– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of Leaven
Jesus has been teaching about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13. We’ve seen the Sower, followed by the Wheat and Tares, and then the Mustard Seed. Now, He uses leaven to illustrate a kingdom characteristic. We read:
The Wonderful Leavening Effect Of The KingdomThe kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. (Matthew 13:33)
In the gospels we see Jesus inviting those who would become His apostles to “follow” Him. In John 1:40, John the Baptist pointed Andrew and another disciple to Jesus who bid them to “Come and See,” so they followed Him and stayed the entire day with Him. The next day, the Lord called Philip to “follow Me” (John 1:43), which he did, also bringing his friend Nathanael to the Lord. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus approached for fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) and called them to follow Him, that they should become fishers of men. And in Matthew 9:9, Matthew heard Jesus call out “Follow Me,” which he did, leaving his tax office behind.
Follow Me: Jesus’ Call To The World
In the New Testament, we read about crowds of people being converted to Christ. Many of them are unnamed—we don’t know their stories—just that they heard the gospel and responded in obedience to the Lord. However, the Spirit of God gave us several details about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and not just his conversion but what he did thereafter. Let’s spend a bit of time considering Paul, the convert to Christ.
Saul’s Radical Conversion: A Life Made New In Christ
As the apostle John closes his gospel account, he states of the ministry of Christ,
…there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.(John 21:25)
Quite simply, we do not have all the details of Jesus’ work and teaching while upon the earth. But what is given is sufficient
An Important Life Decision: Will You Obey The Gospel?…that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.(John 20:31)
As I prepared to write an article this past week, I saw a quote which resulted in the original topic being put on the shelf, and this article about the true gospel being penned instead. The quote comes from an essay entitled “Ecclesial Deism,” written by Bryan Cross, a former Protestant who converted to Catholicism. In his essay, he wrote:
Never Lost: The True Gospel Survived Every Attempt at ApostasyThe Mormons believed that the true gospel was recovered in the early nineteenth century by Joseph Smith. I believed, as a Reformed Protestant, that the true gospel was recovered in the early sixteenth century by Martin Luther.
Millions tuned in to watch the 2010 winter Olympic games hosted in Vancouver, Canada. Folks from almost every nation watched and for a few weeks, the world became a much closer community. A similar event is now underway, creating at least a tidbit of unity in the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup of Soccer, being hosted in South Africa.
Pursuing True Unity in the World
Not many weeks ago, we began a series of lessons through Luke’s gospel. In our first lesson, I asked the question, “How many gospels are there?” That question can be answered in a variety of ways.
Nowhere in the Bible will you see gospel in a plural form; nor will you see it with an indefinite article. The Bible speaks of the gospel, not many gospels or a gospel. Paul spoke to the Corinthian church of
How Many Gospels Are There? One? Four? More?…the gospel which I preached unto you …by which you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you… (1 Corinthians 15:1)
From time to time I go to Bible related chat rooms on Paltalk. In fact, there is one room which I lead a Bible study in each Thurdsay morning. If you are ever on Paltalk, you can look me up with my nickname, Gospel guy.
One night last week, just before heading off to bed, I spent a few minutes in a room. Though there was lots of spiritual talk, there was almost no truth being spoken. One participant challenged another to try something to increase her faith in the Lord and in the work of the Spirit. The challenge was this – every time you come across something that you don’t know the answer to over the next three months, just pray to God for help, opened up your Bible and point your finger. God will lead you to the answer! Hearing such nonsense, while the drivel was still being spoken, I posted, “Ouija Board Bible Study.”
Don’t Mock, Gospel Guy
Should the gospel be preached to everyone? Some verses say it should be (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Acts 8:25; 15:3; 22:21; 28:28), but others say it should not be given to Gentiles or Samaritans (Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24; Acts 16:6). Is there a contradiction?
Is the gospel really for all? | Answering the AtheistIs it necessary to keep the Sabbath? Some verses say yes (Exodus 16:29; 20:8; 31:13-15; 34:21; 35:2; Leviticus 19:3, 30; 23:3; Numbers 15;32, 36; Deuteronomy 5:12; Isaiah 56:2), but others say no (Isaiah 1:13; Matthew 12:2; John 5:16; Romans 14:5; Colossians 2:16). Is there a contradiction?
Do you need to keep the Sabbath? | Answering the Atheist