Author: Warren Berkley

Scriptural Authority For Killing

Warren E. Berkley

Now that I have your attention, this article is not about justifiable homicide, capital punishment, use of force by law enforcement, self-defense or combat warfare. Those issues deserve careful study, but they are not within the scope of this article. What I have in mind is not as dramatic yet fundamental, practical and personal.

In the letter Paul wrote to the Colossians, similar to his other writings, he gave Christians instruction for their use in continuing in the faith (Col. 1:23). People who have been converted to Christ must take action to keep their minds and bodies in the Lord’s service, and this means the daily work of combating sin. Being buried with Christ in baptism is the beginning of your life’s work being faithful to Christ. {When you read and study Colossians, don’t miss the description of conversion: dying with Christ [2:20], being buried with Him in baptism [2:12], and raised with Christ [3:1]. Every biblical conversion is here represented. In obeying the gospel, we personally participate in the benefits of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. For more commentary on this, read Romans 6.}

You must renounce all sin and error in your initial repentance (Rom. 6:1-13). Then, the converted person must continue to refuse and renounce sin after baptism and until death. In Colossians 3:5, here is that point as written by Paul: “Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

One way to get this point is, focus on that phrase: “put to death.” What do you do when you put something to death? You kill it. This is not about simply expressing your distaste, indifference or any sort of diplomatic peace accord. You cannot carve out some sort of peace treaty with the devil, where you agree to consider what he offers or remain neutral until tempted. Colossians 3:5 is about protecting yourself by execution, by killing sins that solicit your participation. The “members” of the old man of sin must be killed, put to death. As a Christian, you must be armed for self-defense against the sins of the old life.

This is not about the literal killing of people, sinners or tempters. This is about putting to death the parts (members) of the old sinner that implore your present participation. This is scriptural authority for killing – in the sense conveyed in the text – and God has given us the instrument of execution: The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17).

This necessary execution of sin will lead to glory when the battle has ended, “when Christ, who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory,” (Col. 3:4).

Dishonoring The Poor

(Jas. 2:6)

Warren E. Berkley

Once in a while we all need to be reminded of the simple moral imperatives and prohibitions God has communicated to us through His inspired writers. Could it be, the simple things can be easily dismissed from memory?

It is sinful to dishonor the poor. To ignore or discount someone because they have less than you or lower income is simply sinful. To treat someone with contempt, coldness, prejudice or disapproval because of their financial status or misfortune is simply sinful.

While this is conveyed throughout Scripture, it is riveting to the honest Bible reader in James chapter two. James describes a not-so-hypothetical case. A poor person enters an assembly and is almost completely dismissed as unimportant. At the same time, one who appears to be wealthy is given first class treatment.

After describing the event, James condemns the attitude by saying to those guilty of this prejudice: (1) You are showing partiality, (2) You have become judges with evil thoughts, (3) You have acted against God’s will, (4) You have dishonored the poor, (5) You have blasphemed “that noble name by which you are called,” and (6) You have violated the law of love. James’ conclusion is: “you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

Truth to learn: What we make, what we have, where we live, what we drive, how we dress, how much we have saved, how fortunate we have been . . . all such matters should never be the basis of our judgment and treatment of others.

See James 2:1-13

and Prov. 29:7

John’s First Epistle

1 Jno. 4:13-21

Abiding, Loving and Resisting Hate

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.   And this command-ment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. – 1 Jno. 4:31-21

John describes relationship with Christ with this expression: “we abide in Him and He in us.” And, “He has given us of His Spirit.” This is a reality because the Father sent His Son. People who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, step into that light and walk in the light are said to be abiding in Him.

All of this speaks dynamically that “God is love” and this gives us confidence on the day of judgment. God started this. “We love because He first loved us.”

As we respond to God’s love and practice love ourselves – hate is resisted and excluded. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar. for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

Sorry to be late today.

Doing Good Things Better

Phil. 3:12-14

Warren E. Berkley

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 3:12-14, ESV).

This article is not about exposing sin, demanding you renounce some wickedness, quit lying or stealing. While those guilty of these misbehaviors need to repent and be forgiven, this kind of thing is not the subject of this article. This article is about pressing on and straining forward to start doing good things better.

Can you pray better? Not just longer prayers, though that might be part of the progress you need to make. Consider giving more thought in framing your prayers or expanding who and what you pray for. Initiate petitions that honor Christ, praise God, and advance the proclamation of the gospel. But also, pray for people you don’t agree with and don’t like. You’ve been engaged in prayer for many years. Now find ways to do that better. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Can your prayers become more effective and fervent?

Can your attendance be improved? Can you give up some of the weak excuses, gain better control of your schedule, re-think your priorities and improve your attendance? By attending every service you enjoy the advantages of edification and the encouragement you lend to others and receive from them. Christians in the early church were together and that unity was critical to their survival and their capacity to share the gospel with others. “All who believed were together,” (Acts 2:44).

Can you reach out to people in a better way? Are there people you know who need you to move closer to them, get to know them and help them? For most of us, I believe, there are people we are acquainted with who need something we can give. But we have not taken the time. We have been too busy with so many of “our things.” I speak not of money primarily, but of encouragement, listening, praying with, studying with and befriending.

Can you help someone begin reading the Bible? Make a list of 5 people you know. Are all five of those people reading the Bible? Pick out one and ask if they read the Bible daily? If not, offer to show them and help them get started (do that without being critical). Periodically review or re-make your list. There is no better endeavor you can invite someone to begin. All many people need is a little encouragement.

Again, this article was not written to the idolater, the liars or false teachers (I’ll do that another time). Rather, to Christians who are doing good things already. I believe we can do these things better. Let’s press on toward the goal.

How Do You See Yourself?

Warren E. Berkley

A.W. Tozer was precise and scripturally correct when he said: “Self-knowledge is so critically important to us in our pursuit of God and His righteousness that we lie under heavy obligation to do immediately whatever is necessary to remove the disguise and permit our real selves to be known.”

Central to all your character and conduct is your self-concept. This simply means how you see yourself, knowing who you are. You must avoid an unhealthy preoccupation or obsession with self. Subjective distortions can be detrimental. But there is an awareness of yourself and perception of who you are that is central to your potential. It is important to be strong and clear about who you are. Perhaps these inquiries will find a place in forming and maintaining clarity in your knowledge of who you are.

Do you see yourself as a giver or taker? Actually each of us are takers (receivers), for we are the unworthy recipients of the generosity of God evident in our very existence (Acts 17:28). Christians are recipients of the grace of God and Christ, “through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life,” (Titus 3:5b-7). Each of us, therefore, are takers (receivers, partakers). But in another sense the question ought to be weighed: Do you have greater interests in taking than giving? That goes to character. The teaching of Acts 20:35 is germane to this. “…And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.”  The generosity of Jesus’ character & teaching ought to become our purpose, so that we are focused on giving not taking.  (See also Rom. 12:8; Isa. 32:8; 2 Cor. 8:2).

Do you see yourself as a victim or perpetrator? There is a bothersome grumbling seen in people, always blaming others, pointing to circumstances and claiming to be victims. The cry (spoken or implied) is: “Everybody else is wrong. Everybody else is incorrect. Everybody else should take responsibility. Everybody should see and acknowledge my purity and know how unfairly I’m treated!” This is childish. It will help us – when things happen and generally in life – to prayerfully and cautiously evaluate if we were victimized or did we perpetrate the event or events. If you fall into the habit of dogmatically claiming to be the victim, this reflects an absence of humility. Assuming you never do anything wrong is a wrong approach. We are not always victims! We must not always and immediately come to our defense. Sometimes we are perpetrators! In fact, we are all perpetrators in this sense: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23). There is great value in humble self-examination.

Do you see yourself as a servant or a master? The Lord’s disciples, in their early days of coming to grips with the truth, sought greatness and vanity. Jesus responded by using a child to teach these grown men the humility they hadn’t yet embraced (Matt. 18:1-5). A few days later, the same ambition showed itself. Jesus responded again: “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” (Matt. 20:27,28).

Oswald Chambers has said: “If you are going to live for the service of your fellowmen, you will certainly be pierced through with many sorrows, for you will meet with more base ingratitude from your fellowmen than you would from a dog. You will meet with unkindness and two-facedness, and if your motive is love for your fellowmen, you will be exhausted in the battle of life. But if the mainspring of your service is love for God, no ingratitude, no sin, no devil, no angel, can hinder you from serving your fellowmen, no matter how they treat you. You can love your neighbor as yourself, not from pity, but from the true centering of yourself in God.”

Ultimately, all our inquires into self need to answer the question: Am I a child of God, or a child of the devil? Because of what Jesus Christ did, you can become a child of God; you can use the Word of God to know yourself, improve yourself and give of yourself to the Creator, to the Savior, to your family, your brethren and your fellowman.

God Cannot Lie

Hebrews 6:13-20 (ESV)

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” ¹⁵ And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. ¹⁶ For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. ¹⁷ So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. ¹⁹ We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, ²⁰ where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The lead sentence into this is verse 12, where the writer called upon his readers to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Abraham is an example.

God made promises to Abraham, which were not immediately fulfilled. Abraham had to wait, trusting God’s timing. His wife wasn’t so good about the patience part of that. But Abraham waited patiently and obtained the promises.

Now, what was it about God – that caused Abraham to have such patience? Simply stated, GOD CANNOT LIE. Abraham had sufficient knowledge of God and confidence in God, he was willing to wait. The point is made in this section, “It is impossible for God to lie.” That was Abraham’s conviction.

After developing that argument from the Abraham narrative, the writer makes his application: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

This shows the writer coming back full circle to his affirmation that Christ is High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. One product of this is – believers have this anchor to hold us steady and keep us from drifting. The knowledge that God cannot lie, and our confidence in the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. He is there for us and will eventually welcome His people into heaven.

All of my Hebrews Podcasts Are Here, Click.

TEN WAYS TO FIND TIME TO READ THE BIBLE

 Johnny Felker

1. Wake up ten minutes earlier each morning and read. 2.
2. Keep a Bible close to your bed to read each night before
   you go to sleep.
3. Talk less and you will have a few more minutes to read.
4. Keep a copy of the Bible on hand in the kitchen or at the
   telephone to read while you “hold.”
5. Turn the TV off and read to your children.
6.  Carry a copy of the Bible, at least the New Testament, in
   your pocket or purse to read while waiting for doctors, or
   un-punctional people, etc.
7. Never go on a trip without your Bible in your suitcase.
8. Keep a copy of the Bible in the glove compartment of your
   car.
9. Remember, a Bible in your hand is worth two on the coffee
   table.
10. Read several verses before each meal when all the family
    is together.

–borrowed from Johnny Felker, Family Report.

Robbed, Broke But Thankful

Warren E. Berkley

During my tour of duty in the United States Army I was occupied as a musician. I was a member of the 158^th Army Band at Fort Knox, Kentucky in the 1960’s, and some of my work involved stage band performances on base and in nearby Louisville. On a few occasions we played at events in The Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville. It was an elegant place with southern charm right in downtown Louisville.

We would begin around 9 pm and finish after midnight. We played 50’s style jazz and big band music while military officers visited with local political leaders, celebrities and Kentucky Colonels.

After the job, we would load up our equipment in an Army truck parked in the alley about a block away, then board an Army bus for the trip back to the base. This meant, walking through the alley behind The Brown in the early dark hours of morning. Our Sergeant always told us to walk with a buddy or in groups, due to the danger of late night criminal activity in downtown Louisville.

One morning, around 2 am, I was walking through that alley with my buddy, “Stick,” (we all had nicknames; I was “Berk.”) As we walked toward the bus, a huge man stepped out in front of us and stopped. He was holding (and tapping in his hand) a foot long lead pipe, that had electrical tape wrapped around one end for better grip.

We stopped. I closed my eyes as tight as I could, my body shook and I waited for the blow while praying. Stick was cool. Then the giant said, “Do you guys want this pipe?” Stick said, “that’s just exactly what I’ve been looking for.” Quickly, we pooled our resources and bought that pipe for less than $20 (all we had). The “pipe salesman” carefully gave Stick the pipe, said “thank you” and we walked on to the bus without harm. (As we walked away, we said “thank you!”)

We told the story and the other soldiers on the bus reacted. They considered us to be victims of extortion. We lost our money to a thief and only had pipe to show for it. We didn’t care that our peers believed we had been ill-treated. We were thankful to be safe and have our lives. (I was thankful I was with a friend who was so quick of thought and tongue!)

Many years ago, Matthew Henry, a well-known Bible scholar, was once robbed of his wallet. Knowing that it was his duty to give thanks in everything, he meditated on this incident and recorded in his diary the following:

Let me be thankful, first, because he never robbed me before; second, because although he took my purse, he did not take my life; third, because although he took all I possessed, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.  

The Highest Example of Honesty

Warren E. Berkley

The case can be stated in simple terms: “Lying lips are an abomination” to God {Prov. 12:22}. And there is no evidence that Jesus ever did anything that was displeasing to God. Jesus never told a lie. He said: “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no,’ no!” (Matt. 5:37). Jesus illustrated perfect honesty.

It is commonly argued today that lying is usually wrong, but that in certain situations of pressure it would be all right. Nobody has ever been under the kind of intense pressure Jesus was under while He was on the earth. He was hated, treated with rudeness and open hostility. Men plotted and conspired to find some fault in Him (though He was perfect), and He was killed by men on charges absent evidence. Through all of this, Jesus remained pure, sinless and perfectly honest. He never found any occasion to state anything expect the truth.

              “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, Nor was guile found in His mouth,’ who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.” (1 Pet. 2:21-23).

Now what did Jesus do under this kind of pressure and pain? He “committed Himself” to God, the only righteous Judge! And we are called by the gospel to follow His example. When we are under pressure, falsely accused, treated with contempt and reviled or simply in an awkward position – we will tell the truth and commit ourselves into the just hand of God – if we are real followers of Christ. We will steadfastly refuse temptations to lie.

              What did the apostles of Christ say about this? “…all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” and outside the heavenly city are “dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie,” (Rev. 21:8, 22:15).

Christians are instructed plainly in Ephesians 4:25 to put away falsehood, and speak the truth. No exemptions, no special circumstances, no excuses – JUST TELL THE TRUTH. Jesus did.

One of the prophets who pointed the way to the Christ described the kind of integrity we should have, in Isa. 33:15,16 …

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil: He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

Let every follower of Christ strive to be blameless and pure. May our attitude be based on His example of integrity. Jesus was a man who would not tell a lie. This is something Jesus would not do.

John’s First Epistle

1 Jno. 4:7-12

We love because of His love!

 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. – 1 Jno. 4:7-12

The reason for loving one another could not be higher or stronger: “…love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the reason, punctuated by God’s love for us.

This must have such emphasis in our minds, we are aware that “anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

The foremost expression of divine love is, God “sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him” and “to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Here comes the OUGHT: “…we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.”

If I want God to abide in me, I must abide in Him and His Word – and that will mean the attitude and behavior of love (as defined by God’s actions toward us).