LOWING CATTLE AND BLEATING SHEEP

William Andrew Dillard

HEBREW HONEYCOMB
LOWING CATTLE AND BLEATING SHEEP

How blessed and marvelous is a dedicated church whose members are on fire for God! Their motive and purpose is to please God, and to influence others toward Him. They understand that Christ is the head of the church, the Savior of the body, and that His Word is sweet, even so highly desired as the very bread of life. In my mind, this was the status of the early churches of Paul’s ministry. I think of Ephesus in particular having had the privilege of visiting that ancient city. Ephesus fell into decay and is no more. The zealous church that the apostle planted there is also gone, having suffered marginalization, persecution, and pressures from a godless, but religious society. It is interesting to note that only a few decades after its birth, the church received stern warning from Jesus in the words, “I have somewhat against thee…” Though commended for some spiritual assets, the charge must have been stinging to their hearts. They had busied themselves with religious activity instead of the necessary, personal, one-on-one relationship with Christ Jesus; hence, they were told “. . . thou hast left thy first love.” Rev. 2:4. Simply put, they were engaged in religion, but their motives were misdirected. Could they turn a deaf ear to the Lord? Could they continue as a church that way? The answer is “yes” but they would not be a church belonging to the Lord Jesus. They must remember from where they had fallen, repent or else they would lose their candlestick (be severed from Christ as His body). This problem did not end with the Ephesians. It goes on in wholesale manner today. All of God’s people need to re-think Samuel’s confrontation with Saul when the king declared he had done the will of God. Samuel asked, “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” I Sam. 15:14. The prophet then replied: “. . . Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” I Sam. 15:22 Church activities may involve a lot of misdirected motives! But, God is pleased when His people return to their first love: a personal relationship with God and His Holy Word. Forget the fat cattle and sheep, and the “sacrifices” to the Lord that cost you nothing! Let the Creator’s Word reign supreme in practical obedience to its meaning!

297 – Oct 24 – This Day in Baptist History Past

“Amen-even so, come Lord Jesus’

October 24, 1826 – Ann Hasseltine Judson died in Burma, having been struck down by a violent fever, in the absence of her beloved missionary husband Adoniram. He had left for an extended journey that would consume several months. Writing to Ann’s mother he related, “Our parting was much less painful than many others had been. We had been preserved through so many trials and vicissitudes, that a separation of three or four months, attended no hazards, to either party, seemed a light thing. We parted therefore, with cheerful hearts, confident of a speedy reunion, and indulging fond anticipations of future years of domestic happiness.”

He concluded a later letter with these words: “Where glories shine and pleasures roll, That charm, delight, transport the soul; And every panting wish shall be, Possessed of boundless bliss in thee.” And there my dear mother, we also soon shall be, uniting and participating in the felicities of heaven with her, for whom we now mourn. “Amen-even so, come Lord Jesus.”

We can be thankful that the life and work of Ann Hasseltine Judson was preserved in letters written by her Husband, Adoniram, by Ann herself, and others. She wrote from Rangoon, Sept. 26, 1815: “You doubtless are expecting to hear by this time of the Burmese inquiring what shall they do to be saved, and rejoicing that we have come to tell them how they shall escape eternal misery. Alas, you know not the difficulty of communicating the least truth to the dark mind of a heathen, particularly those heathen who have a concerted notion of their own wisdom and knowledge, and the superior excellence of their religious system.”

Dr. Greg J. Dixon from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins/Thompson, pp. 441-42.

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SEPARATION IN UNITY

William Andrew Dillard

Parson to Person
An arresting concept emanating from the scriptures is that of being separated while united. No, this is not double-speak, so think with me about it.

Jesus had much to say about the doctrine of separation while in His earthly ministry. He came to separate families. He forthrightly declared He had not come to bring peace, but a sword, and that His teachings received would make the members of one’s household to be his enemies in spiritual things. The family would still be united, but at the same time separated.
The apostle Paul spoke in detail about personal, inner separation while being united. His writing in Romans Chapter Seven underscores what most every Christian of any degree of maturity experiences. Not doing what should be done, and doing what should not be done is universal among people of God on earth. The higher calling of God in Christ prompts us ever onward in the right direction, but the warfare with the flesh ever yields challenges to those accomplishments. By these things, one is separated while remaining united in the Christian pilgrimage. Every disciple of the Lord Jesus knows exactly what I am talking about from his own personal experience.

Another aspect of the subject is what is obviously manifested in the Lord’s churches. Some have managed to get their name on the church roll, but have never been saved. Still others who are legitimate members of the church find it often cramps their style, and they rejoice when they find another excuse to not participate either in worship or other important kingdom activities. It must be admitted that they are members of the church even if one has cause to doubt that Jesus would say so. Hence, the church is separated while still being technically united. It will be judgment before the Lord that finalizes and eliminates such fragmented status.

Still, in another sense being separated while united is often a cause of great joy. As one experiences war between the spirit and the flesh, and through prayer and understanding, the spirit wins over the flesh, it brings great happiness. This is the kind of separation while being together that pleases the Lord. It also adds to the growth in grace that builds Christian warriors.

The enemy of every disciple of Jesus lies within, and it cannot be uprooted. It can be overcome to a great extent as one dedicates himself to learning and following the Lord in harmony with His Word, and that brings rich reward in the end. Until then, victory in life through separation while being united goes on in the sure knowledge and hope of final unification of the total man without the separation sin has brought to us.

Sacrifice

zāḇach
Another crucial word in the context of the offerings of the OT, of course, is the word sacrifice. The Hebrew is zāḇach (H2076), which means “to slaughter, to kill, to offer, to sacrifice.” While at times it refers to killing an animal simply for food (Deu_12:21; 1Sa_28:24), it is used mainly for the slaughter of animals for sacrifice, either to the true God or even a false one (Jdg_16:23; 2Ch_28:23).
Why was sacrifice required? Because the result of sin is death (Rom_6:23; Jas_1:15), and the only thing that can pay the price of sin is blood—“without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb_9:22; cf. Lev_4:20). It was, therefore, the Lord Jesus who was the focal point of the entire sacrificial system. Everything pointed to Him, for He would be the perfect “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Joh_1:29), it was He who would “save his people from their sins” (Mat_1:21). It was, in fact, the OT Passover itself that pointed to “Christ our passover” (1Co_5:7), whose “precious blood” is “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Pe_1:19).
What has happened to the old system? Heb_8:13 declares, “A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Chapters 9 and 10 detail how the Mosaic system, from symbols to sanctuaries to sacrifices, vanished. In fact, that system began to decay when Israel rejected Christ (Luk_19:37-44) and finally disappeared with the destruction of the temple in AD 70. The Mosaic system was but a “shadow of good things to come” (Heb_10:1, emphasis added), but Jesus is the substance.
Does all that mean there is no kind of sacrifice today? No, but all sacrifice we offer to God is living. No longer is there the dead sacrifice of the Old Covenant, rather the dynamic sacrifice of the New. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom_12:1) and what Peter referred to as he wrote to Christian Jews, As “[living] stones, [you] are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1Pe_2:5). Our entire lives now—all we do and say—are living sacrifices to God.
Scriptures for Study: Read the following verses, noting what kind of “spiritual sacrifice” each emphasizes: Rom_15:16, Eph_5:2, Php_4:10-18, Heb_13:15-16; Rev_8:3.

 

THE LIMITED AND THE LIMITLESS

AUTHOR – William Andrew Dillard

Parson to Person
There is a conceptual wall separating the mortal and the immortal. Man is finite. God is infinite. The finite simply does not comprehend to any appreciable degree the infinite. In simple terms, God put it simply this way: “As the heavens are high above the earth, so are my ways to your ways and my thoughts to your thoughts, saith the Lord.” Isa. 55. It then behooves us who are finite to accept in full the presentation of God and his work to man as recorded in Holy Writ while avoiding the temptation to sit in His chair to postulate what he knows, and by which principles He is bound.
Still, it is an apparent, favorite pastime of bible students to build tenets of faith on what they insist God does or does not know based on their finite reasoning of spiritual principles. Perhaps revisiting the book of Job would be helpful. He longed for a meeting with the Creator until he got one. There he found himself as helpless and mentally and spiritually inept as a toddler would be to run a factory.
A particular case in point is the Eden scenario. It goes something like this: God knew man would sin before He created the planet; therefore, Adam and Eve had no choice but to do what God foreknew they would do. That is fatalism, unfounded, and contrary to the whole presentation of the Bible. If such nonsense were true, God would not have given Adam and Eve the bone fide offer of eternal life in the fruit of a tree. Such would be simple mind games.
Alas! Adam and Eve did plunge themselves and their posterity into a world of sin and death by casting down that perfect order in Eden, but, Thank God, the Lord Jesus, the Christ stood as a Lamb slain from the casting down of that order. The entire interlude of sin in the world of men provides the opportunity to overcome it through the triumphant cross-work of the God-man: Jesus, and to see that perfect order restored in ages to come. Meanwhile sin is shown to have no intrinsic value by which it may claim right to continued existence other than in the hell reserved for its founder and practitioners who have rejected the grace of God. One may claim he does not understand all of this. Then welcome to the club. It is not to be understood, rather it is to be believed without reservation. By His own revelation to us, the “limited” may know and live the faith of the “Limitless.” This is only possible in Christ Jesus. This then is the emphasis of the resurrection; the meaning of Easter; the continuous first day of the week celebration of His churches through the age. Know Him then, and follow Him at all costs. The limited are on their way to becoming as the Limitless, and what a day that will be!

Mercy [and] Grace

cheseḏ [and] chānan
While not interchangeable, cheseḏ (mercy) and chānan (grace) are closely related. While mercy is the withholding of what is deserved (e.g., death and hell), grace is the bestowing of what is not deserved (e.g., life and heaven). 2 Samuel 9 gives one of the most graphic pictures in all the Bible of both mercy and grace, with ten startling parallels to the Savior and sinner:
First, Mephibosheth, the son of King David’s friend Jonathan, was crippled by a fall (2Sa_4:4), just as each of us was crippled by Adam’s fall, even rendered “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph_2:1-3).

Second, as David wanted to show Mephibosheth “kindness [cheseḏ] for Jonathan’s sake” (2Sa_9:1), God has shown us mercy and grace for the sake of the Lord Jesus (Eph_4:32).

Third, that kindness was neither deserved nor earned by Mephibosheth, who could do little for himself, much less do anything for the king of Judah and Israel. We in turn deserved nothing but death, and there are not enough works in the universe to save a single soul (Eph_2:8-9; Tit_3:5).

Fourth, Mephibosheth was sought by the king (Tit_3:1; Tit_3:5), again picturing unmerited favor. Likewise, not a single person has ever “[sought] after God” by his own power (Rom_3:11). “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” Jesus declared (Joh_15:16). A dead man can do nothing, so “no man can come to [Christ], except the Father which hath sent [Him] draw him” (Joh_6:44; cf. Joh_6:65; Act_16:13-14).

Fifth, David ordered and empowered servants to fetch Mephibosheth (Act_16:5), a graphic picture of evangelism. God has likewise called and empowered each of us as witnesses (Act_1:8; Mat_28:19-20).

Sixth, a result of all this was that Mephibosheth reverenced the king (2Sa_9:6), a challenge to us to worship Jesus.

Seventh, he became a servant of the king (2Sa_9:6), as are we of Christ (e.g., Rom_6:16).

Eighth, he was given riches and security (Rom_6:7), just as we have spiritual riches (Ephesians 1) and security in Christ (Joh_10:28-29; Rom_8:29-39).

Ninth, he was made a king’s son (Rom_8:11), as we are God’s children (Joh_1:12-13). And tenth, his physical condition was hidden from view when he sat at the king’s table (Joh_1:13). We, too, have been sanctified by Christ (Heb_9:12-15) and “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph_2:6).
Scriptures for Study: If you haven’t already done so, read this wonderful account and rejoice in God’s mercy and grace.

 

95 – April – 05 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

Not many noble are called”
1878 – Dr. William H. Brisbane, nobleman preacher of the gospel, died on this date.  Paul said, “…not many noble are called.”  Someone has said, “thankfully that ‘m’ is not an ‘a’ for ‘any’ or there would have been none of the upper class that would enter the kingdom.  It may be difficult but not impossible.  The Lord Jesus said, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”  (Mt 19:26).  Brisbane was born into aristocracy near Charleston, S.C. and became an heir to great wealth and position.  His early education was with the Roman Catholic, Bishop England and later with Rev. William Brantley, president of Beaufort College.  When but fifteen he was sent to a military school at Middletown, CT, from which he graduated with honors at eighteen.  Shortly thereafter he received Christ and felt the call to preach the gospel and it wasn’t long until he was in the front ranks of the Baptist ministry in the South.  His culture and wealth gave him access to important people such as Jackson, Calhoun, Clay, and Daniel Webster.  He spent a great deal of time in the State and nations capitals.  Because he was a large slave holder he became deeply involved in the most pressing issue of the day.  After struggling prayerfully over this question for years he came to the conclusion that slavery was morally and spiritually wrong and expended some of his wealth to purchase land in Ohio, and after buying back some of the slaves that he had sold, resettled them providing homes and abundant supplies.  He spent his last twenty-five years preaching the gospel of Christ in Wisconsin.
Dr. Greg J. Dixon, from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins/Thompson /, pp. 139.
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87 – March – 28 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

John Jasper
A Slave who was free
1901 – On this day, the “Onesimus of Colonial America”, John Jasper, went to be with the Lord Jesus, whom he loved with all of his heart.  John was a black man, born into slavery on July 4, 1812, and though never able to attend school, used his God given gift of oratory to see multitudes, both black and white, brought to eternal salvation.  His father, a slave Baptist preacher, died before John was born, but his Mother, Tina, dedicated him to the Lord with this prayer, “Lord, if dis chile you’s sendin’ me is a boy, doan’ let him do nuthin’ else but sing de praises of Jesus!”  His mother’s prayers brought him to conviction and his testimony was, “I was seekin’ God six weeks – jes’ cause I was sich a fool I couldn’t see de way.”  On July 25, 1839, John was gloriously saved at the tobacco stemmery where he worked for “Mars’ Sam – Mr. Sam Hardgrove, the owner of the stemmery and a deacon at the First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia.  He had belonged to the Widow Mary Belle Peachy, but upon her death, her son John sold him to Mr. Hardgrove.  Jasper’s love for Mars’ Sam and Dr. William Hatcher, a local Baptist pastor was beyond question and Mr. Hardgrove allowed John time off to preach whenever he wished.  Almost immediately after his conversion he began to preach the funeral of slaves, and God’s power was evident upon him.  It wasn’t long until both whites and blacks were flocking to his orations.  He became used in pulpits and open air meetings all over.  After Praying to learn to read, another slave, William Johnson, labored for seven months with a tattered copy of the New York Speller and John became an avid Bible reader.  John Jasper founded the 6th Mount Zion Baptist Church which had two-thousand members when he died.
Dr. Greg J. Dixon, from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins/Thompson /, pp. 126.
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39 – February 08 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

 

Lutherans also persecuted Baptists

 

1527 – BAPTISTS WERE PERSECUTED BY BOTH THE CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS IN THE 16TH CENTURY – George Wagner of  Emmerick (Germany) was burned in the city of Munich on February 8, 1527.  As he went to the flames being led by his executioner to the middle of the city, he cried, “Today I will confess my God before all the world.”  He experienced such joy in the Lord that he showed no fear but went smiling to the fire! When thrown into the flames, he cried with a loud voice, “Jesus! Jesus!” And thus he died bearing witness to the truth as it is in the Lord Jesus. The sheriff, Eisenreich von Landsberg, fully expecting to arrest others of this same faith to cast them to the same fate was dead in his bed the next morning. Most of the time, during the Middle Ages, the persecutors of the Baptists were the Catholics but in this instance they were the Lutherans after they came into power and became the state church. The historian Joseph Myer put it this way, “In the days of the long ago, Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders harbored a strong dislike for one another, but they harmonized in persecuting the people of the Baptist faith and practice.” It reminds us that Pilate and Herod made friends together because of Jesus. Lu 23:12 – And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.
Dr. Greg J. Dixon, from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins Thompson /, pp. 53.

 

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Hebrew Language – Lord

 

’Aḏōnāy

 

The Hebrew ’Aḏōnāy (H136) rendered Lord (initial cap and lowercase in contrast to initial cap and small caps for Yāhweh, ) in most English translations, appears well over 400 times. While the singular ’aḏōn is used also of men—Sarah referred to Abraham as “lord” (Gen_18:12) and his servants called him “master” (Gen_24:9-10), Ruth addressed Boaz as “lord” (Rth_2:13), as did Hannah address Eli (1Sa_1:15), and so forth—the “plural of majesty,” ’Aḏōnāy, is used only of God and speaks of His dominion, possession, and sovereignty.

 

It is extremely significant that the direct NT Greek equivalent is kurios (G2962), which is frequently applied to the Lord Jesus. Again, while “lord” is sometimes used as simply a title of honor, such as rabbi, teacher, master (Mat_10:24; cf. Luk_16:3), or even a husband (1Pe_3:6), when used of Jesus in a confessionalway, it without question refers to His divinity. The simple, but deeply profound, confession Kurios Iēsous (Lord Jesus) is rooted in the pre-Pauline Greek Christian community and is probably the oldest of all Christian creeds. Jesus is Lord!

 

Another startling fact is that in hundreds of instances, Lord (’Adōnāy) is actually coupled with either God (’Elōhiym; Psa_38:15; Psa_86:12; Dan_9:3; Dan_9:9; Dan_9:15) or “GOD” (Yehōwāh, instead of uppercase LORD; e.g., Gen_15:2; Gen_15:8; Psa_71:5; and more than 200 times in Ezekiel). This dramatically combines the various aspects of each divine name to paint a more graphic picture of who God is.

 

While a controversial issue, I would humbly submit that ’Adōnāy (and kurios by extension) being coupled with other names also further underscores the importance of emphasizing the principle of Lordship. In a day when the Lordship of Christ means very little in the thinking of many Christians, we must emphasize it all the more. The popular notion of “accepting Jesus as Savior but not as Lord until a later date” is foreign to the NT. Neither is it a historical position in the church; it is, in fact, a thoroughly modern invention, spawned by the relativism, pragmatism, and tolerance of our age. There is simply no salvation apart from Jesus as Lord (Rom_10:9-10). It is a staggering contradiction to say a person can believe in Jesus as Savior but reject Him as Lord simply because a change of life automatically results in a change of Lordship (2Co_5:17).

 

Scriptures for Study: Read Mar_8:34-38; Mar_12:28-34, and Luk_14:25-35, meditating on their deep significance.