2 CORINTHIANS 1
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea.
20 For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
YES AND AMEN
Man is incapable of saving himself from the penalty of sin which is death. All of his attempts to improve himself can do nothing to make him right with the living God. As Jesus said in John 15, “Without me…YE CAN DO NOTHING.”
Becoming a Christian is the most significant thing anyone can do, because it deals with the root cause of their pain – alienation from God.
Paul who was preaching the gospel in Corinth, says in verse 19 that the gospel he had been preaching was not yea or nay, or yes or no, but it was the truth completely and utterly. Jesus does not say one thing and mean another, he is not yes and no…but YES. To love, He says, YES. To Joy, He says YES. To Peace, He says YES. To you, He says YES!
Therefore every promise that we have is based on Him and if He is truth then we can depend on the promises He made. When He says that HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US…count on it. A promise is only as good as the person making it. In Christ their is “no variableness or shadow of turning.” His promises are sure and His Word is truth. Lean on Him. Depend on Him. Trust in Him.
MATTHEW HENRY PUTS IT LIKE THIS:
For God is true, and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is true. The true God, and eternal life. Jesus Christ, whom the apostle preached, is not yea and nay, but in him was yea (v. 19), nothing but infallible truth. And the promises of God in Christ are not yea and nay, but yea and amen, v. 20. There is an inviolable constancy and unquestionable sincerity and certainty in all the parts of the gospel of Christ. If in the promises that the ministers of the gospel make as common men, and about their own affairs, they see cause sometimes to vary from them, yet the promises of the gospel covenant, which they preach, stand firm and inviolable. Bad men are false; good men are fickle; but God is true, neither fickle nor false. The apostle, having mentioned the stability of the divine promises, makes a digression to illustrate this great and sweet truth, that all the promises of God are yea and amen. For, 1. They are the promises of the God of truth (v. 20), of him that cannot lie, whose truth as well as mercy endureth for ever. 2. They are made in Christ Jesus (v. 20), the Amen, the true and faithful witness; he hath purchased and ratified the covenant of promises, and is the surety of the covenant, Heb. 7:22. 3. They are confirmed by the Holy Spirit.
Have full confidence in God’s promises. He will speak peace in the midst of your storm. Keep praying. Keep believing.
God bless you
Keith
MATTHEW 23
1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
MOVE YOUR FINGERS
Jesus spoke harshly and exposed the religious leaders of His day. Many times Jesus warned His disciples about the Pharisee’s hypocrisy; And He sternly charged His disciples to not follow their example of self-righteousness and pretentious worship. Which raises the following question: Where did the Pharisees go wrong? Well, here are three things amongst many:
PRIDE: The Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses. Not only did Moses lead Israel out of Egypt…he also judged them.. The seat of Moses is a place of prominence and influence.
It is a place where everyone can see and applaud you. This high place caused them to be lifted up in pride. Proverbs reminds us, “Pride comes before a fall…”
HYPOCRISY: The Pharisees placed burdensome rules upon the people that they themselves were not willing to follow.
CORRUPT: The Pharisees abused their authority by setting expectations on the people to keep them in bondage.
We are not to be like them, in these three ways:
Firstly, we are not to sit in judgement over people. I wonder do we like to sit in the place of judgement and decision making. (See Matthew 7:1-3). Are you craving the best seat in the house? Do you seek your own glory?
Secondly, we are to do what we say. The greatest form of hypocrisy is to tell people to live a life that we are not willing to live ourselves. For example, if I say to someone, that they must share the gospel and never share it myself, I am acting like a Pharisee. Romans 2:19-25
Thirdly, we are here to liberate people by the gospel of Christ. The Galatian church had a rule book longer than my arm. Their useless rules were like a ball and chain around their leg, stopping them going forward. The gospel is not about rules, it is about relationship. It is about grace. It is about mercy.
Jesus said that the Pharisees didn’t move even one of their fingers to ease the burden of the people. And moving your finger is the smallest movement you can make. We need not only to move our fingers…but we are to move our hearts to serve and to love and to liberate those in bondage by sharing the gospel of Christ.
God bless you
Keith