Ironworks

  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now will the kingdom return to the house of David: this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.   1 Kings 12:26-28             Jeroboam took his football and went home; I wrote that last week.   This was what the 10 Northern tribes did: they turned away from the united kingdom under Rehoboam son of Solomon. Jeroboam’s revolt was prophesied in that The Lord had sent His word through the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite who told Jeroboam that he would be given ten tribes, for the Lord was taking the...

  And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 1 Kings 12:16               We all want favor, from our parents, our spouse, and our supervisors. Each of us enjoys being valued and appreciated. When there is no favor, value, or appreciation, we feel like we are outsiders. It makes us feel like we have no hope. This can teach us much about Godly leadership in the world, our homes, and the Lord’s church. In first Kings 12, we see the son of Solomon, Rehoboam, is now king of a united kingdom of the 12 tribes of Israel.              At the beginning of his reign, Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and made a request of thei...

    Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. 1 Kings 10: 9 "Your reputation precedes you." This is a common phrase when we meet someone for the first time. It is often said out of respect or to simply compliment a stranger.  When the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon, she came due to what she had heard of his reputation. The word had traveled down from Israel in Ethiopia in Eastern Africa that Solomon was very wise. It was of such great interest that the Queen of Sheba just had to go and investigate this wise king. When this distant queen arrived and witnessed what she heard, she declared,  “ It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and thy wisdom” (cf. 1 Kings 10:6).  We can learn from the wisdom of King Solomon. The Queen recognized that there was something remarkable in Israel, and, w...

    Have you ever wondered about why in the footnotes your Bible might say the oldest manuscripts and some other authorities omit verses 9 to the end?   The reliability of Mark 16:9-20 is supported by an abundance of evidence.   The alleged controversy comes from textual critics who elevate the two of the oldest manuscripts over others (Vaticanus and Sinaiticus). What the critics fail to mention is that three out of five of the oldest manuscripts include verses 9-20, and that is just the manuscripts in the original Koine Greek. There are many translations in other languages that include verses 9-20 including the Coptic, Egyptian, and Ethiopic amongst others. All of these predate the fourth century Vaticanus and Sinaiticus as they appeared slightly after the first century A.D. In addition, there is evidence that some church fathers, which include Irenaeus, quote Mark 16:9-20 which affirms that this passage was accepted Scripture in the early years of the church. T...

  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Tim 1:13 In recent years, there has been a great disruption caused by some over the term “pattern theology.” There have even been some, otherwise faithful brethren who have been caught up in an idea that we are under grace and not under law. To clarify, the Word affirms we are saved by grace through faith (cf. Eph. 2:8-9). However, that is not an excuse to live lawlessly. In fact, in the early days of the church, there were some men known as Antinomians (lit. against law) who advocated that Christians were free from moral law because of grace outlined in the Gospel. The Scripture teaches otherwise. The form, or pattern of sound words, indicates that there is a law. This is not the Mosaic Law of Commandments which was nailed to the cross. (cf. Col 2:14). We are now under the law of Christ (cf. Gal. 6:2): the perfect law of liberty (cf. Jam. 1:25). We must never use the...

And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies             washed with pure water.   Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)   Hebrews 10:21-23 God wants you to be assured. Unfortunately, some of the brethren have not really felt so assured in their salvation. The Hebrew writer instructs us to draw near to God with a true heart. This is a heart that is characterized as one having full assurance of faith. We can have that confidence when we faithfully check our lives according to the Scripture. Paul wrote in 2 Cor 13:5: Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? Individuals can convince themselves of many things, but t...

Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. 2 Kings 5:14-15             There is much back story to this healing, starting in 2 Kings 5:1. Naaman was captain of the host of the King of Syria, and he was also a leper. No matter how many battles he won or how much treasure that he took as spoil, he was still a leper. He suffered the pain and the shame that went with it. In his desperation, he went to the prophet Elisha who instructed him to dip in the Jordan River seven times. It seems rather simple but the diseased man at first would not do so. He reason...

  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children . Hosea 4:6 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Isaiah 5:13 Hosea’s prophecy against Israel testified of the coming fall to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Many problems led to this, but Hosea chose to focus on their ignorance. Isaiah spoke of the same problem that besieged Judah before they were led off into Babylon (606-536). One of the main reasons they went into captivity is because they rejected knowledge. It was certainly available, but they rejected it. I fear that this lack of knowledge is of the utmost risk for the body of Christ. We are all members of one body. We are the bride of Christ and the church of the Living God. May we a...

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 2 Tim 1:3-5             What do you think about when you think of the term legacy? You may think of historical figures in this nation. You may think about different organizations that have stood the test of time. When you think about yourself? Do you associate this word with your life? This is certainly a struggle for many as they go through life and make decisions. Sometimes this struggle is more often associated with failure than success. This can lead us to question just what kind of legacy we might leave.    ...

  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Mark 13:13             The final step of salvation is ongoing throughout the rest of our natural lives. We must remain faithful unto death (cf. Rev. 2:10). The Word of God instructs the first century church, as it does all New Testament Christians, that we must be faithful whether or not it is a good, spiritual-high moment or if it is safe. We must remain faithful even when it might cost us our lives. This was a very real circumstance for the church under the Roman Empire and in many nations today. There are brethren today in countries who face certain death for wearing the name Christian. This is clearly in agreement to what is written above when Jesus made it clear there were expectations of His people. We will be hated because of Jesus’ name; we will face opposition from all sorts of people and religions. ...

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;   but he that believeth not shall be damned.   Mark 16:16 Mark 16:16 is one of many passages that confirm that baptism is one of the five steps in the Gospel Plan of Salvation that is applicable to all men. Some observations in the verse include the fact that both belief and baptism are coequals to be saved. The diagram below shows their correlation as well as the order of both belief and immersion for the purpose of salvation. Belief is an absolute prerequisite of baptism, and this is very well explained in the second section of verse, for it is by disbelief that one is condemned. As it has been noted before, it certainly takes more to be saved than to be condemned. He____________________________________________________/shall be saved             That______________________/believeth              ...

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation . Rom 10:9-10 Who are you willing to confess? Did you know that your salvation depends on it? I trust that many of you who are reading this do know this, and others have heard something along those lines but we must not lose sight of what God has required for salvation. Paul reminded the Christians in Rome that this was something that they had done and brought them unto salvation. This was not some cleverly added thing of Paul's own volition but the Inspired Word of God. This was the same thing that Jesus said prior.  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.   Matt10:32   Are you willing to confess Christ? I know it might seem scary to sp...

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24     What do you do when you hear some form of information? You may accept it as factual, or you might not believe it at all. When we are young, we may not believe the stove is hot. In fact, possibly the orange glow of the burner or open flame is appealing to the eye and the warmth is nice feeling on a cold day. However, if you chose to touch it, you will certainly be burnt and certainly believe what your mother may have warned you about. Belief is established when presented with truth, yet, when we hear truth, we have the option to believe it or not.      In matters of faith, belief is an integral part of the God's plan for saving man. Last week I wrote about hearing, and that it is the basis of that plan. We must hear, but what do we do once we hear? If we are...

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17                      Over the next five weeks, I want to write about each of the steps of the Gospel Plan of Salvation. I will contend that the Bible teaches not a single man will be saved outside obedience to the Gospel. Additionally, I will address some questions regarding such. The first thing one must do is hear the word. We often reference Romans 10:17 as I did above for this. For the origin of faith has no other source than hearing or reading the Word of God. This is where we come in contact with the God-breathed, inspired Word (cf 2 Tim 3:16). He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness (cf. 2 Pet 1:3). When we hear the Gospel, we hear the truth that has the power to make man free (cf. John 8:32).                ...

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Matt 6:31-32               I recently read an article entitled “The Upside of Pessimism” by Olga Khazan in The Atlantic and it made me think if pessimism is so prevalent in our society, then what does that mean for the church? I know that every time I turn on the news it seems as though something else is coming to get us: COVID-19, murder hornets, a recession. There is a lot of pessimism in this world, which in turn causes quite a bit of unnecessary anxiety. Julie Norem, a psychology professor at Wheaton College, said, “When people are being defensively pessimistic, they set low expectations, but then they take the next step which is to think through in concrete and vivid ways what exactl...

  And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures came to Ephesus.   This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.   And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. Acts 18:24-26 Apollos was not always a great teacher of the church, he was wrong at one time about the Gospel Plan of Salvation. He was an eloquent man; he was mighty of the Scripture. It is certain that many denominational preachers are much like Apollos in this area: they can utter the spoken word so great, and they can recall many Scripture references and proclaim them boldly. However, a misguided understanding of baptism negates all those seemingly beneficial skills. Some are wrong on the subjects of baptism. Thes...

  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.   Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Acts 14:19-21 How do you feel about being interrupted? It stinks doesn’t it? This is especially true when you are really locked in on doing something: a project, assignment, or a program. Whatever it is, you were invested in it, and to be interrupted is an inconvenience. I was watching the President give a briefing on Wednesday August 10 th and it was interrupted as the Secret Service advised the President to come with them. After a short amount of time, the President came back in and continued his briefing explaining that a suspect had bee...