John 1-5: Exciting Conversions

The first five chapters of John's Gospel give exciting accounts of individual conversion experiences. Jesus begins His public ministry after baptism by John the Baptist. Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael become His disciples. At first Nathanael expresses disbelief that anything good (as the Messiah) could come out of Nazareth. Then he actually meets Jesus, and within the context of a brief conversation, he exclaims, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel!"

In Chapter 2 Jesus performs His first miracle--changing water to wine--at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Those who are serving the water/wine (and know that it was originally water) have an opportunity to think about who Jesus really is and to come to faith in Him.

In Chapter 3 Nicodemus, a man hardly thought to be a candidate for conversion (because he is a pharisee, a member of a group that is hostile to Jesus) has an encounter with the Lord that brings him to truth and salvation.

In Chapter 4, Jesus goes to Samaria, a place and a people hated by the Jews, and He brings salvation to an entire city. Then He returns to Cana and brings salvation to a nobleman and his household.

In Chapter 5, Jesus brings salvation (and physical healing) to a man who has been incapacitated and hopeless for 38 years.

In these first five chapters, John tells his audience by example that Jesus saves the rich and honorable (Nicodemus and the nobleman), the working class (fishermen), the poor (lame man), the dishonorable (Samaritan woman); the skeptic (Nathanael), the ultra religious (a pharisee), and the foreigner (Samarians). Is there any class or category that Jesus will not save? No! So why art thou cast down, O my soul?...hope thou in God (Psalm 42:11). And Believer, be reinvigorated to pray for that lost one!

Halloween for Believers?

Ephesians 4 and 5 give instruction to the believer in regard to his behavior. He is told to quit following after the dictates of the culture around him and, rather, to behave in a righteous and holy manner.

A casual reading of these chapters may look like nothing more than a list of "do's and don't's" but the admonition as a whole is telling the believer that his behavior should be startlingly different from that of the world around him. The believer has a new nature--one that constantly should be seeking to please the Lord.

The unredeemed nature of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9.) Most people in any culture are not believers (Matthew 7: 13-14, the narrow way) and the popular traditions and customs will rarely be Christian. The culture of the unredeemed man will be based upon lies and deception because the unredeemed people (the majority) follow Satan, who is the father of lies, rather than following the Lord Jesus, Who is the Truth (John 14:6).

In practical application the question arises: how can a true believer participate in any way in the occult, the dark practices identified with Satan? The most obvious practice this month (October) is the pagan holiday of Halloween.

Why do Christians try to find a way to celebrate this occult holiday and somehow make their actions Biblically acceptable? Some may respond that they only do the "fun" things and not the scary things. What then is the lesson of First Corinthians 8 and 10, where Paul advises believers not to participate in eating meat sacrificed to idols? The admonition there does not stem from the meat itself being tainted, but from the affiliation with pagans in a practice of idol-worship (which is demon-worship).

A similar lesson is reflected in the Old Testament, where syncretistic ( mixed) worship led to forsaking God altogether. In Numbers 25 (and 31:16) Balaam, a wicked prophet, advises a foreign king in a scheme to overcome the Hebrews: have the foreign, pagan women entice the Hebrew men to engage in sexual immorality with them; then the men, in order to please the women, joined them in their idolatrous practices. This effort at mixing paganism with true worship failed (as it always does) and soon the men had forsaken their own God completely.

Compromise in the area of purity, righteousness, holiness and truth constitutes "friendship with the world" and puts a person at "enmity" with God (James 4:4). If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). Rather than looking for loopholes that seem to permit the Christian to have "fun" with the pagans, why doesn't the Christian seek to behave in a manner that glorifies God?

Just what is "love of the world?" Is it just a phrase in the Bible with no meaning to it? Cannot the Christian community even take a stand against Halloween, an obviously occultic holiday? Imagine having to answer to the Lord Jesus about taking part in an event that is known as the biggest day of the year for worshiping Satan!

Ezekiel 34--Shepherds Eating The Flock!

This chapter begins with the Word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel in order for him to give a warning to the priests and other religious (church) leaders of the day: judgment from God is coming to you who should be taking care of God's "flock" of people, but instead of seeing to their needs, all you are doing is taking care of yourselves. And worse yet, you are ceaselessly enriching yourselves at the expense of the poor, especially those who are unable to take care of themselves and who are looking to you for assistance. Instead of taking care of the flock, you are actually eating the flock (Ez 34:1-8).

Ezekiel uses these analogies: Not only do you eat up the good pasture for yourselves, you trod down the gleanings underfoot so that the rest of the people cannot even eat decent gleanings. You also drink your fill from deep waters, but you foul the drinking water for the rest of the people with your feet (Ez 34:18-19).You are the fat cattle and you use your weight and your horns to push out the lean cattle from the herd (Ez 34:20-21).

Then the Lord gives a Word of hope to the oppressed: "Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle (i.e. the fat cattle and the lean cattle)."

Further, the Lord promises to send David as their shepherd and to raise up a "plant of renown" (Messiah) so that they will no longer be consumed with hunger or bear the shame of the heathen. The Lord reiterates His covenant with His people that He will be their God and they will be His people.

What can be learned from this chapter?
1. The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
2. Sometimes the enemy is from within. Just because a person is an esteemed religious leader does not mean that he cannot be selfish and cruel.
3. God will help His people: be they poor, weak and defenseless, even God Himself will come to their aid.
4. Sometimes God's people go through hard times and it is not their fault and is not due to their own sin.
5. Even in the most harsh condemnation and indictment, God has a Word of hope.
6. All of God's Word is important and should be studied, even the uncomfortable passages about His judgment (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

John 4--Samaritan Woman at the Well

Jesus, a Jew, violated social prohibitions by speaking to a Samaritan woman. The Jews condemned the Samaritans as "half-breeds" because they had intermarried with foreigners and had adopted their idolatrous practices. For a man, especially a rabbi, to speak to a woman on the street, especially one of ill-repute, was socially unacceptable. For a Jew to speak to a Samaritan was equally unacceptable.

Jesus asked the woman for a drink of water. Instead of giving Him a drink, she responded merely by saying that He was a Jew--revealing her own prejudice. Jesus spoke to her about "living water" and a "well of water springing up into everlasting life." She perceived He was talking to her about spiritual matters and that He was claiming to be Someone greater than their ancestor Jacob.

He then talked with her about cohabiting with a man that was not her husband. She perceived that , if He knew this information, He must be a prophet . She then asked Him about spiritual matters: where God was located in so far as worshiping Him was concerned--in Samaria or in Jerusalem? She also said that she knew the Messiah was coming. Jesus revealed plainly to this woman that the Messiah of whom she spoke was none other than He Himself.

She believed Him and ran into the city to tell others that she had found the Messiah. Many believed in Jesus because of her testimony; others, who came to investigate the matter, believed in Jesus because of their personal encounter with Him.

Then Jesus began His return to Cana of Galilee, where He had performed His first miracle (turning water into wine.) A nobleman from Capernaum approached Him about healing his sick son. Jesus accused him of miracle-seeking. The nobleman pleaded with Him for the life of his son. Jesus spoke and said the boy was healed. The nobleman believed Him and then his whole household came to believe in Jesus.

John 4 gives accounts of the salvation experience of an immoral woman of low social standing who was not even fully Jewish and that of a nobleman. It is clear that the way to salvation is not through any man-made schemes of works, morality, or social order, but solely through belief in Jesus as the Son of God. Both these individuals had to reject their own pride and come to Him humbly admitting their need. He did not turn either away. In John 6:37 Jesus said, "...and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." What is better to have--one's pride or the Son of God?

1 Corinthians 16--Final Instructions

The Corinthian believers had agreed to take up a collection to help the impoverished believers in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul instructs them to donate each week to this fund so that when he came to get it, no special collection would be necessary.

Paul also instructs them to receive Timothy as a Christian minister the same as Paul. (Timothy was younger, but he was a teacher and preacher and was like Paul's own son.) Similarly, Paul tells them that Stephanas and his household were in ministry the same as Paul's and that the Corinthians should follow their teaching.

In his farewell, Paul sends them greetings from Aquila and Priscilla and the church that met in their house in Ephesus.

And finally, Paul tells them for anyone who does not love the Lord Jesus--"let them be accursed."

What can be learned from this final chapter of First Corinthians?

1. Paul is taking up a collection for Jerusalem. He is not telling believers in general to take up a collection every week if they did not have a specific purpose for the collection.

2. Paul commends certain men in ministry as being sound in the faith so that their teaching should be followed. This commendation would help the Corinthians understand that not everyone teaches sound doctrine but these men are trustworthy because their teaching is the same as Paul's. Every doctrine expounded among the assembly of believers or from house to house ought to be examined to see if it agrees with Scripture.

3. Paul curses those that do not love the Lord Jesus. The implication is that there are both teachers and other church members who profess to trust Christ, but who do not really know the Lord or follow Him. This idea of being cursed shows the seriousness of professing Christ insincerely and the urgent need to examine those who profess to be Christians, especially if they are teachers, for the reality of their faith.