Ironworks

  And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.  And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.  Numbers 5:27-28 A very valuable question was brought to me regarding Numbers 5 this last week. It appears that some individuals have been using Numbers 5 as an apparent license to have abortions. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, what we find here is yet another example of God’s Divine provision that He has made to care for His people.  The situation described starting in Numbers 5:11 is in reference of a husband that suspects his wife of committing adultery but cannot prove it. The Law states there must be proof. “At the mouth o...

And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah. And the king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant. 2 Kings 23:1-3      King Josiah of Judah was an encouragement to all who serve the Lord. His heart and actions are those which push us to love the Lord our God, both in word and deed. 2 Kings 22:8-13 details the circumstances that led to the restoration of Old Testament Judaism in ...

        Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin. 2 Kings 10:29-31                   When we look at our leaders so many of them claim to be good Christian people, but it is quite evident that few are what the Word of God declares a Christian to be. Some will run on platforms that are things that would be in line with Biblical va...

“We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. “   Galatians 2:15-17             Justification by faith and not by works of human laws is the principal theme of both the epistles to the Romans and the churches of Galatia. I recently began a textual sermon series over Galatians, and we have been exploring how quickly a congregation can find itself in danger. One of the chief threats came from the Judaizing teachers who had made their way down to Galatia at that point and were trying to bind the wo...

         For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all . James 2:10 A recent headline said that the baseball team awaiting the results of an investigation is possibly not as guilty as the other team that was already found guilty. Not as guilty ; what does that even mean?   Not as guilty still implies that there is guilt. For if there was no guilt, then that would be innocence. That would mean complete exoneration. This would certainly be my preference for anyone accused falsely and never to be deemed "not as guilty." When James wrote to the early church, some were trying to bind parts of the Old Covenant on Christians. Several Judaizers in the early church wanted to bind parts of the Law of Moses on new converts of the Gentile persuasion. Paul wrote,  “ Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage...

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.  1 Cor. 9:19-22 What are you willing to give? That will be the question that is posed repeatedly in the new sermon series. It has been laid out last month that God is the great provider, Jehovah Jireh, who has lavished us with a grace that can cover all of our sins. Considering that, how can we give and be better givers? The first thing we can do is give up. I know that is not the most common of encouraging phrases, but it is truly per...