Berean Call
Let’s pretend. The apostle Paul shows up at your church this Sunday and your pastor quickly concedes the pulpit to him. As he approaches the pulpit, you ready your bible and your concordance. You then murmur to yourself, “I don’t care if you are an apostle, what you teach better line-up with the Word of God buddy!” What would the bible call such an attitude? Well, except for maybe the “buddy” part, scripture would call it “noble-minded”
Act 17:10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Act 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily {to see} whether these things were so. Act 17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.
If you look up “noble” in the dictionary, you know the word has very lofty synonyms. But I think a good description of the word can be seen in verse 11. Noble minded people love the word of God, feed on it often and trust it for all guidance. Notice the results: “Therefore” many of them believed [vs. 12]. This brings to mind:
Rom 10:17 So faith {comes} from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Faith comes from the word of God.
As we continue in the study of God’s word, our faith will increase.
The word of God is quickened in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. For it is by the word of God that we are able to grow in our knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He desires for us:
1Pe 2:2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, Also, note that the milk is to be “pure”.
Tainted milk will not produce faith. We must never mix God’s word with error. God gives strong warnings to those who would. Error does not produce faith. Therefore, heaven will not honour it. This is why the Bereans searched the scriptures to verify what Paul taught. Whoever had more authority than the apostle Paul save Christ himself? Yet, Paul’s word was not enough, it had to be confirmed in order that belief would follow. So what has happened to the noble-minded Christian? Look around, especially in “Christian” book stores. Today’s Christianity is defined by men, with their own niche ministries and motto’s. They are too numerous to name here. In 1st Corinthians, Paul shows the link between weakness in the word and the following of men:
1Cr 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 1Cr 3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able {to receive it.} Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 1Cr 3:3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 1Cr 3:4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not {mere} men? 1Cr 3:5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave {opportunity} to each one.
I love how the Old Testament speaks to this issue. In 2 Samuel 7, David comes to Nathan, the most formidable prophet of that time with an idea to build a house for God. Nathan then told David:
2Sa 7:3 And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
2Sa 7:4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 2Sa 7:7 “‘In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
This is not snippy sarcasm by God. How would Nathan know that answer?, he wasn’t there. God is referring to the scriptures that were available at the time covering the exodus, religious ceremonies, customs, creation of the tabernacle and it’s ordinances, Mosaic Law, sacrificial systems ect. What God was saying to Nathan was in essence: ‘where have you seen that in the scriptures Nathan?’ Nathan therefore had no authority to give David God’s blessing, nor should we follow any instruction contrary to the word of God.
paul
Why We Still Sin: Romans 7:15-25
Rom 7:15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I {would} like to {do,} but I am doing the very thing I hate. Rom 7:16 But if I do the very thing I do not want {to do,} I agree with the Law, {confessing} that the Law is good. Rom 7:17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good {is} not. Rom 7:19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. Rom 7:20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Rom 7:21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. Rom 7:22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, Rom 7:23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
One of the reasons we give our life to Christ is to escape sin. However, once enlightened by the Holy Spirit at salvation, sometimes all we can see is sin. This can be very, very discouraging. For the life of me, I cannot understand why every new convert is not immediately taught Romans 7. I myself, as a new convert, was perplexed about sin in my life and did not buy the pat answers doled out in regard to my struggle. My understanding of Romans 7 came way too late. In this passage, we have the sign of true salvation, why we still sin and what we should do about it. First, the sign of true salvation is in verses 15 thru 22. We desire to obey God and please him. Before you became a Christian, you where not obsessed with pleasing God. God was usually the last person on your mind. The only time sin discouraged you is when you had to pay the consequences. If you desire to please God, be of good cheer, this is the work of the Spirit. Remember also that we are to be continually cultivating our desire to please God and our disdain for sin through practice (Romans 12:9 ). Secondly, we are still in our mortal bodies which harbors sin in our total being. As a matter of fact, the remnant of sin within us actually wages war against us and the Spirit within:
Gal 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Though difficult to understand, this is a fact, and brings us to the third point. The flesh, is the realm within us that still harbors sin. But wait, it not only abides within us, it actually “wages war” against the Spirit of God that indwells us. This enemy within actually uses our own intellect against us. To wage war not only takes planning , but the fact that it challenges the Spirit of God testifies to i’s power and tenacity. In Romans 7:23, Paul uses “law” two different ways. The law of his mind, which is the word of God written on his mind (or heart ) and the “law” of sin in his members (or flesh) which is like the law of nature, or like gravity or such. However, in our case, the ultimate power of sin was broken when we were saved. Before we were saved, we were enslaved to the law of sin much like we are totally subject to the law of gravity. The law of sin is a constant pressure upon us to sin, Paul says not to “yield” to that pressure ( Romans 6:13, Romans 6:19 ). Notice also, the battle ground is the mind (Rom. 7:23 ). Sin seeks to win over the mind while appealing to the emotions via desire, wants, and perceived need. Sin is like an attractive sales person giving their intellectual pitch while flaunting what is pleasing to the eyes ( you can throw in some perfume or cologne as well ). This is the exact pattern that made Eve fall and was utilized in Satan’s attempt to attack Jesus in the wilderness (also see James 1:14,15 ). Paul eludes to this pattern as well in verse 23. Sin wins the battle in the mind with the result being slavery to the law of sin. A Christian must understand how powerful sin is and take it seriously. If it wasn’t powerful, Satan wouldn’t have attacked Jesus with it; he is not an idiot, he is a supreme being, and he knows what sin did to him as well. Also keep in mind that sin wages war in our mind with a specific goal in mind, it desires to own us ( Genesis 4:7 ). Though much could be said here concerning how we overcome sin, I will just touch on it for now:
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
The previous verses in Galatians touch on how we walk in the Spirit:
Gal 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only {do} not {turn} your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Gal 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the {statement,} “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Gal 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
Also note Romans 12:2 and Psalm 119:11: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”. “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You”.
Lastly, Paul gives us a hint as to how hard we are fighting sin in our life. If we are battle weary, this will be the attitude of our heart:
Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
paul
Longing For Greatness
Luke 9:46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 9:47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, 9:48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”
These verses really struck me in regard to the crux of change. It’s how we think. What is the vital component of the heart that initiated the counsel of Jesus in verse 47? He knew what they were thinking [ reasoning, ESV ] in their hearts. Change starts with how we think. Only the regenerate heart is able to replace non-biblical thinking with the mind of Christ and put it into practice. Strange; notice that Jesus doesn’t refute their desire to be great [ presumeably in God’s sight ], but shows them God’s way rather than the worlds way [ the reasoning of their hearts ] in verse 48. And guess what? It’s very simple: find a way to be the least among everyone in every situation. Easy to remember, alot harder to do, but how great do you want to be?
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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