pHOW LIKE KINGDOMS WITHOUT JUSTICE ARE TO ROBBERIES./p pJustice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies? For what are robberies themselves, but little kingdoms? The band itself is made up of men; it is ruled by the authority of a prince, it is knit together by the pact of the confederacy; the booty is divided by the law agreed on. If, by the admittance of abandoned men, this evil increases to such a degree that it holds places, fixes abodes, takes possession of cities, and subdues peoples, it assumes the more plainly the name of a kingdom, because the reality is now manifestly conferred on it, not by the removal of covetousness, but by the addition of impunity. Indeed, that was an apt and true reply which was given to Alexander the Great by a pirate who had been seized. For when that king had asked the man what he meant by keeping hostile possession of the sea, he answered with bold pride, em“What thou meanest by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, whilst thou who dost it with a great fleet art styled emperor.”/em/p pstrongAugustine, City of God, Book IV, Chapter 4./strong/p

Denominationalism: The inevitable consequence of the Fall of Adam

Ecumenicalism: The inevitable catastrophe of the Fall of Adam

The Cross holds up the glory of God in our preaching, and it holds down the pride of man in the preacher

The Cross is the foundation of our doctrine and the fountain of our demeanor

“In another world, both we and the prophets shall live forever, and to prepare for that world ought to be our great cause and business in this world.”

Matthew Henry

Saul pursued David relentlessly – never giving up. He did it out of envy & jealousy. We should pursue our Lord relentlessly, but out of love & affection & gratitude.

“The humble soul will quietly bear burdens; patiently receive blows; and make no complaint”

Thomas Brooks

"Without the knowledge of God – we cannot know ourselves" – Calvin

The world cannot give us peace & joy except by removing the Cross – but Christ gives us peace through his Cross. So we come to him in our trials & afflictions & the Cross brings sweet peace to us.

Just let the eye see Christ – & we will repent & despise ourselves as Job (Job 42:5, 6)

The opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ has been rising like a crescendo. It is soon about to burst upon Him and His disciples. John’s Gospel portrays Jesus as the Son of God. The reason for this is because John desires to provoke (in one sense) his readers to deep faith and belief in Jesus as very God of very God. John’s Gospel rotates around the 7 “I am” sayings of our Lord (John 6:35, 48; 8:12; 9:5; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1 – 5. Compare these with 4:25, 26; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5, 6, 8). In these references, Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Door, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the True Vine. He is also the same as the “I AM” of the Old Testament Scriptures.

John also includes 7 signs that point specifically to the divine character of our Lord. These are changing the water into wine (2:1 – 10), healing the nobleman’s son (4:46 – 54), healing the paralyzed man (5:1 – 9), feeding the 5,000 (6:1 – 14), walking on the water (6:15 – 21), healing the blind man (9: 1 – 41), and raising Lazarus from the dead (11:1 – 44). In each of these miracles, our Lord points to the fact that He is indeed God.

John also tells us why he wrote his Gospel in John 20:30, 31, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

This is the heart cry of our souls, isn’t it? We want Christ. We want & need all of him. Sometimes we live in dry places like a desert – Christ will be the refreshing water & cooling shade under the palms. Sometimes we will find ourselves so hungry for Jesus that we are about to perish with that hunger. Christ will be our Bread. We must ask him to reveal himself to us with the freshness of a morning dew. So refreshing & so satisfying. Let us go & seek out our Beloved.

The Apostle John urges us to be absolutely clear as to what we believe & what we consider of God. I like what John Flavel says about some of these things:

“The truths that Christ teaches have his character and image stamped upon them. Would you like to test whether this or that doctrine is from the Spirit of Christ or not? Examine it by this rule: whatever doctrine you find to encourage and countenance sin, to exalt self, to be accommodating to the world’s designs, and that bends to the humors and lusts of men – you may safely reject. Whatever doctrine makes those who profess it to be carnal, proud and sensual you may safely conclude never came from Jesus Christ. The doctrines of Christ lead to godliness; his truth sanctifies. Do not swallow everything, even if it comes so dearly that does not have some relish of Christ and holiness in it. Be sure, Christ never revealed anything that detracts from his glory or obstructs the purpose of his death.”  (Flavel, Works I, pp.128 – 130)

The greatest Apostle said that he was the least of all the Saints, the last of all the Apostles & the greatest of all Sinners.

Thomas Brooks  (Works: III. pp. 7 – 19)

This is the essence of being a humble Christian – taking the lowest & last & least place

Believing the Words of Jesus cannot be done apart from believing the Word who is Jesus. This is why we read the Scriptures because to believe the Word of God is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We belong to another who has been raised from the dead – so that we might bear fruit for God (Rom. 7:4). Here is an intended consequence to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus – fruit bearing. Do we bear fruit for God?