John’s First Epistle

1 Jno. 3:11-18

Don’t be like Cain!

¹¹ For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ¹² We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. – 1 Jno. 3:11-18

The Bible is rich in examples of good behavior and bad behavior. Obviously, the purpose is to instruct us to follow good examples and steer a deliberate course away from bad behavior (see 3 Jno. 11).

Cain’s story begins with failed worship, then resentment and even after God warned him, he killed his brother, Abel. John’s point is simple: Don’t be like Cain!

The positive lesson from that is, “love one another.” Love, as defined by God, defeats the resentment and jealousy and enables us to be disciplined in our responses to people, to event and to our own troubles we created.

John adds that we (Christians) will be hated. The world isn’t tolerate toward our convictions and way of life. Don’t be surprised about that. Yet, one sign of conversion is – we have adopted God’s definition of love, even toward our enemies (see Matt. 5:44).

But how bad is hatred? John is clear. Don’t try to explain this away. Just read it and believe it.

“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

So, don’t be like Cain. Be like Christ, who illustrated and taught love, as God desires to see in His people.

The Work of Shoveling

by Warren E. Berkley

My childhood days (birth to 18) were spent in the 1700 block of “Q” street in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In the course of our simple lives, we were honored to witness many intriguing people. One man I remember was Hank. He seemed to me to be an old man. He lived with his wife and son in a poorer neighborhood.

Hank had a shovel. Each morning, except for Sunday, he would get up early and walk around town with his shovel, offering his services shoveling for whatever anyone would pay. Sometimes he would go door to door, asking if anything needed to be shoveled. If he knew a place where soil was being moved or construction might require shoveling, he would visit that location and use the single tool of his trade. He had some regular customers when gardening time came, and the local cemeteries were on his route. But mostly, he would just walk through neighborhoods with his shovel hoping to find some work. (A good winter snow was a way to put back a few dollars.)

Now Hank – as far as I know – never added any other tools to his trade. He never did upgrade his business from one shovel to a hoe, wheel-barrel or lawn-mower. Hank was a specialist. He fed his family and paid the bills by shoveling.

As a little boy, I remember thinking that was pathetic. My daddy had a regular office job as an accountant, plus his work as a skilled carpenter. He was a good cook, sold Bibles and was a capable photographer. My neighborhood was mostly populated by families supported by skilled laborers (train engineers, truck drivers, retailers and plumbers). Hank shoveled.

I have a respect for Hank now that I wasn’t capable of when I was ten. He did what he could do. As far as I know, he was honest and resisted charity. He would not beg or take more than standard wages. He sought nothing but what he needed; enjoyed no status or recognition and made himself useful.

Do what you can with what you have. God honors that (1 Pet. 4:10).

“Whatever Things

Are Of Good Report”

(Phil. 4:8)

Warren E. Berkley

{Written for The Preceptor magazine before social media platforms were widespread. 2002}

It is hard work and it is daily work to guard our hearts and watch our speech. Yet we can and we must undertake this work. God has defined the highest standards of thought: “…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever thinks are pure, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things,” (Phil. 4:8).

If we are not exceedingly careful to guard our hearts, the devil will assist us in developing an attraction for bad news and beyond that, an interest in spreading it. If we let this happen, word of some scandal can stimulate us and hold our attention. You can almost always draw a crowd by simply walking up to a group and saying, “did you hear what happened?” Or, draw a larger crowd by saying, “did you hear what happened to ______ (name of someone known to the group)?” (See Prov. 26:22).

The medium of communication cannot be blamed; that’s not the location of the real problem. Since the invention of the telephone, it has been used to spread shocking stories and false reports. Before that, the printed page was used for the same purpose, and remains an instrument to the same end today. Cell phones, fax machines and e-mail connections for a long time have been humming with suspicions, hearsay and rumors to the full extent of human imagination. The problem is not the method. The problem lies in the immature, impulsive motivations, the poor judgment and the ungodly interests that prompts such talk.

While modern e-mail is not the problem, it certainly illustrates the problem. I am staggered by the lack of judgment people use in forwarding e-mail, with apparently little thought to content, evidence, origin or effect. My fear is, this lack of good judgment is not limited to pressing the forward button in an email program. To supplement this problem, as stories, hoaxes and scams circulate, they evolve far beyond the original false report.

There seem to be four levels to the problem:

(1) Originating a report with faulty or incomplete information. Whatever motivation is claimed, there is never any justification for exaggerating to advance your case, and never any reason to just make something up. The Bible offers no argument for any lie! The truth is, “…all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death,” (Rev. 21:8). No exemption is offered to any liars in this verse or anywhere else in the Scriptures. Originating a false report is wrong. “An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire,” (Prov. 16:27; see also Prov. 17:20).

(2) Transmitting (forwarding) a false report to others is likewise to be classified as a sin (Prov. 19:5). When repeating what we have heard, we ought to exercise the greatest caution (Prov. 11:13; 18:13). Is the report accurate? Has it been altered or enhanced? What purpose does it serve? Who do we really need to tell? Honesty before God and man should be the aim of every child of God (see 2 Cor. 8:21; Prov. 13:17; Prov. 17:4). It is our duty to think carefully and speak carefully. “The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps,” (Prov. 14:15). T. Doy Moyer wrote a good piece about the righteous attitude of Joseph toward Mary (Matt. 1:18-25). He addressed the matter well and said: “Christians need to be careful about taking news about others ‘public.’ Even if that ‘news’ is true, is it necessary to tell others, especially if it will end up needlessly hurting that person’s reputation? Before taking any action, even secretly, we need to make sure we have the facts, and that they are in proper context. Perhaps a few reputations might have been spared had that basic principle been followed,” (Focus Magazine, Feb. 1999).

(3) Altering an account is wrong. Let us never entertain the thought that defending the truth of God requires that we tell a lie or alter the truth (Rom. 3:7). Carnal, subjective thinking may suggest that slightly altering a report will serve some good purpose – in getting someone’s attention or in stressing some danger. But God has given no instructions to do such a thing. Whatever “cause” or “case” we believe needs a hearing, God still says: “Do not lie,” (Col. 3:9).

(4) Resisting Correction is a sign of a sinful stubborn heart. It is a repeated theme in the book of Proverbs (Prov. 12:1). When hearers respond to our reports with truth that challenges what we have said/written/forwarded – we need to listen with humility and be ready to offer corrections or retractions. To continue telling a story after hearing truth that alters our “version,” is stubborn, juvenile, destructive and ungodly. “And whoever spreads slander is a fool,” (Prov. 10:18).

We should resolve to have no part in any level of falsehood: origin, transmission, alteration or resisting correction. “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established,” (Prov. 16:3).

“… To All Who Obey Him…”

Hebrews 5:1-10 (ESV)

Warren E. Berkley

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. ³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. ⁴ And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵ So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;

⁶ as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus^[a] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹ And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰ being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Long before Aaron was born; before the Levitical priesthood was established among the Jewish people, a man visited briefly with Abraham. Melchizedek; identified in Genesis as “Priest of God Most High,” (Gen. 14:18). Abraham paid tithes to this man. His name doesn’t come up again until Psalms 110:4, which pointed to Jesus, the Messiah. “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’.”

Here’s the point made in Hebrews 5 and again in chapter 7. Jesus was not a priest in the old Jewish system. He became a priest “after the order of Melchizedek,” which predated Aaron and the Levitical system. The original readers of Hebrews were called to consider Jesus as their Great High Priest now. Jesus was qualified in ever way to provide access to God, even greater and higher than the sons of Aaron.

What does this mean? Jesus is now “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” The only question left is, have you obeyed Him?

Co-workers, not Competitors

(1 Cor. 3)

One of the valuable lessons we are to learn from the first three chapters of First Corinthians is simply this: Those who are active in the local church are co-workers, not competitors. Paul, Apollos and others who taught God’s Word in Corinth were “servants through whom they believed, as the Lord assigned to each one.” These men were servants under assignment from the Lord; co-workers, not competitors. {Read 1 Cor. 3}

When you look out over a working farm, there are many people engaged in a variety of functions; some planting, some watering, etc. But they are all dependent on God, who put the power in the seed, the soil and the water. Thus, at harvest time, no worker is to be singled out for celebration. “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord,” (1 Cor. 2:31).

The next time you drive by a construction project, notice people engaged in different kinds of work. They are co-workers, not competitors. And when the project is complete and the building is functional, it is God’s building (1 Cor. 3:9).

These opening chapters in First Corinthians supply for us today, good, healthy perspective about men who are to work faithfully, build with the right materials and give the glory to God. Preachers, teachers and others who function in the local church are co-workers, not competitors. “…let each one take care how he builds…”

{See related material by Jacob Hudgins, Click Here.}

By Jon W. Quinn
From Expository Files 14.6; June 2007

Respect For Things Holy 

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

One characteristic of God often ignored by folks in general today is His holiness, and His requirement of us to be holy as well. We must approach God with reverence to be acceptable before Him. This has always been the case. He told Israel long ago, “’For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; thus you shall be holy for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45). In fact, if you’ll notice, the first four of the ten commandments deal specifically with treating God as holy by living holy ourselves (Exodus 20:3-11).

The promise had been given to Israel that after they entered the promised land of Canaan, that if they would keep God’s commandments He would bless them, but if not, they would be cursed. Israel would suffer horrendously in the future because of their lack of regard for the holiness of God. To profane things which God has declared “holy” is a sin, then as well as now, whether it be the Scriptures, marriage, church, worship or behavior. It would do well for the church, or spiritual Israel, not to make the same mistakes Israel of old did.

Israel’s Lack of Respect for God

Israel’s problems began with their disobedience. To protect Israel from the evil influences if idolatry and other pagan practices, God had commanded them to drive the other inhabitants completely out of the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:1-5). Israel got lazy and did not do so. The commandment was easy enough to understand. They were to make no covenant with the idolaters. The Lord said if they did not do this, they would succumb to idolatrous practices and be led astray. Israel did not take this warning seriously enough, that is, they did not treat God’s word as holy. Consequently, the future of Israel would show numerous digressions into apostasies, idolatry, disloyalty, immorality and ultimately the consequences of destruction and captivity.

Israel had been forbidden to follow after other gods (Deuteronomy 7:5). But, they began to live by the code of “I do what I think I want to do” rather than “I do as the Lord directs.” (Judges 21:5). Sounds much like prevailing attitudes today! Many grow to adulthood today completely ignorant of righteous principles of honesty, integrity and consideration for others. The parents have tremendous effect of future generations, good or bad (Judges 2:10).

The children of Israel had also been forbidden to intermarry with idolaters (Deuteronomy 7:3,4). Again, they did not treat God’s word as holy. Again, the consequences were apostasy, sin and destruction.

Today, the will of God deserves no less respect than it did then, but sadly, our nation holds His teachings and commandments with about the same level of respect as Israel of old did. Who can look at this nation’s divorce and remarriage situation, often in direct violation of God’s holy word (Matthew 19:4-6;9) and think otherwise? On Israel, they began to think all gods were more or less equal. That’s the sentiment often expressed today as well. The Dali Lama is not Jesus; he is not in the same category, but many believe him to be (John 14:6). To put Mohammed, or Buddha, or any other religious leader on equal footing with Christ is to treat the Son of God with contempt.

Israel Did Not Respect Holy Men

“Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. And yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers.” (Judges 2:16,17).

What a striking parallel! These judges were calling the people back to God, and speaking the truth. But often the truth of God is not popular with man. If you take your stand for the truth, then you will be unlikely to win a popularity contest, but you will please God and He will take care of you.

We need holy men and women today to serve the Lord faithfully and fully. Holy men need to step forward and prepare themselves to become elders of local churches, dedicated to leading them according to God’s revealed word (Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:17). We need holy disciples who will follow the lead of godly elders that the church may prosper. We need holy preachers and teachers who will proclaim the truth in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2-4; Titus 2:15). We need holy disciples going about and teaching God’s word everywhere, urging all to treat God as holy (Acts 18:26; 8:4).

Israel Did Not Have Respect For Worship

The sons of Eli became priests in Israel, but had no respect for the holiness of God, their own positions, nor the commandments of God ( 1 Samuel 2:12-16; 17:22-25; 29). They did evil as they sacrificed to the Lord. They cared little for God and His will. They refused to honor God, and were dishonorable men themselves. They had betrayed the trust God had placed in them. They were and will be judged.

We need to understand that our worship, too, has been regulated in the word of God. To treat worship as holy is to obey God’s instructions concerning it. There is a difference in worship and every day activities. Some churches, to attract crowds, have changed the work and worship of the church from what God commanded to something more in line with common things. Their might be entertainment, drama, musical shows, fairs, carnivals, games and even gambling. Some will involve the church in politics, or in gambling. Some have sponsored beer tents. The Lord spoke of this same thing happening during Israel’s days and through Ezekiel said, “Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” (Ezekiel 22:26). When we do similar things today, we also “do violence” to God’s law and “profane” (make common) His holy things.

It is time we treat God as holy, and never regard His will with anything less than careful consideration and obedience.

By Jon W. Quinn
From Expository Files 14.6; June 2007

From the archives of Pressing On Magazine, Click Here to Subscribe

Be Wise Small

by Dee Bowman

Short Stops

“Love you” loses part of its force when you leave the “I” out of it.

You have to figure out where you are before you can get where you’re going.

If you can’t thank God for it, you better not do it.

Life is just like the weather–it changes every day.

How would you live your life if you knew exactly how much of it you had?

The true quality life is not material, it’s spiritual.

The person who flaunts his talent flouts the law of humility (Proverbs 16:18-19).

John’s First Epistle

1 Jno. 3:4-10

You Can’t Go On Sinning!

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.  Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.  By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

– 1 Jno. 3:4-10

Christians, in the ordinary course of daily living, may make mistakes, then immediately recover and repent. We are all in the process of growth, which means doing better, correcting our course, repenting of sins promptly.

In this passage, John is talking about those who make a practice of sinning, very similar to the statement in Heb. 10, concerning those who keep on sinning. The point John is making is (1) Jesus’ life and work was “to take away sins,” and (2) “no one who abides in him keeps on sinning.” John is concerned that his readers might be deceived into thinking sin is compatible with being a Christian.

He wants to take them back to the value of Christ’s life and death – and rely on that truth to motivate them to never excuse sin or keep on sinning without repentance.

In John’s typical bold (black and white) manner, he says that “whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

My recent “experiment” with audio with slides was well received. Here is another one. The subject is – FEARLESS PARENTING. Click Here.

Please visit the Laurel Heights Church of Christ Website, Click Here.

Romans 12:1,2 – An Experimental Episode

In July I delivered a sermon at Laurel Heights (McAllen, Tx.) based on Romans 12:1,2, with first emphasis on this as a “therefore” passage. Then from that, I raised three questions for us. The audio is here (Click).

Then I recorded an Mp4 video. The advantage is, the listener can see the slides while listening to the sermon. The video w/ audio is here (Click). Not certain I can do this every week, but I’ve posted here and will welcome your feedback.

THANKS.

John 12:43

The Cost of Popularity

“For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

Stepping outside my comfort zone, I’m going to make this personal. From an old man to my younger Christian friends.

When I was in High School (mid-1960’s), I was popular. In those days you became popular in one of three ways: (1) Star Athlete. No. Not me. (2) Strikingly Handsome. No. (3) The Class Clown. That’s what I was. I made people laugh. Even if it meant crossing some boundaries, taking some risks and going against what I knew was proper, I loved to make people laugh. I was good at it. And I reached the highest symbol of popularity. I briefly dated the head cheerleader.

The life of High School popularity felt good. I was well-liked. During this time, I was a Christian. I attended churche services faithfully and everybody there thought I was a fine young man.

I had the best of two worlds. My peers thought I was great. And the brethren thought I was great.

Yet, this “greatness” had a price. It nagged at me, that my ambition for popularity did not fit my profession of faith in Christ. I could not engage in serious personal evangelism. Getting people to take me seriously about anything was tough. I was the class clown, therefore not a good representative of Christ.

I was accepted by my brethren and my peers, but there had to be compromise. That compromise nagged at me. I knew I couldn’t spend the rest of my life seeking favor with everyone. After High School, wisdom was chosen and spiritual maturity took me to a better, spiritually healthy place.

To teenagers and young people – Be friendly as the Bible defines kindness and goodness; if that isn’t sufficient to attract friends, don’t move from healthy friendliness over to compromise. It will plant a thorn in your conscience. The longer that thorn remains, the harder to remove it. Seek His glory above all other relationships. You cannot afford the cost of popularity.