FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Mark 9:14-27

II. The Shortage of Faith

“He [Jesus] answered him and said, ‘O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.’”

Jesus was upset with their lack of faith. The multitude did not believe, neither did the boy’s father, and the disciples lacked the faith needed to carry out the work that Christ had called them to perform.

These events took place in the third year of Jesus’ ministry. By now, He was well known for the miracles He had performed and the power He possessed. There was a lack of faith by all. The disciples especially had no excuse. They had walked with Him for a couple of years and had witnessed all that He had done. They were unable to cast out the demon because of their lack of faith. We see Jesus speaking to that in Matthew’s Gospel:

“Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

We might wonder how these things could be. How could they possibly not have believed? However, before we get to critical, we must admit that we too are guilty of the very same thing. I have witnessed the hand of God many times in my life, and yet I am guilty of unbelief at times. There are times when I have been burdened about a need in my life and I will take that need before the Lord, but often I doubt even while I am praying. Where is my faith in that?

Consider this, we don’t usually have a problem with the little things. We like to talk of faith when we are on the mountain. It is usually in a time of crisis when our faith grows weak. God expects us to trust in Him at all times, in all situations. Doubt and unbelief are sins.

“Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38).

The phrase draw back has the idea of “withdrawing, cowering in fear.” God desires us to come before Him boldly in full assurance of His power and ability.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Mark 9:14-27

Jesus had just returned from the Mount of Transfiguration to find a multitude gathered with the disciples. The scribes had also gathered and were questioning the disciples concerning their inability to heal a young man who was possessed. Jesus immediately calms the crowd, and in the events that followed, He taught a great lesson on faith.

I hope you would agree with me that we are a people of faith. We are saved by grace through faith. We walk in faith, believing in One that our eyes have never seen. We talk of faith, sing and teach of faith. Faith is a fundamental doctrine of Christianity.

However, if we are being truthful, our faith has a tendency to waver. At times it is strong and at other times it can be very weak. Even at my age, I know my faith tends to waver from time to time. The weakness of faith is the focus of this passage. I want to take a few moments to look at the aspects of faith that are revealed in these verses.

I. The Significance of Faith

“Then one of the crowd answered and said, ‘Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.’”

Here we find the great need in the passage. A man has brought his son, to the disciples for healing, one who is possessed with a demon. He is in a pitiful condition, taken in convulsions, foaming at the mouth, and gnashing in his body.

This young man was in a desperate situation. He was in need of a miracle that only the Lord could provide. His father was helpless to provide for Him. The disciples were unable to deliver the young man although Jesus had given them power to do so. Faith was all that remained. It was the only hope for this young man and his father.

In times like these, faith is significant. We have all faced situations where we were helpless to provide for a particular need. We may have been surrounded by friends and loved ones who offered loving support, but they too were unable to provide for our need.

There are times when we just have to trust the Lord in faith. We have faced situations in the past that were beyond our control and they will continue as long as we live. Faith is essential if we are to overcome. The beloved apostle John wrote in his first epistle:

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Excessive drinking is an issue in contemporary life – a  perfect example

Think of a converted alcoholic. One of the immediate consequences of his becoming a Christian will be his determination never to drink again because of the chaos it has brought to his life, and those close to him, and the unhelpful associations of which it reminds him. He finds, however, that Christians who have never been troubled by alcoholism may drink wine or spirits and thus invite him to do so when they entertain him for a meal. He knows that for him it is wrong. One drink may lead to others and the loss of his self-control. However, because these other Christians are more mature in the faith than he is, he may feel under pressure to conform to their behavior rather than to do what his conscience tells him.

In terms of black and white, no one can say that the drinking of wine and alcoholic beverages is wrong or sinful. We are not in a position to say to others, “You must not drink.” That would be an attack upon their Christian freedom. But if we, in the exercise, in the “liberty,” of our Christian freedom, especially for the sake of our Christian brother who has had a problem with alcohol, if we choose to say, “We must not drink for his sake” that is our choice, as it was Paul’s, not to do anything that creates a problem for others. This is the path of true knowledge and Christian love.

This problem however is not new. Robert Flockhart was a nineteenth-century evangelist. His early life in the army had been marred by heavy drinking. Converted while a soldier in Calcutta in India, he knew at once that drink was no longer to have a place in his life. He describes his experience one Sunday morning soon after his conversion:

“After the agreeable meeting with God’s children in the morning, and hearing the sweet sermon, and the baptism and the Lord’s Supper were over, one of the office-bearers of the church kindly invited me to go and ride along with him . . . to his house, and there dine with him. His house stood about half way between Fort William and Calcutta, and he was governor of the jail at that place. On consideration, however, I decided to refuse his friendly offer. I was but a young convert—my conscience was tender—I was afraid he would ask me to drink; that was my reason, and I was afraid of falling into sin. I was a ‘brand plucked out of the fire,’ and a brand, unlike a green stick, is easily rekindled. So I determined to decline the invitation, and went home to my own house rejoicing. The path of duty is the path of safety.”

What truly loving believer in Christ Jesus would want to deprive a young Christian of that joy and path of safety?

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Paul’s argument has three principal parts – continued

The second principle is if we understand that there is but one God and that idols have no real existence, we have to then understand also, that not all, especially and including “weak” Christians, have not yet fully grasped or comprehended this. Many Christians in Corinth were so accustomed to eating meat that had been offered first to idols that they could not eat it without remembering that association. Although, in fact, they need not have worried about it as Paul explained to them in verse 8, however their consciences were not telling them this fact. Therefore, “their conscience, being weak, is defiled.”

A weak conscience is one that cannot come to a decision on an issue where an individual is uncertain of the rightness of his or her actions. Our consciences, even if not fully attuned to all God’s will, will tell us to be willing in everything to live honestly in order to maintain a good conscience (Hebrews 13:18). “Commend us” as the Apostle used in verse 8, was used as a legal term, and so the sense of what Paul is saying can be understood that “food will not bring us before God’s judgement seat.”

The third principle is that care is always needed in the exercise of Christian freedom and not least because to hurt or sin against our fellow Christians is to hurt and sin against our Lord Jesus Christ (compare Matthew 25:31-46). If Christians who claimed to have knowledge, in this case, the knowledge that idols have no reality and meat is unaffected by being offered to them, if their liberty and knowledge ran rough shod over the feelings of their so called “weaker” brothers and sisters, they might be putting wrongful pressure on them to act in a way that was in opposition to their conscience. Such behavior was contrary to Christian love and, more serious still, was sinning against the Lord Jesus Himself by sinning against those for whom He died. “The liberty of yours” is more literally “your right in this matter.” However, Christian behavior is not based upon rights but upon duties, upon our actions. The “weak” are those who are weak in faith or in their understanding of the implications of their faith and the liberty into which it ought to bring them. In other words, they have not reached the point of maturity in their faith that frees their conscience from their perceptions. Some of the Corinthians seem to have wrongly thought they were helping the “weak” by boldly displaying their liberty before them by eating meat offered to idols. Christian freedom is not a freedom to do as we please but a freedom to control our actions for the benefit of others, based in our love for Christ and our brothers and sisters.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

One of the subjects that the Corinthians had questioned Paul about was food sacrificed to idols. This was a concern that lay upon their hearts and they sought Paul for an answer. At first, it may seem an issue remote from us today but for some Christians in parts of the Far East it still remains a matter of concern.

The principles Paul applies, however, are relevant to other issues we do face, even in this day and age, no matter where one lives. Once again he lifts the debate to the highest level by showing the relevance of our Lord Jesus Christ’s death in resolving moral and spiritual issues (see verse 11).

Everyday shopping presented problems to first-century Christians

Meat sold in a Gentile market in Corinth could have been first used as sacrificial meat in a heathen temple (Acts 15:29). Part would have been burned on an altar, part eaten at a solemn meal in the temple, and the remainder sold in the market for home consumption. Some who had once believed in the gods to whom these sacrificial offerings were made now found themselves uncomfortable eating meat offered in this way because they felt it to be a denial of their Christian faith and the knowledge that there is only one true God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Others, however, recognized “that an idol is nothing in the world,” and that what might have happened in a heathen temple before the meat was put on sale was a matter of indifference. While their conclusion was right, some had become proud of what they felt was their superior knowledge and attitude in this matter.

Paul’s argument has three principal parts

The first is having the right approach to this problem, just as this attitude should apply to other circumstances, it is not simply knowledge but knowledge and love. Pride in their own knowledge seems to have been a problem within the Corinthian church (compare 1 Corinthians 4:6, 18; 5:2 and 13:4 where the same verb is used). Later, in chapter 13 Paul underlines the truth that love is not proud (1 Corinthians 13:4). Here he points to the danger of being too dogmatic and self-assured about the things that we think we “know.”

“Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies [builds up].” True knowledge humbles us because it helps us to realize how little we know. Christian love is always constructive. It aims to encourage others in their faith and is something God particularly takes notice of in the lives of His children.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved