Priorities: September 2025
Table of Contents
Priorities
First: the spirit. Second: the soul. Third: the body.
The basic need of the human heart is not for things, for they cannot satisfy its deepest longings. Man is not mere clay. He is a living soul.
The body craves for material things, so we buy food and clothes and houses and cars — things for the body. But the body eventually dies. The mind cries for intellectual things, so we build schools and buy books. We read and study and cultivate friendships. The spirit calls for spiritual things. It needs God. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God” (Psa. 42:1). The spirit craves for something that material things can never supply. It craves after God. There is an emptiness in each human life that only God can fill. “Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
Christian Truth, Vol. 27
Establishing Priorities
A Christian recently shared with me what he felt was the cause of his downward slide from being a happy believer. He said, “It began with the little things that crept in and stole my time from the Word and prayer.”
In our Bible study not long ago, we had this verse: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). Here we find that the secret of overcoming is getting our priorities right. As Christians, we have to put the principles of God’s kingdom first in our lives. The redeemed march to a different drumbeat. We have been chosen as soldiers of Jesus Christ, and as such we are not to be entangled with the things of this life. The early Christians were exhorted “that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23).
Our danger is not so much that we can become criminals as that we can become nominal, drifting Christians. The temptations that sap spiritual power in our day include the good books, television, the easy chair and the credit card. We either move forward or fall backward in those seemingly innocent little moments of decision. If we are to live for our Lord, we must eliminate in order to concentrate. We must establish priorities and put on the blinders (Prov. 4:25-27). This cuts out the clutter, that in all things our Lord might have the preeminence (Col. 1:18).
Quiet Moments
The Old Testament prophet Elijah found that God speaks in a still, small voice, rather than in a hurricane. The same is true today. In order to hear that still, small voice, we need time alone with our Lord. Taking quiet moments involves discipline and self-control (a fruit of the Spirit; Gal. 5:22-23), but we can draw this from Him. We can crawl out of bed on time. We can set the tone for the day, rather than being out of tune and letting the day control us.
When we value something, we will go to a lot of trouble for it. How much do we prize the moments of fellowship with our Savior? Have we grasped the amazing truth that He desires this fellowship, and not just our patronage? How much have we comprehended that we live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?
We arrange our priorities to suit our needs. We have to decide that we need these moments alone with the Lord — that we cannot go on without them. But if these quiet moments are an obligation rather than a personal choice, they will be only a ritual, and they will eventually be given up.
Another vital aspect of all this is found in 1 Corinthians 3:13. Have you ever noticed what it is about your life that is going to be judged? The judgment seat of Christ will test the kinds of materials we used to build on that foundation which is Christ.
Self or Christ?
We are either serving self or Christ. If we seek His fellowship now, there are wonderful and positive benefits here, plus much more in that future day. It is blessed to realize, too, that our Lord initiates this kind of fellowship. He says to the believer, as it were, “Everything I have is yours. All My righteousness I give to you. The riches of glory are yours.” What can we give in return but our sins, our failures, our inabilities — ourselves? Then the believer receives forgiveness, constant love and friendship! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Only the god of this world could deprive debtors to such love of enjoying the Source of it all in those quiet moments. Let us, my Christian friends, by His grace, set our priorities in order. “Seek ye first,” and be ever so jealous that the “little foxes” (Song of Sol. 2:15) do not steal those tender moments with our Lord Jesus.
My Christian friend has caused untold grief, heartache and much dishonor to his Lord. He would give anything if he could have done things differently. But there are no reruns. We get just one chance to pass through this life. We cannot turn back the clock; all we have is from here on.
In another evil day, a man of God said, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). Let us, too, echo these words by lives that demonstrate that they have been won and are controlled by the love of Christ. What we do with what we have received proves our satisfaction with it.
J. Kilcup
Christian Devotedness
The spring and source of all true devotedness is divine love filling and operating in our hearts, as Paul says: “The love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Cor. 5:14). Its form and character must be drawn from Christ’s actions. Hence, grace must first be known for oneself, for thus it is that I know love and that this love is shed abroad in the heart. We learn divine love in divine redemption.
The First Effect
The first effect of love is to lead the heart up, thus sanctifying it. We bless God and adore God, and thus knowing Him, our adoring delight is in Jesus. When we are near to God and in communion with Him, consciously united to Christ by the Holy Spirit, divine love flows into and through our hearts. We become animated by it through our enjoyment of it. It is really “God dwelling in us,” as John expresses it; “His love shed abroad in our hearts,” as Paul says. It flows forth as it did in Christ. Its objects and motives are as in Him, save that He Himself comes in as revealing it. It is the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord; not the less God, but God revealed in Christ, for there we have learned love. Thus, in all true devotedness, Christ is the first and governing object; next, “His own which are in the world,” and then our fellow-men: first their souls, then their bodies, and every need they are in. His life of good to man governs ours, but His death governs the heart. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). “The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
Love Toward Others
We must note, too, that it is a new life in us which both enjoys God and to which His love is precious, which alone is capable of delighting in the blessedness that is in Him, and in which His divine love operates towards others. It is not the benevolence of nature, but the activity of divine love in the new man. Its genuineness is thus tested, because Christ has necessarily the first place with this nature, and its working is in that estimate of right and wrong which the new man alone has and of which Christ is the measure and motive. “Not as we hoped,” says Paul (it was more than he hoped), speaking of active charity, “but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God” (2 Cor. 8:5).
But it is more than a new nature. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and God’s love is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit which is given to us. And as love springs up like a well in us unto eternal life, so also living waters flow out from us by the Holy Spirit which we have received. All true devotedness, then, is the action of divine love in the redeemed, through the Holy Spirit given to them.
The Right Object
There may be a zeal which compasses sea and land, but it is in the interest of a prejudice or the work of Satan. There may be natural benevolence clothed with a fairer name and irritated if it is not accepted for its own sake. There may be the sense of obligation and legal activity, which, through grace, may lead further, though it is the pressure of conscience, not the activity of love. The activity of love does not destroy the sense of obligation in the saint, but alters the whole character of his work. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” In God, love is active, but sovereign; in the saint, it is active, but a duty, because of grace. Yet we owe it all — and more than all — to Him that loved us. Every right feeling in a creature must have an object, and, to be right, that object must be God, and God revealed in Christ as the Father, for in that way God possesses our souls.
Hence Paul, speaking of himself, says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). His life was a divine life. Christ lived in him, but it was a life of faith, a life living wholly by an object, and that object Christ, and known as the Son of God loving and giving Himself for him. Here we get the practical character and motive of Christian devotedness — living to Christ.
Engaged With His Love
What is supposed here is not a law contending or arresting a will seeking its own pleasure, but the blessed and thankful yielding of ourselves to the love of the blessed Son of God, and a heart entering into that love and its object by a life which flows from Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, it is a law of liberty. Hence, too, it can only have objects of service which that life can have, and the Holy Spirit can fix the heart on, and that service will be the free service of delight. Flesh may seek to hinder, but its objects cannot be those the new man and the Holy Spirit seek. The heart ranges in the sphere in which Christ does. It loves the brethren, for Christ does, and all the saints, for He does. It seeks the good of all for whom Christ died, yet knowing that only grace can bring any of them, and endures “all things for the elect’s sake, that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” It seeks “to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” — to see the saints grow up to Him who is the Head in all things and walk worthy of the Lord. It seeks to see the church presented as a chaste virgin unto Christ. It continues in its love, though the more abundantly it loves, the less it is loved. It is ready to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Love Delights to Serve
The governing motive characterizes our whole walk, for the Christian judges of everything by Christ. If something hinders His glory in oneself or another, it is cast away. It is not considered a sacrifice, but cast away as a hindrance. How blessedly self is gone here! “Gain to me” has disappeared. What a deliverance that is! We have the privilege of forgetting self and living to Christ. Self likes to be served; love delights to serve. When we are in glory, Christ girds Himself and serves us. And shall not we, if we have the privilege, imitate, serve and give ourselves to Him, who so loves us? Living to God inwardly is the only possible means of living to Him outwardly. All outward activity not moved and governed by this is fleshly and even a danger to the soul; it tends to make us do without Christ and brings in self. It is not devotedness, for devotedness is to Christ, and this must be in looking to being with Him. I dread great activity without great communion, but I believe that when the heart is with Christ, it will live to Him.
Devotedness
The form of devotedness, of external activity, will be governed by God’s will and the competency to serve, for devotedness is a humble, holy thing, doing its Master’s will, but the spirit of undivided service to Christ is the true part of every Christian. We want wisdom. God gives it liberally. Christ is our true wisdom. We want power. We learn it in dependence through Him who strengthens us. Devotedness is as dependent as it is a humble spirit. So it was in Christ. It waits on its Lord. It has courage and confidence in the path of God’s will, because it leans on divine strength in Christ. He can do all things. Hence it is patient and does what it has to do according to His will and Word, for then He can work, and He does all that is done which is good.
J. N. Darby (abridged)
One Thing Is Needful
In the touching scene at Bethany in Luke 10, we find two devoted women, of whom one lacked the “one thing” needful, while the other chose “that good part.”
Martha, like the rich young man of Mark 10, was characterized by much that was excellent. The house at Bethany, apparently, belonged to her, and she willingly opened her home to receive the Lord of glory. Then, not only was she hospitable, but she was a busy servant in the service of the Lord. There are “many things” to be done for the Lord in this world, and Martha was occupied with these “many things.” Nevertheless, with all these excellencies, she had overlooked “one thing” and she has to learn that the “one thing” she had overlooked is the “one thing needful.” In result, she was cumbered with service, irritated with her sister, and complaining before the Lord. How truly Martha represents that large class of Christians who, unconsciously to themselves, make their particular service their great object rather than the Lord Himself. Such would engage all others as helpers in their special service and are irritated if left “to serve alone.” Lacking the “one thing,” they are careful and troubled about “many things.”
How right and happy it is to put our homes and means at the disposal of the Lord and to be occupied in His blessed service, and yet this scene warns us that it is possible for these activities to be first in our thoughts and affections, rather than the Lord Himself. If this is so, we lack the “one thing” needful—the single-hearted devotedness that puts Christ before all service.
The “Good Part”
Of Mary we read that she chose the “good part,” and that “good part” was part with Christ. For her, Christ was the supreme Object before all else, whether possessions or service or her sister. Having Christ as her one Object, she escaped the restlessness, the care and the trouble that marked her zealous sister. While Martha was “cumbered about much serving,” Mary was calmly sitting at the feet of Jesus. When Martha came to the Lord with her complaining word, Mary “sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His word.”
We are not left to form our spiritual judgment as to the differences between these two sisters, for we are plainly told that the Lord reproved Martha and commended Mary.
In making the Lord her Object, Mary had chosen the “good part” which will not be taken from her. Very soon we shall leave all earthly possessions; in yet a little while, service and toil will be past, but forever and ever Christ will be the Portion and Object of our souls. Mary chose the eternal portion in time; she made Him her one great Object and chose above all else to sit in His company. Other things may be taken away, but this will not be taken away. As she chose to be with Him in time, so will she be with Him for all eternity.
Does, then, this better choice — this “one thing needful” — mean that Mary neglected service for the Lord? Scripture not only rebukes such a thought, but clearly shows that she not only served the Lord, but her service was stamped with the Lord’s approval in a way that is unique above all other service before or since. Here the Lord says, “Mary hath chosen that good part.” In the fine scene of Matthew 26, the Lord says, “She hath wrought a good work upon Me.” The one who chose the “good part” in due season does the “good work.”
So high is the Lord’s approval of this good work that He says, “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her” (Matt. 26:10-13).
Let us then remember that the “good part” must precede the “good work.” Only as Christ is our one Object will service and all else fall into its rightful place.
Hamilton Smith
Redeeming the Time
We are all familiar with such phrases as, “He is wasting his time,” or, “That was a waste of time.” Yet all of us, if we are honest with ourselves, must admit that we waste time at least occasionally. God will hold us responsible for what we do with our time down here, as to whether we use it for our own interests or for His glory.
In the day in which we live, at least in much of the Western world, it seems that time is at a premium, and there are many demands made on us. Many long for a simpler way of life, yet most find that it is not practical or even possible to avoid the complications that beset our lives in the modern world. In the middle of so many demands, it is more than ever necessary to understand what the will of the Lord is and to establish priorities in our lives. This is something that should start in our younger years, for if we form good habits in our early years, they will stand us in good stead all our lives. This requires discipline, a character trait that comes easier to some than others. But it must be practiced, if we are to accomplish anything for the Lord in our lives. If we think that we can do what we consider necessary for life down here and then do something for the Lord afterward, we will soon find that Satan will see to it that our time is always filled with either “the cares of this world” or “the deceitfulness of riches” (Mark 4:19). There will be no time left for the Lord.
The First Place
No, the Lord must have the first place in our lives, but then, when this is done, we have His promise that, as to temporal things, “your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matt. 6:32) and that “all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
If these promises are kept in mind, we will be able to use our time for the Lord and have discernment as to how to set priorities in a difficult day.
Lest we should be misunderstood, let us hasten to say that we recognize that there are those who have very little free time. This was true in the apostles’ day, for some of the believers were slaves to masters who had total control of their time. Yet Paul could say to such, “Ye serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:24). If they did their service as unto the Lord, it was accepted as service to Him. Thus our motive is more important than what we do, but at the same time we are encouraged to seek the mind of the Lord and, if our time is at our disposal, to use it as He directs.
W. J. Prost
Fervent Charity
“Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
The Apostle turns to what is very helpful for us who are within. Towards those who are outside, there is to be sobriety and watchfulness, coupled with prayer to God, but now among ourselves, what is there to be? Fervent charity. Why? Because that is the thing that God delights in: “Love covereth all sins” (Prov. 10:12). This is the reason why he presses that this fervent charity should work in them, because it not merely keeps people going on well with God, but happily with each other. There are no people who have such opportunities of irritating each other as those who are seeking to walk in faith and in the truth, outside human systems. They are flung much together, all the old barriers broken down, and they are simply brought together on the ground of the church of God. Unless grace thoroughly works, there is no place where people can so pain and wound each other, and therefore Peter says we need this fervent charity, not only for going on together, and for the restraint of what is not lovely, but also for the activity of divine love in the saint of God, and finding the very opportunity for its activity in the naughtiness of someone else! The worse a thing is in another, the more lovely an opportunity it gives you for covering it up.
“Love covers the multitude of sins.” Not one or two, but a multitude — a thousand little things that the devil would like to tell in every quarter, in order to upset the saints, and thus introduce a dead fly into the ointment, and produce a stinking savor (Eccl. 10:1). What is the cure? says Peter. Oh, this divine love; you cover it up. Peter says, God has His eye on you, and if you are keeping up another’s fault, you are keeping it up for God to see, and He cannot like that.
But supposing you cover with a mantle of love my naughtiness, what does God see? The reproduction in you of the same love and grace there was in Christ. Peter says, I expect you to go on smoothly with the saints, no matter what other people are doing.
“Use hospitality one to another without grudging” (1 Peter 4:9). This is perfectly beautiful, though some people would grumble at you for doing it. Not so, says Peter. “Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality” (Rom. 12:13).
First, look out that nobody is in want, and second, you are to keep an open house. More than this, you are strongly encouraged to do so. This is a beautiful divine balance. God very often not only thus brings His people together, but by these means binds them together. Use your house to get your brethren together, and get to know them, and they you, and that not because you must — not grudgingly, but in love.
Young Christian, Vol. 35
First Take Heed Unto Thyself
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Tim. 4:16).
In this verse we find two sets of things in which there are priorities. First, we must “take heed” unto ourselves before we can properly learn the doctrine in the Word of God. If I am walking in a careless and worldly manner as a Christian, I will not find that the Spirit of God will make His Word good to my soul. I will not be able to learn anything. Rather, the Spirit of God will occupy me with my failure so that I will judge it and get right with the Lord.
Likewise, I must first “save myself” before I can save others. I cannot speak and apply the truth of God to others if I have not applied it to my own soul before God. Note that the word “save” in this verse does not mean eternal salvation. Rather, it is being saved from the power of sin in my life.
When Paul wrote to Timothy, there were some problems and difficulties among the believers in various places, and Paul wanted Timothy to be a help to them. But to do this, he first needed to “save himself,” and then he could be a help to others.
W. J. Prost
Two Sticks
How many believers in this day are like the poor widow of Sarepta before she met Elijah! They know so little of the wonderful service they are predestined of the Lord to fulfill for Him here that they are, ignobly enough, looking only for a couple of sticks, accounting that they have just sufficient in the barrel and the cruse to die upon, but far from enough to live on! They have so little understood the wonderful fact that they have present possession of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, as the inexhaustible resources of faith — of which the meal (or wheat flour) and the oil were types — that they go along with their eyes upon the ground, and their piety chiefly consists in a suitable preparation for death! It may be in the near or distant horizon, but this only is looming before their souls. These are they who religiously affirm that “in the midst of life we are in death,” never having learned how much happier it is to be able to say, and how much more divinely true it is to the saint, that in the midst of death we are in life, not knowing how incomparably greater a thing it is to be fit to live than to be fit to die.
And in like manner, how little now do saints generally recognize that no higher dignity and no greater privilege could be conferred upon us than are ours already, in being sent here to find in the interests of Christ our first consideration, and in being made competent, by the divine resources we possess, to minister of them as freely to others as we have partaken of them abundantly ourselves! How simply and how confidently did the Zidonian widow receive and act upon the Tishbite’s testimony! She goes back into Sarepta ennobled by faith and enriched with promises, qualified and commissioned by Jehovah to dispense His bounty to His honored servant. She was also to be the witness of divine superiority to the deepest human exigencies, as to herself and her house—a poor Gentile by nature, but bound up now in the bundle of life with Elijah and Elijah’s God!
Bible Treasury, Vol. 12
Brotherly Reconciliation
The Lord was not content to pass over the hateful evil of anger in heart and word, even if it was not exhibited in violent deed. He proceeds to carry out the revealed mind of God for the kingdom by requiring reconciliation if any had stumbled one’s brother. His disciples are in view, not mankind in general. Sin in disciples is exceeding sinful; good is peremptory (surely not evil) for the kingdom of the heavens.
“If therefore thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing” (Matt. 5:23-26).
It is evident that Jewish disciples as yet under the law are those addressed. This is plain in verses 20-21 as well as in those we are now considering. In fact, it is the rule in this Gospel as a whole and in the others. It must be so, till in the death of Christ the middle wall of partition was broken down, and thus the way was opened to reconcile both Jew and Gentile that believed in one body to God, the enmity being slain. The discourse of our Lord anticipates no such unity, nor even the call of the Gentiles, in any one clause. But it is a profound mistake to suppose that this fact takes away the profit of these words from the Christian, though we stand now in a position of grace which could not be then. There is the richest instruction morally for all who honor Him who spake as never man spake. There is a spiritual estimate of unequaled depth for those who know redemption and have the indwelling Spirit, for we are able to enter in far more fully than those who heard His words of divine truth at the time He uttered them.
Thus the Lord enjoins the disciple who was bringing his gift to the altar, if he remembered that his brother had anything against him, to stop short of his devoted purpose as to God Himself, and be reconciled to his brother, before returning to offer his gift. What tenderness of conscience was looked for, brotherly affection, lowliness of mind, readiness to own wrong, and desire to win an offended brother! It was the very reverse of anger, contempt, or hatred, which He had just spoken about. And that reverse was the Jews’ case. For absorbed in bringing their offering to the altar, they were blind to their wrong against Him, their true Messiah, who deigned to be their brother, with far more than brother’s love, born for adversity as they knew not. But they refused to be reconciled and persisted in their offering, however offensive to God. It was presumptuous sin and high-handed self-will under cloak of religion.
W. Kelly
The Mote in Thy Brother's Eye
First of all, we should judge ourselves, and self-judgment is not comparing ourselves with even the most godly brother we know, but comparing ourselves with Christ. If that is duly exercised, there will be no tendency to judge where we should not. The Corinthians were told, “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:31-32).
Matthew 7:3 supposes a case where there is a very serious evil overlooked by a person in himself, and a much smaller thing taken notice of in a brother — a defect, a splinter, as one may say. Here it is some defect which one thinks he has detected in another. And the one who has not judged himself is altogether unfit to deal with another. “He that is spiritual” is the one to restore, if another is overtaken in a fault. The one self-judged before God is conscious that whatever another has done, he is capable of doing the same or worse. “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18). Hezekiah was left of God that he might know all that was in his heart, and what awful failure ensued. Nothing worse could happen to us than to be left to ourselves. Get the large thing removed first, the thing which hinders you from seeing clearly, and most likely you will find the mote in the brother’s eye is gone too. Very often these motes are discovered by those who are in a bad, sour state of soul. And if we really do see failure in another, what is the best use we can make of that discovery? To correct it in ourselves. Then may we help our brother.
Hypocritical Judging
“Thou hypocrite” (vs. 5), to be said to a disciple, is a strong word, but it is here uttered by the One who is the truth and knows the hearts of all. There is the possibility of even a true saint acting hypocritically. If we cover up our sins, we are acting hypocritically. Appearing to others to be what we really are not is hypocritical. Just in that sense you can understand a disciple being called so. Peter dissembled, and that was in the same lines. Well, then, first deal with yourself. You will see much more clearly when self has been judged before God. If that is neglected, we shall find it easy enough to see faults in others rather than in ourselves. To prove a thing, you want a standard, and the standard God has given us is His written Word. We have to prove everything by that Word. In listening to the best teacher that ever lived, I am bound to prove all he says (“Take heed what ye hear”), but in listening to the Word itself, the instruction is, “Take heed how ye hear.” But it is a necessity for us to test everything by the Word of God. The two standards of truth are the person of Christ and the Word of God.
Author unknown
Judgment in the House of God
In considering the various priorities given to us in the Word of God, we read in 1 Peter 4:17 JND, “The time of having the judgment begin from the house of God is come; but if first from us, what shall be the end of those who obey not the glad tidings of God? And if the righteous is difficultly saved, where shall the impious and the sinner appear?”
The expression “the house of God” in the New Testament brings before us the believer’s conduct before God and reminds us that if we are part of God’s house, there is a line of conduct that is suitable to those in that house. Sometimes the house of God is looked at as composed only of real believers, as we see, for example, in 1 Peter 2:5: “Ye also, as lively [or living] stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” On the other hand, Paul speaks of the house of God as being connected with man’s responsibility in building, where man may build according to God’s mind, or perhaps not according to God’s mind. At the judgment seat of Christ, everything man has built will be tested against God’s standard, and what is not according to His mind will be burned up (see 1 Corinthians 3:9-17). It is this character of believers collectively — the house of God—with which the judgment of God is connected. In particular, it is Peter’s ministry that is largely occupied with the house of God, the conduct in that house, and God’s ways of government with those in the house.
God’s Priority of Judgment
The principle is given to us in 1 Peter 4, as we have seen, and it is a priority with God to deal with His own before He begins to deal with those who are not His. This is brought out clearly in the book of Revelation, where the book is divided into three sections: “the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Rev. 1:19). Chapter 1 brings before us the things which John had seen, and chapters 2-3 take up the “things which are” — the state of the church as it existed then, and ultimately its condition right to the end of this dispensation, when it will be taken up to glory. From chapter 4 onward, we get “the things which shall be hereafter” — the judgment of this world.
There had been evidence of serious failure in the church long before John wrote the book of Revelation, perhaps about 97 A.D. By that time, some of the failure had become quite blatant, such as the introduction of Gnosticism. Also, the clerical system had begun to take hold of the Christian testimony by that time. However, more than 30 years before this time, Paul himself could say, in Philippians 2:21, “All seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” He could also confidently tell the Ephesian elders that “after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). Finally, toward the end of his life, he had to say, “All they which are in Asia be turned away from me” (2 Tim. 1:15).
The Judgment Seat of Christ
We know that judgment in the sense of eternal condemnation will never occur with the true church, for each one who is a living stone in that building, the house of God, is eternally fit for God’s presence by reason of Christ’s work on Calvary’s cross. However, if God is going to judge the wicked in this world, as He most certainly will, He must, because of His holy nature, deal in government with those who are associated with Him.
He does this in two ways. First of all, He deals with His own now, both individually and collectively, while they are still in this world, by means of circumstances and various events that He allows in their lives. Later, after we are called out of this world at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, there will be what Scripture calls “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10). At that time, we each will hear His assessment of our lives and receive rewards for that which has been done for Him. But there will also be a sense of loss if we have used our time, resources and gift for ourselves and not for His glory. It seems from the way that Scripture is written that the judgment seat of Christ for believers will take place before the appearing of the Lord Jesus and before He takes up the judgment of this world. Again, this is in the order which is given to us by Peter.
Some might raise the question as to why God deals in judgment with His own first, and then later with this world? I would suggest that there are two reasons for this. First of all, God is holy and just, and although His own are “redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19), yet God expects them to exhibit that new life that He has given them. “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). The expression in 1 Peter 4:18 JND, “If the righteous is difficultly saved,” does not refer to our eternal salvation, but rather to the fact that there are many snares and temptations in our Christian pathway. It requires grace from the Lord, and constant labor and exercise in our lives, to avoid these distractions and to live for God’s glory.
Second, it is the love of God that disciplines those in His house, for He knows that we cannot be happy while we are indulging that old sinful nature which we still possess. Thus His ways with us are in order that we might be “partakers of His holiness” (Heb. 12:10). God deals with us as His children, and He delights to see His children happy. Just as natural children are not happy if they are left without proper discipline, so God knows that discipline in our lives will bring about a good result to them “which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:11).
W. J. Prost
Obedience
Obedience must precede blessing, where the will of God is ascertained. There is nothing so humble, nothing so steady as obedience, nothing which so marks the Spirit’s presence, nothing so opposed to insubordination, nothing by which every ungodly voice must be so utterly silenced, as by obedience.
Obedience is the great principle to go on — obedience to known truth, not plans of our own mind, but obedience to known truth as the portion of a single-eyed, humble, simple mind. In all cases and under all circumstances, gift or no gifts, obedience is the path of a Christian — the path of duty and blessing. This principle is the preliminary of blessing and is the only rightful state of the creature. “He that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
J. N. Darby
Piety Toward the Family
In 1 Timothy 5, various instructions come in by the way. “If any widow have children or descendants, let them first learn to be pious as regards their own house, and to render a return on their side to their parents” (1 Tim. 5:4 JND). Notice how clearly it is taught that children and other descendants are responsible for the support of their parents. Thus they show godliness or piety at home. Let us emphasize this in our minds, for it is easily forgotten in these days of other forms of public support. The denunciation in verse 8 of the man who avoids or neglects this duty is very severe, showing how serious a sin it is in God’s sight. There may be men quite renowned for piety in public who are nevertheless branded as worse than an infidel for lack of this piety at home.
F. B. Hole
First Things First
A priority is something that you do first, even if other things have to wait. If you are not saved from your sins, this matter should be settled first. You need to take the Lord Jesus as your Savior. This has priority over everything else you plan to do. Here is a story that might help you to understand.
Picture in your mind a little house in Bolivia with a wooden fence around a plain dirt yard.
Beside the house there is a mother and several young children, and not far away is a rather fat pig. The mother has a tub in which she is busy washing the children’s clothes, with soapsuds up to her elbows.
The story begins as a tall young man comes into the yard carrying a Spanish Bible.
He asked the mother if he could tell the children a Bible story. This request suddenly took top priority. The mother quickly set down her bar of soap on a stone, wiped the suds off her arms, and sat down with her children, ready to listen. They wanted to hear the message from God’s Word, the Bible.
What was the message? Of all messages in the world, the Word of God is the most important. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what color your skin is, or what language you speak, it is just right for you and me. God speaks not only to all of us as a group, but to each one of us individually. He is speaking to you at this moment. He is telling you in His Word that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). He also tells you in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” This message is for everyone. But verse 16 does not end there. It goes on to say that “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This message is more personal; He is talking to you as a special person. It must be just you, one person, who makes this most important decision to believe in that only begotten Son of God, in order that you may not perish but have everlasting life. This is your top priority at this moment. Will you settle it right now?
The family listened while the wonderful story of Jesus and His love was told to them. (And whenever you hear about Jesus, whether it is new to you or not, I hope your priority is to listen and to let others around you listen. This is important too.) But there was one there whose priority was to eat, and that one did not listen at all. The missionary suddenly interrupted his message with the cry, “The pig is eating your soap!”
Everyone gave chase.
The pig was a good runner, but not very good at turning corners. Instead, she crashed into the fence, dropped the soap, and went off with foam around her mouth from the piece she had bitten off. The mother reclaimed her bar of soap, and then the gospel message was continued. It was too important to be ended by a hungry pig.
Don’t let anyone or anything keep you from listening and receiving God’s message for you today. John 3:16 is God’s wonderful promise of everlasting life for you today, but remember it contains that sad and hopeless word “perish.” This means that there is a lost eternity in outer darkness for those who do not, individually and one by one, believe on the One whom God has sent to die for them. You will never, never make any decision more important than this. Will you then, right now, claim that wonderful verse and believe on the only begotten Son of God, that you may not perish but have everlasting life?
Messages of God’s Love, 1989
Freely Give, Then Receive
“With brotherly love, in honor preferring one another” (Romans 12:10).
It is in loving, not in being loved,
The heart is blest:
It is in giving, not in seeking gifts
We find our quest.
If you are hungry, lacking heavenly food,
Give hope and cheer;
If you are sad and would be comforted,
Stay sorrow’s tear.
Whatever is your longing and your need —
Of that, do give;
So shall your soul be fed, and you indeed
Shall truly live.
Author unknown