Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Matthew 27:57-66 (KJV)
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:
58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
The Fruit of the Spirit is Love
(Galatians 5:22a)
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The hallmark of a growing Christian is growing in love, biblical love! It is attested by an unfeigned, sacrificial love for our brethren.
The Jews rejected salvation or righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. They were confounded, like Cain, found in error. God did not leave them without hope and help but sent His Son to save them. They had a visible picture of godliness in Jesus Christ. They saw the miracles. They heard His teaching. They experienced His power when He walked the highway of Israel. Yet, they missed the point. An impossibility, come to think of it, yet they were truly in error. They would not repent of their misunderstanding of the truth.
Do you have loved ones and friends outside God’s kingdom? Do you pray for them? Have you been praying for years now and there is still no change? May we continue to pray, trusting God. Pray and not faint and wait upon Him. God grant us patience. Pray also to be a sanctifying influence to the presence of God in their lives. To witness that God is real. He is a good God that helps His people.
Thank God for simple faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is the greatest gift anyone can ever hope to possess. There is a chorus for your encouragement:
Only Jesus, Only Jesus
Only He can satisfy,
All my burdens are turn to blessings
When I know my Lord is nigh.
Amen.
The essence of God’s law is nothing less than the expression of God’s character – His holiness and His love. True holiness and true love begins with a transformed heart. There is an inner holiness and love present in the heart. It is not a mechanical outward obedience of the Pharisees. That’s not true righteousness, Jesus pointed out.
2 Kings 5:1-15 (KJV)
1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
Today, we see the gospel is truly preached throughout the world. With the advancement of modern technology, travel has been revolutionalized. Unreached regions now become accessible for the spread of the gospel. Yet, the world seemed to be oblivion of their Saviour. Many still reject God in Jesus Christ. There is coming a Great Tribulation that the world has never experienced. This world will be destroyed. Comparing scripture with scripture, we see this judgement recorded by the Apostle Peter in
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
The Apostle Paul revealed the spiritual state of the Israel, that though there is a multitude, yet only a remnant shall be saved. Jesus said that in the days prior to His coming, the spiritual state of the church will be cold, faith will be wanting. There is a remnant of His people whom God will use to prepare the world to meet their Christ.
The Apostle Paul is citing the prophet Isaiah’s prediction in Isaiah 10:22 of God’s judgement upon Israel by the Babylonians because her sins. However, God will preserve for Himself a faithful remnant though Israel was a great multitude. By quoting this text, he is calling attention to the parallel that among the Jews of Jesus’ day, many rejected Him but there is a remnant who received Him. Truly, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army and the Jews scattered in A.D. 70.