Life – Praying Pint

43.a. “Wilderness” – 7.h. Sinai – “Honor your father and your mother”

Exodus 20:12  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Leviticus 19:3  Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

Proverbs 15:5   A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

Proverbs 23:22-25   Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.  Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.  The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.  Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

Colossians 3:20    Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1-3  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),  “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Proverbs 30:17   The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.

Malachi 1:6   “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you

Of all our duties to our fellow-men, the first and most fundamental is our duty towards our parents, which lies at the root of all our social relations, and is the first of which we naturally become conscious. Honour, reverence, and obedience are due to parents from the position in which they stand to their children :—(1) As, in a certain sense, the authors of their being; (2) as their shelterers and nourishers; (3) as their protectors and educators, from whom they derive the foundation of their moral training and the first elements of their knowledge. (Ellicott)

Honour thy father and thy mother, includes esteem of them, shown in our conduct; obedience to their lawful commands; come when they call you, go where they send you, do what they bid you, refrain from what they forbid you; and this, as children, cheerfully, and from a principle of love. Also submission to their counsels and corrections. Endeavouring, in every thing, to comfort parents, and to make their old age easy; maintaining them if they need support, which our Saviour makes to be particularly intended in this commandment. (Henry)

How many sons and daughters, including us as sons and daughters, have done that which does not honor their fathers and mothers? It is my life and I will live it as I deem best for me. Your ways are old fashion and meaningless today. It is clear that when God’s Word and things of God are minimized in a person’s life, any attention given to that which will honor their parents will be as well, not to mention, more importantly, honoring and glorifying God. There is a promise that comes with obedience to this commandment. How many other promises of God are forfeited in our lives because of the lack of desire for honoring, glorifying, serving, worshiping, praising, and trusting Him? Honor and glory to God will honor and glorify parents. Whereas God will always deserve and is worthy of honor and glory, parents may not seem worthy and may do things that their adult children do not agree with. (rightly or wrongly) Our parents and us as parents will have times in our lives when we make wrong choices, say and do wrong things, and hurt our testimony before God and others. Children are not blind and will see this. Adult children will see this.

We can be Christian adult children with parents who are not. These parents can be full of vile words and do things very contrary to the things of God. How is a person to honor their parents who reject God and things of God? In love. We do not support sinful behavior, ie giving money so they can buy alcohol or do more gambling. Though we might buy them food, mow their yard, fix their car, repair their home, visit them, etc…. and show them loving concern. I am not saying this will be easy. How do you respond to a parent who always ask for money and lies to you continually and belittles your love and support for them? This has to be one of the hardest tests of displayed love for an adult child. Ground rules and be expressed and established, in love, to your parents. If you are drunk when we come over with our children we will leave. If you talk evil of God and things of God in front of our children we will leave. There are many things we can establish to protect our children but there are also many things we can do to show love in the absence of the children present.

Love will allow me to see the drunkenness and still show love. Love will allow me to see hate for God and things of God and still show love. Love will allow me to see wasted resources and still show love. Love will allow me to see a pity party and still show love. Love will allow me to hear belittling comments and still show love. This is an honor given to fathers and mothers who it would seem do not deserve it. Does that sound familiar? While we were yet sinners, God displayed His love for us by giving His only Son to redeem us. This is unconditional love, undeserved and freely given.

Honor thy father and mother.

39.w. “I wait for Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Genesis 49:16 “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

Judges 18:22-31    When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan.  And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?”  And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”  And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.”  Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.  But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.  And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it.  And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first.  And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.  So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Psalms 14:7  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psalms 40:1   I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Psalms 62:1  For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

Psalms 119:41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise;

Psalms 119:166   I hope for your salvation, O LORD

Psalms 130:5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

Isaiah 8:17    I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

Isaiah 25:9     It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Lamentations 3:25   The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

Micah 7:7    But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Galatians 5:5    For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

1 Thessalonians 1:10     and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. There is an elegant paronomasia, or an allusion to the name of Dan in those words, which signifies to judge, and the sense of them is, there should be heads, rulers, and judges of it. (GILL)

“Dan will procure his people justice as one of the tribes of Israel. Let Dan become a serpent by the way, a horned adder in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, so that its rider falls back.” Although only the son of a maid-servant, Dan would not be behind the other tribes of Israel, but act according to his name (ידין דּן), and as much as any other of the tribes procure justice to his people (i.e., to the people of Israel; not to his own tribe, as Diestel supposes). There is no allusion in these words to the office of judge which was held by Samson; they merely describe the character of the tribe, although this character came out in the expedition of a portion of the Danites to Laish in the north of Canaan, a description of which is given in Judges 18, as well as in the “romantic chivalry of the brave, gigantic Samson, when the cunning of the serpent he overthrew the mightiest foes” (KEIL & DELITZSCH)

Jacob, almost spent, and ready to faint, relieves himself with those words, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord! The salvation he waited for was Christ, the promised Seed; now that he was going to be gathered to his people, he breathes after Him to whom the gathering of the people shall be. He declared plainly that he sought heaven, the better country, Heb 11:13,14. Now he is going to enjoy the salvation, he comforts himself that he had waited for the salvation. Christ, as our way to heaven, is to be waited on; and heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for. It is the comfort of a dying saint thus to have waited for the salvation of the Lord; for then he shall have what he has been waiting for. (HENRY)

38.v. “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.”

Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

2 Timothy 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Ephesians 4:17-18 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Romans 5:6-11 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Colossians 1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard

John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Ephesians 5:8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

I read this statement this morning on “Regeneration” Faith/Repentance

“Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. “Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him and Lord and Savior.” Regeneration is necessary because the Bible describes unbelievers as the walking dead. Not only are they spiritually dead, but they are depicted as natural / without the Spirit; blinded in their minds; bound by Satan; alienated from God; enemies of the Lord; condemned in their unbelief; and in spiritual darkness.

38.n. “And they sold him”

Genesis 37:21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Reuben could have simply rose up and said, “This is wrong! We can’t do this!” Reuben wanted to be merciful to Joseph, but he also wanted to please the other brothers who hated Joseph. The other brothers had their plan and Reuben had his plan. Reuben didn’t try to stop his brothers; he tried to out-smart them. Joseph was stripped of his coat of many colors, the sign of his fathers favor, cast into he pit, and the brothers sat down to eat after this harmless act against their brother. The brothers probably laughed as the Ishmaelites went their way to Egypt, feeling good that they didn’t kill Joseph and that they made a little money in the process. Best of all, they thought they had defeated the dream, the revelation from God. (Guzik)

We should note that this heartless act was not only against Joseph but also against Jacob. Where did these sons of Jacob get such deceptive and cruel ideas from? How much hate was in this family? How much anger and unrest festered each day in this family?

Our hearts and minds can be home for good or bad, godly or ungodly, hate or love, family bonds or family division. When our eyes get out of focus of our purpose in life to honor and glorify Jesus Christ we are left to follow after our own sinful desires or those of others and become a tool for Satan’s work. How many families would still be together if lust, greed, pride, and anger were discerned and cast out of the hearts and minds of those being ruled and influenced by them? Once a heart and mind are given into to these thoughts, Satan can lead you around like a little child. We are given free will to choose to do right or wrong. How many times do we choose to do wrong because by worldly standards it is right? How many times when we discern an ungodly thought in our mind do we recognize it and say I will not do that because it does not honor and glorify Jesus Christ? How often do we leave a kind word unsaid, a helpful hand undone, or other ways to honor and glorify Jesus Christ because of our denials or rejections of God’s leading? I can tell you this, when a person is neglectful and complacent in the study of God’s Word and meditating on things of God, they will be worthless at living in such a way that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ for there is no ability for discernment.

37.a. “Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

Genesis 24:2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Genesis 26:34-35    When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,  and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 27:46   Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Exodus 34:16    and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4    You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,  for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

2 Corinthians 6:14    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Abraham was in such high esteem among the Canaanites, that, undoubtedly, he could have married Isaac to a daughter of one of the princes of the land. But he saw that the Canaanites were degenerating into great wickedness, and knew that they were designed for ruin; and he would not marry his son among them, lest they should be a snare to his soul. (Benson)

We all like to believe that we can be around ungodly things as much as we want and that we are strong enough to ward off the influence. But we must take seriously the words of Scripture: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33). It needs to come back to the simple question from Romans 12:2: Are we being conformed to this world, or are we being transformed by the renewing of your mind? (Guzik)

Our culture is much different now than in the time of Abraham. We do not choose a wife for our sons. They choose for themselves. As parents, it is very hard to watch as a son chooses to make union with a woman who is not a believer or does not give thought or service to God. Scripture is clear that such a union will more than likely bring heartache as parents observe their lives.

All is not lost, Pray for their souls. Pray continually for God’s softening of their heart and mind to the Word of God. Pray for God to bring people into their lives who love, serve, and honor Jesus Christ. Pray for God to open their heart to hear His invitation to believe in Him. Never cease to pray for them. Do not give up. God is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

36.v. “Lest you be swept away.”

Genesis 19:26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:17    And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

Proverbs 14:14    The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

Luke 17:31-32    On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.  Remember Lot’s wife.

Hebrews 10:38    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Her looking back indicated the place of her real treasure. She failed to trust whole-heartedly, or to obey. Lot’s wife lingering behind her husband, and looking back, contrary to the express command of the Lord, is caught in the sweeping tempest, and becomes a pillar of salt. His wife looked back, through curiosity, or unbelief, or desire of what she left, or from all these causes.

The temptations of the flesh and of this world are always within a finger’s touch away from thought and yearning for its pleasures and comforts. Be mindful of this always. They will always be at the doorstep of our hearts and minds, tempting and luring our souls with their satisfaction, gratification, fulfillment, delight, and enjoyment.

Let us be firm in our turning away and flee from every thought and sight that tempts and hinders our focus, service, obedience, following, and reliance on Jesus Christ and our eternal home with Him in heaven.

35.p. “Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds”

Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Hebrews 11:4   By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

Numbers 18:12   All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD

Isaiah 3:10-11    Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.  Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Jeremiah 2:5    Thus says the LORD: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13  Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.  But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

The offerings of Cain and Abel were different. Cain showed a proud, unbelieving heart. Therefore he and his offering were rejected. Abel came as a sinner, and according to God’s appointment, by his sacrifice expressing humility, sincerity, and believing obedience. Thus, seeking the benefit of the new covenant of mercy, through the promised Seed, his sacrifice had a token that God accepted it. Abel offered in faith, and Cain did not, Heb 11:4. In all ages there have been two sorts of worshippers, such as Cain and Abel; namely, proud, hardened despisers of the gospel method of salvation, who attempt to please God in ways of their own devising; and humble believers, who draw near to him in the way he has revealed. Cain indulged malignant anger against Abel. He harboured an evil spirit of discontent and rebellion against God. God notices all our sinful passions and discontents. There is not an angry, envious, or fretful look, that escapes his observing eye. The Lord reasoned with this rebellious man; if he came in the right way, he should be accepted. Some understand this as an intimation of mercy. If thou doest not well, sin, that is, the sin-offering, lies at the door, and thou mayest take the benefit of it. The same word signifies sin, and a sacrifice for sin. Though thou hast not done well, yet do not despair; the remedy is at hand. Christ, the great sin-offering, is said to stand at the door, Re 3:20. And those well deserve to perish in their sins, that will not go to the door to ask for the benefit of this sin-offering. God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering did not change the birthright, and make it his; why then should Cain be so angry? Sinful heats and disquiets vanish before a strict and fair inquiry into the cause. (Henry)

Note in one word that we have here at the beginning of human history the solemn distinction which runs through it all. These two, so near in blood, so separate in spirit, head the two classes into which Scripture decisively parts men, especially men who have heard the gospel. It is unfashionable now to draw that broad line between the righteous and the wicked, believers and unbelievers. Sheep and goats are all one. Modern liberal sentiment-so-called-will not consent to such narrowness as the old-fashioned classification. There are none of us black, and none white; we are all different shades of grey. But facts do not quite bear out such amiable views. Perhaps it is not less charitable, and a great deal truer, to draw the line broad and plain, on one side of which is peace and safety, and on the other trouble and death, if only we make it plain that no man need stop one minute on the dark side. The foundation of a righteous character, determines the acceptableness of worship. Cain’s offering had no sense of dependence, no outgoing of love and trust, no adoration,-though it may have had fear,-and no moral element. So it had no sweet odour for God. Abel’s was sprinkled with some drops of the incense of lowly trust, and came from a heart which fain would be pure; therefore it was a joy to God. So we are taught at the very beginning, that, as is the man, so is his sacrifice; that the prayer of the wicked is an abomination. Plenty of worship nowadays is Cain worship. Many reputable professing Christians bring just such sacrifices. The prayers of such never reach higher than the church ceiling. Of course, the lesson of the story is not that a man must be pure before his sacrifice is accepted. Of course, the faintest cry of trust is heard, and a contrite heart, however sinful, is always welcome. But we are taught that our acts of worship must have our hearts in them, and that it is vain to pray and to love evil. Sin has the awful power of blocking our way to God. (MacLaren)

34.y. “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility.”

Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.

Luke 11:46    And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

Acts 15:10   Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

Philippians 2:3     Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

John 12:43    for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Luke 16:15    And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Proverbs 3:3    Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 6:21-23    Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.  When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Then spake Jesus to the multitude,…. To the common people that were about him in the temple; the high priests and elders, Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, having left him, being all nonplussed and silenced by him: and now, lest on the one hand, the people seeing the ignorance and errors of these men detected by Christ, should be tempted to conclude there was nothing in religion, and to neglect the word and worship of God, on account of the concern these men had in it; and on the other hand, because of their great authority and influence, being in Moses’s chair, lest the people should be led into bad principles and practices by them, he directs them in what they should observe them, and in what not: that they were not altogether to be rejected, nor in everything to be attended to; and warns them against their ostentation, pride, hypocrisy, covetousness, and cruelty; and, at the same time, removes an objection against himself, proving that he was no enemy to Moses, and the law, rightly explained and practiced. (Gill)

Legalism in any form of justifying ourselves before God is a lie continually proclaimed by satan, always wrong, and temps those that seek redemption apart from complete reliance on Jesus Christ. It does not take much tempting by satan to get a person to wear good deeds in pride. As good of deeds as they may be, they are wasted in that person’s heart for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ alone. Do we think that counting and keeping track of our good deeds in some way puts God in our debt? Likewise, do we do good deeds out of fear of God or because we love God? Do we expect more of others than we do of ourselves?

There are many who proclaim many do’s and don’t’s for a Christian to follow. Let these be summed up in a few. Love God with your whole heart, mind, and soul. Do that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all you say, think, and do. Do not be conformed to this world and what it has to offer. Do love others above yourself. Do read scripture with an expectant heart and mind for the purpose of gaining more understanding, wisdom, and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how you might honor and glorify Him more and more each day.

34.v. “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD”

Matthew 22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Romans 7:4    Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Revelation 21:2    And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9    Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Proverbs 1:24-32    Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,  because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,  when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.  Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,  would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,  therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.  For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

Jeremiah 6:16-17    Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’

Hosea 11:2   The more they were called, the more they went away;

Hosea 11:7    My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all

Romans 10:21   But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Hebrews 12:25   See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

Matthew 7:13-14   “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Luke 13:28    In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

Matthew 13:50    and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

2 Thessalonians 1:9   They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

It seems strange that those invited refused an invitation to a royal wedding. This illustrates the principle that there is no logical reason God’s good gifts are refused. The reaction of those invited made no sense, but it does give an accurate description of the reaction of many to the gospel. (Gill)

Many made light of the invitation; others go about their business as if the invitation is not worthy of their time. The reason why sinners come not to Christ and salvation by him, is, not because they cannot, but because they will not. Making light of Christ, and of the great salvation paid by Him and offered through Him, is the damning sin of the world. They were careless. Multitudes perish forever through mere carelessness, who show no direct aversion, but are careless as to their souls. Also the business and profit of worldly employments hinder many in choosing redemption, salvation, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Both farmers and merchants must be diligent; but whatever we have of the world in our hands, our care must be to keep it out of our hearts, lest it come between us and Christ. The case of hypocrites is represented by the guest that had not on a wedding-garment. It concerns all to prepare for the scrutiny; and those, and those only, who put on the Lord Jesus, who have a Christian temper of mind, who live by faith in Christ, and to whom he is all in all, have the wedding-garment. The imputed righteousness of Christ, and the sanctification of the Spirit, are both alike necessary. No man has the wedding-garment by nature, or can form it for himself. The day is coming, when hypocrites will be called to account for all their presumptuous intruding into gospel ordinances, and wrong use of gospel privileges. Take him away. Those that walk unworthy of Christianity, forfeit all the happiness they presumptuously claimed. Our Savior here passes out of the parable into that which it teaches. Hypocrites go by the light of the gospel itself down to utter darkness. Many are called to the wedding-feast, that is, to salvation, but few have the wedding-garment, the righteousness of Christ, the sanctification of the Spirit. Then let us examine ourselves whether we are in the faith, and seek to be approved by the King. (Henry)

“There are no longer feet to run to God’s mercy or to flee from his justice; no longer hands to do good or make amends for evil; no longer saving light, whereby to know God or one’s own duties. Nothing but darkness, pain, grief, tears, rage, fury, and despair, for him who is not in the wedding hall. (unknown)

33.u. “So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God”

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

1 Peter 4:2    so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

John 12:25     Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Acts 20:24    But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Job 27:8   For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?

Luke 12:20    But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

Mark 8:37    For what can a man give in return for his soul?

The cross wasn’t about religious ceremonies; it wasn’t about traditions and spiritual feelings. The cross was a way to execute people. Everyone knew that the cross was an unrelenting instrument of death. The cross had no other purpose. We have done a pretty good job in sanitizing and ritualizing the cross. “Cross bearing does not refer to some irritation in life. Rather, it involves the way of the cross. “Denying self is not the same as self-denial. We practice self-denial when, for a good purpose, we occasionally give up things or activities. But we deny self when we surrender ourselves to Christ and determine to obey His will.”

Human nature wants to indulge self, not deny self. Death to self is always terrible, and if we expect it to be a pleasant or mild experience, we will often be disillusioned. Death to self is the radical command of the Christian life. To take up your cross meant one thing: you were going to a certain death, and your only hope was in resurrection power. (Guzik & Wiersbe)

Death is a friend no one wants but is always no more than one heartbeat or breath away from every single person born. We may deny it is with us at all times. We deny it has a time of its choosing to end our earthly life. We see it as a friend very close to others but not close to us. As hard as we may try to mask death’s inevitable fate for us we still will die and face eternity. Jesus is saying that death is coming to all and while we are still breathing you can choose to live life for eternal life or eternal death. Choosing to follow the way of the cross to death means a person dies to self continually. They have set their hearts, minds, and souls on repenting of sin, humbly surrendering, following, trusting, obeying, and relying on Jesus Christ alone. Nothing this world has to offer is greater than honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all that think, say, and do. The way of the cross would seem like a burden to those who see it as taking away from this life. But, to those who have chosen it, to them it is life worth living, eternal life, and their heart is more than comforted in this. They find what others deem as a burden, it is has given them peace, love, joy, hope, courage, power, and a place of refuge from the very moment they were born again.

Death comes to all and routinely gives no warning to its arrival. But, when it comes, eternity is waiting and it is here where God’s final judgment occurs and either eternal life or eternal torment is the result of the choice being made the living side of death. Choose to repent of sin, humbly surrender, follow, obey, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ for there is no other way to eternal life.

Upon death, no one can stand before God and claim they are worthy of eternal life because of their good works or anything else they have done. No one can say I did it my way and did not need Jesus Christ, nor did I need to burden myself with the way of the cross, nor can they say I went part way in following the path of the cross when it suited me. Scripture is clear, no one will find lasting peace, joy, love, hope, courage, power, and a place of refuge – eternal life – without surrendering this life and taking up the way of the cross through Jesus Christ.