Author: drthomasclothier

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” (2 Timothy 4:1–3 ESV)

For the next several days, we will take a sabbatical from our study of The Gospel of Matthew. Instead, the focus will be on the doctrine of truth.

We live in a world in which objective truth is attacked. Any overall, objective truth claim made by anyone faces ridicule because of the presumption that there is no objective truth applicable to all. In other words, there is no meta-narrative, except the contradictory claim that there is no meta-narrative. For in saying there is no meta-narrative, those who say this are in effect making an objective, meta-narrative truth claim. Think about it!

King Solomon wrote that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11). All that is occurring in the contemporary world occurred in the ancient world. This is especially applicable to the attack upon truth. Pontius Pilate, when interrogating Jesus, cynically asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:33-38).

What is truth? Truth (ἀλήθεια; aletheia) refers to what is real or what actually happened. It is that which corresponds to reality. It is what is factual. In the secular world, life is random and truth is relative. The Bible sets forth that life is purposeful and truth is absolute.

“What is truth? It is defined as that which conforms to fact. It is genuineness, veracity, or actuality. In a word, truth is reality. It is how things actually are,” explains Dr. Steven J. Lawson.

“Theologically, truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Truth is the self-disclosure of God Himself. It is what it is because God declares it so and made it so. All truth must be defined in terms of God, whose very nature is truth.”

God the Father is the “God of truth (Psalm 31:5; Isaiah 65:16). Jesus Christ “is full of truth” (John 1:14). Jesus Christ is the truth (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). The Apostle Paul called Scripture “the Word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

How has the fallen world reacted to this biblical definition of truth? Unfortunately, not very well. The fallen world, along with the Devil attacks, ridicules and dismisses truth. We will give examples as to how when next we meet.

Pray today that the Lord would sanctify you in His truth; His Word is truth (John 17:17). Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ⁴¹ The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:40–42 ESV)

In today’s text, Jesus brought His instructions to the Twelve Apostles to a conclusion. In preparing them for service, He gave them authority over diseases (Matt. 10:1-4). He sent them out to minister to the Jews alone (10:5-15). He compared them to sheep in the midst of wolves (10:16-23). He warned them that people would malign them because they belonged to Him (10:24-25). He commanded them to have no fear (10:26-33). He prepared them for conflict among people caused by the Gospel (10:34-39).

Finally, Jesus taught His men three more truths. They concern the sender, the sent and the behavior by the recipients.

First, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” To receive (δέχομαι; dechomai) means to welcome, accept and believe. The logical flow in the text is that people who welcomed the apostles’ Gospel welcomed Jesus Christ who commissioned the apostles with the Gospel. By doing so, they also welcomed God the Father who sent the Gospel message by Jesus Christ.

Second, “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.” The principle here is that those who receive ambassadors, or emissaries, of another are in effect receiving the individual who sent them. To receive the disciples of Jesus Christ is to receive Jesus Christ who sent the disciples.

Third, “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Jesus pronounced an oracle of blessing upon those who received the messengers along with the message. Kindness shown to Jesus’ disciples by individuals will be kindness Jesus will show them in the future. Mercy shown will be mercy given.

“If anyone would receive [the disciples] in a friendly manner, and do them kind offices, [Jesus] would be as highly pleased as if their benevolence had been exercised towards his own person; and not only so, but that in such a sacrifice God the Father would smell a sweet savor,” explains John Calvin.

The relationship between Christ and His disciples is that what we do for a believer we do for the Savior. Even if we are not in full-time ministry, all believers in Christ serve Jesus Himself when we provide for the Gospel’s extension.

How may you serve the living Savior today by serving others?

Soli deo Gloria!

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34–39 ESV)

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” The figure of speech known as oxymoron is when apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. For example, “old news,” “deafening silence,” or “organized chaos.” My favorite oxymoron is “jumbo shrimp.” Delicious!  

Jesus provided an apparent oxymoron in Matthew 10:39. To find life means to lose it? To lose one’s life means you will find it? What did Jesus mean by these statements?

To find life (εὑρίσκω; heurisko) means to actively attain life valued by the fallen world. To pursue such a life, and its lifestyle, is to eventually actively lose (ἀπόλλυμι; apollymi) eternal life that is solely found in Christ. It is better to lose the life the world offers for the sake of Christ in order to really find and possess eternal life.

“The ultimate purpose of life is to show that Jesus is more precious than life,” explains Pastor John Piper.

How often do we see people in the media who pursue with abandonment all that this life has to offer? Tragically, those who pursue life and living by the fallen world’s standards, end up either disillusioned or dead. Individuals are told to take a fentanyl pill to experience a rush they’ve never before experienced, only to forfeit their life for the promised thrill.

“Jesus does not praise heedless thrill-seekers over golfers and bowlers. He would have us remember that however we craft our lives, every heart eventually fails and everybody dies,” explains commentator Daniel M. Doriani.

“Those who live for self-die twice and may never even live once. Those who die to self, die once and live twice, now and forever.”

Be a living oxymoron today.

Soli deo Gloria!

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34–39 ESV)

As the examination of today’s text continues, Jesus explained to the Twelve Apostles the significance of conflict within human relationships due to a sinner’s conversion to Christ. Conflict with friends and family because of an individual’s faith in Christ is because of their overwhelming love for Christ. This not only changes their relationship with God the Father, but also with fellow human beings.

Jesus said, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), is to be the primary love in our lives. All other relationships are secondary to the believer’s love for God. This should not alarm us for to love God preeminently results in believers in Christ loving others appropriately.

“Whoever loves family or personal peace and prosperity more than Jesus is not fit to be His disciple. When forced to choose between Jesus and any other joy or pleasure, a disciple at least intends to choose Jesus. We may falter and fail, but it is our heart’s desire to take up our cross and follow Jesus,” explains commentator Daniel M. Doriani.

Family discord because of the Gospel is particularly referred to in this context as taking up one’s cross and following Jesus. It is a task which disciples must accept afresh each day. It is undertaking the task of serving the Lord with an attitude of self-renunciation and God glorification.

“Here is Jesus’ first mention of the word “cross” to his disciples. To them it would have evoked a picture of a violent, degrading death. He was demanding total commitment from them—even unto physical death—and making this call to full surrender a part of the message they were to proclaim to others. This same call to life-or-death devotion to Christ is repeated in 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:27. For those who come to Christ with self-renouncing faith, there will be true and eternal life (Matt. 10:39),” explains Dr. John MacArthur.

What cross are you currently taking up as your follow and live for Christ? Have you been rejected by your unconverted friends? Are members of your family in conflict with you because of your faith in Christ? Have you encountered physical suffering and persecution due to your sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Soli deo Gloria!

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34–39 ESV)

Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to Thee. – Charles Wesley

Isn’t that how most of us think of Jesus. Gentle, meek and mild. Yet today’s text portrays a different impact Jesus would have upon not only individuals but also whole families.

Even though Jesus is identified as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), He clearly taught that He did not to come to bring peace to the earth. Rather, he came to bring a sword. The sword (μάχαιρα; machaira) literally means a dagger or large knife. Metaphorically, it refers to discord and the violence of war.

Jesus explained what He meant by this provocative statement. “³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”

“Jesus did not deny that peace would result from His work. He inaugurated the rule and reign of the kingdom of God; it is characterized by lasting peace, resulting in the destruction of God’s enemies, eradication of sin and its effects, and the presence of the salvation of God. But the road to this peace is not marked with tranquility. Instead, it is filled with division and conflict. This is what is meant by the term “sword.” Luke’s account makes this even more explicit as “sword” is replaced with “division” (Luke 12:51). Division is inevitable because Jesus and His kingdom message demand a response. While some welcome Jesus, many reject Him and His message, sometimes passionately. Conflict is expected because with Jesus comes a new kingdom. Meanwhile, the prince of this world does not sit idly by,” explains Rev. Joel E. Kim.

“Jesus calls upon His disciples to persevere. He prepared them for inevitable rejection and hostility. The response of the world to Jesus and His message of peace was anything but peaceful, and we who are His disciples today should not expect anything different. While the way of the cross is far from easy or worry-free, Jesus reminds His disciples that by losing they gain, and by dying they will live.”

Soli deo Gloria!

³² “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32–33 (ESV)

As a child and teenager, I attended a Lutheran Church as did the rest of my family. Sunday worship services were liturgical in format and style. A lone organist, Mrs. Lieditch, provided musical accompaniment to the congregational singing of hymns from the Lutheran Hymnal; a copy of which I received as a Christmas present in 1965. I still have that hymnal in my office library. However, throughout those years I remained unconverted.  

It was not until my conversion to the Gospel, and subsequently attending a Baptist church, that I encountered a more extemporaneous and spontaneous worship service format. The pastor did not wear religious vestments or robes. The preaching was Gospel centered. While we at that time still used hymnals, they contained mostly Southern Gospel songs rather than classical hymns.

One feature of the service was the public invitation, or altar call, the pastor gave near the conclusion of each Sunday morning and evening service. It was the opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior and Lord by asking Him to come into your heart. The pastor asked for anyone to come forward to the front of the auditorium in order to do so.

The biblical credence and justification for this act was taken from today’s text. If you did not come forward you were not only failing to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, you were also denying Him. No mention was made of repentance. I came away with the impression that the single act of walking the aisle to the front of the sanctuary was crucial for your salvation in Christ. If you did not do so, you were not a believer in Christ.

This was a significant issue for me because I repented of my sin and received Christ as my Savior and Lord in my upstairs bedroom of my parent’s house. I never walked an aisle to the front of the auditorium in order to do so. Thereafter, I wondered if I was truly converted and whether I failed to acknowledge Christ but had instead denied Him. The counsel I received dismissed my concerns with the simple imperative to walk the aisle.

This troubled me. Was walking the sanctuary aisle indispensable to one’s conversion. If so, what about those who never did so? The response that, “If they could have, they would have” did not ring with biblical truth for me.  

I later came to understand that the public invitation to receive Christ is not explicitly found in Scripture but rather was developed by revivalist Charles Finney (1792-1875). He called it the Anxious Bench. It was one of his New Measures that supported the idea that conversion to Christ was not God sovereignly ordained but rather was/is solely a man-centered decision.

“Finney instituted the altar call, pleading during that prolonged service for sinners to come forward, kneel at the bench before the platform, confess their sins, and be saved. The New Measures were necessarily bound to Finney’s theology, which was also not only new but an intentional and decided departure from the Calvinism and from the doctrine of the sovereignty of God that dominated the First Great Awakening. Perhaps Benjamin B. Warfield best summed up Finney’s deficient theology when he observed that you could remove God from it and it would not change much of anything,” explains Dr. Stephen J. Nichols.

To acknowledge (ὁμολογέω; homologeo) means to profess, admit and declare Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. How is this to be done by someone walking an aisle and as an unconverted sinner who is then taken to a counseling room to become a converted saint?

The answer lies in the context of Jesus’ instructions to His apostles. Those who truly received the Gospel message of repentance of sin and faith in Christ would acknowledge and declare this reality before others. Those who remained unconverted would instead deny Christ. This acknowledgment would indicate if someone was a true believer or not. Rather than an invitation for the unbeliever to receive Christ, today’s text concerns the believer’s declaration of Christ.

Those who acknowledge Jesus Christ here on earth. Jesus Christ will acknowledge in heaven before God the Father. The opposite is true for those who deny Christ. This became the case with Judas Iscariot. While the other eleven apostles publically affirmed Christ as Savior and Lord, Judas, by his behavior, did not.

True conversion is by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone; plus nothing. It is solely a work of the sovereign God. Even faith is a gracious gift (Eph. 2:1-9; Phil. 1:29; 2 Peter 1:1-2). Salvation is a sovereign act by God.

Soli deo Gloria!

²⁹ “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29–31 ESV)

For those of us who live north of the Equator, it is the summer season. It is the time of year of warm days, extended hours of daylight, outside activities, family vacations, and many other enjoyments. It is when God’s creative handiwork is once again on full display in all that surrounds us.  

Think of the birds of the air. Each morning at dawn, they sing a symphony of praise in the trees; from the distinctive call of the Cardinal to the melancholy sound by the Mourning Dove.

Jesus illustrated the believer’s trust in the One, True God of Creation and Covenant by the sparrow. Sparrows are common birds. They live in the depths of coal mines and in cavernous warehouses. In many cultures, sparrows are believed to symbolize joy, community, teamwork, protection, simplicity, hard work or self-worth. In Europe’s Middle Ages, sparrows were believed to represent peasants and the lower class. Sparrows are often viewed as worthless.

Jesus did not ignore this commonly held view of sparrows. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” The answer to His rhetorical question would have been yes. They were worth no more than a Roman copper coin, which was 1/16 of a denarius (a day’s wages) in value. Sparrows were cheap.

“Sparrows were one of the cheapest items sold for poor people’s food in the marketplace, the cheapest of all birds. Two were here purchased for an Assarion, a small copper coin of little value (less than an hour’s work). Luke 12:6 seems to indicate that they were even cheaper if purchased in larger quantities,” explains commentator Craig Keener.

However, Jesus also said, “And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” God the Father’s care of sparrows parallels His even greater care  of humans who He created in His image (Gen. 1:26-27). Today’s text parallels what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6).  

The Lord intimately knows and cares for each of His children. God is in control of everything. This includes the fall of the sparrow to the number of hairs on our heads. He is sovereign. Therefore, we need not fear when facing persecution for the Gospel. As Jesus said, “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

“It is surprising that in the middle of giving His disciples a crash course in gospel work—including prospects of bloodshed, betrayal, loneliness, and fear—Jesus suddenly brings up the topic of sparrows. Though they’re small, insignificant birds, not a single struggling fledgling is forgotten by the Father. Jesus tells the disciples, “You are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:31),” explains Dr. Tim Keesee.

“I’m sure the disciples never looked at sparrows the same way again, because in these unremarkable creatures is the remarkable reminder of God’s constant care for His people.”

Soli deo Gloria!  

²⁸ “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28 ESV)

Jesus told the Twelve Apostles to not personally fear anyone who could physically hurt them. The Lord did not deny the possibility that these men could face martyrdom for the truth of the Gospel. The implication is clear for believers today.

Fear (φοβέω; phobeo) can mean to be alarmed or afraid. It is a feeling of dread, perhaps when facing physical death. The reason for the believer’s fearlessness in the reality of physical death for Christ is that the enemies of the Gospel cannot kill the believer’s soul. Their inner self is untouchable and inextinguishable.

⁶ “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” (2 Corinthians 5:6–9 ESV)

“²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”(Philippians 1:20–21 ESV)

⁶ “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6–8 (ESV)

Rather, Jesus warned the apostles, and us, to fear the One, True God who has the power and authority to condemn unrepentant sinners to hell; the eternal place of punishment. This is the fear of respect and worship. While believers in Christ are not to fear man, we are to fear God.

“The fear of man is not simply the fear of the harm that men may do to us. Surely the fear of harm partly drives our desire to be approved by men. However, most properly, the fear of man is, as (John) Bunyan put it, “the fear of losing man’s favor, love, goodwill, help, and friendship.” Simply put, it is “an idol of approval.” We seek to avoid persecution because of “idols of approval,” “comfort,” or “pleasure.” These idols lead us to compromise in order to gain approval—to give in to wickedness in order to gain acceptance and peace. It puts us in a vicious cycle of idolatry. Miserable though it is, the fear of man is the soul’s default setting,” explains Rev. Nicholas Batzig.

However, the fear of the Lord “is wisdom” (Job 28:28); “the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7); “hatred of evil” (8:13); “a fountain of life” (14:27); and “the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13). The Prophet Isaiah called it a “treasure” (Isa. 33:6).

Who, or what, are you fearing today. It must not be man, or the culture of fallen man. Proper fear, respect and worship is to be centered in the One, True, Eternal God of the Scriptures. Have a God-fearing day.

Soli deo Gloria!