Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity

The propers for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity can be found on Page 220-222:

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity

The Collect.

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ORD we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Dru Arnold read the Epistle for today, which came from Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians beginning at the Third Verse of the First Chapter.  Writing to the church in Philippia, Paul sends his greetings letting them know he has been praying for them constantly.  He tells them that the good work God has begun in them will surely continue until Christ returns to them.  Paul tells them he prays that they will find more and more joy in following the will of God.  Continually reminding people of the joy of being born a new person, Paul prays that their “love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

I

 thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Hap Arnold read the Holy Gospel came from the Twenty-Eighth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew beginning at the Twenty-First Verse.  On the subject of confession, repentance and forgiveness, knowing the rabbis had ordained forgiving one’s transgressors three times Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”  Knowing Jesus as he did, Peter no doubt expected Jesus to say more times than three, but 490 may have been somewhat more than he expected.  In one of the more important stories in the Bible concerning God’s forgiveness of us and our obligation to forgive others, Jesus went on to liken the kingdom of heaven to a king, who was balancing his accounts.  He found a servant who owed him, in today’s terms, a million dollars.  The man had no money, but promised to pay and begged for mercy rather than have himself and his family sold into slavery as the law allowed to repay the debt.  The king forgave him the debt and set him free.  Upon release, the man being reminded of his debts, began to attempt to collect from those who owed him.  The first debtor he came across owed him $10.00 and had it not.  The one who had been forgiven cast the $10.00 debtor into prison.  The king found out and bye, bye.

The quote is - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Not – Do unto others before they do unto you.

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eter said unto Jesus, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Sermon – Rev Deacon Jack Arnold – Time and Action

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity

The Collect.

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ORD we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

In the Collect we ask the Lord to keep His household (that would be us) in continual godliness (that is to keep Him as our leader and follow Him), so that with His Help we can have as smooth a path as practical and serve Him in happiness.

Saint Paul follows this same thought in his Epistle when he thanks the Philippians for their fellowship and talks about how they in the bond through Christ have strengthened his faith as a result which enabled him to continue doing his good works for the Lord. In this same way our friends in the AOC, strengthen our faith as we tell others about the good news of our Lord and the faith in which we all share.  The more we love the Lord, the more it will show through in our actions and our judgment.

Which brings us to the point of the Gospel, in which Christ tells Peter about forgiveness and how we must be ever patient with our fellow humans, and if they are repentant grant them that forgiveness, no matter how many times they might err and vex us.  If they are truly sorry for their sins, then God will forgive them. We are not forgiving them ourselves, but informing them God has forgiven them for their sins. We can forgive them for personal trespasses against us, but through God’s power, only He can grant absolution of our sins, not us.  I do not remember Christ telling Peter humans have the power to forgive sins, like the Roman Catholics claim they have, but rather that God must forgive sins, but we can tell others that God has forgiven them.

The parable illustrates what happens to those who are forgiven, but yet turn around and do not forgive their neighbor (in this case, a debtee.) for their sins and have thus abused their forgiveness from Our Lord, and will find himself in a very poor spot in the life hereafter.

The Collect’s prayer the Collect, Epistle and Gospel tie together, laying out, detailing and reinforcing the same message, ultimately.  We have to be willing to forgive others, tell them about God’s forgiveness, and not turn around and commit a grave error in not forgiving others as God has forgiven us for our sins. We have to act more like God everyday, though we are not perfect. If we try our utmost best, then that is all we can do.

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God

Bishop Ogles’ Sermon

We are oft fortunate to get copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes.  Today is one of those Sundays.  Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always, it will give you a lot to consider in your heart.

Sermon Notes

Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday

4 November 2012, Anno Domini

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity

The Collect.

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ORD we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

   21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matt 18:21-35)

Peace of mind is one of the fruits of forgiveness. Even when we are sure in our minds that we have been irreparably wronged, there is a sore spot in our hearts that says, FORGIVE.

            The wrong done you will not result in the loss of an arm, or of one's life. Go to that person who has wronged you. He is hurting more than you are. Frankly forgive him in the same way Christ forgives you.

A tree grows and produces fruit because of the outward benefit the leaves provide through the process of photosynthesis to the inward tree, just as the inner tree gives growthe to the leaves. If we take away the leaves, the inner tree will die. Forgiveness is the leaves of the tree of our hearts.

Peter seems to be the spokesmen of choice for the disciples. He is fearless in being open and frank. One of the others most likely planted the question in Peter's mind – most likely Judas – the least forgiving of all. So Peter frames the question in a manner consistent with the law of Moses. He feels that seven times is a large number, but Christ gives him an answer that is intended to indicated that, like love, there should be no bottom to our forgiveness.

There are three stages of forgiveness that  are consistent with the manner in which God forgives.

1)      When a brother, not one of the world, offends me, I should forgive that person in the silent chambers of my heart , but not yet openly.  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Eph 4:32) The bitterness of unforgiving spirit is then taken from our own hearts.

2)      I do not inform him of my forgiveness for him since that would not be consistent with the manner in which God forgives. I

 must go to him, in love, and rebuke him for his offense. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.   (Luke 17:3)

3)      Immediately upon the friend's apology, you must inform him that he is forgiven. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.  (Luke 17:4)

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (Matt 5:22-24)

There are reasons for righteous anger and indignation. It spurs us to action to remedy a wicked circumstance such as rape, murder, molesting little children, etc.

We now have the parable of the Kingdom involving a King. That King is God the Father.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

            In the days of this accounting, the amount of ten thousand talents was an enormous amount – more than $20,000,000.00.  The King in this story represents God. The debtor – you and me. Without the remission of our debts (sins) we are sold off into slavery and bondage to Satan. In fact, we sell ourselves out to that merciless master.

            We may deem it a simple thing for a great King to forgive even an enormous debt, and feel that we are justified in demanding the last cent owed us by a poor man; but though God is a great King, He has a great Heart and is willing to forgive. It was no simple thing for Him to forgive our sins and remit them. It cost Him the life-blood of His only Begotten Son!

            A minister was discussing forgiveness with some school boys one day. One of the boys was incensed that his friend had struck him on the playground. The minister asked, "Jimmy, do you think, in view of the Scripture passage we just read on forgiveness, that you could find it in your heart to forgive another boy who hurt you, or struck you, on the playground?" Jimmy responded, "Y-e-e-s-s, Sir, I suppose I could," and then added, "I could if he was bigger than me!" Well God is bigger than all of us. But He desires that we love others as a measure of our love for Him.

            The debtor in the parable pleads for patience. Apparently, the King has long exercised patience with this man, and there is no more time for it. God's Spirit will not always strive with man. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh (Gen 6:3) God cannot renew an unwilling spirit to reconcile that spirit to His own Spirit of Righteousness. Those whose hearts are not full of love and forgiveness do not belong to God.

           28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

            See how this unworthy servant has received such a mighty forgiveness, and at enormous cost (as you and me through the blood of Christ) – yet cannot forgive even a small debt (100 pence or three months average wage at the time) of a fellow servant of less means. He will sell him into bondage! This is not God-like. This is not Christ-like! This is very much like the devil that deceived Eve.

            You may have had a dear friend spite you in a small matter, but the resentment has built in your heart – it has grown beyond the proportions of a normal Mustard Tree and taken over your whole heart. You are weary day by day and avoid even looking into your dear friends eyes. He is hurt by your behavior, but who suffers more: the offender, or the victim. Seeds of wrath in the heart bare trees of hatred and misery.

            We have all fallen so very short of the righteousness of God that it is completely beyond our sight, but Christ gives us the means to assume that righteousness of His own. He forgives our sins, washes us clean, and is ever ready to renew our hearts when we repent of every offense. He suffered intensely for you and me. Can we not overlook the smallest infraction by a friend?

            The criminal has no rest of conscience in constantly contemplating his being discovered. Many would find greater joy in confessing their faults and paying debt than in whiling away in constant fear. The sinner suffers no such dilemma. The King stands at the ready to forgive promptly and completely every sin confessed, and those unthought of sins unconfessed. We need only remove the shroud of false pride and bitterness, empty our hearts of hate, and come to Him seeking forgiveness in repentance. There is no cost to the sinner for such a benefit for the cost has already been paid by the King's Son. If you have resentment and hate in your heart growing from unforgiven offences, open you heart to the Dipper of Love in God's Hand and forgive all. Then you may have rest to your souls. Amen.

Bishop Dennis Campbell’s Sermon

Bishop Dennis is a brilliant speaker.  He is able to take biblical precepts and make them perfectly understandable, even to me.  Oft he provides the text of his sermons and I take the utmost pleasure in passing them on:

God and Godliness

Psalm 32, Philippians 1:3-11, Matthew 18:21-35

Twenty -second Sunday after Trinity

November 4, 2011

It has truly been said that the longest journey begins with the first step.  Sometimes we look at the spiritual journey to which God has called us, and, seeing it is long and difficult and filled with dangers, we shrink back from it, afraid to make such a commitment or to devote ourselves to such a seemingly impossible task.  In such times we need to remind ourselves that we cannot accomplish the entire journey in one mighty leap.  We must take it one step at a time.  Put one foot in front of the other, and keep on walking until we reach our Heavenly home.

It is also true that each step is a new beginning.  It is a new chance to put one foot in front of the other, or to stop, quit, or turn back.  Everyone knows we cannot reach our destination by quitting.  Only those who continue the journey will reach the goal.

This is more true in spiritual things than in any other sphere of life.  A writer may never achieve the goal of writing a great masterpiece, yet still have some measure of success.  An architect may never achieve the goal of designing a great cathedral, yet still plan useful buildings for homes and businesses and churches.  But in spiritual things there is no such thing as partial success.  We either continue in Christ to the end, or we do not.  We either follow our Lord to Heaven, or we allow the devil to take us to hell.  Thus we come to the point we are trying to draw from this morning's Scripture readings; continue in Godliness.

Philippians 1 commends the Church at Philippi for their fellowship in the Gospel.  This fellowship is much deeper than simply believing the same doctrines and enjoying one another's company.  It is a common participation in a way of life  It is consciously and intentionally uniting together in Christ.  It is sharing life together as the people of God and body of Christ.  It is intentionally allowing their fellow Christians to become a part of their lives, and intentionally becoming a part of the lives of other Christians.  It is also having a compassionate and active concern for one another, similar to that which Christ has for them.  One of the sad misunderstandings of contemporary evangelicalism is its neglect of the communal aspect of the faith.  It has emphasised personal autonomy and personal salvation and personal relationships with God so much that the Church has been reduced to a voluntary association which we are free to take or leave according to our own convenience or preferences in music or style.  In such thinking, the Biblical teaching of oneness in Christ is in danger of being reduced to a mere metaphor, or a spiritualized reference to the invisible Church.

According to scripture, the visible Church is a connected Church and the individual Christian is a connected Christian.  The Church does not consist of autonomous Christians in independent churches associating with one another by choice.  It is one body, the Body of Christ in which individual congregations and Christians are members of the organic whole.

Paul urges the Philippians to "abound yet more and more... till the day of Christ."  He is telling them to continue in Godliness.  They have made good start, but a good start is nothing unless they continue in Godliness.

Matthew 18 shows an important aspect of continuing in Godliness.  We are to forgive as Christ has forgiven us.  Forgiveness means to wipe the record clean of offences, and to treat others as though they have committed no offenses against you, and, as though there is nothing in their mannerisms that is offensive to you.  Matthew 18 also shows us how to deal with serious offences and breeches of fellowship, and I urge everyone to read and practice our Lord's teaching there.

It is important to remember Christ was talking about our relationships within the Church.  He was talking to Jews who were fellow members of the people of God.  This does not mean we don't have to forgive unbelievers.  But the Lord's concern here is the preservation of unity and harmony within the Church.  Nor does forgiveness mean we are to allow ourselves to be assaulted with false doctrine and practice within the local church or denomination.  If such things exist in our fellowship, we must make a serious, loving attempt to remedy them.  If such attempts fail, we have no choice but to remove ourselves from them.

The main point here, today, is that we do not allow offences against us to prevent us from continuing in Godliness.  We forgive offenses, and continue to place one foot in front of the other in the journey of faith.

There is no doubt about the difficulty of this.  We grow weary of fighting the same battles and temptations over and over.  We are saddened by the un-Godliness in our nation and world, and, of course, in ourselves.  We grow tired of the burdens we carry, and when we see another problem coming toward us, we are tempted to move away like a horse that doesn't want to be ridden.

But it is not only the burdens and trials  of life that tempt us to give up on God.  It is more than even offenses committed against us by other Christians.  The weight of our own sins, and the consequences of them in our daily lives deprives us of our joy in Christ, and tempts us to quit, rather than continue in Godliness.  Psalm 32 addresses this.  Written by David after his sin with Bathsheba, David recognizes that he has brought most of his problems upon himself.  That is probably true of most of us.  We follow our own desires, either unconcerned about the will of God, or convincing ourselves our sins will have no great effect on our lives and relationships, and in doing so we pile hot coals upon our heads.  A person who habitually drives in a careless fashion will eventually lose the right to drive, one way or another.  A person who refuses to do his job will find himself unemployed.  A person who neglects the means of grace will, at best, find that the passing years bring him no closer to God, and may even find that his faith was a pretense all of those years, and now it is completely dead.  As St. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:7, "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

I want to quickly address two other points of this Psalm. First, now is the time to devote yourself to continuing in Godliness.  now is the time to start putting one foot in front of the other and keep on walking until you reach Heaven.  This is accomplished by recognizing and turning away from sin, and trusting in Christ.  It is accomplished by diligence in prayer, worship, the Scriptures, the Church, and obedience in the everyday things of life.  These are the steps on the journey of faith.  Doing these things is the way we put one foot in front of the other and follow Jesus.  I think we are sometimes like Naaman in that we want God to ask us to do some great mission and undertake some great quest for Him.  Instead He tells us to go home and care for our families, mow the lawn, rake the leaves, cook the meals, earn our living, go to Church, read the Bible, pray with your family, and love one another.  These are the small steps of daily continuing in Godliness.

The second point is, God will help you.  In the first 8 verses of Psalm 32, David is speaking to God.  Here David repents of his sin and commit his way unto God again.  But in verse 9 God speaks to David.  "I will inform thee, and teach thee in the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will guide thee with mine eye."  God is promising to help David.  He is promising to teach David what He needs to know about living a life that is happy and fulfilling and avoids some the pits into which David has recently fallen.  He makes the same promise to you.  The Bible is His teaching, not only about how to get to heaven, but also about how to find meaning and joy in life again. It teaches you how to continue in Godliness.  And all the means of grace I talk about so often, are the means by which God teaches and guides you now in this life.  They lead you into the gladness and joy expressed in Psalm 32:12.  That's a wonderful verse, but I think verse 11 is the great conclusion of the Psalm, and an appropriate closing to the sermon; "whoso putteth his trust in the Lord, mercy embraceth him on every side."

Father of all mercies, keep us in continual Godliness, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

+Dennis Campbell

Bishop, Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia

Rector, Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church

Powhatan, Virginia

www.HolyTrinityAnglicanOrthodoxChurch.org

www.lifeinthescriptures.blogspot.com

Rev Bryan Dabney of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon

We are fortunate to have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon.  If you want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, expouse the truth and live the truth.    This is really a good piece and I commend it to your careful reading.

Leave no room for the Devil. Be too busy for him. Have no time and no place for him. Vacant places invite him. The Devil loves a vacuum. A very busy person himself, he does his biggest business with those who have no business.

The Rev. E. M. Bounds– 19th and 20th century American pastor and author.

The Sermon – Fear

In our epistle lesson today (II St. Timothy 1:7) we read the apostle's admonition, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. In the apostle John's first epistle (4:18), we find the following: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. Now consider verse 10 of Psalm 111: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. Atheists and agnostics are quick to grasp selected passages of Scripture because of their seeming paradoxical nature without seeking to learn their precise biblical meaning. Nevertheless, they will attach their own meaning to such passages, usually in an effort to repudiate the divine authenticity of the Bible, as well as to mischaracterize the Christian religion as nothing more than an ancient fable founded upon hypocrisy and inconsistency. What a load of rubbish!

We Christians were long ago warned by our apostolic fathers that there would be mockers, scoffers and heretics who would seek to undo the faith of even the elect. St. Peter wrote the following warning in his second epistle (3:3-4a) Knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? And later in that chapter (vv. 15-16) the apostle wrote a stirring defense of St. Paul, whose writings the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Twisting God's word is not something he takes lightly and he will judge in the strongest terms those who have misused his word written for their sordid purposes. Witness the words of the apostle John in Revelation, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life... (22:18-19).

Returning to the passages above concerning FEAR, let us reflect on what the Bible has to say about this word. First of all, we can define FEAR to be anything which causes us anxiety. We FEAR an economic meltdown because it might result in our being financially ruined. We FEAR criminal gangs because they interfere with our right to unhindered enjoyment of public spaces. We FEAR foreign interventions because they might result in a global war which will result in a horrendous loss of life, and, given our tenuous economic state, one which will likely upset the general framework of our public order. We FEAR the expansion of government control over our lives because it will diminish our privacy and impact negatively upon our rights and liberties as free persons. Yes, there is much we could add to our list of current and worldly fears.

In the Old Testament we learn that, as the psalmist noted (111:10), The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. From this passage, FEAR is interpreted to mean having a healthy respect for God as our Supreme Judge. We are all under the curse of original sin, hence, we should be anxious because we tend toward sinful actions and thinking. God is to be thus feared for we are in danger of his eternal judgment. The law was given to make us aware of our sinful natures. Witness the apostle Paul's words in Romans (3:19-20), Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for the law is the knowledge of sin. It also provided a means for covering sin in order that the Old Testament saints might commune with God. Witness also the words of Moses in the book of Leviticus (16:30-34a), For on that day [the Day of Atonement] shall the priest make an atonement of you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD... And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year... Needless to say that time and again, the children of Israel violated God's law and lived in outright disobedience to his expressed will. In such a state, they had lost that godly fear which was necessary for their fellowship with him. And so, without a godly FEAR, they did not seek to be cleansed of their iniquities which in turn opened them up to God's wrath.

In the New Testament, God has called us through Christ Jesus to a perfect love of the Godhead which casts out FEAR. Through our Saviour, we have been justified and sanctified so that we have moved from FEAR to FAITH. We are to trust in the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost who guides us into all truth and, in the process, leads us to confess our sins and trespasses. On that account, that we are made right with our God who loves us. Consider the words of Moses as found in the book of Deuteronomy (6:4, 5) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shall love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. As Christians, our love of Jesus Christ brings us the love of God the Father. Faith, then, overcomes the natural tendency in us to FEAR the judgment of a righteous and holy God. Our Lord encourages us to consider him a friend as well as our Saviour. Witness also the words of our Lord as recorded in St. John's gospel (15:14-15), Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Hence forth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

The critic, the skeptic, and all others of the profane will not be satisfied with this or any other explanation because it will require them to recognize that there is a sovereign God whose laws are immutable, and whose judgments are sure and certain. If they should ever come to such an understanding of the Godhead, they will either have to accept him, and thus acquiesce to his will. Otherwise, they will persist in their rejection of him, much as the leaders of the Jews did during the time of our Lord's earthly ministry. If it be the latter, they will have much to FEAR!

The earthly and profane rulers of this world seek to instill FEAR into all who are subject to their control. That is basically how human government has perverted its duty to preserve righteousness and truth, and it is entirely demonic. The Devil seeks to imprison as many as he can with a spirit of FEAR because it is both crippling and debilitating. He and his minions wish for even the elect to live in such a state as it will impair their communication of the gospel of truth to those who languish in the prison house of sin and degradation. We must not FEAR. We must do our duty. God has given us his word written to serve as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. As Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is reputed to have said, "The duty is ours the consequences are God's." Live, therefore, in obedience to Christ and live without fear knowing that all is in God's hands.

Let us pray,

F

ather, lead us by means of thy most blessed Spirit, that we might fulfil the works and duties which thou wouldest have us do; and give us hearts to love thee so that we might live without fear: knowing that we have a loving and caring God before us, and that our sins and trespasses are behind us; for these things we ask in the name of our Saviour and Friend, even Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Have a blessed week,

Bryan+