Dr. John Hartmann

In this study we look at the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the apostles (Matthew 28:18-20), with a strong exhortation that all Christians are to participate in the work and be good and faithful stewards who will be rewarded for their faithfulness to the assignment given to each according to the grace of God (Matthew 25:14-30; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

Matthew 28:18 reveals that the Great Commission is based on the redemptive victory achieved in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of God, in which He receives all authority in heaven and on earth (cf. Ephesians 1:18-23; Philippians 2:8-11). The church, the true Body of Christ, is now seated together with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). This is where we start as we look to be sent into the work of the Lord.

Matthew 28:19-20 defines the goal of the commission and how it is to be achieved. The goal is defined in the one imperative that appears in the passage: make disciples in all the nations. The means by which this goal is achieved appears in three participles: going, baptizing, and teaching.

The Lord calls the church to faithfulness in this stewardship and promises reward to the faithful. Those who are slothful and fearful will suffer loss. The standard of measure is faithfulness to the assignment given to each by the Lord, itself defined by grace-gift(s) given to each one in the work of the Lord. The church needs to hear again Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “… be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord”.

Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 presents us with two possible prospects on the day of judgment. The first is the reward for faithfulness: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord”. The other prospect, for the slothful and fearful, is “you wicked, lazy slave”, who will be assigned a portion with the hypocrites. Each of us must hear this promise and this warning, and act with urgency, by the grace of God, so that the Day of Judgment will be for us a day of reward and not a day of loss (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

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In this study we look at the Message and Mission Jesus gave to the Apostles, with special emphasis on the revelatory understanding of Scripture and empowerment of the Holy Spirit He gave them for the accomplishing of their task in the work of the Lord.

At the end of a long chapter (1 Corinthians 15) that deals with the resurrection of Christ and our future resurrection with Him, Paul gives this instruction to the church in Corinth: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58). This is what we are to be about … always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our toil is not in vain. Compare here Hebrews 6:10; Matthew 24:45-47.

The gospel of Luke and the book of Acts go together, and should be read as one running narrative. While the gospel of Luke focuses on “all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1), Acts begins with Jesus by the Holy Spirit giving orders to the apostles, who will carry on His work after His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:2). Thus, during the 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven, the Holy Spirit helps the apostles understand the nature of the redemption Jesus had accomplished in His death and resurrection, and the nature of their mission, to proclaim the good news of salvation in all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

All four canonical Gospels give significant attention to Jesus’ passion, which includes all the events that transpired during the last week of His life after His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: His cleansing of the Temple and conflicts with the Jewish authorities; His last instructions to His disciples and the Last Supper; His betrayal by Judas, and His agony and arrest in Gethsemane; His unjust trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate, at whose hands He finally suffered scourging, mockery, and death by crucifixion; His death on the Cross, in which He bears Yahweh’s wrath against the transgressors, in fulfillment of the Scriptures; and finally, His burial in the tomb of a rich man, again, in fulfillment of the Scriptures.

Isaiah foretells Jesus’ sufferings in the Song of the Suffering Servant, which appears in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. This “song”, which contains 5 stanzas, 3 verses each, may be outlined as follows:

52:13-15 The Servant’s Exaltation and the effect this will have on the nations

53:1-3 The Servant’s Rejection by those who do not believe or discern Who He is

53:4-6 The Centerpiece of the Song: the Servant’s Sufferings, portrayed as a Substitutionary, Sin-bearing death for the transgressions of others

53:7-9 The Servant’s Rejection, viewed as unjust and misunderstood, but ultimately a supreme act of meekness and submission to God

53:10-12 The Servant’s Exaltation, now viewed in terms of the people He redeems by rendering His soul “a guilt-offering”, through which He “justifies the many” who will be His offspring.

We here see that stanza 1 and 5 speak of the Servant’s exaltation, functioning as “bookends” that frame the whole song. Stanzas 2 and 4 speak of the Servant’s rejection and humiliation, as necessary to His eventual exaltation. Stanza 3 is the centerpiece, with it’s emphasis on the Servant’s substitutionary death for the transgressors He comes to redeem. With this outline in place, we proceed to analyze the 3rd and 4th stanzas more closely, taking note of how they are cited in the NT (for example, Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24, etc).

Jesus, after His resurrection, opens the apostles’ minds to understand the Scriptures, and, in particular, what the Scriptures had foretold about His substitutionary death for the transgressors (Luke 24:45 ff). This seems to be the culmination of an eye-opening process that had begun just a few months before Jesus death, after Peter, by revelation from the Father, confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:13-20). Matthew 16:21 then says: “From that time, Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up the third day”. Peter’s reaction to this announcement indicates just how foreign and distasteful this was to a pious first-century Jew, whose eschatology looked for a triumphant Messiah from the house of David, along the lines of what appears in Psalms of Solomon 17. Jesus reveals a part of God’s plan that everyone apparently had missed: that Messiah must suffer rejection and die in the place of the transgressors, that He must then be raised from the dead, that He must ascend to heaven to be seated at the right hand of God, as Lord of all, and that He must come again, at which time He would fulfill all the rest of the what the Scriptures had foretold about Him, the re-gathering and restoration of Israel, and the in-gathering of the Gentiles.

And so the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection come to understand what the Scriptures had foretold about Jesus and His work of redemption. This then becomes their message: forgiveness of sin, and release from captivity, through the substitutionary death of Jesus the Messiah, Who was raised the 3rd day, seated at the right hand of God and coming again. Their mission: to proclaim this message to the farthest ends of the earth.

Jesus promised the apostles and the church that we receive power, through the baptism with the Holy Spirit, to be His witnesses unto the ends of the earth, to do His work in all nations. The Holy Spirit, as promised, was poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), in fulfillment of Joel 2 (Acts 2:17-21), in which God proclaims that He, in the last days, will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. The Holy Spirit baptism anoints His sons and daughters to prophesy, giving them supernatural utterance as they bear witness of Jesus in the proclamation of the gospel, since “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).

We end where we began. John 7:37-39 pictures believers as partakers of the gift of the Spirit in such a measure that “out of your belly will flow rivers of living waters”. God anoints us with power for the ministry of the gospel …. let us then do as Paul says: “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”.

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As a foundation for effective praying we consider first some aspects of the redemption in Christ, which:

1) takes us from darkness to light (Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 John 1:1-2:2; Ephesians 5:8-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:5-7; John 8:12; Matthew 5:14-16).

2) takes us from being under wrath to a state of being “justified”, which in turn renders ineffective the work of the accusing demons who seek to slander God’s elect before His throne (Romans 8:31-34; Revelation 12:9-10)

3) takes us from an old creation in which we were slaves to sin in Adam, to a new creation in which God’s grace overflows and delivers us from the effects of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:15, 17, 21)

4) takes from a state of alienation in relation to God to a state of reconciliation in which we have “peace with God” through Jesus’ Cross (Colossians 1:19-23; Romans 5:1-11)

5) takes us from being spiritual paupers to being sons who inherit all things together with Christ (Romans 8:14-17; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23).

Our Response to such a calling:

A worthy walk before the Lord (Ephesians 4:1; Colossians 1:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).

Aspiring to live a blameless life (Philippians 1:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13)

Being devoted to prayer (Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2; Acts 2:42)

Prayer Primer: God calls us to pray and promises to answer when we pray according to His will. Knowing how to pray “according to His will” is very important (1 John 5:14-15; James 4:1-3) and is not learned in a day. We learn it through practice (Hebrews 5:13-14).

Where to start?

The picture of the “rent veil” which signifies that we have “confident access” through Jesus’ sin-atoning sacrifice as we come to God in prayer (Hebrews 10:19-22; Ephesians 3:10-13).

With this picture in mind, we then have these wonderful promises, which encourage us to draw near to God in prayer:

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

“He who comes to God must believe …. He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek for Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you … for if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:7, 11; cf. James 1:17).

“In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Also consider Matthew chapter 6, where Jesus spoke of righteousness before God in terms of 3 practices: alms giving, prayer, and fasting (6:1-18). He then talked about a life of trust, seeking first the kingdom of God as the main focus of life (6:19-34). Jesus expounds on the notion of God’s great care for us. God wants each of us to know this, and to be relieved of the anxiety that weighs the heart down with care (cf. Proverbs 12:25). Jesus teaches that our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him and the He is committed to providing the necessities of life for those who seek first His kingdom and righteousness.

If we are doing this, then this applies:

“Casting all of your care on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Returning to 1 Timothy 2:1-8, we find that God calls the church to pray for: 1) the salvation of all men, 2) the subordination of governmental authorities, so that we may live in an environment conducive to the church doing its work in the ministry of the gospel. All of this accords with: 1) God’s desire that all men would be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, 2) our call to bear witness to the work of Jesus in His Cross. The Scripture calls us to labor in prayer for the salvation of men who have been blinded by Satan lest they see the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Habakkuk 3:1-2: this prophet lived in a time of judgment, as God revealed to him the impending doom of the nation of Judah in the Babylonian invasion and captivity. But we note that the prophet appealed to God’s mercy, that He would “in wrath, remember mercy” and “revive His work, in the midst of the years”. May we do the same during the foreboding times in which we live.

In closing, Romans 12 challenges us to be fully committed to God and His purposes, individually and as the holy society of God that is called the church. Read, ponder, consider, apply.

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In this study we look at 1 Timothy 1:12-17, where Paul presents his testimony concerning the mercy and grace of God that had come to him in Jesus Christ. He was, before his conversion, a man full of zeal for God and the honor of His name, who, in his persecution of Jesus’ followers and witnesses, thought he was doing God’s work by purging evil out from among the covenant people and thereby turning away God’s wrath in a way just like Phineas, the grandson of Aaron, had done in Numbers 25. Dr. Hartmann develops this idea at length, underlining the point that Paul (Saul of Tarsus) operated out of tremendous zeal for God, looking to keep Israel pure, with a view to seeing Israel’s eschatological restoration, as promised in the prophetic Scriptures.

Paul, however, came to find out that he was wrong, that the crucified Jesus Whom he regarded as an impostor was in fact the only hope of Israel. Paul came to understand that Jesus had turned away God’s wrath by offering Himself on the Cross as a propitiation for sins, that He had been raised from the dead the 3rd day, and that He was now exalted to God’s right hand as Messiah and Lord of all.

Paul was shown mercy because he acted ignorantly in unbelief. Many of his Jewish brothers displayed the same thing: a zeal for God but without knowledge (Rom 10:1-4). But the grace poured upon Paul was so abundant that it turned His zeal for God around in the right direction. Paul thus became a model of God’s grace to others who would believe on Jesus unto eternal life and the Lord’s chief witness to the Gentiles.

Our teacher suggests that God’s mercy works in two primary ways: 1) mercy flows from God’s nature of compassion, in which He looks on us with pity in our misery and suffering and comes to our aid when we cry out to Him; 2) mercy results not only in forgiveness of sins for the penitent, but also minimizes the consequences of sin for those who truly contrite who fear the Lord (Psalm 103:8-12).

We also look at the notion of stewardship in ministry and the faithfulness that God looks for in those who have been entrusted with the ministry of the gospel. Scripture passages on this topic include: 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-4; 1 Cor. 9:16-27; 2 Cor. 2:17; 4:1-2; 5:9-13; Matthew 24:45-51; 25:14-30.

This message challenges followers of Jesus to aspire to be filled with the kind of zeal for God and holy jealousy for the honor of His name that characterized the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. It also underlines the point that mercy is foundational for all that we are as Christians, as we look for the mercy of God unto eternal life.

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This study addresses the three questions raised in James 5:13-18 in relation to what one is to do when one is 1) suffering, 2) cheerful, or 3) sick.

Please Note: Due to technical issues this audio has severe static and is difficult to hear between 16:21-33:35 and 54:00-63:26

We lay a good foundation for understanding this text by surveying what the NT and other literature tells us about James, the Lord’s brother and author of this epistle. His name appears in a list of Jesus’ siblings in Matthew 13:53-58, and then in a text that lists James as one of the chosen witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). His name also appears three times in the book of Acts (12:17; 15:13; 21:18) and twice in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (1:19; 2:9). He also appears in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, and in the very early church history of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea. James, the Lord’s brother, was, without question, a very important and prominent figure not only in the early church but also among the Jewish people in general, who spoke of him as “the righteous one”.

James writes his letter to believers who are suffering in one of four possible ways (the list here is not meant to be exhaustive):

1) Persecution for their testimony of Jesus (cf. Acts 8:1-4; Hebrews 10:32-34)

2) Famine (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Galatians 2:6-10; 2 Corinthians 8-9).

3) Economic injustices and oppression (pictured in James 5:1-6; cf. Malachi 3:5).

4) Sickness. The covenant God, in various places throughout the OT, reveals His “Name” to His people, one aspect being that He is the Healer of His people; cf. Exodus 15:26. God has many means through which He works to heal sicknesses; James lists one of them: anointing with oil by the elders, the prayer of faith, confession of sins, forgiveness, restoration.

James also exhorts his readers to find encouragement and help through consideration of the prophets and the much-afflicted Job, both of whom are examples of endurance when suffering, and of the triumph of Divine compassion and grace (James 5:10-11)

In summary, God’s prescription for those who are going through suffering is that they above all pray. The Lord’s counsel to the suffering is not resignation but actively and intentionally seeking His face. He is a rewarder of those who seek for Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Our study closes with consideration of Psalm 145 and Jeremiah 29:1-14, both of which give the seeker the promise of a future and a hope, even restoration of fortunes from a God Who redeems.

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In this study we look at Proverbs 12:1, which states: “He that loves discipline loves knowledge, but he that hates reproof is stupid”.

The purpose of the book of Proverbs is found in 1:2-6, which states that these proverbs will give one “instruction in wise behavior” and understanding of God’s ways. The book’s theme is then stated in 1:7: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. We thus are cued to look for a contrast (repeated throughout the book) between the “wise man” who fears the Lord and thus respects and walks in His ways and another group made up of “fools”, “the naive”, and “the scoffer”, who in varying degrees do not fear God and ignore or even scorn His wisdom.

In 1:8-19 a father instructs his son in the way of wisdom, focusing here on the absolute necessity of avoiding evil associations, a truth confirmed in the teaching of St. Paul, who states that “Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). One must determine not to be unequally yoked with those who pursue the paths of unrighteousness, which can cause one much pain and sorrow. One must carefully choose what and with whom one will interface, for all in the end reap what has been sown.

Proverbs 1:20-33 lays out the “call of wisdom”, personified here as a woman who cries aloud in the public sqaure and in the gates of the city, calling all who will listen to turn to her reproof. Those who do so will be granted the spirit of wisdom and come to know the very words of wisdom contained in Scripture. The fruit of those who turn to wisdom’s reproof to walk in God’s ways will be peace and pleasant paths.

There are, however, the fools, the naive, and the scoffers, who do not turn at wisdom’s reproof, and who, in the latter end, are mocked for their folly. Our teacher exhorts us not to be one of them!

This study again offers exhortation, admonition, and practical instruction in the way of righteousness that leads to life. Throughout the message there is continual reminder that we must come to relate to God as a loving Father Who is always working for our good and the achieving of those goals He has set for us, which are nothing less than conformity to His image and being entrusted with stewardship in the Gospel.

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This study looks at Proverbs 22:1, which states: “A good name is better than great riches, and favor better than silver and gold”. A good name is a good reputation that has been earned over time through two things: uprightness and benevolence. Uprightness involves meeting one’s obligations in relation to others. Benevolence/Goodness takes one beyond obligation into doing what is necessary to promote the welfare of another, which will involve sacrifice. The two together establish a good reputation, which is really about establishing God’s good Name, since we are His representatives.

Favor also flows from a righteous and benevolent way of life, favor with God and with man. Note that Jesus Himself during His youth grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man. This indicates that this does not happen in a day but is part of a growth process that occurs as one walks the path laid out in 2 Peter 1:3-7, which includes of course self-control (the controlling of one’s body and appetites) through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 3:1-12 provides guidelines for how this growth in favor takes place. We here find a father instructing and admonishing his son to walk in certain paths that will insure that he obtains favor with God and man. These “ways” may be remembered by means of simply acrostic:

Trusting in the Lord with all one’s heart (3:5-6)
Turning away from evil (3:7-8)
Tithing all the firstfruits of one’s increase (3:9-10)
Training under the hand of God’s fatherly discipline (3:11-12)

This stimulating message offers exhortation, admonition, and instruction that will provoke one in a godly way to pursue righteousness and to grow in conformity to God’s character, with a view to pleasing Him and walking in favor with God and man so that one might be a true light in the darkness, a witness in this world.

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1 Timothy is a letter written not to a church, but to Paul’s younger co-worker Timothy, whom he has left in Ephesus as his apostolic delegate to oversee the work and affairs of the church there, as stated in 3:14-15: I write, so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Timothy functions as a steward who has been set over the affairs of a household, an overseer of overseers, who is instructed to train and appoint faithful men to the office of bishop, with a view to 1) the saints being established in the teaching the apostles handed down to the church once for all time, and 2) the affairs of the church being conducted in a way that conforms to the rules God has set up for His household.

The goal of such sound doctrine is love, from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith (1:5). Why is this so necessary? Because some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion. They want to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they or saying or the matters about which they make “confident assertions” (1:6-7). This reference to those who want to be teachers of the Law seems to indicate that Paul is again dealing with Jewish Christian/Jewish teachers who want to bring the church under the yoke of the Law as a requirement for salvation, defining covenant obedience to God by regulations of the Law that according to Paul properly belonged to a time in salvation-history that is now past. Paul speaks about this at length in Galatians 3-4, showing that the Law functioned in salvation-history as a custodian until the fullness of time, when God sent forth His Son to redeem a people who would receive “the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-7).

Turning back to 1 Timothy 1:8-11, our teacher proceeds to offer some very helpful insights with respect to the way Paul attaches a different meaning in various contexts to the expression “the Law”. In this present context (1 Timothy 1:8-11) Paul refers to the skillful use of the Law (the 10 commandments) in bringing sinners to a knowledge of sin so that they might see their need of Christ’s redemption as the only way to be saved from the wrath of God.

Our study ends with a very strong admonition to “catch the vision” with respect to what God will do to build His church, with reference back to various points found in the book of Ephesians.

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In this study we look at 1 John 2:15-17, where the apostle John, writing at some point late in the 1st century, gives us this injunction: Do not love the world, nor the things in the world, adding this assertion that if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The phrase “the love of the Father” is an example of what grammarians call the slippery genitive construction. It could be taken as a subjective/possessive genitive: the love which the Father has for us, which He revealed in sending Christ to die for sins, and which is experienced by all true believers through the Holy Spirit, Who pours the love of God into their hearts and bears witness to their adoption as God’s beloved children. The “love of the Father” could also be taken as an objective genitive, in which case it refers to our love for God. The two ideas are of course inter-related, in 1st John for sure, and throughout the NT. Either way, one thing is clear: if anyone loves the world, then the love of the Father is not in that person. Loving the world is antithetical to having a knowledge of God’s love in one’s heart and to a life characterized by love for God. One cannot have it both ways, for Scripture clearly states that one cannot serve two masters.

Our teacher defines “the world” as a system characterized by a set of values that are essentially idolatrous in their orientation and that are under girded by a thought structure (one might call it a certain kind of demonic wisdom) that is designed to control humans from cradle to grave. The “things in the world” are laid out in terms of three basic things that govern human existence in this fallen age: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful, arrogant pride of life. Each of these constitutes a way by which humans seek to bring meaning to fallen existence within a context of utter futility, in a world already under God’s judgment and destined to pass away (thank God!).

The lust of the flesh: seeking to bring meaning to existence through constant gratification of sensual appetites and desires in ways that trespass the boundaries revealed in God’s Law. This is first and foremost about sexual sin, but it includes indulging any appetite in a way that exceeds God’s wise boundaries, which includes gluttony (yes, over-eating, a favorite pastime of Americans, as it was of the people of Sodom; cf. Ezekiel 16:48-50), defined by the ancients as one of the seven deadly sins. The antidote here is discipline and self-control, the fruit of a life filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Scriptures to consider: 1 Timothy 4:7-8; 1 Corinthians 9:23-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).

The lust of the eyes: the never ending pursuit and accumulation of possessions, which includes of course the love of money, defined in Scripture as the opposite of godliness with contentment (Hebrews 13:5-7; 1 Timothy 6:6-10). Jesus’ teaching concerning what one makes his or her treasure is extremely relevant here, for where one’s treasure lies is where one’s heart will be also. See Matthew 6:19-34. Also ponder the truth that covetousness is in reality idolatry (Ephesians 5:3-7; Colossians 3:5-7).

The boastful/arrogant pride of life: the whole world system is built on pride, the most basic and fundamental sin that led to the fall for both angels and men. The pride of life is boastful, self-centered, and idolatrous. It is the opposite of humble and responsible employment of the good gifts God gives to each person in order to serve Him and others. The pride of life has to do with selfish ambition, inordinate desire for achievement, a love of status, and ultimately the praise and accolades of men, which is really a form of self-worship. This often manifests itself in a self-centered pursuit of status and achievement in so-called Christian ministry, which is really just another form of idolatry. It also is manifested in a mind that will not submit to the Word of God and that exalts it’s own wisdom above what God has revealed in Scripture. The antidote to this boastful and arrogant pride of life is modeled in Jesus Himself, Who submitted to the Father’s will and to the wisdom of Scripture in all things. He came not to be served but to serve and to lay down His life for others. Consider here Matthew 20:20-28; Philippians 2:1-17; John 13:1-17. May God give the church such models in this day.

In the High Priestly prayer of John 17, Jesus describes believers as those whom the Father has given Him “out of this world”. He prays, not that they be taken out of the world, but that they be kept from it’s evil. They are not of the world, even as He is not of this world, which comes under judgment at the Cross as an anti-God system that is destined to pass away. Thankfully, the Cross is the believer’s exodus from the this world-system as the force (domination system) that governs one’s life (Galatians 1:4; 6:14-15).

Paul’s teaching in Romans 12:1-2 is particularly applicable here, laying out the essential aspects of the type of consecration that will result in fruit-bearing, a life devoted to service to God and the doing of His will. It thus is imperative that we as believers in and followers of Christ obey this important instruction: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you might then test and approve what is truly the will of God and do it. Happy are those who do so, as Jesus taught in Luke 8:19-22.

This message gives the hearers much to think about. It is a “trumpet call” to live for things eternal. One must consciously and intentionally purpose to be one of those who hear the word of God and do it. We must avoid being among those who have heard the Word, but who allow it to be choked out by what Jesus called “thorns”. This happens when the cares of the world, and the desires for other things enter in and nullify the fruit the Word produces when heard, understood, and obeyed with perseverance (Luke 8:15).

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Unfortunately, this message was cut off after about 14 minutes due to technical issues. However, what is here is inspiring, and the summary will allow you to fill in the gaps.

The repeated refrain of the book of Judges is that “in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). This describes conditions that ensued after the death of Joshua and the generation of elders that outlived him, a long period of Israel’s history which lasted over three centuries. The point being made here is not a positive one, but bemoans the fact that without some form of Divinely- instituted government conditions of chaos and anarchy prevailed. 2 Chronicles 15:3-6 offers another perspective on the period, in which Israel was without the worship of the true God, a teaching priest or the enactment and enforcement of the covenant Law.

This brings us to the basic question that this study addresses, at least in a preliminary way. “Was kingship antithetical to the purposes of God for His people Israel”? A popular view, much propagated in our time, answers, “Yes, kingship was contrary to God’s will and subversive to the theocratic model that He desired for His people Israel”. This perspective is largely based on a certain reading of the events that transpired in 1 Samuel 8, leading to the appointing of Saul in 1 Samuel 9-12. The standard logic that accompanies this interpretation goes something as follows: “God wanted to be Israel’s only King and no earthly king was necessary; God wanted His people to be directly ruled by Him, with judges, priests, and prophets acting as His intermediaries in some sense of the word”.

Our teacher suggests that this perspective is flawed, based largely on 1) a misreading of 1 Samuel 8; and 2) a failure to understand the role of kingship in God’s broader redemptive purpose for the nations. Kingship is ultimately an outworking of the Creator God’s original purpose for Adam (Genesis 1:26-28) and must be understood within the scope of a more broadly based Biblical theology that takes into account His long-range purposes for the redemption of the earth and the reconciliation of the nations in and through Jesus, God’s ultimate Davidic Messianic-King,

Some Scriptures to be considered as a preliminary attempt to broach this topic:

Genesis 1:26-28: Adam’s royal role

Genesis 17: 5, 16: kings would come from Abraham’s loins

Genesis 35:11: royalty would descend from Jacob

Genesis 49:10: the scepter would not depart from Judah

Deuteronomy 17:14-20: God’s prescriptions for a king in Israel

This study is not intended to be absolutely conclusive. It does provide an introduction to a much neglected topic that our teacher, God-willing, will continue to take up and expand upon in the near future.

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