeping it.”

C. Warning Against Wavering: The word “Sabbath” means “rest”; an era of rest, a condition of rest, or even a place of rest. God had promised His people Israel a rest after their some 400 years in Egyptian bondage. He likened it unto His own rest from His work of creation, and prefigured it in the promised rest in Canaan. But because of their unbelief, the generation that came out of Egypt were not allowed to enter. David says they grieved God forty years with their waywardness. There was a partial fulfillment of the promise for the younger generation who inherited the land under Joshua. But even they did not possess the promised possession.

Hebrews, chapter 4, refers to David’s prophecy (Psa. 95:6-11), that there was still a rest to be attained and enjoyed, warning that those who should inherit it should not harden their hearts in doubt as they who had provoked God with their unbelief in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:9 declares that there was, and is, still a rest for the people of God. Those to whom the writer wrote had entered into that rest, but they were being tempted to go back under the old law-system.

II. CHRIST OUR REST (Matt. 11:28, 29; Heb. 4:3, 9, 10; Col. 2:16, 17; Rom. 14:5, 6a).

When we come to the New Testament dispensation, the “Sabbath,” or “rest,” that was an era, a condition, or a place, is found to be fulfilled in a Person-Christ. Hear His own proclamation and invitation (Matt 11:27-30): (1) The proclamation-“All things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (v. 27); and (2) The invitation-“Come unto me...and I will give you rest” Let us paraphrase, if we may: “The Father has given all things-all power, all authority, all wisdom, and all knowledge-unto Me. There is a divinely intimate relationship between my Father and Me. No man knows Me, the Son, as my Father does: neither does any man truly know the Father except through Me, and those to whom I, in My all-power and knowledge, choose to reveal Him.

“Come unto Me, all you who have been trying to earn a rest by your own law-works. I will freely give you that rest, because I am your promised rest.

“Your law-burden has been heavier than you have been willing or able to bear; therefore, get in the yoke with Me, thereby lightening your own burden; and learn from Me what is the Father’s true meaning of rest. For I have not come to you in the relentless threat of a death penalty, but I have come in the likeness of your flesh, to learn obedience by the things we must all suffer. I come not in anger, but I am meek and lowly in heart- showing you empathy. In Me you will find the true rest; spiritual rest for your soul.”

It is on the justifying ground of Christ’s work for us on Calvary that He saves us. Paul says:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8, 9).

“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

The keeping of a day is not the rest Christ has provided. It is belief in His finished work for us on the cross. God’s imputed righteousness now takes the place of the former law-works righteousness. The “work” is His; the benefits are ours by His grace; rest for the soul! It is REST INDEED! Ceasing from Sin, the works of the flesh, and entering his holiness. Christians should attend every regular service as much as possible, they should go to revivals, conventions, camp meetings,  and retreats yearly, even as God commanded his people in the Old Testament to go up to Jerusalem three times a year for holy convocations. Paul warned the Hebrew Christians  "not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25) which is what synagogue means "assembling together." As a Christian, if one has ceased from sin and is resting (sabbath) in Christ he or she will desire to be in the house of the Lord when the doors are open whatever day it is on the calendar. One of the other reasons God commanded the Sabbath was that the physical man needs to rest, to be healthy, productive, and last! In today’s society the Christian must guard against not setting aside the day(s) when the saints meet. The soul needs rest, relation, and relaxation in God’s house and with the family of God.  

Paul says that we are not to judge one another concerning our preference of days. One esteems one day above another; someone else esteems every day alike. This is another area for liberty of choice. However, we are not to formulate a doctrine from our choice, and endeavor to impose it on the church.

Many churches follows the New Testament pattern of gathering together on the first day of the week for fellowship and instruction in the Word. It is supposed that the early church chose this day because it represented a new beginning-the resurrection of our Lord with relationship to the festival of first-fruits which occurred on the Sunday following the Passover.

If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)  

May God through Christ bless you!

If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:

https://prayerchangesthings8.blogspot.com/

If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com