O Blessed Sinner

IBS Application for Mark 4:10-11 “And when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parables. And He said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables...’” Here, we catch a glimpse of the sort of relationship we have with God as His disciples and students. These people who were following Him along with the twelve questioned Him concerning why He spoke so often to them and others in parables. His response to their question also proves to be an encouragement to all believers, as it pertains to our ability to discern the meaning of the lessons God teaches us. For now, I want to focus on the followers’ willingness to ask a question concerning why Jesus was so intent on teaching in parables. To some, this may seem overtly disrespectful towards Jesus, as it could appear as though they are questioning His authority or legitimacy as a teacher. I can see how people would think that; He te...

IBS Application for 1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” This verse is fairly easy to understand, I think. Peter, knowing that the world and the things of the world are going to pass away, decides that it would be wise to inform and advise the dispersed Church of this truth to encourage them and give them a command as to how they ought to live in response to this. The command in this verse is essentially to live a prayerful life for the Lord. There’s something to be said about a man who prays in such a manner, who thinks about those people and things outside of himself for their sakes. We are to pray that God would carry out His will for us all, so that all might potentially come to know Him and receive His grace. We are to be watchful for His return, as well, for that too is close at hand. But Peter adds something to this command that I think is quite prudent. He tells them to be “s...

IBS Application for 1 Samuel 11:11-13 “And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. Then the people said to Samuel, ‘Who is it that said, “Shall Saul reign over us?” Bring the men, that we may put them to death.’ But Saul said, ‘Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.’” Saul, although he became quite the wicked man in his later years, still did what was right in the eyes of the Lord at this point. Because of his faith in the Lord, the Lord gave the Ammonites into the hands of Saul and Israel. But what is particularly striking about this passage is the self-control he demonstrated when his men confronted Samuel asking for permission to put those to death who were mocking Saul and saying that they wouldn’t be led by h...

IBS Application for Psalm 119:11/Mark 1:35 “I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.” It seems clear to me what the message in these passages is about: having a good devotional life. Both the Psalmist and Jesus kept good practice in their devotional time to the Father. They both spent time reflecting on Scripture and in prayer to have a good relationship with the Father. And having a relationship with the Father is ultimately the goal of devotion time. It is time we set apart for God to spend time with Him. We spend it either in prayer or studying His Word, or both. It is by spending time with God that we learn more about who He is to us, and who we are to Him. Spending time not only in study of the Word, but also in relationship with God, is very important to our growth. If we were to only take in Truth an...

IBS Application for 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Paul certainly enjoyed making comparisons between how we go about walking the walk of faith with Jesus and how athletes train their bodies. It takes discipline to do both, and as Paul regularly pointed out, it in fact is comparable to that of physical training. The author of Hebrews makes a similar comparison between walking in faith and running a race in chapter 12 of that book, when they write that in order to run the race well, we ought to run it with endurance and throw off any weights or sins that hold us back. A good...

IBS Application for 1 Timothy 4:8 “...for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” We, along with Timothy, are to exercise ourselves in godliness, so that our godliness may grow. It would seem that according to Paul, a comparison between the training we undergo to improve our bodies and the training we undergo to improve our godliness is possible and useful to understanding how we can improve our godliness. The same kind of discipline required to stay in shape physically is also required for spiritual growth. This is to say that it requires diligence, faithfulness, and getting stretched beyond your present limit. Just as muscles need to be worked to the point of breaking down, so do we have to be put through trials and tests of faith in order for us to grow in our faith and in character. No one likes being put through these trials at first, just as a person who h...

IBS Application for Philippians 3:12-13 “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead...” Paul lived life in the manner we all ought to try to live life. We have all fallen short of the standard, but Jesus has shed His blood for us that we might have His righteousness for ourselves and by made pure by His great act of love. We are all still in the process of being cleansed, however. This was Paul’s perception of things: that Jesus had already bought Paul with the price of His own life, and that Paul, having been called to be righteous and holy, needed to seek the righteousness of Christ in order to reach that goal. But this couldn’t happen without Christ, because as Paul has already said in the verses prior to this passage, his righteousnes...