Topic: God forbid

John 2:13-25 With a view to emphasizing what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us, we begin with the conversation which took place after the cleansing of the temple (John...

Assessing the world-changing impetus in Marcuse's thought, D Childs writes, "It is impossible to estimate just how much influence Herbert Marcuse has exercised on the Left in...

God is 'holy'. We cannot 'draw near' and 'come' to Him without a 'sin offering' (1-3). We cannot bring 'a sin offering' to Him. We can only bring our sin: Our righteousness is 'like filthy rags' (Isaiah 64:6). There is a 'way' for sinners to 'draw near' to God: Christ is the true and living Way (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:19-22).

Looking beyond the harvest to the Lord of the harvest Ruth meets Boaz. It seemed like a ‘chance’ meeting - ‘she happened to come...’ (Ruth 2:3). It was more than that. God was at work. Ruth had committed herself to the Lord (Ruth 1:16-17). She was being guided by the Lord (Psalm 37:3-5; Proverbs 3:5-6).

Serve the Lord. Keep on serving the Lord. Preach the Gospel. Keep on preaching the Gospel. God was not pleased with his people - “My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding.” They had sinned against Him – “They are skilled in doing evil; they do not know how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22). They had brought judgment upon themselves - “Now I pronounce My judgments against them.”(Jeremiah 4:12).

1:1-2:10 - ‘A revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1:12) - This is what the Gospel is all about. Christ is the Gospel. Without Him, there is no Gospel. What was Paul’s testimony? What did he preach to others? - God ‘was pleased to reveal His Son in order that I might preach Him…’ (1:15-16). We have no other testimony. We have no other message. Christ is our Testimony. Christ is our Message.

A number of years ago, I enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon, walking along the beach at Millport on the island of Great Cumbrae. Some parts of the beach were quite rocky. I had taken on the responsibility of making sure that my 4 year old nephew didn’t fall and hurt himself on the rocks. “Make sure Jamie doesn’t fall and hurt himself” – This seemed to be the main thing on my mind. Jamie had other things on his mind.

4:1-34 - God’s Word carries this message: ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says...’ (9; Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). We must listen for the voice of the Spirit. Grace has been ‘given’ to us (11). It is God's gift. To God be the glory! Sadly, some refuse to listen. Think about your response to God's Word (15-20). Let your light shine (21-23; Matthew 5:16). Use your gifts, or lose them (24-25). We preach the Word.