Anathema Maranatha

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-16-2026

1 Corinthians 16:22

 

Introduction: 

A.  Tonight I want to look at two words, Anathema Maranatha. 

 

1. Very unusual words because they both are First Mention, Last Mention, Full Mention, and Only Mention words found in succession.  This is the only case that I have found in the Bible. 

 

2. Therefore, it is of great importance that the Holy Ghost only inspired it to the Corinthian Church’s first epistle.  Also, it came in the ending salutation to a church greatly loved by the Apostle Paul. 

 

3. It shows his concern for the welfare of the entire church, both spiritual and carnal, and possibly saved and lost! 

 

B.  Verse 22 is a sobering verse.  It expresses a pastoral fear that I am all too familiar with as a pastor.  To love all the people that attend our church and fear that someone may die without a saving knowledge of Christ and spend an eternity in hell!

 

Matthew 7:13-14  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  (14)  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 

C. It is not that salvation is complex and difficult to obtain, but that salvation is simple.

 

Acts 16:27-31  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.  (28)  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.  (29)  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,  (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.

 

Romans 10:9-10  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 

D. There have always been people who chose the way of the world over the way of the cross.  From Cain, Adam and Eve’s first born, to the last born of our day, there are some who choose the way of Cain over the way of Abel!  Works over faith, the world over Christ, self over salvation!

 

E.  This verse expresses that fear and reality of the possibility of unsaved within the congregation of the Corinthian Church!  This sobering thought should bring about the self-examination of the individuals.  Paul reiterates this in the Second Corinthians Epistle:

2 Corinthians 13:5-6  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?  (6)  But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

 

F.  “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” Paul closes his first letter to the church at Corinth with a statement that is both loving and sobering. 

 

1. Up to this point, Paul took everyone in Corinth at their word.  They professed salvation and Paul left that between the individual and God, as it should be. 

 

2. Now he does not question anyone’s salvation! He exposes the possibility. This verse must have had evidence to be put there.  In a carnal church, people are expected to react in a positive way to the truth of God’s Word and, yet some continued to willfully refuse the instruction of God’s Word and remained carnal. 

 

3. Though we know that sinful Lot in the Old Testament was called righteous, just, and godly in the New, failure to hear and heed are also characteristics of the unsaved.

 

G.  What does Anathema Maranatha mean!  Most of you older, more mature believers, have a general idea of what Paul said, but I want to carefully look at it tonight.

 

1. Anathema.  

 

a) In 1 Corinthians 16:22, the word “Anathema” is a very strong one, and understanding its biblical meaning helps us understand Paul's warning.

 

b) In its basic biblical usage, it refers to something set apart for destruction, devoted to destruction, or placed under an eternal curse. This is not a temporal thing but an everlasting one.

 

c) A person who rejects or refuses to love the Lord Jesus places himself under God's judgment. It is not merely saying, “Let that person be disliked or rejected by Christians.” It is much more serious. Paul is speaking of divine judgment and eternal separation from God.

 

d) To quote Paul again, the words ring out: “except ye be reprobates?” God will noy always strive with man.  There comes a time when an individual crosses a line with God and salvation is no longer available!

 

  2. Maranatha.

 

a) This makes the verse even more powerful. “Maranatha” means essentially “Our Lord, come!” A pronouncement of a future event when the Judge of all the earth will come in judgment, not salvation.

 

b) Therefore, Paul's thought can be understood like this: when someone rejects the Lord Jesus, he remains under impending, eminent, eternal judgment of God. But the church is looking forward to the day when our Lord Jesus will return.

 

H.  In verse 22, we find both warning and hope! 

 

1.  Warning to those who continue in willful disobedience to both God’s Word and open invitation.

 

2. Hope that someone will awake out of spiritual sleep, turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and erase “Anathema Maranatha” from their eternal future!

 

J.  Evidence of loving God:

 

1. You keep God’s commandments. John 14:15 — “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

 

1 John 5:3 — “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.”

 

2. You love God’s Word. Psalm 119:97 — “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”

 

Psalms 119:165  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

 

3. You love God’s house. Psalm 84:2 — “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD.”

 

4.  You love your life in God. Psalm 63:1 — “My soul thirsteth for thee.”

 

Matthew 22:37 — “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

 

5.  You have a hatred for sin. Psalm 97:10 — “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil.”

 

6.  You have a desire to live a holy life.  1 Peter 1:15-16  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  (16)  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

 

7.  You are faithful to God. 1 Corinthians 4:2  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

 

8. You long for His appearing. 1 John 3:2-3  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  (3)  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

 

Titus 2:11-13  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,  (12)  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;  (13)  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

 

1 Peter 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

True Worship

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-13-2026

Psalm 100

 

Introduction:

A. I can think of not better verses to introduce this Psalm with than the words of our Lord in John chapter 4, when speaking to the woman at the well.  In His words, we find both commandment and order. 

 

John 4:23-24  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  (24)  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

 

1. In spirit (this is not the Holy Ghost.  Our spirit is God conscious and to be controlled.  We are to be orderly in our worship. 

 

1 Corinthians 14:32  And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.   

 

2. I did not say liturgical, I said orderly for God is not a God of confusion and disorder.

 
1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

1 Corinthians 14:40  Let all things be done decently and in order.

3. And in truth, to be consistent with the biblical teaching of sound doctrine.

 

B. Every line of Psalm 100 has spirit and order with no confusion in either order or purpose.

 

C. I want to look at the Psalm backwards tonight as it shows the Who, Where, and How of worship in a godly, biblical way.

 

1. Verse 5. The Person of Praise.  “The LORD!”  We are not here to elevate this pastor or the people with praise.  We are here to worship the LORD, who alone is worthy of praise.  It there is anything good in this world, He made it. 

 

a. For the LORD is Good!  Every good and perfect gift in life comes from God, who controls everything because He owns everything.  The earth and the fullness thereof!  I have no complaints, no sad stories to tell.  Through it all, the good days and the bad days, the LORD has been better to me than I deserve!

 

b. His mercy is everlasting!  New every morning.  New because of our human frailty will fail today and tomorrow!  Naught of good that I have done turns into prone to wander, LORD, I feel it!  All the days of our lives!

 

c.  His truth endureth to all generations.  We have the same truth that God’s people have had from the beginning through divine preservation.

2. Verse 4. The Place of His Praise.  His gates and His courts, the Tabernacle and Temple in the Old Testament and the local church today. 

 

a. I am glad that we can worship, and should do so, anywhere at any time, but nothing takes the place of the House of God.

 

b. What the world hates and forsakes shows us what God loves and never forsakes.  Where two or three are gathered together, Our LORD has promised to be in the midst.  Not on the fringes but in the middle of it all!

 

3. Verses 1-4. The Performance of our Praise!

 

a. Verse 1. A Joyful Noise! A loud noise! Unto the LORD!

 

b. Verse 2. Serving with Gladness! It is getting more difficult to get people involved in the local churches.  To fill every choir seat, to help out in Sunday School, to work in VBS! Service is a wonderful thing and a glad thing. I will never be sorry for the years that Barbara and I have spent in the work of the Lord! Gladness!

 

c. Verse 2. Singing! Congregational, choir specials, special singing! Singing with the joy of the LORD in our hearts.

 

d. Verse 3. Remembrance!  He is God, we are His, and He is ours!  My little children, write I unto you in 1 John chapter 2 and 3! Beloved, now are we the sons of God! That should thrill our souls to know that we are children of the Lord!

 

e. Verse 4. Thanksgiving! Enter into His gates with thanksgiving ... be thankful unto Him” In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, concerning you!  Giving thanks with a thankful heart for all this and heaven too!

 

f. Verse 4.  Praise!  The last 5 Psalms begin and end with the phrase “Praise ye the LORD!”  Praise Him for His love, compassion, substitutionary death-burial-bodily resurrection, forgiveness, mercy and grace!

 

g.  Verse 4.  Adoration!  Blessing the LORD only with our lips, but also with our lives! We owe it all to Him for without Him I would be lost and on my way to hell tonight.  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name tonight!

The Joy of Going to Church

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-13-2026

Psalm 122

 

Introduction:

A. What a privilege it is to gather together in the house of God!

 

1. Today’s generation is too busy for church! Yet, in the busyness of life, it can sometimes be difficult to see church as something we truly look forward to rather than another responsibility on an already full schedule. 

 

2. So many of God’s children have lost the joy of their salvation which will cause them to lose their joy of going to church!  The major four things that will cause us to lose our joy are:

 

a) Sin - Psalms 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

 

b) Situations - Habakkuk 3:17-18  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  (18)  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 

c) Suffering - 1 Peter 1:6-7  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:  (7)  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

 

d) Selfishness - Revelation 3:16-17  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  (17)  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

 

3. Because of this, in many of today’s churches, evening and midweek services have gradually declined as people struggle to make time for them.

 

4. I have often quoted this, but it is a great example of the existing attitude of churchgoers today. Someone once remarked, “Wednesday night services are only held to make busy people busier.”

 

5. We can certainly understand how demanding life can be, and there are seasons when our schedules leave us tired and stretched. Still, perhaps it is worth pausing to remember what a blessing it is to have a place where we can gather with God’s people.
6. The Joy of the Lord is our spiritual strength.

 

B. The house of God is not simply another appointment on our calendar. It is a place:

 

1. Where weary hearts can be refreshed. Wednesday is often called “Hump Day,” as it is the middle day of the week, and Wednesday night services are “Filling Stations” where we can refuel for the remainder of the week.

 

2. Where we enjoy the fellowship of God’s children and can encourage one another, so as to make church about others!

 

3. Where we can worship together. Oh, what joy to come to God’s house and find God at home: Bethel and El-Bethel! Abraham named a place Bethel (House of God), and later, when Jacob returned, he named it El-bethel (God of the House of God). He found God still at His House!

 

4. Where we hear and study God’s Word, so as to not be destroyed for lack of knowledge.

 

5. Where we can bring our tithes and offerings.

 

6. Where we can bless the Lord in the place that we cherish with grateful hearts.

 

C. I love to go to church. I am glad when it is time to assemble. It is not a burden; it is a blessing.

 

D. So many do not now have a love for the local church as we have!

 

1. We can tell by the lack of faithful attendance.

 

2. We can tell by the lack of willingness to stay for a while.

 

3. We can tell by the lack of emphasis placed on it in the home.

 

4. We can tell by the lack of joy and gladness in our services.

 

5. We can tell by the lack of personal invitations we give out.

 

6. We can tell by the lack of effect it has upon our lives.

 

7. We can tell by the lack of grooming of the grounds and buildings.

 

8. Psalms 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand ... I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
   (Is this our outlook on church?)

 

E. Church should be a place to enjoy.  So many of God’s people are discouraged, disappointed, etc. that going to church has become a drudgery or just a discipline.  Going to church has been one of the greatest joys of Barbara and my life.  The joy of knowing that the church needs us!  It needs you!  Often, we needed our church, and you were there when we needed you.  In the hardest times and deepest valleys of our life, the joy of church just got greater.

 

F.  What makes going to church such a joy? In Psalm 122, we find the reasons that David was glad!

 

1. God’s House is a place of Stability — vs. 2

 

2. God’s House is a place of Unity — vs. 3

 

3. God’s House is a place of Testimony — vs. 4a

 

4. God’s House is a place of Worship — vs. 4b

 

5. God’s House is a place of Judgment — vs. 5a

 

6. God’s House is a place of Promise — vs. 5b

 

7. God’s House is a place of Peace — vs. 6a, 7a

 

8. God’s House is a place of Affection — vs. 6b

 

9. God’s House is a place of Prosperity — vs. 7b

 

10. God’s House is a place of Companionship — vs. 8

 

11. God’s House is a place of Sharing — vs. 9

 

Conclusion: This morning, we are glad, sad, or mad!

Christian Love: The Holy Kiss

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-9-2026

1 Corinthians 16:13-20

Introduction:

A.  The salutation of the Apostle Paul is one of several important aspects of pastoring a church.  I note this because pastoring a church is a multifaceted work!  The Apostle Paul, like all church planting missionaries, had to be an evangelist and pastor at the same time. 

 

1.  I investigated the last part of the salutation first so as to establish a foundation for the entirety of it.  Paul loved this baby, carnal, confused, divided, hard headed at times (“yet carnal”) local church!

 

2.  Paul’s love for these Corinthian believers caused him to give them the other parts of the salutation.  The pastor must be God’s man first and place both the Word of God and Charge from God above all things yet temper these two things with love and compassion.

 

3.  The Holy Ghost put the words into Paul’s mouth because they and us as well need them.

 

B. Tonight, I want to look at a custom in Paul’s day that has faded or vanished in our day.  The question now could be asked, “Then why are you preaching on it?”  Because it is still relevant in our day!  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and brought to us through the preservation of God.

 

C. If the Apostle Paul thought it necessary, then I can biblically say that it is relevant and needs to be practiced tonight and every service because we have been apart throughout the week.  He mentioned this custom 4 times in 4 different Church Epistles and, if God only mentioned it once, that would have been enough.

 

Romans 16:16  Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

 

1 Corinthians 16:20  All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

 

2 Corinthians 13:12  Greet one another with an holy kiss.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:26  Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.

 

D. Only one dear brother, many years ago, greeted me on various occasions by placing his cheek against mine and, though his lips never touched me, I could hear the little kiss.  I took no offense because he was a godly brother in Christ that, though he was not a member here, loved and respected me.

 

E. Our tradition here at Temple Baptist is to take a time of fellowship, just before preaching, and shake everyone’s hands! 

 

1.  Some churches have people just turn around in their pew and shake the hands that they can reach, but our church filles the isles and, hopefully, shakes everyone’s hands! 

 

2.  Oh, what joy and, oh what love it expresses. I enjoy our times of fellowship and handshaking!!! If you did not get your hand shook tonight, it is because you shook no hands.

 

F.  It is sad that, in our day, we get caught up in our fellowship with the world and not our fellowship with one another.

 

1.  With all this in mind, let us take a closer look at this beautiful tradition hand down from generation to another for thousands of years.  I say thousands of years because it was found in the earliest records of the Old Testament. 

 

2.  It may be outdated here but is still practiced in the Middle East.  While customs have changed, the principle remains.

 

1 Corinthians 16:20  All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

 

1. “All.”  The Bible has so much to say on the subject of unity!  Without perfect unity, the work of the local church would falter and eventually fail.

 

2. “the brethren”  If you are not saved, you are exempt!  If you are saved, then you should be willingly involved.  Pardon me, but I love everyone here.  I try to make sure that I shake hands with everyone here tonight.  If I skip you, stand up, come up here, and shake my hand

 

3. “holy”  There is several kisses found in your Bible, and not every kiss is holy

 

a.  The Kiss of Deception.  Genesis 27:26-27  And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.  (27)  And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

 

b.  The Kiss of Death.  2 Samuel 20:9-10  And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.  (10)  But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

 

c.  The Kiss of Defilement.  Proverbs 7:10-13  And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.  (11)  (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:  (12)  Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)  (13)  So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 

 

e.  The Kiss of Disloyalty.  Matthew 26:48-49  Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.  (49)  And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

 

4.  “kiss”  The kiss expressed several things in days gone by. The kiss found in our text is a holy kiss.  One of great purity.  Our handshakes during fellowship are meant to express anxiety, deceit, or harm of any kind!

 

a.  A kiss was a form or greeting and still is in the Middle East.  Meeting someone that you have missed seeing.  How good it is to come to church and see all your smiling faces after a few days seeing the unhappiness of the world!

 

b.  A kiss is an expression of love and friendship. As we are one in Christ, we are to be one in church.  I dealt with the enemy of division last week.  What a spiritual travesty!

 

c.  “holy kiss” expresses intent.  God forbid that I shake your hand with the intent of hurt.  Men are like that!  I knew some preachers who tried to break your hand to show their machismo!  Shaking hands is not a contest, it is an expression!

 

5.  To sum this up, the “holy kiss” is a summation and foundation pf intent.  In these two words, we find the foundation of the kiss, holiness, purity, and love.

 

1 John 4:7-8  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  (8)  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

 

a. If we love God, how can we not love one another?

 

b. The love of God is to be unconditional.

 

c. The love of God is to be unchanging.

 

d. The love of God is to be unfailing.

 

e.  The love of God is to be

 

1)  A Prominent mark of love.  Noticeable, to stand out.  We are notable for reading Scripture together and shaking hands with each other as well as welcoming all visitors.

 

2)  A Distinguishing mark of love.  The world will not greet you, for the most part, with a handshake of love.  They may shake your hand as a greeting or to seal a deal, but it is not love based.  It is unique to the brotherhood!

 

3)  A Permanent mark of love.  “Let brotherly love continue!”  May we all love and appreciate each other and let it be manifested always: every single moment of time.  If you do not want to shake hands with someone, stay at home as evil communications still corrupt good manners!

 

4)  A mark of hard work in love.  Ephesians 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Endeavouring – hard work, earnestly putting forth effort! A work in progress and never to be finished!

 

Conclusion: Because we are all different, there is always the possibility of disagreement on some things.  That is the “nature of the flesh” along with each person’s uniqueness!  We are not all alike and God made it that way, but charity covereth a multitude of sins and the “Holy Kiss” is a sign of spiritual maturity that bonds us together.

The Righteous Judgment of God

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-6-2026

Psalm 50

 

Introduction:

A. Psalm 50 is the first of the Psalms of Asaph. His name is associated with 12 psalms: 50 and 73-83. Asaph was appointed by King David to lead the worship in the Tabernacle. He was the worship leader, a musician, a psalm writer, and a prophet!

 

B. Psalm 50 is a prophetic Psalm about the end of time when Christ will come back to the world to judge it in righteousness and truth. A time when He will make all things right. I look forward to that day.

 

C. As I look around me, there is little outside of God’s beautiful nature that appeals to me. I no longer fit in this present, evil world! There was a time when good was good and evil was evil. Today, evil has become good and good is evil. The aspects of a godless society, not a godly one. The wicked may get away with their sin in this life, but God warns that “it shall not be well with the wicked!”

 

Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. (12) Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: (13) But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

 

D. I could spend the evening right there but that is not my message. Psalm 50 is prophetic of a far better time to come. My heart cries “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” This world is not my home; I’m just passing through on my way to heaven!

 

E. Asaph was a prophetic worshiper. Asaph's name is associated with twelve Psalms: Psalms 50 and 73–83.

 

1 Chronicles 25:1 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:

 

F. The psalm sets forth a courtroom scene as all will gather, all will rise, and the Judge will enter the courtroom.

 

Verses 1-6.

 

1. Verse 1. The Court Called. Who is this Judge?

 

a. The Mighty God! אֱלֹהִים 'ĕlôhı̂ym el-o-heem' “In the beginning God (Elohim), the great Three In One. Though the Bible is specific on Jehovah God, Christ Jesus, the Word created all things (John chapter one), the Trinity was there together! The same when Christ Jesus comes to this earth in judgment, the Trinity will be there on the Throne in Unity.

 

b. The LORD. Jehovah God, the Eternal-Self Existing One. Christ, the Righteous Judge. The Creator, Owner, Sustainer of the earth and universe.

 

2. Verses 2-4. The Place of Judgment Set. Where His judgment is to be! “Out of Zion.” Luke 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

 

a. It was at Zion that the Throne was established.

 

b. I was at Zion where the Lamb of God was slain and rejected.

 

c. It is at Zion where the righteous Branch, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, shall sit one day. Ruling and reigning for 1000 years.

 

Jeremiah 23:5-6 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. (6) In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called,.

 

3. Verses 5-7. The Parties Summoned. Who will be called? “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.”

 

a. His people, Israel, who made a covenant with Him by sacrifice! Though God ordered the sacrifices of Atonement, they were never mean to save. They were to point Israel to coming of Messiah, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

 

b. The saved or our day find our redemption in the Person and work of Christ Jesus called the Gospel. The “covenant with me by His sacrifice!” The Lord speaks and testifies in righteousness as to His Purpose and Redemption.

 

4. Verses 8-15. The Issue Foretold. The LORD reproves Israel for their religious offerings that He did not order.

 

a. God ordered Atonement and not salvation through their outward religion. Atonement was never meant to be a way of getting right with God. Salvation has and always will be faith in propitiation: the innocent Lamb of God dying in our place. Religion does not replace Relationship. Atonement was remembrance of God’s promise of “God will provide Himself” as the sacrificial Lamb. The Old Testament saint looked forward to the Messiah, Christ Jesus, while the New Testament looks back in remembrance of God, Christ Jesus, died for the sin of the world.

 

b. God differentiates between the outworkings of religion contrasted by the inwardness of salvation. He did this same thing in chapter one of Isaiah’s Prophecy.

 

Isaiah 1:11-16 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. (12) When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? (13) Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. (14) Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. (15) And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. (16) Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

 

c. It was not their outward offerings that pleased God, it was their inward anticipation of the Seed of the Woman, God Himself our offering for sin and eternal redemption found in Genesis chapter twenty two.

 

Isaiah 1:16-18 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; (17) Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. (18) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

 

c. The problem was not their bringing of sacrifices, it was their reliance upon them instead of God. God owns it all! God needs nothing! God wants us! He does not want our religion, He wants us! He does not want our outward worship; He wants us to have an inward relationship through Christ Jesus!

 

d. You can't give God what He already owns! Everything belongs to God. Our money belongs to God. Our possessions belong to God. Our abilities belong to God. Our time belongs to God. Our life belongs to God.

 

e. So why does God ask us to give? Because giving isn't about supplying God's needs, it reveals what is in our hearts.

 

5. Verses 16-22. God Rebukes The Wicked.

 

a. They knew what God said! They knew God's commandments, but they rejected them. Verse 17 says: “Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.”

 

b. They were willful in their ignorance of God’s instruction.

 

c. They were willful in their rejection of God’s authority.

 

d. They desired God's promises without obedience to God's ways.

 

e. God does not accept those who merely know the Bible. He wants those who believe the Bible and adhere to it.

 

f. Their mistake of thinking that God’s silence was condonement!

 

6. Verse 23. The Key to Restoration.

 

a. Worship God in spirit and truth! “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me”

 

b. Walk uprightly before God. “and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.”