Topical Studies
Guarding the Truth
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Jeremiah 5:2-4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The first thing that Jeremiah did was go out on the street, as it were, into the factories, the grade schools, the shopping bazaars, the restaurants, the gas stations, and the sports fields. He went where the common man worked, played, and interacted. Perhaps he asked a lot of questions and kept his ears open for what was happening. He soon came to the conclusion that nobody there was seeking truth. Then he began to think, "Well, maybe we can excuse these people because they are not well educated and poor. They don't have their fingers on the buttons of power. They're not wealthy enough to have any influence. I will visit academia and the think tanks and the big homes on the hill. Perhaps people in those places are seeking truth."
John W. Ritenbaugh
Truth (Part 1)
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Jeremiah 5:5 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
How discouraging this must have been for Jeremiah! God gave this nation an awesome promise: "I won't allow you to be invaded. Your culture and civilization will continue. Your young men will not be killed in warfare. I will rescue you and give you peace. I will give you all of this—if you can just find one person who is seeking truth." Judah, at this time, is a nation of corrupt leadership and apathetic people. It is an appalling, horrible picture.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Truth (Part 1)
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Matthew 5:34-37 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Jesus advises us not to swear at all, but to say simply, "Yes" or "No" (verse 37). If we are honest, we have no need to take an oath. He goes so far as to say that anything more than "Yes" or "No" has its source in the father of lies (John 8:44)! There are several aspects to these verses. The overall statement Jesus makes is that we do not need to swear by anything to confirm that our statements are true. A Christian's word should be his bond, as the old saying goes. We should be so bound by the ninth commandment that nothing else is necessary. The not-so-obvious meaning of these verses is that we should not lightly give an oath or make a vow to God to acquire something. We have many desires, and some might take it upon themselves to ask God for them, promising to perform a certain deed if He gives it to them. Jesus warns that once we get what we want, we may forget what we promised to perform. Numbers 30 shows that God does not take reneging on our promises lightly. Should Christians make vows today? God tells us the best course to take in Matthew 5:34, "But I say to you, do not swear at all." James writes that it is best not to make them so we do not "fall into judgment" (James 5:12). Though God advises us not to vow, we can still make vows if we so choose. In making one, however, we should consider the examples of Hanna and Jephthah. We should seriously contemplate what we are requesting and what we are promising, always asking ourselves, "Can I make good on what I've promised?" We are a special people to God. He has called us, and has great love for us. He hears our prayers as we obey and love Him. We should give a great deal of thought to whether we need to make a vow when we have such instant and open access to the very throne of God. He does indeed hear our prayers, and He answers them according to what He sees is good for us. Why should we make vows when we know that He will give us or deny us what is best for us?
John O. Reid
Should We Make Vows Today?
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John 1:17 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This does not mean that what was in the law was not true. John is merely saying that grace came and a complete telling, or revealing, of the truth was made through the Mediator—Jesus Christ our Savior. He finished it, put the capstone on it, and revealed it to us. So whatever does not agree with the truth is false or unprofitable. Whatever is false will not lead to eternal life but to the second death—where we do not want to go! Once we see that "the light of truth" has illuminated something false, we drop it. We should get away from it as fast as we can. Do not linger over it.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Preventing Deception
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2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
From God's perspective, these people had the truth presented to them, and they did not love it. It does not mean that they did not agree with it, but that they did not love it. When Paul says that God sends a delusion, he means that God quits trying to save them and gives them over to their own desires (see Romans 1:24-26). They placed their delight—their desires—in unrighteousness. We can see that, in this kind of situation, a Christian cannot afford to be neutral. Is that not what the Laodiceans are shown as being—fence sitting neutrals, lukewarm, neither all the way in the world nor all the way in the church? We will either love the truth of God or not. We are either going to give ourselves over to it or not, even though we may agree with it. Thus, Paul is saying, "Don't be neutral! Love the truth!"
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 4)
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1 Timothy 6:11-12 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Flee from these vain arguments and attitudes! Press on for righteousness! The Greek literally reads, "agonize the good agony" through the struggles involved in a Christian life (verse 12).
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!
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1 Timothy 6:20-21 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
He says, "Guard the deposit," which is "what was committed to your trust" literally means, as if one were making a deposit at a bank. Guard the deposit, the sound doctrine, the revelation of Jesus Christ! Paul calls what he should avoid "godless chatter," or as translated here "profane and vain babblings." "Contradictions" is the Greek antithesis, a rival theory, fact, or concept. Paul means of course those rival arguments to the true doctrine.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!
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2 Timothy 1:9 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This verse begins a section introducing his admonition to hold fast what has been entrusted to our care which he calls "the testimony of our Lord." What is a testimony? Most commonly, it is used when a person is called upon to give an account of what he witnessed. This, however, is a narrow usage. In a broader application, Webster says that it means "firsthand authentication of a fact," which is what one is called upon to do in a court trial, to verify a fact. A trial lawyer may ask, "Did you know this person before such and such a date?" The witness then authenticates whether or not this fact is true. Testimony also means "evidence." The lawyer asks, "What did you see?" And then the witness presents his evidence. But it can also mean "a solemn declaration, an open acknowledgment." This is closer to what Jesus Christ did. He gave an open acknowledgment, a solemn declaration, of a message that He left with mankind. That was the testimony of our Lord, the message of the Messenger. The church knows it as the gospel of the Kingdom of God. To turn the last clause of this verse into plain English, God began His purpose before time! Not only is the fulfillment of the gospel yet future, its beginning stretches all the way back before time began as human beings look at it. At some point in the distant past before mankind, God's purpose began moving toward completion. If the gospel began before time, and if it is the essence of future events, then we can logically conclude that God's purpose is not completed! Completion of the purpose, of the good news, is still future. Whatever lies in the future is the goal toward which the purpose is moving, and that goal is the good news. Of course, there will be wonderful and encouraging accomplishments along the way. We could call them benchmarks. Although alone they are good news, it is the culmination of them that is the good news.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!
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2 Timothy 1:13-14 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
He tells Timothy—and every Christian—to hold to the standards that the apostle had delivered to him. And, he says, the only way to keep the doctrines is both to live it and proclaim it with faith and love. Paul is concerned, not just about the truth, but also about how it is preserved, in faith and love. Regarding keeping the deposit through God's Holy Spirit, The Expositor's Bible Commentary states, "It has been well said that the Holy Spirit is the great Conservator of orthodoxy" (vol. 11, p. 397). In other words, a person led by and using the Spirit of God will not turn away from the teaching delivered by the apostles.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!
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Revelation 3:2-3 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
One can only have a remainder when he has had a whole previously. Some portion of it is gone. For many of these people, the relationship is dead. However, He still makes reference to a previous, better condition: "Remember therefore what you have received and heard." It is as if He is recalling something that they had once shared, something that He had given them. They had received it and grasped it, but it was slipping away—to the extent that some of them were dead. The relationship in these cases was broken. Thus, to those who remain, He exhorts them to hold on to what they have been given: "Strengthen the things that remain."
John W. Ritenbaugh
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part 4)
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Revelation 3:2 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
God first addresses their "works." While they may still have the truth, their dead works indicate a lack of living faith (James 2:17-20). This indicates a people who perceive themselves to be alive, but who apparently are basically standing still, spiritually catatonic, and comatose. They may exist as stones in the Temple, but not as "living stones" (I Peter 2:5). Perhaps this is why Christ says "not one stone will be left upon another" (Matthew 24:2)!
Staff
The Seven Churches: Sardis
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Revelation 22:18-19 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Though these words were written specifically about the book of Revelation, the principle is significant in light of today's church. Christ's concern at the very end is that His people do not deviate from what is written in the book. To remain in His safety, a Christian must be submissive to Him, worshiping Him in every aspect of life, continuing to develop in Christian freedom, not enveloped by an attitude that may prove to be spiritually fatal.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!
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