IMAGES AND SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE ALMIGHTY

William Andrew Dillard

That mankind is made in the image and likeness of his Creator: body, mind, and spirit, has been a major preachment in ministry, both of myself, and of others who were studied, Bible preachers. It was therefore a special joy to me to hear Brother Don McCutcheon deliver a strong message on this point from Matthew 22:15-21. How many times have I read the twenty-second chapter of Matthew, and simply passed on with a visualization of what is right to offer to God from our material blessings. Of course, it is right to do that, but so much more is brought home here, and I feel certain the Pharisees and Herodians got the point.
There, on the coin, the tempters presented to Jesus in their attempt to entangle Him in his talk, was exactly what one might expect: a line-drawing likeness of Caesar with letters above identifying him as the emperor and authority of the Roman empire. The question posed was, “Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?” In addition to calling them what they were (nothing wrong with that), Jesus asked for a piece of the tribute they were talking about. When a coin was produced, Jesus simply asked whose image and superscription was upon it. When Caesar was so identified, the answer was brilliant and obvious: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s: and unto God the things that are God’s.”
But are not all things God’s? “All things were made by Him; and without him was not anything made that was made,” John 1:3 tells us. But this was a pitting of material things vs spiritual things, and the answer of Jesus turned it back on the hypocrites. The producer of the coin was Caesar, and the Roman Empire as attested by the image and superscription. So render such to him. Then what is to be rendered to God? The same thing! That is, render to God the bearer of His image and superscription which is yourself: the crowning act of creation as noted in Genesis 1:26-27: mankind! To be in the image of God necessitates a trinity: mind, body, and spirit. This is what Paul affirmed in I Thessalonians 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Every person is to give himself to God! Friends, when that is done, there will be no dilemma or argumentation of what else should be given to God.
Think about it! You are the image and superscription of God! Then, render unto God the things that are God’s!

“What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would give Him a lamb.
If I were a wise man, I would do my part.—-
But what I can, I give Him,
Give my heart.”
Christina G. Rossetti, 1830-1894

Fear of Man

Proverbs 29:25 – The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. 

Isaiah 51:12 – I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; 

John 12:42 – Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

There are many signs that show the fear of man. There is not a one of us that want to admit we have fear, especially the fear of not having mans approval. When we have fear, we feel the lack of safety. Mn normally seeks the approval of other men. For many, this fear keeps them from taking a stand. This fear holds them back from doing outstanding deeds. There are some that struggle with this problem all their life. Because of it they do not witness to the lost or take a stand for the truth.

Through Isaiah, God says “I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;”. God always puts things in perspective. Man dies. At present, man lives. While man lives every man makes a fool of himself from time to time. The most knowledgeable says or does something stupid. The most cunning messes up from time to time. If truth is made known, we fear man more than we do God. What keeps us from blessing our meal in public? Fear of man. What keeps us from witnessing about our Savior? Fear of man. What keeps us from standing firm on the truths of the Bible. Fear of man.

Consider that some that know the Lord as Savior do not reveal themselves to others because of the fear of the things that they might have to give up or the worldly pleasures. One of the fears of some Jews that were saved was, they would be pushed out of the synagogue. They were saved but wanted to cling to their past life. Some are like that today.

We need to rise up and dispel the fear and be bold to take a stand for Christ and truth.

MY LORD AND SAVIOR

He is the First and Last, the Beginning and the End!
He is the keeper of Creation and the Creator of all!
He is the Architect of the universe and The Manager of all times.

He always was, He always is, and He always will be…
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!

He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is risen and brings power!
He reigns and brings Peace!

The world can’t understand him,
The armies can’t defeat Him,
The leaders can’t ignore Him.
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him, and
The people couldn’t hold Him!

Herod couldn’t kill Him
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse him
And the people couldn’t’ hold him.

Nero couldn’t crush Him,
Hitler couldn’t silence Him,
The New Age can’t replace Him
And Oprah can’t explain Him away!

He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.
He is goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, and God.
He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure.

His ways are right,
His word is eternal
His will is unchanging, and
His mind is on me.

He is my Redeemer,
He is my Savior,
He is my guide, and
He is my peace!
He is my Joy,
He is my comfort,
He is my Lord, and
He rules my life!

I serve Him because His bond is love,
His burden is light
And His goal for me is abundant life.

I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise,
The power of the powerful,
The ancient of days, the ruler of rulers,
The leader of leaders
And the overseer of the overcomes

The sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come.

And if that seems impressive to you, try this for size.

His goal is a relationship with ME!

He will never leave me
Never forsake me,
Never mislead me
Never forget me.
Never forget me,
Never overlook me, and
Never cancel my appointment in His appointment book!

When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I fail, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!

When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am blind, He leads me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!

When I face trials, He is with me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face Death, He carries me Home!

He is everything for everybody, everywhere,
Every time, and everyway.

He is God, He is faithful.
I am His, and He is mine!
My Father in heaven can whip the father of this world.

So, if you’re wondering why I feel so secure, understand this…

He said it and that settles it.
God is in control, I am on His side, and
That means all is well With my soul.

Everyday is a blessing for GOD Is!

I love the Lord and thank Him for all that he does in my life,
He is my source of existence and my Savior.

Without Him, I will be nothing.
Without Him, I am nothing but with Him I can do all things.
Philippians 4:13

159 — June 08 – This Day in Baptist History Past

 

A Christian Champion that backslid

 

Robert Robinson was born in Norfolk, England, on October 8, 1735. Robert was apprenticed to a craftsman when he was 14 after his father died.

 

One night, when he was 17, Robert went to one of George Whitefield’s meetings. So far, Robert had always lived a decent life, and thought himself a Christian. That night Whitefield spoke about Sadducees and Pharisees; about platters being clean on the outside, but dirty on the inside.  This message shook Robert up, and bothered him for weeks. On December 10, 1755, Robert received Salvation.

 

After he was saved, many friends thought Robert should preach, and told him so. He was drawn to the ministry, but didn’t think he would be very good at it.

 

While visiting his family in Norwich in 1758, he noticed that there were many Christians in the area that wanted leadership, but could only get a preacher once in a while. After hearing Robert speak at an evening service of singing and praying, the people asked Robert to become pastor of their church.

 

At this point in time, Robert was connected to the Established Church of England. His future looked very promising if he would stay with it, and become an Established Church minister.

 

At a christening ceremony, someone expressed doubt of the benefit of infant baptism. This caused Robert to investigate the Biblicism of infant baptism. He found that Scripture only supports the baptism of believers.  In 1759, he left the Norwich church, and joined a Baptist Church. Two years later, he was ordained, and became the pastor of the Baptist church in Cambridge. Besides pastoring the Cambridge church, he also  preached at churches in the surrounding countryside. Despite his very busy  schedule, he still found time to write, and there were very few years he did not  publish something.

 

One publication he is well known for is the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” A history of Baptists was something he worked on for many years. It was published after his death in two volumes: Ecclesiastical Researches and History of Baptism.

 

Later in life, he endured several private sorrows, and became friends with skeptical people, which led to his wandering into sin.  Feeling troubled in spirit, he decided to travel. On one of his journeys, he met a young woman who began telling him about a hymn she had been reading, and questioning him about it. Realizing it was a hymn he wrote, he tried to evade her, but was unsuccessful. Finally, he broke into tears and told her he had written the song, and he would give anything to feel the joy he had felt when he wrote it. Surprised, the woman reassured him that God’s streams of mercy still flowed. Robert was touched, and turned back to the Lord.

 

Robert Robinson died on June 8, 1790 at the age of 55

 

 

 

Dr. Dale R. Hart: Adapted from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I. (Thompson/Cummins) pp. 236 -237.