The First Letter of Peter-10

Subtitle: Our Witness before the World- Part 2

1 Peter 2:16-20.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, January 25, 2026.

We continue in this first letter of Peter.  He is focused on how we follow Jesus, and how that affects the world around us.  God wants those who are following Christ to be a witness and a testimony to the world.

This witness will save some.  We will be a witness that they receive.  However, others will not receive our witness.  The things we share and do are then evidence against them.  Of course, this is not our goal.  Our goal is to help them see Jesus.

In many cases, it may seem unfair that God expects us to be a witness for Him to people who do not deserve it.  The rub here is that we are the ones determining who doesn’t deserve it.  No one “deserves” the Gospel, but the grace of God has chosen to make it available to all.  We either agree with that and help, or we disagree and ignore the commands of Christ.

It is common that Christians end up suffering for their active witnessing to the world.  This too may seem unfair.  Why should we suffer so that they can be forgiven?  The answer is Jesus.  He suffered death for you and them so that forgiveness could be possible.  If we believe in him, then we can agree that his purposes are worthy of the greatest of sacrifices.

Let’s look at our passage.

Submit to every human institution of authority (v. 16-17)

We had to stop in the middle of this section last week.  The main point comes from verse 13. We are to do this for the Lord’s sake (not ours), without respect to the level of authority, and in order to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

There are going to be people who reject God no matter what His decision is.  It is God’s will that we submit ourselves to the governing authorities in order to shut the mouths of those who would ignorantly accuse Christians of rebellion.

Of course, it is a spiritual rebellion.  We will not serve the devil and his angels.  However, our goal is not to fight the governments of this world.  It is to silence their mouths through righteousness.

Verse 16 then adds the instruction that we should use our freedom to be slaves of God.  Now, some of them are free people and others are slaves.  There is even a spectrum of from the least freedom to the most freedom.  It would start with those who were slaves and move up to those who are simply servants.  We then would come to those who are free but have no Roman Citizenship (the Apostle Peter) and move to someone like the Apostle Paul who had both freedom and Roman Citizenship. 

However, Peter is not talking about our natural freedom.  He is talking about the spiritual freedom that we have in Christ.  All Christians have been spiritually set free from the guilt of their sins and the rebellion of humanity.  We have been also set free from any claim that the devil may have on us.  Those who were Jews were set free from the Law of Moses.  This doesn’t mean that Christians are lawless.  Instead, we are under the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

Many Christians make the mistake of using their situation as an indication of what they truly are in Christ.  If my circumstances are bad, then I am a loser in Christ, a failure.  If my circumstances are good, then God loves me, and I am a blessed winner.  Isn’t our Lord Jesus a rebuke to this kind of thinking?  Of course, he is!  There is no more victorious person who has ever lived than the Lord Jesus.  Yet his circumstances were so bad that “we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4 NIV). 

Peter warns against using our freedom as a “covering for evil.”  We can sweep a lot of things under the carpet of freedom that are not in character with the freedom that God has given us.  Another way to describe this is to use grace as a license for immorality.  Did Jesus free us so that we can continue to sin, or God forbid, do even more sinful things?  Of course, he didn’t.

Those who protest the loudest that they are free from being judged are in bondage to the vices and lusts of their heart.  In fact, all of us have recognized how particular sins can get a hold on us.  We want to be free from it, but it seems to have powerful control over us.

This brings up the issue of political freedom.  What good does political freedom do for those who are in bondage to sin?  Only people who are spiritually free can remain politically free.  Those who are not will find their political freedom disintegrating before their eyes.  How much political freedom are we going to lose before we repent?  I don’t know.  God will let us lose it all, if we don’t do so.  It is up to us how far we will fall.

God will goad us along the way, trying to get our attention.  He doesn’t want us to be destroyed, but He may let it happen. 

So, Peter started this passage calling believers to abstain from fleshly lusts (v. 11).  Now he has described that further as not using your freedom in Christ as a covering for evil.

Peter then gives a quick list of the kinds of things we can do as free people who are serving God in verse 17. 

The first is to honor all people.  Honor is something that is nobler than submission.  At its root is the idea of value.  It can be a person who has value, or it can be a person who is in a valuable position of authority.  Of course, a high position is not needed for a person to have great honor (value).

A person who has no honor is a person who has become worthless.  Many worthless people end up in positions of honor.  This can be a difficult and oppressive thing to endure.

To honor someone who has honor requires me to see beyond myself.  It really should be easy to do.  Yet a person of honor who is in a position of honor should see the value of the people for whom they are responsible.  Shouldn’t a king see the value of the people he serves, even the peasants?

Ultimately, value comes from God.  It is He who has made us and not we ourselves.  It is a common occurrence that we do not live up to the value that God has given us.  Peter challenges us to see the value in all people and give the honor that God wants you to do.  We must use our freedom to honor all people appropriately.

The second thing in verse 17 is to love the brotherhood.  Brotherhood here contemplates the family of God as a band of brothers, which includes both men and women.  The devil loves to tempt Christians into the path of hating one another, or at least not caring to love one another.

We are called to love one another as Christ has loved us.  This is not a fake honor and not a fake love.  We should not love sparingly or begrudgingly.  We are to use our freedom to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Love always begs the question, “What does it mean to love now?”  I know a man whose son ended up in prison for a period of time.  When the son was released, the dad tried to help the son get back on his feet by giving him a place to stay and a job in his shop.  It is clear that the dad loved his son when he could have written the son off.  I’m sure the dad wrestled with what the love of Jesus would have him do.  After some time of working in his dad’s shop, the son began to dip into the till.  At some point the dad suspected it and eventually caught his son’s sin.  What can the dad do now?  He is faced with the hard question.  What does love do now? Yes, you want to help your son, but his problem is clearly far deeper than just needing a helping hand.  What would you do in that situation?  Loving people is difficult, but it is what Jesus calls us to do.  Love doesn’t always do the same thing.  Sometimes love has to say no more.  Sometimes it has to tell someone to leave before they can be received back in repentance. 

Peter also tells us to use our freedom to fear God.  This may sound like a contradiction, but God has not set us free so that we can live a life of not having proper respect for who He is, and what He has done.  He is our Father, but He is also our Judge.  He will not pervert truth in order to make you feel good.  He loves you too much to do that.

We are told in the Bible that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Yes, you are free to be a moron, but that is not what God had in mind when He gave you freedom.  We will all give an accounting to God one day.  There will be consequences for the way we have lived our lives.  However, there is more to the Fear of the Lord than just being afraid of hell.
Moses, when confronted with the idea that God might not go with along the way to the Promised Land, feared not having relationship with God.  God, You must come with us.  Otherwise, people will not know that Your favor is upon us.  Can you imagine eternity without Him Who is the greatest good?  Lack of relationship with God should be a far more fearful thought than eternity in a Lake of Fire.

Peter also tells us to honor the king.  This is clearly added to deal with the obvious question that would follow the earlier command to honor all people.  Should we honor even a wicked man like Nero?  We are to treat the king with respect and the honor that is due to his position and authority.  Again, that is in order to shut the mouths of foolish and ignorant people.

Household servants are to submit to their masters (18-20)

This word for servants has the idea of a household servant of various types.  Some may have greater freedom, but some may be actual slaves.  This is similar to the previous category under the king, or civil authority.  Even free people are under some authority in life.  Yet slaves and servants would have an extra layer of authority over them.

Peter calls slaves to use their freedom to submit to their earthly masters.  They are to choose to take their proper place under the master’s authority.  It may not be proper in the sense that God made them to be that way.  However, under the laws of the society, they are under a master.

Now there were some Christians who had slaves.  The letter of Philemon is written to a master asking him to receive a run-away slave back and treat him as a brother.  However, most Christians were not masters.  In fact, quite a few were slaves themselves.  You could understand that a slave might hear the Gospel and rightly think to themselves, “Christ has set me free!  No man can own me.”  Of course, God did not make any person to be the chattel property of another.  Yet this is not a perfect world.  In this imperfect world, God does not ask us to kill the masters with a slave revolt.  Instead, He calls the slaves to show the masters Jesus by giving them respect.  In fact, Peter calls them to show “all respect” in the way they submit to their masters. 

This term can mean something like terror.  However, the emphasis is on being very careful in your submission.  What if the masters are not respectable?  We are to respect them for Christ’s sake.  It is the respect of Christ that overshadows the whole issue.  I do it because I respect Christ who asks me to do it.

Jesus will not force us to submit to our master with all respect.  But He will work on our hearts by His Spirit.  He will call you to this and challenge you in it. 

The average American is no longer dealing with actual slavery.  Yes, there is some underground illegal slavery happening, but this is not what is being talked about here.  This best maps over to our relationship with an employer in this life.  Do you have a “good and gentle” boss?  It does happen!  The same thing was true of slaves in the first century.  Some of them had good situations and were happy to work for their master.  Even if they were told they were free, they might choose to stay.  However, many slaves had bad situations, even oppressive situations under masters who were evil men.  These slaves didn’t have a choice about their master.  He was who he was.  Peter challenges them to submit especially to the unreasonable masters.

It would be easier to serve someone who is good and gentle.  Anyone in the position of a lord over another person should have the qualities of being good and gentle because these are the qualities of Christ.

However, when a master is unreasonable, it seems unreasonable to expect a slave to submit to them.  The word unreasonable has the sense of being crooked, perverse, or wicked.  How can God expect us to serve a wicked master?

Many people in our society rail against the Bible and the God of the Bible.  Yet they are often using their political freedom as a license of sin, and a cover for evil things.

Freedom is a puzzle that is much more complex than we would like to admit.  Being politically free is one thing, but being spiritually free is quite another.  God is concerned about bigger issues than rather we are politically free or not.  Yes, He did not make us to be under tyrants and dictators.  However, the only way to break through to hard hearts is to remove their freedom and put them under the heavy hand of another sinner.  God is speaking to our hearts in these times, calling us to turn back to Him.  This is why nations rise and nations fall.  It is something that this rising nation should take to heart.  We have only risen because God has allowed it.  Yet He may cause us to fall as well.

God can help us through oppressive things, like a master who is unreasonable, if we will ask Him.  Rather than complaining, we can choose to trust God and submit to trusting Him.

Peter explains that a slave who endures the unreasonable actions of an evil master will find the favor of God.  Just like Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of the Lord, we are called to be people who put their trust in God’s way and not our own.

To put a finer point on this, imagine a slave being able to choose between two doors.  Behind one is political and economic freedom and behind the other is favor with God.  Which would you choose?  In truth, it would be suicide to choose freedom over against the favor of God.  What good does freedom do for a person who has drawn the ire of God?  It does none whatsoever.

Verse 19 is somewhat choppy in English, but let’s work through it.  The point is not just suffering unjustly but also enduring under the suffering.  A person will only do so for one of two reasons.  They either have no hope and have been beaten into submission, or they have hope in God.  This latter reason is the testimony of slaves throughout history, even those in America.  They had faith in God and were able to endure great suffering.

African American slave culture had developed great faith in God.  It is the wellspring of the Negro Spirituals that surfaced in that era.  If you read the words to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the “Black National Anthem,” you will be surprised at the level of faith and prophetic warning to America and black people themselves.

In the time of suffering, they learned something about God that was invaluable.  Yet they also knew that it could be lost.  This is a challenge for all people of all races.    God is found in times of suffering if we will put our trust in Him.  However, we can lose Him in the comfortable times that follow.

Peter tells us that there is no credit before God when we endure harsh treatment due to our own sin.  As free people, we may not have to suffer an evil master punishing us for our sins.  But we can suffer evil men due to our sins.  If I want God’s favor in such a situation, then I need to repent of my sin.

But, if we suffer for doing what is right and patiently endure it, there is favor with God.  Do you remember the Beatitudes of Matthew chapter five?  Jesus listed things that make us feel like we are not favored with God and told the people that they were blessed if they fit into those not so blessed categories.  Why are those who mourn blessed?  They are blessed because they have a Heavenly Father who has determined a time of comfort for them, at least if they will hang on in faith, continuing to draw His favor.

These unreasonable masters (and unreasonable, evil men) will stand before their Master one day.  They will be judged with a stricter judgment because they were in a position of power and authority.  They abused their power and will thus be treated with their own harsh treatment.

This is not an instruction that makes our flesh feel good.  It is an instruction that delivers our soul from our own sinful tendencies.  You can either be concerned with what you are getting out of life, or you can freely serve God and His purposes.  One thing is certain, you can’t do both!

Our Witness 2 audio

Letter to the Colossian Church- 13

Subtitle: A New Home- 2

Colossians 3:22-4:1. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, October 19, 2025.

Paul continues to address relationships in the home that would have been a part of the lives of some of the Colossians.

Slavery verifiably has been part of human history for all of written history.  All ethnic groups have been slaves and have enslaved others.  There is very little data on the prevalence of slavery in Colossae during the first century A.D.  There is more data on the prevalence of slavery within the Roman Empire during this period, but it would have had variance depending on where you are looking.  It is generally stated that 20% to 40% of households would have had slaves during this period of the Roman Empire. 

No doubt, there was enslaving going on before the Flood, since it is described as extremely wicked.  Yet, it would be clear that there would have been no slavery in the very beginning, as Adam and Eve began having children.  This would have been the same dynamic with the family of Noah when they stepped off the ark.

So, how did it start?  As sin enters our relationships and our familial connections become further and further apart, it is easier to embrace such activity for various reasons, whether economic poverty, war, or pure dictatorial subjugation.  Of course, the Tower of Babel judgment would have exacerbated this dynamic.  They spread out and could not understand one another for a long period of time.  This would break down any emotional connections that did exist.

Throughout history, slaves were often the survivors of war.  Instead of killing everyone, the victors would subjugate people as spoils of war.  Of course, kidnapping was actively pursued by many groups throughout history.  This would typically be those who don’t want to wage all out war.  It was very common for people who were badly in debt to indenture themselves to others.  The debt would be paid off by the master, and the indentured slave would work for a set number of years to cover that value.

One of the problems with slavery in the 1800s is that its intersection with the ideas of evolution to dehumanize slaves further.  Those who inhumanely treat others have somehow justified seeing them as less human than themselves.

It has been common to present the Bible as written in order to strengthen the institution of slavery.  However, this is not intellectually honest.  Most early Christians were not wealthy.  It was common for church gatherings to have slaves and masters worshipping together.  In this passage, Paul is not trying to justify or protect slavery.  Instead, he is speaking to those who have this slave to master relationship and challenging them to submit this relationship to Christ.

Let’s get into our passage.

Jesus is the Lord of our relationships: to the slave (v. 22-25)

Notice that Paul is addressing each one in a relationship and giving them an exhortation as to what they should do.  According to modern culture, what should he have said?  Modern culture is appalled that Paul does not declare that slavery is wrong and does not call for a protest in order to set all slaves free.  Of course, few give thought to how quickly the Christians would have been stamped out by Rome if Christianity made that the thrust of its focus.  Neither do we truly listen to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What we do know is that many slaves heard the Gospel and believed in Jesus.  Also, some of those who had slaves would believe in Jesus.  It would have been common in the early church for slaves and masters to be worshipping Jesus together.  Paul is speaking about their situation, not ours.  Even if we are to say that these verses no longer apply to cultures that do not allow slavery, we can recognize similarities to the relationship of employer to employee.

All economic systems have to come up with a solution for those who are unable to take care of themselves due to being overly indebted, or they have an inability to work.  Most of those solutions will bear a resemblance to slavery in varying degrees.  This is not to equate them, but to highlight that some of the same dynamics are at play.  Employees have a varying degree of freedom to get another job that depends on their skills or lack thereof.  So, as we go through this, we can recognize some applications to those who are not slaves and masters, but rather employees and employers.
Paul tells slaves that they should obey their earthly master.  Let’s note that the word obey here is not the same as the word Paul used for women.  However, it is the same word that was given to kids.  Paul does not get into all the issues and whether or not there are any exceptions.  If a master commanded his slave to worship Zeus, is Paul telling them they must obey and worship Zeus?  This is a ludicrous approach to what Paul is saying.  He is essentially saying that the main moral issue for slaves is that of obeying their master.  This may seem insensitive, but the Gospel is more concerned with our soul and what is ruling within us.  Good things can be done with evil motives beneath them.

I would point out that Paul uses the prepositional phrase regarding their master, “according to the flesh.”  This is a not-so-subtle qualifier to what he is saying.  A master may have a claim on your body and can, therefore, give you commands.  However, there are other ways in which they are not your master.  You have a higher Master (Lord) who is over both body and soul.

Paul then adds that they are not to obey with “external service.”  The word is literally “eye service” and has the idea of only obeying when others are watching or will find out from those around you whether you are obeying or not.  It is the picture of a person who cannot be trusted to do something unless they are heavily supervised. 

He then adds, “as those who merely please men.”  This is used here in a negative sense.  Thus, some versions add the word “merely.”  The descriptions that follow help us to understand that these are people who please others in order to get what they want out of them.  God is not interested in shallow obedience.  He wants deep transformation within the hearts of those who follow Jesus, the kind of transformation that causes a slave to obey their master in order to please God, rather than themselves.  This is couched in terms of a slave to a master, but employees ought to take all this to heart regarding how they should do their job.

Paul adds more to qualify their obedience, “with sincerity of heart.”  The word for sincerity is a singleness of heart, which includes being free from pretense and hypocrisy.  Then, he adds, “as those who fear God.”  A person who fears God is a person who knows that God will hold them accountable for their treatment of others and obedience to His Word.  God holds claim not just to my body, but also to my soul.  He is my ultimate Master.  Of course, He is not a Master like the masters of this world.

A slave is not saved by their perfect obedience to their earthly masters.  Rather, they are being reminded that they have a Master who sees everything and has made promises to you.  God is the background for all of our relationships.  Husbands and wives are accountable to God.  Parents and kids are accountable to God just as masters and slaves.

God desires us to be a good thing in each other’s life, but as He defines it, not us.  It is not enough to be neutral in our impact on others.  It is definitely unacceptable to be evil to one another.  In Christ, we are called to give ourselves to Christ and serve his purposes through us to others.

Verse 23 gives a larger principle that can be applied to any relationship.  Having mentioned the fear of the Lord, he now turns to how we are actually serving the Lord God when we serve others. 

“Do what you do heartily as for the Lord.”  The Lord needs to be the director of how we relate to one another, and He needs to be the one we envision that we are serving.  This is not a mental game of pretense.  Jesus really is our Lord, and we really will come before his judgment seat to give account for our service to him.

This reminds me of Matthew 25:40. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”  The same message is being given to slaves.  Do what you do as unto the Lord, and when you stand before him, you will be blessed.

I said earlier that our salvation is not dependent on how well we did this.  Our salvation can be secure while any reward from Christ is in jeopardy. 

When we mistreat one another, God takes that personal.  Mistreatment often occurs within a power imbalance.  However, the modern world wants to treat power imbalance itself as a problem, even the only problem.  The existence of imbalance of power is not what is evil.  It is what is done within the context of that imbalance.

This is an attack against God as Creator, whether they know it or not.  God has created everything with a diversity of power, both in nature around us and within humanity.  It is impossible to really create a society where there are no power imbalances. Thus, we tyrannize the whole in pursuit of something that can never be.

God doesn’t rail against these imbalances.  Rather, He warns us to be careful how we operate within them.  We will give account to the Power above all powers, and He takes it personally.

Are you strong?  Fine, but you might ask why God has given you strength.  It is not for crushing the weak while using your strength for yourself.  It is not for crushing a slave or an employee for your own ends.  Instead, it is to be a blessing to the weak and the lowly.

All people have a variation of things in which they are strong or weak.  We need each other.  We can be a blessing to one another by working together in order to please God.  If everyone is doing what they do as unto God, then our relationships with one another will be vastly different than what is typical within our society.

Verse 24 tells the slave that they will receive a reward of inheritance from the Lord.  Of course, in this life, slaves do not inherit anything.  However, Christians will inherit eternal life in a glorified body with Jesus.  We will even inherit a new heaven and a new earth in which there will be no wickedness.

You may be a slave to a man on this earth, but in Jesus, you are a son of a Heavenly Father.  You have a great inheritance coming from Him.  Does it look like it?  When we are being mistreated, used and abused, we can forget about the Lord Jesus.  How was he treated?  Did he submit himself to the mockers and the shame?  Yes, it may not be fair (or it may be).  God knows.  He has made us to be His sons and daughters.  He will make everything right in the end.  Do you trust Him?

The heavenly master will judge the earthly masters of this world.  Our difficulties seem long, but they are short in light of an eternity of perfect righteousness with God Himself.  The rewards and attainments of this world will diminish and fade.  They are here today and gone tomorrow.  But the eternal rewards of God never end and never diminish.  Many who are first in this world will be last in the life to come, if they even make it.  However, many who are last in this world will be first in the life to come.

If you only hope is in this life, you will decry the Bible as a book made by masters to keep the slaves in check.  There were some masters who became Christians like Philemon of Colossae.  There were even some people from the household of Caesar who believed.  But most were low class, and many were slaves.  Jesus and his disciples were not from the echelons of society.  They may not have been slaves, but the boot of the Roman empire and the religious leaders of Israel probably made it feel like it at times.

They made themselves slaves of Christ, who had made himself a slave of God the Father, in order to bring salvation and hope to a lost world.  This life is short and temporary compared to the inheritance and reward that God has for us.  I can be used of God for His purposes in this unfair, often godless, world.  But, after it, I will have glory with Him.  Those who have glory in this world have it much harder to obtain glory in the next.  Those who have no glory in this world need only to trust Jesus in order to obtain great glory in the next!

There are many masters who will not make it.  The real question for a slave is not about their master, but about their own destiny.  Will I make it?  Even when a slave gets his freedom, which is good, it doesn’t fix the problem that all men deal with and that is spiritual bondage in our hearts and minds. 

Thus, Paul ends verse 25 with the reminder that the Lord will judge those who do wrong and give them their consequences without partiality.  This is a double-edged sword.  The Lord will judge both slave and master.  He will not show the master partiality because he is a “greater man” in this life.  However, neither will He show the slave partiality because he had nothing.  He will judge both alike for what is in their hearts and the deeds they have done.  There are consequences to be had for how we live this life.  The courts of men may favor the rich in this generation and then change to favor the poor in that generation.  However, God shows partiality to no one.  Quit looking at the other person and excusing your sin.  Look to God and ask Him to help you cleanse your heart.

We often justify our sin in the name of injustices and wrongs done against us.  It doesn’t feel fair for God to do the right thing over the top of injustice and wrong.  However, it wasn’t fair for Jesus to take our sins upon himself and extinguish the wrath of God against sin.  Can I trust the judgment of God and the consequences that come from that, whether rewards or punishments, and whether those are temporal or eternal?

God did create slavery.  We did.  God did allow us to enslave one another.  He did let us sin against one another.  This was not because He condoned it.  Jesus himself once said about divorce that “Moses permitted divorce because of your hard hearts.”  Our hard hearts have brought many things into the world that God does not condone.  He can focus on divorce, or He can let the pain of it drive us back to the central issue, our hard hearts.  When you wrestle with the problem of softening a hard heart, then you will have scratched the surface of the wisdom of God on these matters.

To the master (v. 4:1)

It is clear from the structure of chapter three that this verse belongs with the previous chapter.  It is an improper chapter division.  Paul speaks to slaves and then turns and speaks to the masters.

It may appear that Paul was harder on the slaves because he spent four verses speaking to them, and now only one verse to masters.  However, we should not read this as him being hard on slaves and easy on masters.  Instead, he spends more time trying to help the slave see God’s wisdom because of their typical hardship.  Yet, with the master, there is a short command that is much like what they would give to their slaves.

So, what did the Holy Spirit move Paul to tell slave owners?  He tells them to give their slaves justice and fairness.  “Give” here has the sense of granting something.  This might hide the fact that this is a command to masters.  The Master of masters gives them a command to grant justice and fairness to their slaves. 

Justice refers to what is upright, virtuous and right.  It isn’t twisted and perverted for selfish reasons in any way.  A society may define this word poorly, but a Christian who had slaves should not be looking to society to define for them what justice is.  Jesus is the definition of justice and righteousness for the Christian.

Fairness has a sense of equality in it.  Paul doesn’t define what this equality would be, but it would definitely include the equality of being human, i.e., made in God’s image and loved by Him.

Equality, or fairness, is not about being equal in abilities and status.  Rather, it is about giving them what any human should receive in the light of their equal position before God.

Evolution completely undermined this issue.  Suddenly there was an intellectual reason why someone could treat a person of another race, not with equality of humanity, but something far less.  News flash: when you treat another human as less than human, it is you who is the subhuman and not them.

Paul then ends the command with a clear shot across their bow.  Do this “knowing that you have a Master in heaven.”  Their granting of justice and fairness is to be done simultaneously with the knowledge in mind that your Heavenly Master (Lord) is watching.

This short command and the accompanying warning are proper.  This is exactly how their position would be executed toward their own slaves.

Let me end with a few more things about the Bible and slavery.  Does the Bible (God) condone or even promote slavery?  No. In fact, it was Christian men and women who fought for the abolition of slavery.

When you analyze the Bible, you find that the Old Testament prohibited kidnapping, particularly for the purposes of pressing them into slavery.  Did every Scripture-quoting master in the South make sure that none of their slaves had been kidnapped?  Quoting Scripture improperly does not reflect God and His Word.  It reflects the heart of the person.

The Bible did allow economic slavery, i.e., indentured slavery, but it called for better treatment than was common among the nations.  This is connected to the permitting of divorce.

The abolitionists saw the fact that all humans are made in the image of God, the message of the Exodus and God’s heart for those under hard bondage, God’s moral laws and condemnation of oppression.  They saw that the message of Jesus and His Apostles called for a different treatment of one another.  They worked to change the system.

Praise God that we do not have open slavery anymore.  However, there is still oppression and black-market slavery.  Yet, even if we could free every single person within our boundaries, or on the planet, it still begs the question of what is going on in your heart and mind.  Are you truly free?  My body may be free while my heart, mind and soul are in bondage to sin and selfishness.

May God help us to hear His heart in these passages.

A New Home II audio

The Incarnation of Jesus

Galatians 4:1-7.  This Christmas sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 24, 2023.

It is an amazing reality that the Creator of all things took on the nature of a human in the man called Jesus. 

It is called the incarnation as a reference to God coming in human flesh.  He did not come merely in the appearance of human flesh.  Neither did he materialize like angels do. I am referring to the fact that angels can take on material form, and when they do, they look like men (i.e., humans).  Yet, it is always clear at some point that they are not men when they do things that men cannot.  A case in point would be the Angel of the LORD in Judges 13.  When the “man” ascends into heaven in the flame of a sacrifice, they know that this is not a human (i.e., a man of human flesh and bones).

This is a very important point.  Jesus didn’t even jump in as an adult.  Rather, he went through the full gestational process, was born, and experienced all the things that we experience as humans.

Have you ever had someone complain that, “You don’t know how it feels to have (insert tragedy here) happen in your life!”  This is often used to shelter a person from any input in their life from others.  There can be some truth to this, but, even with other humans, this is often over-played.  A man doesn’t have to carry a baby for 9 months and birth it in order to understand that this is simultaneously a difficult and wonderful thing.  Yes, he can’t know exactly how it feels, but he doesn’t have to in order to empathize.  If a man has his arm hacked off by a sword, everyone on the planet who saw it, or the aftermath, can empathize with the horror of what has happened and the urgency of medical attention he needs.  We don’t have to have an arm hacked off to deeply understand what a trauma this person is going through.

If this argument fails to completely hold water with humans, how much more the Creator of the Universe?  To everyone who would shout, “God doesn’t know what it is like!”  He is God.  He created all the sensory perception that you have.  Does He not know what you are feeling?  Yet, in the incarnation, God has completely taken it off of the table.  Not only can he understand your pains and difficulties, the chances are that He endured far worse than you did.  Maybe, it is us who can’t understand God.

Still, we should notice that God didn’t have to do this in order to counter our complaint.  Yet, in His grace and mercy, He takes on the nature of a human and goes through life.  In Jesus, God lets us know that He knows it is tough, and that life can cause you to want to quit believing.  Yet, there Jesus is, hanging on a cross, bidding you to pick up your cross and follow him.

Yet, Jesus came to do far more than just let us know that he is aware of how difficult it is.

Let’s look at our passage.

Jesus came when the time was just right (v. 1-5)

Paul is writing to the churches in the interior of what we call Turkey today.  The Christians there have been told by certain itinerant teachers that they had to obey the Law of Moses in addition to believing upon Jesus in order to be saved.  Paul was writing to counteract this teaching with the truth about why God gave Israel the Law, and how it functions for Jews and Gentiles.

This is an important point because we can have large assumptions about the purpose of the Law without even knowing it.  Did God give Israel the Law to save them?  Were Israelites saved by keeping the Law?

Paul uses the analogy of a tutor, or governess, for a minor child who would first step into the family business at adulthood, and then later inherit it all.  Paul is essentially describing this setting as a picture of what God the Father was doing with Israel His son.  The Law was given to be a tutor, a schoolmaster, to help Israel be ready for the day when they would be ready to step into adulthood.  This is where we are at in chapter 4 of Galatians.

Even though he is an heir, the child has a status that is like that of a slave.  They have to listen to a teacher, who may themselves be a slave of the child’s father.  This status of a slave is temporary and Paul equates it to the period from Israel’s establishment at Mt. Sinai to the presentation of Messiah Jesus.  This is over 1,400 years.  During this period, God has been using the Law of Moses to teach Israel some things so that they will be ready for the day when Messiah appears.

This brings us to the statement in verse 4 that Jesus came at just the right time, “in the fullness of time.”  There is a quantitative aspect to this because it is time, but time is not the essential element.  There is a qualitative aspect that has to do with learning that is even more important. 

We might argue against this claim of perfect timing.  In fact, Israel herself often complained of God’s timing.  They felt God was taking too long.  Perhaps, we feel that he came to soon.  Maybe that is a sign that this was the perfect timing.  Yet, the perfect timing has nothing to do with what we, or the ancients, thought about it.  For us, yesterday is the perfect time for a savior to come forth from God.

This is a statement from God’s perspective.  Notice how verse 2 reads.  Paul states that it is the Father who determines the metrics for the timing of when the young man is ready to step into adulthood.  Though Paul doesn’t mention this, we can also add that this doesn’t mean the son quits learning.  It is simply that he is no longer under the tutor, but begins to help out in the family business. 

From God’s perspective, the Law had taught Israel all it needed to know in order to embrace Jesus as Messiah, and then, to move forward in what God had for them as adults who were no longer in a slave status.

We  have been talking about Israel as a whole, but the truth is that lessons are learned individually as we corporately walk through things.  Not everyone really understands what the lesson was teaching.  Some people perhaps “learn” that they are tired of listening to a boring teacher and would rather do other things.  Others may “learn” things that are quite wrong.

Is the Law necessarily teaching that God doesn’t love the Gentiles because He never gave it to them?  Does it teach that they are irredeemable because they weren’t given the Law? 

In fact, we might ask just how the Law “teaches” us?  I would say that the Law teaches us each time that we sin, and also in the times that others sin.  It teaches us each time the prophet calls us to repentance by pointing back to the Law, and forward to right relationship with God.

This demonstrates the great wisdom of God in setting the exact right timing for the things that He does.  It is right because the experience of the “child” will have done its proper work to prepare them for the decisions to which God will bring them.   Paul boils this argument down in Romans 1 through 3.  In chapter one, he establishes that the Gentiles were separated from God by their own actions of exchanging the One True God for worshipping created things.  Every Jew would be giving a loud amen at this point.  Yet, in chapter two, Paul turns around and demonstrates that the Jews are also separated from God and guilty before Him because they have broken the Law.  Those under the Law are guilty because they have broken the Law, and those outside of the Law (Gentiles) are guilty for reasons outside of the Law.  They are both in the same place of guilt.  Chapter three follows up with a powerful statement of the purpose of the Law in Romans 3:10.  “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”  There you have it.  The purpose of the Law is to show even the relatively “righteous” of the world that they are sinners in need of God’s mercy.  Israel had been under slavery to a law that showed them their failures at every turn long enough.  It was now time to receive God’s mercy in Jesus.

We see this perfect timing concept in other areas.  In Genesis, God tells Abraham that He would give the land of Canaan to his offspring, but not until 400 years had passed.  This was because the “sin of the Amorites” was not yet complete, or full.  They were already sinful, but it wasn’t the perfect time to judge them yet.  God would give them the perfect amount of grace, and even a witness of Yahweh through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his family.

Another example of this is given by Paul in Romans 11.  There he talks about the partial blindness of Israel in rejecting Jesus as Messiah.  Paul tells us that this blindness to Christ would not be forever.  When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then Israel as a whole will have their eyes opened to who Jesus really is.

We could even ask ourselves this.  What if Jesus had been born to Adam and Eve instead of Cain and Abel?  Would they really have understood the depth and the seriousness of the problem of sin and its solution?  I don’t think so.  In fact, as I said above, not everyone learns the lessons as they should.  Even today within His Church, there are those who do not treat the problem of sin as a serious issue.

If God had seasons of learning for Israel under the Law, wouldn’t it make sense that He also has seasons of learning for the Church.  We are waiting for Christ to return, and he will do so at the perfect time.  Yet, that time is connected to God’s people and the world being taught some things.

The early Church saw persecution up into the early AD 300’s.  Think about the lessons regarding enduring persecution and the reward for those who are faithful until death.  By the end of the 300’s things changed drastically as Theodosius I became the emperor of the Roman Empire.  He was raised a Christian and even outlawed paganism.  This is why historians to this day will treat this era as the end of the Roman Empire and speak of a “Byzantine Empire.”  Pagan Rome under pagan Caesars was very different from the Christian Empire.  Yet, they are one and the same.  This season of the Church seems to teach some new lessons.  What will Christians do when they are in charge of the Empire? 

Christianity was very successful within Europe due to this turn of events.  It is interesting that Christians continued to be enamored with kings, monarchies, and emperors, and it makes sense.  God allowed Israel to have kings, and Jesus is the king of kings.  Yet, we see over and over again that no amount confessing Christ, or becoming the “Defender of the Faith,” can make a man really be like Jesus.  For 1400 years Christianity doubled down on kings, until 1776.

Did American independence transition us into a new period of learning about self-governance under “No king, but King Jesus”?  I think so.  I believe that God allowed us to establish a new kind of government that was not the failed democracies of the past, and uniquely modified the Republics of the ages.  We would now be a self-governing people with constitutions that put our servants on notice of how they were to operate.  The true human sovereignty was now collectively held by The People.

What lessons are we just beginning to understand now?  It is easy to say, “No king, but King Jesus!”  However, it is harder to live that out.  Is Jesus the king of America?  Yes, he is in position by God’s decree, but not in practice of its people.

The return of Jesus has an aspect to it in which there are lessons that we need to learn.  Yet, it also has an aspect of the fact that God will not judge the world until the sin of the nations has reached its full.  May God help us as believers to be learning the lessons while rescuing sinners out of a spiritually decaying humanity. 

This Second Coming of Jesus is a transitional point for the world.  Yes, it seems like God is taking too long, but in truth, God has just the perfect time for it to happen.  It is not ours to worry about the timing, but to be faithful to what God has given us to do for now.

Is it possible that I am spending far too much time complaining to God that He is taking too long?  Perhaps, I even have hints of threatening to leave the faith under my complaints?  Would I not do better to spend more time seeking the Holy Spirit to open my mind to the lessons that God is teaching us through His Word, and through the history and activity around us today?  Yes, I am very sure that I would.

Jesus was sent forth to redeem us

It was at this perfect time that God sent forth Jesus in order to redeem us.  There is a lot happening in that sentence, so let’s begin with the fact that Jesus was sent.

The Gospel writer clearly show that Jesus was not doing his own thing.  He was on a mission for God the Father.  Of course, this is a common problem of all the human servants of God, mixing our plans and purposes with God’s.  This is true even of the political “saviors” who rise up in our Republic, or around the world.  Ultimately, they are doing their own thing and coming in their own name.  Yet, Jesus said that he would only speak and do what the Father had sent him to say and to do (John 5:19-20; 12:49-50).  The cross itself becomes the proof that he was not just talking smack.  He put his body where his mouth was.

God wanted something done, and it wasn’t pretty.  Have you ever had something that you knew God wanted you to do, but it was a difficult thing?  Think about Mary and Joseph.  As the angel explains to Mary that she will become pregnant, but not by a man, rather, a miraculous conception, she can look ahead and see all the ways in which her society will not accept such an explanation.  She can imagine the heavy price that she is going to pay if she goes along with this.  Yet, she responds, “Let it be to me according to your word.”  Similarly, the angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife.  Joseph knows exactly what others will say and do, if he marries her.  They will see it as admission of unrighteous, sexual activity.  He too will have to pay a price.  Yet, he marries Mary anyways.

Now, Israel knew that Messiah was coming, but they believed his mission would be all about putting down the Gentiles and lifting Israel up over them.  To be sure, that is part of the work of Messiah.  We can be guilty of crying out to God for help with a long list of the things that we think He should do.  Yet, many times we do not understand what is best for us.  The first coming of Jesus is a rebuke that tells us that our greatest enemy is our own sin and its spiritual tyranny.  Only having defeated that enemy can we even talk about tyrannical forces outside of us.

This is politics in our Republic, and in any nation end up being.  A stomach churning event in which we all point the finger at the other side, or other nation.   “You are the problem!” “No, you are the problem,” comes the reply.  “Let’s lock up those people, kill that guy, etc.”  Of course, the targets of today will change tomorrow in a never ending circus of avoiding the true enemy, the sin of my own heart.

In the Bible, deliverance from spiritual tyranny is pictured as redemption.

Just what is redemption?  It starts with a person who has fallen into a state in which they have lost their inheritance, and are too poor to redeem it back.  That is, they are unable to pay the price to get it back.  The book of Ruth pictures this perfectly.  Ruth will not only be unable to pay for her husband’s inheritance in order to get it back, but she has no children to give it to.  The solution in that case had to be another Israelite who was a near kinsman, and who would be willing to pay the price of buying the land and marrying her in order to raise up a son to inherit it.

If we take that story and lay it over humanity and our sin problem, then you begin to understand why God’s solution involved incarnation.  Sin is so bad that we are debtors to God with no means of making it right.  The problem is that many humans do not believe that they are that sinful, or that sin is a big deal.  We have been cut off from our inheritance as humans (not just a problem for Israelites) because of our sins.  We are spiritually poverty-stricken and are in need of a redeemer.  This is where Jesus steps in.

Jesus qualifies to redeem us.  He is a kinsman (for Israel, a fellow-Israelite, and for the rest of humanity, a human).  This is why Paul emphasizes in verse 4 that Jesus came forth “born of a woman and born under the law.”

Being born of a woman, ties back to the original promise of God when He cursed the serpent.  He said that the seed of the woman (one from her line) would crush his head, even though he would crush the seeds heel.  This mortal wound versus an injury is the promise that a deliverer would come.  Jesus qualifies as a seed of Eve.  God could not just wave a scepter and whimsically decree that sinful humanity should have its birthright back.  A price had to be paid, and we had to agree to the terms of that payment.

Being born under the law, ties back to the covenant that God had made with Israel.  Israel saw itself as righteous among the nations.  They could understand that some Israelites needed redemption, but that as a whole, the nation was righteous before God.  It was really Gentiles who needed redemption.  Yet, the death and resurrection of Jesus under the law, and the rulers of the Law at that time, is proof that perfect laws (a divine source) can not make us righteous, or help us to inherit eternal life.  The sin-problem has to be solved.  Of course, humanity seems intent on not hearing this lesson that God has been showing us.  We appear to be doubling down on fixing things by  more and more human laws.  It won’t work because those who operate the system are just as much sinners as those who come under their purview.

Even the Millennial Kingdom shows that if we had a perfect Executive (Jesus), perfect laws, and glorified, perfected administrators (the resurrected believers), it still would fall apart if God wasn’t restraining evil.  The problem will always reside in our mortal hearts, and in the heart of the spiritual interlopers, the devil and his angels.

America is part of God’s argument to humanity about freedom.  It is great to be freed from under a tyrannical power, but now you are responsible.  You can’t blame it on King George III any more.  Politically, we haven’t gotten out of bed in order to go to work.  We’ve allowed a new tyrant class of criminal “servants” to rise up over us.  Freedom is easier said than done.

We have received the adoption of sons (v. 6-7)

We have received the adoption of sons because of what Jesus has done, because of his redemption.  In Ruth, the solution was marriage.  This image is also used of Jesus and the Church, the Bride of Christ.  However, in Galatians the solution is the Adoption of us into God’s family.  Jesus is the one true son, but we are adopted into the family of God through the work of Jesus.  The true son died in order for you to be adopted into a greater family.  When you place your faith in Jesus as your redeemer, the one who paid the price for your sins, you are then adopted by God as His child.  In fact, you enter as an adult-child.

It is one thing to be 19, 22, even 26, stepping into adulthood for yourself.  However, there is still a whole range of adulthood before you with a number of seasons filled with a number of lessons that you will need to learn.  So yes, a new Christian is a baby-adult.  We are not under the Law of Moses and so we are adults, but we have a lot to learn through the world and the Word of God, both by the Holy Spirit’s help.

We still have a lot to learn, and we are not in our glorified bodies yet.  We need to pay attention to Jesus because he is preparing us for an eternity with the Father.

Notice in verse 6 that the same words used of Jesus are used of the Spirit.  He is sent forth by the Father.  The Holy Spirit is on a mission for God too.  When you are adopted into God’s family, His Spirit takes up residence within you in order to help you become like Jesus.  Just as Jesus was on a mission of redemption, the Holy Spirit comes alongside of us to help us walk in faith through the wilderness of this world, this new adulthood.  He helps us to overcome our own sins and to become an incarnation of Jesus by proxy to the world around us.  This is referred to as a down payment on the fullness that we will receive at the resurrection.  So, think about that!

Through Jesus, God has brought you into a familial relationship that is intended to be intimate.  The Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are a child of God, and He helps us to cry out to God in intimate terms, “Abba, Father.” 

It used to be very popular to emphasize that Abba is equivalent to “daddy” or “papa,” something a very young toddler would use.  Of course, that is a beautiful picture, and the word was (and still is) used by little kids for their fathers.

However, we should notice that it is used by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to the Father.  He was asking if the cup of crucifixion might be avoided.  Regardless, we see him resigning himself to doing the will of the Father.  “Not my will, but Yours be done.”  Jesus sweat great drops of blood as he was praying this.  This is no little kid crying out papa in the night.  This is the eternal son of God gearing up to go to war against our deadliest enemy by dying on the cross.  This is one warrior speaking to another warrior.  The word essentially means Father, but it carries with it the complete intimacy of a son, whether child or adult. 

We too can cry out to God in the midst of our difficulties and know that He hears us with full love, even when a difficult task lies ahead (especially when so).

To the world and worldly Israelites, the death of Jesus was proof that He was a sinner and not loved of God.  However, they don’t understand that this is not about the Father’s love.  His love has never been in question.  It has always been our love that fails.  No, the crucifixion is proof of the Son’s perfect love for the Father, and the resurrection is the response of the Father.

Paul ends this section by concluding that the Galatians, and we who believe in Jesus today, are no longer slaves under the Law of Moses.  We no longer need God to give us a bed-time (a superficial law that points to something deeper).  Rather, as adults, we tell ourselves that we had better go to bed because we have a lot of work to do for God in the morning.  We have stepped into the relationship of adult-sons.  We are not running the business yet, but we get up each day and report in to Jesus by the Holy Spirit.  What are going to do today, Lord?

There will be another transition to our relationship with Christ.  Whether we die or not, the resurrection will forever deal with our sinful flesh.  We will have glorified heavenly bodies and be like Jesus, perfectly in his image.

Those lessons learned by Israel over 1400 years of servitude must be absorbed by us today, while also learning the lessons taught by the Lord to his Church over 2,000 years of working for him.  In fact, we need to remind ourselves over and over again.  Praise God that His Holy Spirit helps us to war against sin in our own hearts and minds, and then helps us to be a help to others.  Christians are a people who have learned to go to war, and are still going to war, against the sin of their own flesh.  It is in that bloody battle that the grace of God brings us through, and it helps us to minister to others.

The problem today is that too many people are on the warpath to fix the sin in your life, or worse metaphorically crucify you for it.  Yet, they lack Jesus because they haven’t lifted a finger to fight sin in their own heart and mind.

All through this, Paul has referred to us as heirs of God.  We are spiritual adults, but we have only received a portion of what we will inherit.  It is not yet fully manifest what we are and shall have.  We are to show ourselves faithful with the little that we have, so that God will reward us with much by His grace.

Let every day be an adventure of discovering even more that, if it wasn’t for Jesus, we would still be stuck in a poverty-stricken state of being a slave to sin, and judged by the Law of God as unworthy.

Praise be unto Jesus!

Incarnation audio

The Acts of the Apostles 27

Subtitle: Stephen's Defense III

Acts 7:17-29.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 11, 2022.

Stephen is still before the Sanhedrin of Israel, and he continues his walk down memory lane.  Though the council may find this insulting, it is important to know where you come from.  The history of a people is important because it has the kernel of why God has allowed the people to rise among the nations.

Remember, Israel was not one of the original nations that were created at the Tower of Babel (see Genesis 10).  To use phraseology from the Apostle Paul, we could say that Israel is like a nation “untimely born.”  None of those original nations exist today, though we all come from them. 

Israel was created by God for His purposes.  Stephen is reminding them of why they are a nation in the first place, and the purpose of God.  It is the How and Why of their existence.

It is also important to understand the truth about that history.  We know this quite well today as we see a struggle in our own culture over our origin story and how it should be understood.  We should not be shocked by this because Israel clearly had people of its own who did not buy the origin story of the Exodus.

As Stephen tells the story, we see that it is full of God’s Spirit trying to lead Israel, and yet only a remnant truly believing and following Him.  The others are resistant and even rebellious.

Do we not know that God has allowed these united States of America to rise up for a particular purpose?  It should not fill us with arrogance, but rather a humble attitude that asks, “God what are you doing, and what would you have us do?”  In a way, God has general purpose in all of the nations, but He does raise up certain nations at certain times for certain purposes, and Israel had a huge role to play in bring salvation to all of the other nations.

May God help us to hear Stephen’s appeal to believe God, and follow Jesus, rather than rejecting The One whom God has sent to save us from our sins.

Let’s get into the passage.

Remember the call of God upon Moses (vs 17-29)

Stephen fast-forwards from Joseph to Moses.  Just as God had a call upon the people of Israel, He also had a purpose in Moses.  Moses is as important to Israel as Abraham.  Abraham is seen as the Father of the faith, a friend of God.  Moses is the one who goes up Mt. Sinai and brings The Law down for Israel.  He is the mediator of God’s covenant with Israel.

By this time, the first generation of tribal patriarchs had passed away.  Israel was coming to the end of the 400 years that they had spent in Egypt.  During this time, they had flourished and multiplied in the best area of Egypt, numbering in the millions now.  This draws the ire of a new Pharaoh who “did not know Joseph,” at least he did not care about this history.  He could only see that there was a large group of foreigners in his land and he felt threatened by this.

We are not told how Israel was pressed into slavery, only that Pharaoh dealt “shrewdly” with Israel.  The word basically means “wisely,” but in this negative context, it would have the sense of craftily. 

How do you subjugate a free people?  This part is skipped over in the narrative, but something happened.  Brilliant minds have worked on this problem many different times throughout history.  However, in our day and age, it has become a science.  It is the science of subjugating large groups of people to become cattle and sheep for the pleasure of the elite.  It is a betrayal of humanity by other humans.

Pharaoh thought that subjugation and slavery would slow down the growth of the Israelites, but it did not work.  They continued to flourish and multiply under the harsh conditions.  This is a big problem for Pharaoh so he then commands that the midwives kill the male children.  When the midwives refused to do so, then the command is that the people are to expose their male babies, or pay the price.  It is important to see how God’s blessing upon the Israelites was a problem for Pharaoh. 

Of course, this brings up the hard question.  How can you talk about God’s blessing when they were in slavery?  This is the point.  God’s blessing was upon Israel all the time that they were in Egypt, not just when they left.

It is interesting how God moves in the light of our trials and difficulties in life.  I do not believe that God made Pharaoh make Israel slaves.  However, God knew that it would happen. 

Logically, there are three possible sources to our trial:  God is actively causing it, or God is letting us experience the results of our sin, or God is letting us experience the sin of people or spiritual entities.  No matter what the source of our trial, God is committed to helping those who turn to Him, even sinners who are repentant.  He will work it to your good if you will just trust Him, and wait upon Him in faith.

Here we might complain that God is letting it last too long and going to a point where children are being put to death.  How could he do that?  So, when should God step in?  If He steps in before any sin happens then we will complain when someone is judged, and God states that they were “going to sin grossly.”  If He steps in after a little sin, but nothing big, we will still feel that He is over-reacting when He sends someone into the Lake of Fire.  God in His wisdom allows us to experience the effects of our sin and the sinful choices of others.  None of us should leave this earth with the Pollyannaish notion that humans are basically good.  We have far too much evidence to the contrary.  We are the ones who chose the knowledge of good and evil, and God allows things to play out to the degree that He does so that we will understand the true nature of our sin, and His love.

The truth is that we do not like waiting upon the Lord.  We think that His timing is generally too late.  In fact, if you think that God finally turned things to the good on the day Israel left Egypt, then you are not paying attention to what He is teaching us in His Word.  The very difficulties that Israel went through in slavery would prepare them to hear God’s Word later when He tells them not to oppress the stranger in their midst.  They were not to have two sets of laws, one for Israelites and one for foreigners.  Of course, Israelites would have privileges that foreigners did not, but they should not be mistreated because they are foreigners.

God’s timing is always perfect for His purposes.  The reason we do not think it is perfect is because we are focused on our own purposes.  My purposes basically are not to have anything in my life that would challenge me to be like Jesus!  That would be things like difficulty, trial, rejection, and unbelievers in my face.  Part of the trial is to surrender to God’s wisdom and trust, to let Him help you become like Him.  Do you believe that the difficult things in your life were to prepare you to grasp and understand God’s Word?  At least the potential is there, if you will leave your purposes on the ground and go after His.  He loves you too much to give you a “perfect” life where nothing bad ever happens.  In fact, the perfect life is one where bad things happen because they teach us about God’s love that went to the cross while we were still sinners.

This does not mean that everything is easy now that I know He is working it for my good.  When a person wants to become stronger and begins lifting weights, they soon realize that the benefits that they are seeking can only be had by going through the pain of lifting, “No pain, no gain!”  We will discipline ourselves (okay, some people will) in order to gain physical strength, which only profits a little.  What pain are you willing to go through in order to be spiritually fit, like the Lord Jesus was?  No pain, no gain.  I do not just mean pain of being hurt and persecuted.  I also mean the pain of saying, “No!” to the lusts and desires of my lazy flesh, in order to obtain something greater spiritually.

What does it mean to be like Jesus?  For me, I see 4 important character traits.  I need to become a man of the Spirit of God, rather than my flesh, a man of the Word of God, a man of prayer, and a man living out the righteousness of Jesus.  Once you receive a clear vision of Jesus hanging on the cross for your sins, you really do not need any more evidence that God loves you and will do whatever it takes to bring you to Himself, the very definition of the ultimate good!

Did you notice in this story that it looked to Israel like God was not doing anything when He was preparing their deliverance.  We sometimes act as if we have the omniscient view.  Perhaps we have been reading too many novels, or watching too many movies.  Who am I, and what do I know?  Not only is God’s timing perfect, but He is always working in ways that we cannot see. 

I do not know about you, but God does not send me status updates on how He is bringing my situation to the good, like Amazon.  To the Israelites, it looked like God was not doing anything about their situation.

Yet, God was actually using the very commands of Pharaoh to bring about their deliverance.  Just think of it.  The mother of Moses does not have the heart to kill him, so she puts him in a basket on the Nile River.  She technically obeys the command of Pharaoh.  Exposure was the most common way of taking the life of a child.  Only in extremely barbaric places would they strike, burn, and actively kill a child.  She casts her son on the water, and entrusts him into the hands of God.  She may have had some direction from God.  She may have intended Pharaoh’s daughter to find the baby, but she had no guarantees of what would happen. 

God had a purpose for Moses that did not include being eaten by a crocodile, or found by an Egyptian who would kill him.  God made sure that Moses ended up in the hands of the one person who could protect him from Pharaoh.  I can hear her now.  “O, daddy, can I keep it?  Can I, huh?”  Pharaoh ends up bankrolling and training Israel’s deliverer.  Of course, we know that Moses does not deliver Israel.  God does, but He often uses people in what He does (the righteous and the wicked).  God was preparing their deliverance when it looked like He was doing nothing.  Thus, waiting on the Lord is a wise thing to do as well as being righteous.  Have you ever thought that it is wicked not to trust God who has shown Himself to be more than faithful, and more than able?

Waiting on the Lord requires faith.  I cannot always see what He is doing, but I know that He is working all things to the good of those who love Him.

Another part that we balk on is this.  God allows things to happen that we think He should not.  Yet, now we are back to the issue of over-reaction.  When God’s plagues start falling on Pharaoh from the God of Israel, he will not be able to feign innocence.  His wickedness towards Israel was far worse than anything God righteously did to him.  The problem of sin, and what it leads to, is serious and personal.

The Old Testament does not record the age of Moses when he decided to check on his people, but Stephen gives us the traditional view that Moses was 40.  For some reason, it comes into his heart to check on his people.  Of course, he knows that he is not an Egyptian, but a Hebrew that was spared by Pharaoh’s daughter.  I believe that it is God who puts it on his heart, even though Israel is not ready to be delivered yet. 

Moses sees that they are not just working hard, but being harshly treated.  Moses kills one of the taskmasters who was mercilessly beating a Hebrew slave and hides him in the sand.  Even this was part of “preparing their deliverer.”  On the next day, he sees to Hebrews fighting with each other, and he tries to help them reconcile.  Think of it.  You are in a trial of slavery as a people and you are fighting with your own people.  You are mistreating your own people.  And, we wonder how the enemy is able to keep us in slavery.  He only needs to keep you divided and fighting one another.  Moses means well, but the bitterness of servitude has embittered the hearts of many Israelites, particularly this one.  His acidic response hits Moses like a sucker-punch. 

Listen.  The enemy knows how to cut you off at the knees.  If God puts something in your heart and you go to do it, just know that he will be winding up to give you as many low-blows as he can (and he is good at it).    This incident is symbolic of all of Israel.  They are not ready to be delivered yet, though they would have said that they were.  They had bigger problems than a Pharaoh and his taskmasters.  They had gigantic spiritual problems that had built up strongholds in their hearts.  The rejection of Moses is symbolized in the question, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” 

God was already stirring the heart of Moses for the plight of his people, but neither he nor they were ready yet.  Somethings need to simmer before they are ready.  Imagine every day you cry out about your situation, wanting relief, and yet at the same time you are lashing out in anger at the very thing or person God is wanting to use to help you. 

Moses would have to come back in 40 years, which is interesting.  They would have to wait another 40 years because of their rejection of him.  A similar thing happens when they get to the promise land.  They refuse to fight the giants at first, and so they go back into the wilderness for 40 more years.

Let me close this by comparing Moses with Jesus. We see many parallels between Moses and Jesus, though no human can perfectly picture Jesus.  In fact, this is our job, to image Jesus to the world around us. 

Let us first look at ways that Moses is not like Jesus.  We might note that Jesus did not kill anybody when he came to Israel.  He laid his own life down that they might be set free from sin and death. 

Also, Jesus dwelled among his people in their servitude under the Romans.  Whereas, Moses was in the palaces of Pharaoh.

Lastly, Jesus did not flee away, but ascended into heaven and sits at the Father’s right hand waiting for the day when it is time to make his enemies his footstool.

All this said, there are some striking parallels.  Jesus did spend time in the halls of heaven before he came down, became a kinsman to Israel through the incarnation, and experienced what his people were going through.

Jesus was also rejected the first time he came to Israel.  “Who made you judge and ruler over us?”  Of course, the answer to this is God the Father did.  Peter prophesied before Israel in Acts 2 saying, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 

Jesus then goes away from Israel and ends up taking a Gentile bride.  To be fair there are Jews who are a part of this bride, and even the foundation of it.  Yet, the Church has a very Gentile flavor to it.  Yet, Jesu will come again, after a long period of time, and deliver all of God’s people.

This world cries out for a savior, but at the same time it rejects the One that God has given, Jesus.  Just as the cry of oppression from Israel’s slavery was heard by God, so the cry of sinners suffering under sin is heard by God today.  How tragic that God has done everything, but believe for us.  Yet, we still say that He is not good enough.  Jesus is not good enough.  We double down on trying to be our own saviors.

Israel was not saved by its own faithfulness from Egypt.  They were saved by the faithfulness of God.  May God help us not to look at our circumstances and become stuck in the quagmire of despondency.  Rather, let us look up in faith and know that our God is even now working these things for our good.  Perhaps He even has some great things He would do right now, if we would only dare to believe!

Defense III audio