Delightful Light

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Now that we are familiar with Timothy 3:16-17 , let us remember that rebuke will not feel good for those who exalt their own interpretations, assumptions, and opinions over God's written word. However, rebuke is necessary for... Faith comes from hearing the words of truth, Romans 10:17 . Without faith we cannot please God, Hebrews 11:6 , because faith produces obedience, Acts 6:7 ; Romans 1:5 , 16:26 ; Hebrews 11:8 . Obedience to the point of self denial and its resulting persecution from others demonstrates love for God, John 14:15 , through fellowship in Christ's sufferings, Philippians 3:10 , and filling up in our flesh the sufferings of Christ, Colossians 1:24 . Such love mirrors God's love for us and thus moves Him to reveal Himself to us, John...

False security will result from a belief that God's rebuke must always feel good. God is faithful and that means we can count on Him keeping His words. God promises the consequences of Deuteronomy 28  for keeping and failing to keep His commands. The following witnesses have said the same thing. For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up. Hosea 8:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Galatians 6:7 According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it. Job 4:8 So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. Proverbs 1:31 False security from platitudes like "mercy is not getting what we deserve" produces people who nullify God's words for the sake of their own wants and wills. The Pharisees did this and look what Jesus ...

Over time leaven or lies work their way through the entire body, Matthew 13:33 . Just like leaven puffs up dough the body of Christ is puffed up with knowledge, 1 Corinthians 8:1 . This is why Jesus warned us to beware of the teachings of the Pharisees, Matthew 16:12 , Mark 12:38 . Jesus was not condemning the Pharisees with His warning. He was addressing the issue that they are human and as humans make mistakes in their teachings. That is why we are commanded to "test the spirits." Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 Testing the spirits is what the Bereans did to the apostle Paul in Acts 17 . Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Acts 17:11 (NIV) Did you notice how the Bereans were de...

As previously mentioned, rebuke is needed to prepare the man of God for good works. Jesus suffered many unfounded rebukes which is why it is written that Jesus had to learn obedience from the things He suffered, Hebrews 5:8 . Did Jesus sin and therefore deserve such rebukes and was therefore forced to repent? No, but He still suffered man's evil with long suffering just like His Father does so that people will not perish, 2 Peter 3:9 . Yet because He had the eyes to see, He learned to not do the evil deeds that were done to Him. Hence, you will have trouble in this world because He had troubles. "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33   Jesus suffered because man is the ruler of the world just as God said in Genesis 1:26  and because sin comes into the world via man not Satan, Romans 5:12 . This is why Jesus said "woe ...

"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9  Because of this, a standard of measurement must exist outside the human frame in order for humans to make a right judgment concerning rebukers and rebukees. (I'm using the terms "rebuker" and "rebukee" as they seam the least emotionally charged.) That standard is the word of God found in the Holy Bible. The Bereans of Acts 17:11  are a fine example of using God's words as that standard. They were called noble-minded because they compared the words of God to the words coming out of Paul's mouth instead of relying upon human testimony that comes out of deceitful hearts. A wise man will repent at the harshest rebuke simply because he loves knowledge while the fool will scoff at the gentlest rebuke simply because he hates knowledge. The success of the reproach has nothing to do with the one who administered it as evidenced by the fact that...

Regardless of the motives within the rebuker's heart, the one rebuked may respond either as a fool who scoffs at rebuke or as a wise man who learns from it. There is no middle ground, but, there are varying degrees of either response. Remember: This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:19-20 thus: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 (NIV) The fool will scoff at rebuke regardless of the level of gentility with which the rebuke was administered, Proverbs 1:22 . On the other hand, a wise man hears reproof and learns from it, Hebrews 12:11 , simply because "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates repr...

Rebuke is not always hard to hear however, the degree of harness is directly proportional to the hardness of the heart hearing the rebuke. This is why it is written "Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another," Proverbs 27:17 . It is no surprise to find that geologists use "Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness" to measure the hardness of an unidentified rock for the purposes of identifying it. Mohs scale works like this: Start with the softest known standard rock listed on the scale and scratch the unknown rock. If damage occurs to the unidentified rock, then the unidentified rock's degree of hardness has become known. If the damage occurs to the standard, repeat step one above with the next rock standard until the degree of hardness is determined by damage to either both rocks or just the unidentified rock. How hard does God's rebuke have to be when people show contempt for His loving kindness that is suppose to lead us to repentance, Romans 2:4 ...

Now, the following question must be addressed. Has the rebuker sinned if the rebukee takes offense for any reason? Answer: depends. That is why it is written: Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes. Proverbs 26:4-5 The rebuker becomes like the fool when the rebuker does not remove the logs from their own eyes before attempting to help someone else remove what God calls that person's specks, Matthew 7:3-5 . The Apostle Paul says the same thing in Romans 2:1 . If the rebuker points one finger, the other three fingers will condemn him of doing the very thing he has judged in another.  The one who "answers a fool as his folly deserves" is the one who has learned to make a right judgment and thus, the power of God is placed upon their words of reproof,  Acts 14:3   4:29-31 , so that the fool will not be wise in his own eyes. Hence, the ...

One of the methods commonly used today to mentor a young believer in Christ is to have the new believer read a single verse and then answer the question "What do think the verse means?" Thus, this approach promotes the belief that anyone's opinion about God's words is valid. This approach produces the idea or belief that everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of God’s words. The result is a house divided against itself with as many interpretations as there are eloquent teachers to proclaim them and self-serving individuals who seek only words that tickle their ears with what they want to hear.    There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12     Furthermore, what happens when the trusted mentor unknowingly teaches lies simply because he took the word of his own trusted mentor? This is how traditional interpretations get started and are perpetuated which is why Jesus had to deal with them during His wa...

Here is the source of arguments, quarrels, or disunity according to James and Paul. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:1-3 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 2 Timothy 2:23 Genesis 4  records the very first quarrel. The quarrelling parties are brothers and the dispute ends in the death of one and God's curse upon the other. The similarity between James 4:1-3 , 2  Timothy 2:23, and Genesis 4:6-7  is explained in Genesis 6:5 which states that the thoughts of man's heart was only upon evil continually. No one can argue THAT something i...

Winds of doctrine, assumptions, interpretations, traditions, all can be very wrong even though they sound logical and good. But, they will destroy the unity of the Spirit. Unity does not occur when assumptions, opinions or interpretations are given precedence over the actual keys Jesus gave His disciples for the purpose of ruling the world the way He did, Matthew 13:11   16:19 .  Paul had to deal with the same problem in 1 Corinthians 1:12 , 3:4 . Mere men were differentiating truth by the teachings of other mere men instead of by the word of God made flesh. It is no wander that the apostle Paul defined unity in the Spirit here: Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Agreement here is defined as "no divisions" which is accomplished by the indwelling of truth. Jesus defined the ...

By its very nature and definition, contradiction stands opposed to unity. So, unity in the Holy Spirit does not occur when humans contradict what is written in God's Holy Words. For example: the following five Bible verses are often used to declare Satan as the "ruler of the world." Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. John 12:31 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; John 14:30   And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. John 16:8-11 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of th...

The goal of rebuke according to 2 Timothy 3:17   is equipping of the saints for good works. Did you notice in 2 Timothy 3:16-17  that the words of rebuke come first in order to produce the actions of good works? Words must come first because, "In the beginning was the word," John 1:1 .    Words are spirit according to Jesus, John 3:34 , 6:63 . That is why demons are cast out by speaking the words of truth, Matthew 8:16 , Luke 4:36 . Thus, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to speak ill of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 12:32 ; Mark 3 :23-30; Luke 12:10 . In Mark 3:23-30 , people called the Holy Spirit by the name of Satan. This was blasphemous. Jesus then refutes their claims with the truth in a parable and by defining one of the unforgivable sins. In Mark 3, Jesus modeled the process of rebuke which includes identifying and renouncing lies by refuting them with truth. This is what the apostle spoke of when he commanded us: And do not be conformed to...

Walking in "gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love," as instructed by Ephesians 4: 2, does not allow us to ignore "being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Love is tough at times and it includes rebuke. But, love's toughness or harshness is part of the bond of peace. For Example: Stephen was the prime non-original-disciple-example of preserving the "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." His example can be seen completely parallel to Jesus's own testimony of unity with the Father. Stephen spoke the words the father gave him. He did the things Jesus did, and God testified to that bond with signs and wonders. Yet, Stephen's love turned out to tough and harsh to the people Stephen spoke with. Here's how. The Bible explicitly testifies about Stephen's character in Acts 6:5 , 8  and to his words and behavior in chapter seven. Compare this with Jesus in the following ...

Jesus spoke, "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me," Matthew 11:6 . Taking offense is man's choice. When Jesus spoke Matthew 11:6 , He knew one day that 58 out of the original 70 disciples would fall away because of their own chosen offense at the spoken living yet hard words of God, John 6 . Falling away from Christ is a choice and God gives us over to our choices: and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. Ephesians 4:19 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. Romans 1:24    Jesus spoke Matthew 11:6  to people who were following the son of a High Priest, Luke 1 , but Jesus was the son of a carpenter, Matthew 13:55 . It was Jesus who cleansed people from the demons which caused the people's afflictions, Ephesians 4:27 , by forgiving their sins, Matthew 9:2-6...

The same God who wrote Ephesians 4:1-6 also taught that His words are hard to receive: All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11 "Is not My word like fire?" declares the Lord, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock? Jeremiah 23:29 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 Jesus *said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE Lord, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'? 43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 "And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on ...