The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Schoolmaster

  • What is Required

    “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

    Micah 6:8

    Micah was an Old Testament prophet. He called the people to “hear” God’s Words that God gave Micah to deliver. He warned the people that God saw their sin, and judgment was coming because of habitual sin. Micah spoke mainly to Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah heard the message from God delivered by Micah, and this prompted King Hezekiah to make great reformations in Judah (see Jeremiah 26:18). Because Hezekiah sought God during those days, God defeated the Assyrian army for them (see 2 Kings 18-19).

    Like many prophets before him, Micah reminded the people where they had failed, calling for the people to repent and to have a right relationship with God. Recognize just how foul the people’s understanding of God had become. “6. Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? 7. Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6-7). They honestly had become so influenced by the bad kings (think of King Ahaz who offered his son as a sacrifice to the god Molech), that they actually believed God would accept the sacrifice of a firstborn child to gain forgiveness from God. By asking these questions of God, they revealed their hearts toward God.

    It would be good to remember back to King Saul. He thought the offering was more important than obeying God’s Word. Samuel reminded him that it was a right heart, not outward actions that God wanted. “And Samuel said, 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” (1 Samuel 15:22). These thoughts help us understand the Old Testament viewpoint that religious ritual devoid of spiritual reality and a life that is dedicated to the Lord is worthless (see Psalm 40:6-8; Isaiah 1:10-20).

    What does God want? What does He require? God had already told them what He required of them – they had just chosen to disregard God’s commands. “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8). This is the same message God had preached to the people from the beginning of time. All God expects from His people is for them to walk humbly with Him. Remember the following: “4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). After reading how far the people had gotten from God, can you understand why God wanted them to constantly talk about His commands and teach them to their children? Then they would constantly be reminded of what God’s Words were. Even with the Law in the Old Testament, the people did not understand that they could not become a righteous person in and of themselves. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). All of the Law was to reveal that they were a sinful people who had nothing to offer, but deserved the penalty of death before a Holy God. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

    Remember Cain. He rose up and killed his brother because God did not accept his sacrifice. Cain had a religious ritual, but he did not have a spiritual reality – coming before God with a true heart. God saw Cain’s heart (which was revealed to us by the killing of his brother). Where does this leave one?

    Remember what Jesus said when the people asked what work they needed to do. “28. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:28-29). Later, Paul and Silas tell a man what to do when he asks: “30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31). Faith is the opposite of works. One must believe on Jesus because He is the one who paid the penalty for sin (His death on the cross), enabling one to be saved. It is then, and only then, that one is able to do what God requires: “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (see Micah 6:8). When you read Galatians 5:22-23, this explains that these actions are only enabled by the Holy Spirit which is given to one when they are saved.

    Have you trusted in Jesus, enabling you to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

    How to be Saved

  • The Law

    “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
    Psalm 1:2

    We are taught that obeying laws is important and that there are penalties to be paid if we break them. Consider the importance of laws. We are to understand that God has laws. His laws are significant, and obedience is very important to God as we can see throughout His Word, and most notably in the Old Testament. Often we recognize God’s discipline on those who break His laws.

    The first five books in the Old Testament are referred to as “The Law.” Within these books we find the first 2,500 years of history recorded by Moses. The first book, Genesis, begins with the creation, records the ruin of man through sin, but it also reveals the sovereignty of God. The word sovereignty means “supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; as a sovereign ruler of the universe.” We understand that God is the sovereign God of all who love and obey Him.

    One easy way to remember Genesis and the events within is to recognize:

    Four main events take place:

    • The Creation
    • The Fall
    • The Flood
    • The Tower of Babel  

    Genesis deals mainly with Four People:

    • Abraham
    • Isaac
    • Jacob
    • Joseph

    After about four hundred years, God’s people grew into a nation numbering around two to three million people in Egypt. This is where Exodus (which means “the way out” or “outgoing”) begins. At the culmination of the ten plagues, we see the mighty deliverance of God’s people from a land of bondage. Shortly after this they meet at the foot of Mount Sinai. It was at Mount Sinai that the Law was given (beginning with the Ten Commandments; Exodus 19-20). The Israelites were taught that obedience to God is necessary. They could not be a redeemed, set-apart people unless they obeyed God’s command.

    In Leviticus, God spoke to Moses from the tabernacle instead of Mount Sinai. The people needed to know how to live. God instituted the offerings, the priesthood, a clean lifestyle, and the different feasts. These things were teach the people how to live as a people wholly given to God in every aspect of their lives. Leviticus shows the ability to have fellowship with God when we come to Him as a sanctified people (because He is holy, and we are a sinful people). Leviticus ends with the blessings of obedience and the penalties for disobedience. Only about a month’s time passes during Leviticus.

    The name Numbers comes from a numbering of the people at the beginning of the book and then again at the end. There were two groups of people, an old generation and a new generation. When the twelve spies were sent into the land promised to Abraham, only Joshua and Caleb brought back report that God would allow them to conquer the land. When the Israelites disobeyed God’s command to cross over into the Promised Land, they were disciplined. The old generation would die and not enter because they refused to obey God. Only Joshua and Caleb escaped God’s discipline (wandering in the wilderness for forty years). Fewer than forty years elapse during Numbers where we see God guiding, providing, and protecting His people.

    Deuteronomy begins by looking back to what God had done for His people and then looking forward. The entire book shows the faithfulness of God revealing that God loves His people. Moses warned the people to not forget the words of God’s Law, revealing the blessings for following God’s Law and the curse of God if they failed to obey. Joshua is appointed the new leader of the new generation, and Moses dies.

    After remembering the books of “The Law,” see that they help us understand God and what He expects from His people. We also learn that it is quite impossible to obey every law that God has given us. In the New Testament we gain some insight as to why it is important to know “The Law” of the Old Testament. “24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:24-26).

    Have you understood “The Law” is a schoolmaster to show the need for Jesus?

    Originally posted at Lighthouse Gospel Beacon

  • The Appointment

    “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”
    Hebrews 9:27

    Have you ever had an appointment that changed the course of your life? What about a missed opportunity that you can never go back to correct?

    One cannot help but remember an event that took place in the Bible. Jesus had been teaching the people when a young man came to Him with a question. “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). This is an important question for each person to ask. He had the right question. Read Jesus’ reply, “ And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18). Jesus was making a point. The man recognized Jesus as a great man and a good teacher, but he had not acknowledged that Jesus was God. That makes all of the difference! Jesus asked this young man about the commandments (for people understood that God expects people to obey His commands). Jesus began to list from the Ten Commandments. “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother” (Mark 10:19). Each of these has to do with an outward duty as opposed to a change of an inward nature. They deal with people’s relationship with one another. Do you notice what is missing? The first four of the Ten Commandments that have to do with one’s relationship with God are missing. After Jesus had listed the final six of the Ten Commandments, see the young man’s response, “And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth” (Mark 10:20).

    Here we come to the heart of the matter – a time of decision. Notice that Jesus loved him, but would this young man follow Jesus’ requirement? “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21). Did this young man truly desire eternal life? Was he willing to give the temporal things this world has to offer in exchange for a life pleasing God and eternity with Him? Would he continue as he was, or would he choose Jesus? Read his response. “And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22). He was sad, yet he just went away grieved. He was not willing to part with his possessions for a relationship with Jesus. Read what Jesus had previously warned: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

    This young man had not understood a very important thing: “24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:24-25).

    Remember: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). This young man would be judged according to the decision he made concerning Jesus.

    Do you live under a schoolmaster?

    Or have you been justified by faith in Jesus?