John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
What Jesus says and, at the same time, what He does not say needs attention. What Jesus says is there are two lives. The one He offers us and the one satan offers. If satan showed us the life he has for us and its end, none of us would follow. So, he has to cloak it with pleasure, greed, pride, lust, or self-accomplishment. It’s similar to fishing. If you just fished with a hook, no fish would bite. So you have to disguise it with a meal fish would like. Satan does the same. He easily figures out our weaknesses and baits us with them.
Christ’s next important point is that there are only two fishermen in life, ONLY two fishing styles. Learn their styles and methods, and you will avoid the hook you don’t want. So, in one sense, it’s easy; there are not many fishermen. However, it’s difficult in another sense because many kinds of bait are masking the hook. How do we know which bait to bite? Once we bite, we get hooked!
What do fish do? How do they decide what to bite and what not to bite? I wish I knew the answer to that; I would be a heck of a fisherman. However, the most straightforward answer is certain types of fish, like certain baits. Bass like little fish, so we use lures that mimic them. They also like worms, but they also like salmon eggs. So, how does this apply to us? Easy, what is your appetite? Do you hunger for baits that stroke your ego, excite you sexually, or make you feel important, or do you prefer quieter, more real, and more nourishing to the soul? David said something in Psalm 23 that is worth noting.
Psalms 23:1-3
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Righteousness is a type of bait; it’s the only bait that Christ uses. Righteousness is right living, but it’s more than right living; having a right relationship with Christ is foremost. As Jesus told Nicodemus, he MUST BE BORN AGAIN. It’s not about doing good works; the Pharisees were all about good works, but God is all about a New Nature. A New Nature because it’s His Nature in us, and it’s FROM THAT NEW NATURE THAT GOOD WORKS COME FROM NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus, a Pharisee of Pharisees (meaning he was revered), met with Jesus privately. Having seen and heard of Jesus’ miracles (“no man can do these things less God be with him”), he wanted to meet with Jesus without the crowds and without his sect knowing. Nicodemus represents the best of us, the best we can offer God. The rich young ruler was also a moral man. Many of us take pride in our moral code, and Jesus said to these two men that, as good as they were, they still had much to lack. We are incapable of seeing and understanding the Holiness of God. It’s “something other,” unattainable in our sinful, unregenerate nature. So to the rich young ruler, He revealed that though he appeared to be “moral,” his life consisted of loving his riches. He chose his riches over following Jesus. Just exactly what we do, be it riches, our jobs, our family, sports, lusts, good deeds, etc. We must mature to the point that Jesus is simply number one.
What I say next might be offensive, but I am not trying to be. Remember, I have my own business, which consumes enormous amounts of time. If we are not regularly making time for Jesus, reading the Bible and, praying, talking to Him, then are we more talk than truth? If we are off doing this or that, going here or there, pursuing our agenda even though it is work-oriented or family activities (sports), are we allowing these things to crowd out our time with Christ? We all have the same 24 hrs., and we can’t give Him 30 to 45 minutes daily? Jesus bids us to surrender these desires that become obstacles and hindrances in following Him.
This is what being a Christian is; remember you are modeling your relationship with Christ to your children. What do you want them to remember when they are grown and out of the house? All the baseball(sub in the activity) games you took them to, or remember you praying and reading your Bible? What activity do you want them to remember? We must continually surrender our schedules to The Lord our schedules. If our activities interfere with loving Him and spending time with Him, then we must be willing to re-evaluate our choices and make corrections. We must learn to do things with Him, not apart from Him.
Nicodemus was also well-to-do (Jesus never addresses his wealth) but focused solely on calling him to be born again. It was a statement that confused him but created dialogue and questions between them. Nicodemus’ heart was as good as a human’s, but no human could be righteous. For the heart to be the Temple of the Most Holy, NO AMOUNT OF GOODNESS CAN MAKE IT RIGHTEOUS. RIGHTEOUSNESS OR SINLESSNESS IS NOT WITHIN MAN’S ABILITY, “FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD (Romans. 3:23).” We must repent of our sins and at which point the Holy Spirit comes into us causing us to be Born Again.
Mark 10:17-22( Rich young ruler)
Now, as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One that is, God (Jesus was calling his attention to a new nature). You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.'”
And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the Cross and follow Me.” (take up the Cross, willfully crucify your flesh with its passions and desires and follow me, make me your new life with me). But he was sad at this word and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions (that possessed him, and do we know what possesses us? Is it just Christ?)
John 3:3-5 (now speaking to Nicodemus)
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (our natural birth) and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.‘
Jesus is teaching a new life that is not built on wealth or good deeds but solely dependent upon repenting of our sins, God forgiving us, and accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior. When completed in sincerity, The Lord sends His Holy Spirit to live within us. We now become born again. This is completely absent of any efforts or works that we do. It is completely the Cross which ushered in this Grace.
This is the only way to have salvation and a relationship with the Lord. There is no other way.
John 10:7-9
Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
To say no to Christ is the worst decision one will ever make. There is no worse decision, for this only this one has eternal consequences. By not saying yes, one has invariably said no and has condemned oneself to everlasting condemnation. There’s always hope that people will change their minds, but it would be nice to enjoy His peace and love now and not be at your last breath. We can be a terrible human being; kill, lie, cheat, and rob, but repent like the thief on the Cross and receive Eternal Life, or be a Pharisee of Pharisees and die in our righteousness and wake up in hell. We decide, and we choose our destiny based on our choices here. People say stupid stuff like I want to die with my friends and party in hell. I can guarantee you there will be only torment and misery; there will be no partying.
***Now, to study another well-known character in the Old Testament, King David. The second King in Israel’s history. He was a righteous king for decades until he disobeyed the Lord and fell into gross sin. Always remember purposeful disobedience opens the door for satan to attack us. We lose the abiding Holy Spirit that protects us. David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his warriors, which would have never happened had he obeyed the Lord and led Israel into battle.
2 Samuel 11:1
It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David (stayed and) sent Joab (his general, in his place) and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem (seems like an innocent action? Maybe David was tired of fighting; letting the younger men fight is probably what he thought, but no disobedience ever so mild is without its consequences). We use the term it was a “white lie,” something supposedly innocent, but it is a lie nonetheless. Yet I feel this was not David’s innocent action but a direct disobedience. He was getting prideful and comfortable in the palace. In other words, he was “backsliding.” Even when he was old, he never failed to lead Israel into battle after this egregious mistake.
2 Samuel 11:2-5
Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed (he couldn’t sleep?) and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
(At this point, David should have walked away or called for one of his many wives to be with, but disobedience becomes an open door to satan’s attacks, and he (satan) wastes no time. David was weak, for he was in sin already and unable to resist. In essence, he was now a lamb to the slaughter, and satan was going to make sure he would hurt David) so he sent messengers and took her (to grasp or seize), and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
So it becomes more than just a one-night stand, she conceives. So David calls Uriah home from the battle and pretends to care about the battle. He feeds him, gets him drunk, and sends him home, assuming he will lay with Bathsheba – problem solved, or so he thought. In the morning, David finds out that Uriah never went home, so he calls Uriah in…
2 Samuel 11:10 &11
So when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? And Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”
David finds out that Uriah is a better man than himself. Now, his plan having failed and laden with guilt and frozen by his sin, David sends him back with his death order in his hand. This is how far one can sink into sin if repentance of that sin isn’t dealt with.
Why did David sink so deep after enjoying such a platform with God? Do you have any ideas? Why do we not repent or apologize for our wrongs? Is it that we fear what someone or people will think if we tell the truth, could that be?
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.
There is no indication that David repented to the Lord or besought forgiveness before Nathan comforting him. What would have happened if David had repented? What consequences would have changed? Did he feel that these sins were so bad (and they were) that God could not forgive him? Isn’t that exactly what satan wants us to think? We will never know.
What does the fear of man mean? The simplest definition is simply to say we care more about what others think of us than God. This becomes a huge paradigm switch that leads David and us into doing things that we would never think we could do. How far will we go to cover our sins? In our culture, serious sins are only a fingertip away. With all the different types of media available and no societal absolutes to hold us back, we can go deep into sin without even leaving our sofa. Our greatest protection and treasure is our gratefulness for our salvation, our reverence for God, and our daily time spent with God.
The fear of God is a deep appreciation and reverence for what He did for us, which keeps us from sin. In the Old Testament, we have several examples of this. Joseph and Daniel displayed it, even Uriah when he would not go home to be with his wife, and these are men without the Holy Spirit indwelling them as He does us (in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon individuals for a period, e.g., like when prophesying or writing scripture, then left).
So David was stuck; his plan had failed; what would he do next?
2 Samuel 11:14-15
In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.”
How many other men died because of David’s sin, and how many men’s consciences were offended because they abandoned a brave warrior, a comrade, amid battle because of David’s order? It’s no wonder why Joab, David’s general, deserted David and sided with Absalom, David’s son when he wanted to take the throne from his father (which was part of David’s punishment). This offense went deep. A note to take away from this. If we have offended anyone, it is imperative, not optional, that we confess and seek forgiveness. The other party may not accept it, but we have sought to do what is right.
2 Samuel 11:26-27
When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she mourned for her husband. When her mourning was over, David sent her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done [displeased] the LORD.
So, in David’s mind, his problem was over; he cleaned up his mess, but did he? Has David forgotten about the Lord and that he has to answer to God?
The word “displeased” that God uses to describe His reaction to David’s sins is only used one other time in Isaiah, referring to the destruction of Moab. The word means to quake, to shake, or tremble inside. The sin was so grievous and hideous to God that He was left with no peace. A synonym would probably be repulsed, to convulse over, be made sick, to vomit. The Author of all Peace lost His peace, so badly affected by David’s egregious sins. We must learn from David’s sins.
We will end here and consider our ways before God. Do we take our disobedience seriously? Do we understand that every time we purposely sin, it is as if we crucify our Lord again (Hebrews 6:60)?
Father God,
This is a strong rebuke for your church. You are not angry or upset with us, but like the shepherd who knows the wolf is just outside his protection. He deals lovingly but firmly with the sheep, especially those who wander. He seeks to keep them close to him, so You do with us. For if they (or we) wander, You know that danger awaits. Thank you for your passionate and intense love; help us not become offended and mirror Your love to others.
Amen and Amen,
Your son by Grace.
Arthur