"I'm Sorry"
Joe R. Price
Only the
sinless person never needs to say “I’m sorry.” None of us are in that
category (Rom. 3:23). Every one of us has wronged someone at one time or
another. It is the arrogant and prideful person who refuses to admit his or
her sinful treatment of others. We must confess our sins to God and those
we sin against if we are to be forgiven (1 Jno. 1:9; Jas. 5:16).
“I’m
sorry” goes a long way in helping to solve disagreements and conflicts in
relationships. “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that
your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner,
that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces
repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the
world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:9-10). Sorrow that comes from a heart
that wants to do the will of God moves us to repent of our sins.
Saying
“I’m sorry” says I recognize I have wronged another. It says
I intend to repair the damage I’ve done. It says I will now
act to restore the relationship to its former (proper) state.
Marriage
is one of the relationships where the ability to say “I’m sorry” – and mean
it – is crucial. It is hard to have a happy, healthy home without it.
Consider some times when we should say “I’m sorry” in our marriages (Source:
Growthtrac Marriage Minute, growthtrac.com/marriageminute/):
1)
When you are wrong.
Like the prodigal son who “came to himself” and returned to his
father, we must say “I have sinned against heaven and before you”
(Lk. 15:17-18). Confession is good for the soul – and for your marriage.
2)
When you are rude.
Love “does not behave rudely,” yet it seems marriage is an open
invitation to rudeness to many (1 Cor. 13:5). “I’m sorry” in is order
whenever kind speech has been replaced by callous disrespect.
3)
When you are defensive.
Defending truth and righteousness is not the same as defending yourself.
Selfishness destroys marriages, and defensiveness is the automatic reflex of
selfishness. On the other hand, love “does not seek its own” (1 Cor.
13:5). Do away with selfishness; humble yourself when you’ve hurt each
other and say “I’m sorry.”
4)
When you are impatient.
Love “suffers long” (1 Cor. 13:4). Impatience causes frustration and
friction; “I’m sorry” clears the air for a fresh start.
5)
When you are hurtful.
Love is “kind” (1 Cor. 13:4). It is to our shame that we hurt those
we love the most. When you love someone and your words or deeds have
needlessly hurt them, why wouldn’t you want to heal the hurt by saying (and
meaning) “I’m sorry” as quickly as possible?
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Difficult Bible Passages
Tom M. Roberts
"...as also our beloved
brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as
also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are
some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own
destruction" (2 Pet. 3:16).
It does not shame us to admit that some
passages of Scripture are "hard to be understood," difficult of perception.
If Peter, an apostle of Christ, can admit so readily, we must also be
willing to face the fact that some passages from the word of God are both
profound and complex.
Actually, can we expect anything less? The
divine wisdom that framed the universe with all its intricate laws of
physics, biology, chemistry, etc. is capable of thoughts beyond our finite
comprehension. As the Lord himself said: "For My thoughts are not your
thoughts, nor are your ways My ways." "For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts" (Isa. 55:8). Yet God speaks to man, accommodating his wisdom to
our level of perception (Heb. 1:1-2). Is it not marvelous to communicate
with Deity? Should we assume it to be simple? Yet, God reveals so as to be
understood, not to conceal; to enlighten, not to confuse. Difficult Bible
passages do not presuppose the impossibility of knowing the mind of God
(John 6:44-45; 8:32; 1 Cor. 2:16).
Paul, whom Peter admitted to teach things
"hard to be understood" spoke of the gospel as a "mystery." To the
Corinthians, Paul said, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the
hidden wisdom which God had ordained before the ages for our glory" (1 Cor.
2:7). To the Ephesians, he admitted that Christ and the church were "a
great mystery" (Eph. 5:32). However, it is inexcusable today that some
philosophies speak of the Bible as "mysterious," even mystical, placing it
in the realm of that which is beyond definition. Recognizing that the plan
of redemption was once beyond our reach, secure in the mind of God (thus, a
mystery), we quickly note that God chose to reveal the meaning through his
apostles (1 Cor. 2:4-13), forever clarifying what had been "hidden through
the ages" (Col. 1:26). Paul concluded that God had "made known to us the
mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in
Himself" (Eph. 1:9). We have access to Paul's explanation so that "when you
read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ" (3:4). It
was the intent of gospel preaching "to make all people see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been
hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ" (Eph. 3:9). God
intends that men everywhere receive and understand the message of the
gospel. To that end, the Great Commission was given (Matt. 28:18-20).
Understanding Difficult Passages
"Difficult Bible Passages" do not suggest
the impossibility of understanding. Some truths may be deeper, more complex
than others, but God intends that we know his will (John 8:32). Though it
suits the purpose of some to deny truth as knowable, we all shall be held
accountable to the standard of truth (Jn. 12:48).
"Difficult Bible Passages" do not suggest
that "one interpretation is as good as another." Words are vehicles of
thought and God's thoughts have been put into words (1 Cor. 2:6ff). It is
our obligation to exegete a passage so as to receive from it only what God
put into it. Beware what Peter said about those who "wrest the scriptures
to their own destruction."
"Difficult Bible Passages" does not permit
a multitude of various views of a single passage to deny the truth of that
passage. Though some delight in attempting to defuse what a passage
actually teaches by pointing to various interpretations, confusion among men
should not be attributed to confusion on God's part. "Let God be true and
ever man a liar" (Rom. 3:4).
"Difficult Bible Passages" simply admits
that some passages are "milk" and that some are "meat" (1 Pet. 2:2; 1 Cor.
3:2; Heb. 5:12-14). Meat takes more chewing and digestion than milk, but
each is capable of nourishment to its own level of advancement. As one
matures in the faith, God expects each to progress from milk to meat, from
simple to complex truth, from babes to full grown men who "have our senses
exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5:14).
What remains is for us to accept the
revelation of God as it is, to study it, to accept it into our hearts (Col.
3:16-17). Every single passage is knowable, no truth that God has revealed
is beyond our ability to comprehend (Deut. 29:29). As we love and respect
God's word, as we let scripture interpret scripture (Isa. 28:10; Matt.
22:23-33), as we "meditate both day and night" (Ps. 1:2), what God intended
to tell us will become clear.
-Guardian of Truth
(Feb. 1, 1996, pp. 65, 69)
Edited for length
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You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
Does Doctrine Matter? (Part 1)
Scripture Reading:
Psalm 119:33-40
1. Doctrine means
instruction, that which is taught.
2. Many different doctrine among believers. This is not as it should be;
such is not the will of God. (Jno. 17:20-21; 1 Cor. 1:10)
3. Sound doctrine: The teachings of Jesus, 1 Tim. 6:3.
4. Does doctrine really matter? Yes.
I. DOCTRINE IS
ESSENTIAL TO OUR RELATION WITH GOD & CHRISTIANS.
A. The
Source of Sound Doctrine Shows it is Essential.
1. God the Father, Jno. 7:16-17 (12:48-50).
2. Jesus the Son, Jno. 7:16-17 (18:19); Tit. 2:10.
3. Holy Spirit, Jno. 14:25-26; 16:13.
4. Apostles, Acts 2:42; 1 Tim. 1:10-11; 2 Tim. 3:10.
B. The Nature of True Doctrine Shows it is Essential.
1. Sound, 1 Tim. 1:10; 2 Tim. 1:13.
2. Faithful word, Titus 1:9.
3. Nourishes us, 1 Tim. 4:6.
4. Good, 1 Tim. 4:6, 1.
5. Accords with godliness, 1 Tim. 6:3.
6. Saves, 1 Tim. 4:16. (Without it we are lost!)
C. How we Should Respond to Sound Doctrine Shows it is Essential.
1. Spread it, Acts 5:28.
2. Obey from heart & set free from sin, Rom. 6:17-18.
3. Command & teach it, 1 Tim. 4:11.
4. Give attention to it, 1 Tim. 4:13.
5. Continue in it, 1 Tim. 4:16 (Acts 2:42).
6. Carefully follow it, 2 Tim. 3:10.
7. Abide in it, 2 Jno. 9.
8. Test all things, 1 Ths. 5:21-22; 1 Jno. 4:1, 6.
-Applications
include:
1. Doctrines
concerning salvation (Acts 16:30).
2. Doctrines concerning worship (Jno. 4:23-24).
3. Doctrines concerning the church (1 Tim. 3:15).
4. Doctrines concerning morality (Tit. 2:11-12).
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NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the
light of Scripture)
Memorial Day
Joe R. Price
Memorial Day originated in 1868 when Union
General John A. Logan designated a day on which the graves of Civil War
soldiers would be decorated. Known as Decoration Day, it later became known
as Memorial Day, and after World War I was a time to honor the dead of all
American wars. It did not become a federal holiday until 1971. Now, many
Americans also use the day to remember family and friends who have died
regardless of their military service. Many have forgotten the meaning of
Memorial Day; to them it is just a vacation day.
Historically, God has given His people
"Memorial Days":
1) Passover. "So this day shall be to
you a memorial" (Exo. 12:14). Israel was to remember the Lord passed over
their houses, striking the Egyptians and delivering Israel from slavery
(Exo. 12:26-27).
2) Feast of Unleavened Bread. "It shall
be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that
the Lord's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has
brought you out of Egypt" (Exo. 13:9). Israel was to remember how God
brought them out of bondage.
3) Feast of Tabernacles. "You shall
dwell in booths for seven days…that your generations may know that I made
the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land
of Egypt…" (Lev. 23:42-43). Israel was to remember and rejoice in God's
care for them.
4) Sabbath. "Observe the Sabbath day…and
remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt…" (Deut. 5:12, 15). By
keeping the Sabbath Israel was to remember God's salvation.
5) Lord's Supper. "…do this in
remembrance of me" (1 Cor. 11:24-25). Christians remember Jesus' death in
the Supper.
Time passes and people forget. Israel
sinned and profaned the memorials God gave her (see Ezek. 20:20-24; Neh.
8:13-18; 13:14-18). Christians are warned not to forget, but to discern the
Lord's body when we eat the Lord's Supper and proclaim His death (1 Cor.
11:26-29). Americans should remember the sacrifices made for our freedom.
Christians must remember the sacrifice that frees us from sin.
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