anti-itch meditation

There are two points of error, at least, in the idea that we are “saved by faith.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 beautifully says that we are saved by grace through faith. It is not of ourselves, not a work we can do on our own. Salvation is a gift.

So, what does it mean to be “saved by faith?”

The first potential error is in knowing what saved means. Saved from what? Your answer is important.

Many say, or at least seem to say, that we are saved from hell. We can go on sinning and it’s fine because “we are saved.” We will still go to heaven even if we murder, fornicate, get drunk, and such like the rest of our lives. This understanding of saved is what is known as Easy Believism. You did the one thing you do to “get saved,” and then you can go back to your sin with confidence that when you die you will go to heaven.

Going to heaven and escaping hell is indeed a result of being saved, not arguing that point at all, but it’s not the entirety of what we are saved from.

I would say, based on many Scriptures, that we are saved from sin, its curse, judgment, and its power now and throughout eternity. Much like Romans 8 says: we have the Spirit to mortify sin and fulfill the righteousness of the law when we walk in the Spirit. We are delivered from the body of death, God’s word no longer stirs up sin in us, as Romans 7 says. A new life comes into being where we are servants of righteousness and no longer servants of sin, as Romans 6 says. If there’s no new life, no victory over sin at all, then you have not been saved. This is a biblical understanding of what “saved” means.

The second potential error in understanding we are “saved by faith,” is what does faith mean?

Modern takes on the Gospel make faith into mental assent. You agree with the biographical details of the life of Christ. You believe He was crucified and rose again. You believe it like you believe in Santa Claus. This is what faith is in what is called Easy Believism. You nodded your head toward Jesus at some point in your life, you said The Prayer, or got baptized, or did the church thing they told you to do, and now you are saved because you had faith that one time.

Understanding and accepting the biographical details of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are indeed part of faith, not arguing that at all, but it’s not the entirety of what faith is.

I would say that faith is obedience to Christ because you understand the powerful impact of the biographical details of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Faith is not a one-time thing allowing you to get back to sinning. The just shall live by faith, it’s a way of life.

Paul refers to it as the “obedience of faith” in Romans 1:5 and 16:26. Hebrews 11, the great list of those who came before us with faith, describes people who all did what God told them to do. “By faith” they each did what God said. The Bible uses faith and obedience interchangeably in spots, as well as unbelief and disobedience (Romans 10:16; 1 Peter 2:7).

A person truly saved, a partaker of all the goodness and provision of Jesus Christ, does not find God’s commands to be grievous; instead the believer will find them to be a source of life and delight. The very concept of discipleship is teaching people to obey whatever Christ commanded.

That’s an interesting one because that is in what we call The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). People think The Great Commission is about evangelism, and they think evangelism is getting people to “say The Prayer” and get them “saved.” Yet if you read The Great Commission as it’s written in the Bible, the point is to teach them to obey Christ’s commands.

Yes, we are saved by faith, but faith without works is dead. Even the demons believe the biographical details about Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. They even tremble because of it! But demons don’t obey God. They don’t love God or keep His commandments.

A person who has true faith will truly be saved. This always results in a great love toward God and this love is always reflected with obedience to what we’ve been commanded to do.

There are no exceptions to the rule. This isn’t something you will do if you get around to it, it’s not an option. This is an exact and immediate fruit of saving faith. It is, in fact, what the true believer was looking for with salvation!

If you aren’t looking for deliverance from sin, then I’m pretty sure you’re not interested in salvation. Easy Believism promises heaven without any desire to love or follow the Lord.

Of course people want it to be true that they can live in sin, get away with it, and then go to heaven.

But a person with an actual understanding of the grossness of sin, the power of the resurrection, and the new life available with Christ, will come after that with such passion, zeal, and drive they will be unstoppable.

That is how the Bible describes us being “saved by faith.” Anything else is a mind game at best and a doctrine of demons at worse.

Hebrews 10 is one of the “warning passages” in the Book of Hebrews. It deserves our attention. Here are the fruits of my attention I gave it! Hope they help and encourage you.

Sin is a big deal with God. It isn’t to us because we aren’t holy, we are, in fact, busy sinning. Everyone around us sins too. It’s the air we breathe. Plus we usually get away with it.

The Church should be a giant exception to the sinning rule. Yes, all churches are filled with sinners, but saved sinners are doing battle with sin and have victory as time goes on. Church should be marked by doing good, not with doing evil.

There are no verses in the Bible that tell people to attend church. The closest you’ll get is Hebrews 10:25, the infamous “Don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” Many a pastor has bludgeoned their church with this one, guilting people into better attendance.

It should be noted that this assembling is not necessarily talking about Sunday morning church. That might be included, but it’s certainly not limited to that. Also, based on verse 24, the purpose of assembling is to encourage each other to love and do good works.

If a regular meeting of a church is not encouraging people to do good, I doubt we are being told to assemble there.

The encouragement to do good is motivated by the fact that Judgment Day is coming. We will all give an account before God. You’re going to want to have some good show up with you on that day!

Hebrews 10:26 warns us about willful or deliberate sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth. This sin is not a one-time act. It’s a deliberate turning to engage in a sin filled life. This appears to be the idea based on the Greek verb tense used, similar to the usages in 1 John, habitual and regular sin.

If a person does this, they are 1) trampling underfoot the Son of God, 2) profaning the blood of the covenant (Christ’s blood), and 3) has outraged the Spirit of grace (10:29). None of that sounds good.

If a person knows the Gospel, and the word “knowledge” in verse 26 is talking about knowing by experience, and yet revels in sin afterward, they are asking for it big time! They can expect judgment and the furious fire that destroys God’s enemies (10:27).

The Law of Moses said a sinner would die without mercy on the testimony of two or three human witnesses (10:28). Imagine what punishment there will be with God, the blood of the Son, and the Spirit of grace, testifying against you (10:29).

There is nothing left but God’s vengeance and the fear of falling into the hands of the living God (10:31).

To top it all off, to put the final kicker to the seriousness, there is no other sacrifice for sin (10:26). Where else will you go? Even the Mosaic Law can’t help you, the blood of bulls and goats won’t do it. Buddha aint gonna do anything for ya. There is no other answer for the redemption of sin than faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This clearly implies that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will a saved person victory over sin and power to do good. If it does not, then that person does not believe and is yet in their sins.

Yes, they might be able to repeat the facts of the Gospel, they might be able to recount for you a thing they did that they think makes them saved, but the fact of the matter is that sin still has a hold on them. Whatever it is they did with the Gospel, it wasn’t saving faith since no evidence of salvation showed up.

The warning passages of Hebrews (2:1-4; 4:12-13; 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 12:25-29) make it clear that sin is a big deal. They also make it clear that salvation and the Gospel are not to be trifled with. If you are merely playing at Christianity, distancing good works and fruit from salvation, you are in dangerous territory.

It should also be noted that the verse leading into this warning passage speaks of believers assembling. The point of the assembling is to encourage each other to do good. If the assembling of believers is not including an imploring warning to do good, then why assemble?

Whatever the assembling is for, it’s clearly not for getting people ready for Judgment Day. That is a scary thing. Terrifying when you realize how few churches tell people to obey God and do good. Bring that up in 80% of American churches today and you’ll be called a legalist and be told that you are dangerous.

The warning passages of Hebrews are largely ignored. The Hebrews 10 one is especially so, which is highly ironic since pastors can’t stop mentioning Hebrews 10:25! Most pastors fear if they bring up 10:26-31 there won’t be anyone left to assemble! No one wants to hear that stuff. Just give us the happy! Peace, peace!

The church is in trouble today. Most people who think they are saved are in big time trouble. If there is no good fruit; then you aren’t a good tree. Bad trees get cut down and cast into the fire (Matthew 3:10; 7:19). Hebrews 10 reminds us of this truth and tells us, even begs us, to please wake up and don’t play with this.

Recently two people asked me questions about two different warning apssages in Hebrews. I answered them both and thought I’d throw my answers out there in case anyone else could benefit. Enjoy.

There are several “warning passages” in Hebrews, all of them should be thought through carefully. Salvation is not as easy as we’ve made it, is at least the application of those passages. Continuation is always the test of true salvation. If you don’t continue, you didn’t lose salvation; you merely showed you weren’t saved. Maybe you jumped through people’s hoops and they told you that you were, but clearly you weren’t.  

Hebrews 6 is one of the warning passages. It starts by telling the readers that they are immature, it’s time to move on to deeper things, stop playing with elementary things and go on to mature doctrine (1-3). 

Verses 4 and 5 are, to any ordinary definition of words, describing a believer. I don’t know what else would have to be added to make that more of a believer. I think you have to interpret this as talking about a true believer.  

Verse 6 says that this believer, if they fall away, cannot come back to repentance, as they’d have to re-crucify Jesus, which aint gonna happen. So, is this believer losing salvation? There are four interpretations of these verses: 

1. Believer losing salvation. You could go with that if these were the only three verses in the Bible, but it ignores other passages about security that say falling away is impossible—can’t pluck out of hands of Son or the Father, sealed until the day of redemption, the Spirit is the earnest of the inheritance, I give them eternal life and they will never perish, etc. 

2) Professed believer showing he never believed. Although I believe this is possible and many of the warnings in the Bible are talking about this, in this case I believe it would be an overstated position. He really seems to say this is a believer, not just someone playing or pretending or being deceived. They swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. They are saved, so I don’t think this option works.  

3) A believer backsliding. Some think backsliding is ok. People play with Paul’s words about being carnal, as though a believer can be a horrible, rotten sinner with no evidence of new life and still be saved. This isn’t what he’s talking about there or here. There is no serious backsliding of believers in the NT, in my opinion. It’s a thing in the OT and it’s a thing in people’s doctrine, but I don’t see it in the NT. Peter is the closest you get, but again, Peter is before Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit and knowing and having resurrection power, etc. Christians can do stupid things (Peter caving before Gentiles in Galatians 2), but doing a stupid thing is different from living like an unbeliever. Anyway, long story short, it’s not what he’s talking about here. 

4) A hypothetical, impossible case. He starts the whole thing with “It is impossible.” I think the whole 4-6 idea is what is impossible. If someone had all the provision of the supremacy and riches of Christ, no one would turn from it. You just wouldn’t. IF they did (verse 6 starts with “if”), the only thing that would bring them back is re-crucifying Christ, which can’t happen. He died once for all. Once you have all, you aren’t going to chuck it.

Verses 7-9 talk about the earth bringing forth good or bad plants/fruit. The writer of Hebrews thinks better things of them than that they would be a bad plant bringing bad fruit. They have salvation; they will bring forth good fruit. Believers grow and bring forth fruit, that’s what they do; they don’t fall away or produce bad fruit.  

Verses 10-12 show the evidence of his confidence in them—they do good work. Now, don’t slack off! People get lazy; you are doing well, keep going! This is a constant theme of the NT once you notice it. Keep going, press toward the mark, run to win, endure, etc.  

Abraham is a great example. He did good things and endured to the end (13-15). 

Verses 16-20 are about God, who made a promise and sealed it with an oath, we can trust God’s word. The verses then give four pictures of security 1) a city of refuge 2) an anchor 3) the forerunner who guarantees that believers will follow 4) Christ the high priest forever.  

Chapter 6 is not about loss of salvation but about security and making sure you are one of the secure ones! Once you are tapped into God’s promises, you can’t fall out of them. If it’s all people, yeah, people can fall on their own, we’re unstable, but once you have God’s provision, He and His Word at work in you, you aint going nowhere!  

I’m convinced that we are not “justified by faith alone.” The main reason I’m convinced is because James 2:24 says we are not justified by faith alone; Martin Luther said we were. Martin Luther also said he fought off the devil with his farts.

James does not say we are justified by the works of the law though, so he is not saying Jews are, or were, saved by works of the law. If you read the context beginning with chapter one verse one and on past chapter 2, you see that James is talking about the royal law—love.

Love is a big deal. Paul says that now abides faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love. He says in the same chapter that if you have all faith and have not love it profits nothing.

The demons believe yet they are not saved. What separates their faith from saving faith? Love. Demons don’t love God.

Paul says in Galatians that faith works by love.

Love is a big deal.

In John 8, a group of people say they believe in Jesus. Instead of assuming these people are sincere in saying they believe Him, Jesus amps up His talk and challenges them.

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).

Jesus specifically addresses the people who said they believed in Him. He goes at them, convincing them that they don’t.

They claim to have Abraham as their father. Jesus says Abraham is not their father because they don’t listen to Jesus like Abraham would.

Then they change their mind and say God is their father. Jesus disagrees.

“Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me” (John 8:42).

So, these people who say they believe in Jesus are told that they don’t, and the determining factor is that they don’t love Him. By the end of John 8, the Jews who said they believed Him have taken up stones to stone Him.

Love is a big deal.

Salvation is not gotten by saying a prayer someone talked you into saying at some point in your life. Faith works by love. If there’s no love, then there is no saving faith.

It’s quite simple.

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God. It isn’t to believe the Lord your God.

Don’t be shocked if many or most of the people you convinced to say the prayer later deny Jesus and their faith. It happened first in John 8 and has been happening consistently since then.

You can force, manipulate, or trick someone into saying the prayer; you cannot force, manipulate, or trick someone into loving the Lord.

The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.

The Gospel is the power of God.

That’s a big deal.

Or it should be.

Unfortunately, most of Church History and doctrine has eliminated the Gospel’s power.

We are left with a nice story about a nice man who nicely died for us and nicely rose again and now all nice things in the world will happen to us.

There’s not much power there; mostly it’s just nice, the kind of nice story a person would invent to appeal to your flesh desires.

The power of the Gospel is the resurrection. It has the power to rebirth you, raise you up to newness of life, and make you a son of God.

You’re not the same person afterwards.

Unfortunately, most of us are the same person afterwards because we aren’t really believing the Gospel of God. Instead we are believing the Gospel the church has handed to us, the nice Gospel with no power. The nice Gospel that promises earthly nice things with no cost and no transformation.

The real Gospel, the Gospel of Truth as presented in the Bible, says the Gospel will crucify you, bury you, and raise you up.

If you’re sick of your old life, this sounds fantastic. If you love your old life, this sounds terrible.

Most people love their old life and the sins of their youth. Most like to play with the world’s things and be friends with the world. Most of our life is spent trying to be accepted in the world.

The Gospel transforms.

It will do this if you believe it.

And this is the big part—if you’re believing the true Gospel. There are many false ones. You probably believe one of them. If you believe the true Gospel it will change your life. You will bear fruit. Things will show up in your life that were never there before. Things that look like Christ and not you.

This isn’t an optional aspect of the Gospel. This is what it does.

Here’s one of many verses that make this clear from Colossians 1:5-6:

whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth

The Gospel bears fruit, that’s what it does. It does it everywhere it’s tried all around the world. But you have to hear it and you have to know the grace of God in truth.

There are many false teachings about the grace of God. You’ve got to know it in truth. You’ve got to hear what the Word of God is actually saying.

But most don’t. They hear what some other sinner says about the Gospel and believe that instead.

Then they are shocked there is no fruit, no growth, no Christ-likeness. And over time the shock wears off and it’s actually kind of nice to revel in sin and materialism, so we make peace with our false Gospel and tell everyone we’re saved and then share that false Gospel with others, so they all think that false Gospel is the real one and are led astray just like us.

And on it goes. Been happening for 2,000 years now.

Do you know the grace of God in truth? If you did there would be fruit in your life.

Have you heard and believed the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ? If so, there would be fruit in your life.

If there’s no fruit then you must not be dealing with the true Gospel and the true grace of God.

Examine yourself. The end draws near.

Faith is a huge deal, every Christian knows that. Most Christians have no idea what faith is though.

Most seem to think it’s an acceptance of facts, an acknowledgment that the story is true. Some will mention trust, like seeing a chair and having the faith that it will hold you up if you sit on it.

Faith in the Bible, though, is much deeper.

Faith is not mentioned very often in the Old Testament. This doesn’t mean it’s not important in the Old Testament, it’s just not mentioned as much. Considering the Old Testament is about half as long, it only uses “faith” 56 times (in the KJV). “Faith” is used 280 times in the NT.

Probably the biggest example of faith in the OT is Abraham. “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.” Paul and James make a big deal out of Abraham’s faithful example.

Abraham had faith and was counted righteous. We’ve had this drilled into our heads, but do we miss the main characteristic of what faith is? It wasn’t just mental assent to some facts.

To get a better understanding of biblical faith, we can look at other uses of the word. The Hebrew word for “believed” in Genesis 15:6, is first used in Numbers 11:12.

Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?

Did you see the word “faith” in there?! Probably not.

The words “nursing father” are the Hebrew word translated “believed” in Genesis 15:6! What in the world?

The Hebrew word is translated “nurse” in Ruth 4:16 and 2 Sam 4:4.

Although one has to be careful about making too much out of such things, one also has to do something with it!

Sure seems like faith and believing is something more than a ten minute saying of The Prayer or getting baptized once. Nursing is a long term commitment implying a relationship of care and nurture.

Faith isn’t flippant; it’s not come-and-go. It’s an abiding relationship that feeds and helps you grow. Abraham gave himself over to God, placed himself in a position of being cared for. He was in total submission to and dependence upon God for provision.

Abraham put himself in a position to be nursed by God.

I think this idea of faith fits very nicely with all the talk of spiritual growth and “add to your faith” in the New Testament. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word, and we are to desire the sincere milk of the Word as a newborn baby.

Faith is what we live by. It’s a full commitment your life depends upon.

I’ve thought about Luke 7:47 a number of times in my life. It says, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

This is the sinful woman who dumped the expensive ointment on Jesus while Simon, the righteous Pharisee, didn’t even wash Jesus’ feet.

I actually wrote about this verse on here back in 2010 and don’t agree with my point! The “for she loved much” is not the reason she was forgiven, which is what my old post said. I see how I got there but from all accounts, that’s not the right way to take the words.

My bad.

The NIV, although doing a little interpreting, probably has the right interpretation, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

However, there is a problem I have with how this verse is often discussed.

The point seems to be that this woman has sinned more than the Pharisee and because of that she loves Jesus more than the Pharisee.

A side note: it should be noticed that Jesus’ idea of love, or proof for love, is in observable service. Pharisee didn’t wash his guest’s feet; sinful woman pours out expensive stuff and washes his feet with her tears and hair. Service is Jesus’ work He uses to judge whether there is love present. Judgment Day is coming. You should note this carefully; it’ll probably come up then.

There was a guy I used to know who was quite the sinner. Pretty much every terrible sin you can think of, minus that one, he was doing. Not just had done at some point in his life, but was currently doing at the time I knew him and tried talking to him about faith numerous times.

He claimed to love and fear God more than me.

He would use this passage as a justification for his sin.

Whatever Jesus’ point is here, it’s not that sin is virtuous.

The amount of sin isn’t the issue; forgiveness is the issue. How much sin has been forgiven?

The way this guy lived, constant sin and weird justifications of it, makes me think he didn’t love Jesus very much. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” This guy routinely told me he didn’t have to keep any commandments because “Jesus did it all” for him.

I don’t think this guy was forgiven simply because he didn’t find his sin all that troublesome. Hard to imagine how a guy can sincerely love Jesus and yet make peace with a sinful lifestyle.

Having a lot of gross sin doesn’t make you love Jesus. In fact, not loving Jesus would be a major requirement for having a lot of gross sin.

Getting sins taken care of, fully forgiven, will lead to love of Jesus. Love of Jesus will lead to serving Him, not continuing in rebellious, gross sin.

Whether you have massively gross sin in your life of not (and no, I don’t think all sin is equally gross, the Bible makes it clear that some are worse than others), forgiveness is desperately needed. Pretending sin isn’t bad will limit your view of forgiveness, which will then limit your love toward the forgiver.

All sin is bad. All sin needs forgiveness. When your sin is forgiven, that’s a lot of sins forgiven! Deal with your sin before the Lord. Then demonstrate your love for the one who forgave you a lot with a lot of service.

One of the weirdest things about Psalm 119 is that the psalmist is completely thrilled, happy, delighted, and blessed by God’s word, and the only word he had at the time were the books of Moses and maybe a couple others.

But he repeatedly says words that indicate he’s specifically rejoicing in God’s Law. He uses many synonyms, all of which seem to refer to the law: statutes, judgments, commandments, precepts, etc.

He seems really happy to have the Law.

My entire life in Evangelical circles I’ve been told how lucky I am to not be under the law. How the law condemns. How the only reason God gave you the law is so you would know you’re a sinner and how terrible you are.

It’s the law of sin and death. The law of condemnation. Heavy. Weighty. Yuck.

Yet the psalmist seems oblivious to this and can’t stop saying how happy he is to have the law. What’s his problem?

Or perhaps, what’s our problem?

It is possible we’re missing something. Maybe we’ve pressed a truth out of place and stretched it into heresy.

Here’s an interesting fact: in both the KJV and the ESV, the word “delight” is only used one time in the New Testament. The word “delight” is used ten times just in Psalm 119!

Do you know what the one time usage of “delight” is in the NT? It’s in Romans 7:22, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.”

That’s so cool to me. The one time “delight” is used in the NT it’s in relation to delighting in the law; a huge point of Psalm 119.

“After the inward man” is a key too.

In Romans 7, Paul says the law stirred up sin in him. When the law said, “Don’t covet;” he wanted to covet. When the law said, “Don’t steal;” he wanted to steal.

In Romans 8 Paul does call it the law of sin and death and directly relates it to our condemnation.

But also in Romans 7, Paul says the law is holy, just, and good. In Romans 8 he calls it “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

There’s only one law as there is only one lawgiver. So, Paul has to be talking about the same law.

But why such divergent descriptions of the same thing? What gives?

Paul’s larger point in Romans 7 and 8 is the contrast of life in the flesh and life in the Spirit. Flesh and spirit see things differently. The main illustration in those two chapters is how they see the law of God.

When the flesh hears God’s law, it only hears condemnation. It hears “No fun, so many rules, get off my back.” It’s weighty and burdensome. Yuck. Sin and death.

When the Spirit hears God’s law, it hears righteousness, peace, holiness, and goodness. It sees guardrails of protection, a guide to keep from shipwreck.

The inward man delights in the law of God. If your flesh is hearing the law of God it’s just weight and judgment.

That’s why 1 John 5 says if you love God then God’s commands are not grievous. Rather than a weighty burden of oppression, we know they are the solid rock of truth to build life on. They lead to life.

When you read Psalm 119, are you confused? Do you not get how a person could be thrilled to have God’s law? Do God’s commandments freak you out and make you bummed out because it’ll ruin your fun?

That’s a good indication as to whether you’re in the flesh or in the Spirit. Perhaps you’re not saved; maybe you don’t have the Spirit. Or, perhaps your flesh is still hanging on to old patterns it doesn’t want to let go of.

Either way, deal with it. Know that God’s word is holy, just, and good. God who spoke those words loves you and wants the best for you. He isn’t telling you harmful things.

Learn to love God’s Word. Even more key to that, make sure you’re born again, that you’ve been made a new spiritual creation that can discern spiritual things.

Without that, you’ll never delight in the law of God.

Whoever wrote Psalm 119 was pretty enthused about God’s Word. He uses many happy words in relation to his experience with Scripture.

One word he uses frequently is “delight.” This one English word translates a number of Hebrew words.

One of my pet peeves is how English translations will use one English word for numerous Greek or Hebrew words in the same context. It totally misses the nuance of word choice.

Psalm 119:16 says, “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”

Cool. When we hear the word “delight” in this context we probably think along the lines of enjoying something. But wait until you hear what the Hebrew word behind this means!

I double checked it with both Strong’s Definitions and Brown, Driver, and Briggs’ Hebrew Lexicon. Both said the same thing, so therefore, it must be true.

The Hebrew word translated “delight” in this passage means, and I kid you not, and I quote, “to fondle, stroke, or pet.” What in the world?!

This same word is also used in Isaiah 11:8 when it says the nursing child will play over the hole of the adder. Little kids will play with snakes. The word “play” is the word translated “delight” in Psalm 119:16!

How does that make you feel?! Do you play with God’s word? Do you pet it?

What could he possibly be saying with the use of this word?

A child delights in their little toy. A little girl with her cute pet kitten. There is adoration, familiarity, enjoyment, almost like being enraptured with it.

Do you have this relationship with the Word of God? Like a little kid blocking out all of existence, lost in their own little world with their new play thing?

This is also beautiful in light of desiring the sincere milk of the word like a new born baby longs for food.

Perhaps we are missing something since we rarely have this feeling toward the Word of God. Perhaps that’s why two verses later in Psalm 119 he says, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

Maybe we’re missing something the psalmist had. A familiarity and love for the precious word of God. Ask God to help you see more wonders in His word and perhaps, just maybe, you’ll end up petting your Bible!

In Matthew 23, Jesus goes off on the scribes and Pharisees and calls them all hypocrites. The whole chapter He just torches them.

The Gospel of Luke has a condensed version in chapter 11. He goes off on them for three verses or so, then some lawyers say, “Hey, we’re kind of offended by what you’re saying.” So, then Jesus goes off on them for three more verses.

Brilliant stuff. Should serve as a warning for all ages about religious leadership.

Here’s the really cool thing about Jesus torching the Pharisees in Luke 11, which I’m not sure if it’s the same context as Matthew 23. Guess where He says all this stuff about the evil Pharisees?

Luke 11:37 fills you in, “a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.”

Jesus is a guest at a Pharisee’s house when He goes off on them!

Oh, I love Jesus. I cannot wait to spend eternity with Him.

There are two things that powerful people in our world would do if asked to visit someone’s house they can’t stand:

1) They would refuse because why would they on their high level associate with lowly losers they don’t like?

2) Be a politician and say whatever they feel will win the people over to their side. They won’t offend, they will tolerate and then rip on them on the car ride home.

Jesus doesn’t do either of these things! He doesn’t mind eating with people He doesn’t like and are “beneath Him.” At the same time, when He sits down to eat He doesn’t mind calling them out!

I just love that.

There’s no ego, no kissing up, no backing down. He just says what He sees.

Now you and I need to be careful with this! We don’t know people’s hearts. Going into someone’s house as a guest and torching them probably isn’t a good idea (although everything has its season!).

Typically when I’ve gone off on people I’ve been wrong. My flesh got carried away and I made judgments about things I clearly didn’t know. I learned later how wrong I was.

We have to be careful here. We shouldn’t always do what Jesus did!

We should remember though that there is a time to confront people and call things how we see them. We also need to remember our pride, confront people considering ourselves first, lest we also be tempted.

The Lord is the best judge; we should let Him do His work. And boy howdy do I love reading about Him doing His work!