Sermon on Romans 14 from Ken Blue
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.
“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suff*er: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11).
The church at Smyrna, according to Easton’s dictionary means, “Myrrh, an ancient city of Ionia, on the western coast of Asia Minor, about 40 miles to the north of Ephesus. It is now the chief city of Anatolia, having a mixed population of about 200,000, of whom about one-third are professed Christians. The church founded here was one of the seven addressed by our Lord (Revelation 2:8-11). The celebrated Polycarp, a pupil of the apostle John, was a prominent leader in the second century in the church of Smyrna. Here he suffered martyrdom, A.D. 155.”
The glorified Christ is presented as “the first and the last” (v.8). He is the eternal God, the great “I AM.” He was before all things and will exist after all things have completed their purpose. He became the Son of Man in order to taste death for all men. His eternal existence was punctuated by His incarnation and death. He is the only one who has the “keys” of death and conquered it. In fact, He is the KEY! He gives this description of Himself to encourage faithfulness on the part of the remnant. Death cannot hold its prey. Their resurrection to eternal life was assured. The second death of verse 11, which is eternal banishment in the lake of fire, cannot touch those who overcome and are faithful to the end.
Some claimed to be apostles and were liars, and others said they were Jews but were not. To be a Jew “in deed” was to depart from evil and acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. No doubt it is this group John speaks of in his epistle (see 1 John 3:3-6; 9-11; 24. 4:1-4; 11-16. 5:2-5). The believing remnant will have a standard by which it will judge those who profess to be Jews. No doubt these are Abraham’s seed, but they are not his children. Their lack of truth and sincerity betray them (see John 8:39-44). Jesus called these Scribes and Pharisees, “children of the Devil.” They were the leaders of the synagogue and professed to sit in Moses’ seat, but in reality sat in Satan’s seat. They represented Satan and accomplished his purpose. Their goal was to destroy the righteous and all who professed Jesus as the Christ. As things were in the Acts period, so shall they be in the Day of the Lord. (The constant reference to things concerning the Old Testament, Jews, and Apostles ought to make it clear that these letters to these churches are not intended for the CHURCH, the body of Christ.)
Those at Smyrna were encouraged to fear none of these things because He was in their midst and secured them in His right hand. His victory over death assures their victory. The “ten days” are ten days and no other meaning should be sought.
John does not tell us what the “crown of life” is. The “overcomers” are to be “kings and priests.” Perhaps they will wear literal crowns. Their resurrection to new life may be the crown. Time will reveal the true meaning of what the many crowns are in Scripture. Note the ten crowns:
1. Crown of honor (Proverbs 12:4; Proverbs 17:6; Esther 8:15; Job 19:9)
2. Crown of kings (2 Samuel 12:30; Esther 1:11; Esther 2:17; Rev. 19:12-16)
3. High Priest’s crown (Exodus 29:6)
4. Crown of pride (Isaiah 28:1-5)
5. Crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2-5)
6. Crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4; Proverbs 4:9; Proverbs 16:31; Isaiah 62:3)
7. Crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8)
8. Crown of life (James 1:12; Rev. 2:10)
9. Corruptible crown (1 Cor. 9:25)
10. Soul winner’s crown (1 Thes. 2:19)
John uses a form of the word, “overcometh,” eleven times in the book of Revelation! In 1 John, which is also a tribulation epistle, the word “overcome” or “overcame” is used six times. Entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven requires one to overcome persecution and the mark of the Beast in the Day of the Lord. In the Revelation, millennial salvation is only assured to the “overcomers.”
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.
“16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” Revelation 13:16-18. (Posted byKenBlue. Italic mine.)
(The following is fromReuters: By Philip Pullella.)
VATICAN CITY, Oct 24 (Reuters) – – The Vatican called on Monday for sweeping reforms of the world economy and the creation of a ethical, global authority to regulate financial markets as demonstrations against corporate greed continued to spring up in major cities across the globe.
An 18-page document from the Vatican’s Justice and Peace department said the financial downturn had revealed behaviours like “selfishness, collective greed and hoarding of goods on a great scale,” adding that world economics needed an “ethic of solidarity” among rich and poor nations.
Urging Wall Street powerbrokers to examine the impact of their decisions on humanity, the Vatican called on those who wanted to change economic structures to “not be afraid to propose new ideas, even if they might destabilise pre-existing balances of power that prevail over the weakest.”
The document was released as “Occupy Wall Street” protests this month sparked similar anti-capitalist movements around the world with demonstrators angry over government bailouts of big banks, corporate bonuses, and economic inequality.
The Vatican document was likely to be welcomed by the demonstrators who critics say lack clear objectives.
“The economic and financial crisis which the world is going through calls everyone, individuals and peoples, to examine in depth the principles and the cultural and moral values at the basis of social coexistence,” said the Vatican document.
It condemned what it called “the idolatry of the market” as well as a “neo-liberal thinking” that it said looked exclusively at technical solutions to economic problems.
“If no solutions are found to the various forms of injustice, the negative effects that will follow on the social, political and economic level will be destined to create a climate of growing hostility and even violence, and ultimately undermine the very foundations of democratic institutions, even the ones considered most solid,” it said.
The Vatican called for the establishment of “a supranational authority” with worldwide scope and “universal jurisdiction” to guide economic policies and decisions.
Such an authority should start with the United Nations as its reference point but later become independent and be endowed with the power to see to it that developed countries were not allowed to wield “excessive power over the weaker countries”.
Asked at a news conference if the document could become a manifesto for the movement of the “indignant ones”, who have criticised global economic policies,CardinalPeterTurkson, head of the Vatican’s Justice and Peace department, said:
“The people on Wall Street need to sit down and go through a process of discernment and see whether their role managing the finances of the world is actually serving the interests of humanity and the common good.”
“We are calling for all these bodies and organisations to sit down and do a little bit of re-thinking.”
EFFECTIVE STRUCTURES
One section of the document explained why the Vatican felt the reform of the global economy was necessary and called for specific reforms such as taxation of financial transactions.
“In economic and financial matters, the most significant difficulties come from the lack of an effective set of structures that can guarantee, in addition to a system of governance, a system of government for the economy and international finance,” it said.
The Vatican said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) no longer had the power or ability to stabilise world finance by regulating overall money supply and it was no longer able to watch “over the amount of credit risk taken on by the system”.
The world needed a “minimum shared body of rules to manage the global financial market” and “some form of global monetary management”.
“In fact, one can see an emerging requirement for a body that will carry out the functions of a kind of ‘central world bank’ that regulates the flow and system of monetary exchanges similar to the national central banks,” it said.
The document acknowledged that such change would take years to put into place and was bound to encounter resistance.
“Of course, this transformation will be made at the cost of a gradual, balanced transfer of a part of each nation’s powers to a world authority and to regional authorities, but this is necessary at a time when the dynamism of human society and the economy and the progress of technology are transcending borders, which are in fact already very eroded in a globalised world.” (Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing byElizabethPiper andBelindaGoldsmith)
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:” (Revelation 2:1-2).
Ephesus was a great commercial center of Asia Minor, and was noted for the great temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the ancient world (Acts 19:27). The site of the city is now covered with ruins.
Jesus is described as one who “holdeth” and “walketh.” The idea of holding the preachers or elders of the synagogue in His right hand was discussed to some degree in our comments on chapter 1 verse 20. The right hand is symbolic of a place of favor and privilege. Jesus is said to sit at God’s right hand. Stephen sees Him standing on the right hand of God. Thus, the right hand speaks of special privilege, honor, and protection. These ministers of God are assured of God’s love and protection in the Day of the Lord.
The glorified High Priest also walks in the midst of the churches. As the Lord walked in the midst of the camp so all Israel might know his presence, this glorified One was also in their midst. “For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.” (Deuteronomy 23:14).
That presence assured them that He, too, was their brother in tribulation and suffering. This is the theme of many of the Psalms.
The Lord Jesus was fully aware of their works (v.2). The four Gospels and Hebrews through Revelation clearly teach the necessity for works to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. This explains why most religious systems think works are necessary for salvation in this day of grace. The problem is not that a works system for salvation is not taught; the problem is their inability to rightly divide the Word of God. The Gospels and Hebrews through Revelation are not written to the church of this dispensation. They concern Israel and their Kingdom.
Not only will works be required to enter the kingdom, great patience will also be needed to endure the tribulations. Luke12:43-46 gives a clear account of the patience and commitment needed to enter the kingdom, “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” You have the same warning in a different setting in the parable of the ten virgins. “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 25:10-13).
In 2:2 where it states, “…say they are apostles,” Jesus promised the Twelve apostles that they would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel in the kingdom. Just as Simon the sorcerer saw the advantage of apostolic gifts, so these, who say they are apostles, see some benefit to that title and possession. Just as it was necessary to manifest the “signs” of an apostle in the Acts period, “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds” (2 Corinthians 12:12), so those within the Day of the Lord will also be “tried” and found to be false apostles.
“And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:3-7). (The reader should note the frequency of the word “overcometh.”)
In verse 3, notice the past tense of their action. They were experiencing persecution and suffering when John was brought forward in the vision. The persecutions will begin between the Rapture of the Church and the beginning ofDaniel’s seventieth week. We are not certain how long that period will be.
In verses 4 and 5 the evidence that they had “left” and “fallen” was seen in their departure from their “first love.” Jesus said to His kingdom followers, “ye are the light of the world.” At the Second Advent of Christ, Israel is called on to rise and shine. They will mourn for Him and repent of rejecting and crucifying Him. Then their light will shine to all the earth. They will have returned to the One they had left, and He will recover them from their fall. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Isaiah 60:1-3).
The positive note was their work, patience, and disdain for the present evil. In addition, they hated the “deeds of the Nicolaitanes” (v.6). We find little help from the commentaries on who these Nicolaitanes are or what their deeds were. Since they cannot be sure or agree, we will leave the revelation of their identity for the Day of the Lord.
It is the “churches” (plural), which are addressed in verse 7. This letter, as well as the others, is not only for those at Ephesus, it is intended for all the churches in the Day of the Lord. “Overcoming” will be the requirement for salvation and permission to enter the Kingdomof Heaven. To overcome is the same as to endure. The context of the four Gospels is the Day of the Lord and faithfulness is the requirement. None make that more clear than the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 24, which speaks specifically of that day. Jesus makes it clear that those who would be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven must endure unto the end of the Day of the Lord. “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
The promise of access to the “tree of life” is to all those within the churches who overcome. This “tree of life” first appears in the paradise called Eden. It was there for man’s eternal physical life. That is why God forbade man to eat of it after the fall. “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:” (Genesis 3:22).
Dake says concerning this verse, “There must have been an inherent virtue in the tree of life to preserve life indefinitely. If man was created to live forever should he not sin, then he lost eternal life in the fall.Christ brings it back to him (2Timothy1:10). The tree of life would have caused even sinful man to live forever physically; hence, the action of Genesis 3:22-24. See notes on Genesis 2:9, Revelation 22:1-3.”
Those who overcome and endure to the end of the Day of the Lord will enter the kingdom in their natural bodies. They, no doubt, will “never die” and will maintain their eternal physical life by eating of the tree. These and the saved nations, which come out of the Great Tribulation, will eat of the tree of life. Certain nations will be assigned a month in which to come up and eat. “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2. Zech. 14:16-18).
The “paradise of God” (v.7) speaks, not of heaven, but of the eternal bliss, comfort, and joy on the earth for those who overcome. Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines it as, “A Persian word (pardes), properly meaning a “pleasure-ground” or “park” or “king’s garden.” This will be fulfilled in Revelation 21:1 where John says, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.
DEATH
Death comes uninvited.
It takes the ones we love.
Hearts and arms are empty.
They are with God above.
The body once warm, is cold,
Lifeless like the potter’s clay.
God had warned our first parents.
Their sins would take them away.
Immanuel came uninvited,
And unknown to His own.
His welcome was an old rugged cross,
And a tomb made of stone.
Death has lost its power;
The grave, its victory.
The tombs now empty,
Christ conquered both for me.
We sorrow not as other,
Who have no certainty.
Trust is in His holy Word,
And eternal decree.
Death comes uninvited.
It takes the ones we love.
Hearts and arms are empty.
They are with God above.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.