Morning Moments

In the first chapter (yesterday) we looked at "Cutting It Straight" in terms of the overall subject of Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth.  Today, I want to consider the subject of:

CLASSIFYING THE SAINTS

In the study of Scripture, we must understand that although all Scripture in God Inspired - God’s Spirit moved upon the human authors to write the text, whether that text accounts the work of Heaven, Humans (faithful and foolish, believing and unbelieving, natural, carnal, and spiritual), and Hell (Satan and his demonic influences), using their personalities and vocabularies, even when some of them did not understand what they were writing.

Let me explain something!  The Bible, is even at times a record of lies - not of God, but of men.  So if someone asks me, “Does the Bible contains lies?”  I must answer, “Yes!  The lies of evil men and their father the devil, as well as the lies of some of God’s own people.  But the TRUTH is that God recorded their lies.

Another thing that is important in the Study of Scripture is the clear understanding that a sign of God’s blessing upon the Jew was MATERIAL, whereas the sign of God’s blessing upon the Church is SPIRITUAL and involves persecution for those who suffer for Jesus sake and share in His affliction from a world that hates us and hated Him before us.  

We in the Western world, who have been “at ease in Zion” spiritually for so long have bought into so many misleading teachings about health and wealth, which we have sought at the expense of holiness and wisdom.  Prosperity was for the Jew and Persecution is for the Christian.  Do not confuse the two!  

It is not to say that the Jews have not suffered, for surely they have as much, if not more than any.  But since they cannot, in the words of John Phillips, be annihilated nor assimilated, they remain uniquely, distinctly, and racially JEWS!

On the other hand, the Christian is called to SUFFER, according to the writers of the New Testament, in their identification and participation in the sufferings of Christ, even to our extent of bearing “in our bodies” in some cases, the “marks of the Lord Jesus”.

Whether Jew or Gentile, when we repent of our sins and make a life commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we become Christian.  In Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free, male nor female” etc. for we are ONE in HIM. 

The crux of the matter is that despite the dispensational approach to Scripture, there are two MAIN COVENANTS:  The OLD through which God sought to bring into this world His SON!  Then there is the NEW through which God will take from this world a BRIDE for that SON!  ALL who are of "faith" (God's faith) are "saints", but just as Abraham sent his servant for a BRIDE for his son, Isaac, so God has sent His Holy Spirit under the New Covenant to seek out a BRIDE for His Son, Jesus!  The promise of God for the Old Testament saints of Israel was for an EARTHLY Inheritance, but the promise of God for New Testament saints is HEAVENLY!  Don't confuse the two.  The purpose of each is different!  The prosperity of each is different!  The promises for each are different!  The place (eternal dwelling) of each is different.  BUT all are a part of this vast Kingdom over which God is Sovereign and we are His Subjects, and as such, all are saints.  Next we shall consider:  CONSIDERATION OF SUBJECTS

BLESSINGS!