Psalm 1 English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

This is very old school but it is still as true today as it was then. So what changed?

We did.

Old Testament dependency was based on doing right. Obedience was a blessing and failure resulted in consequences. They still do but the consequences changed after Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. The consequence of disobedience is no longer eternal death.

The biggest change has happened since Christ sent the Holy Spirit to us to tell us the meaning behind everything that is the Word of God. That is not what is taught by man’s understanding but rather by the Spirit of Truth who does no lie to us.

This is not to say that teachers lie to us even though some do. It is about reliance on the Holy Spirit to affirm truth when we hear it from others. Do we hear our teachers correctly all the time? If their style of communication is unclear we might not receive a confirmation from the Spirit. That does not give us the right to say “Teacher you are wrong!”

Clarity in communication is our responsibility to ask for clarification. “What does that mean?”

Clear communication is essential in all relationships.

Matthew 13:10-13 English Standard Version

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

I left off yesterday asking what you heard when I mentioned pearls. The parable of the pearl is but one of many parables in Matthew 13. Some of my readers would have made the connection to that parable. Some might not, and that is an opportunity to learn.

Reading all of the parables we will discover that only the parable of the sower was explained in Matthew 13. It would seem that by adding an explanation of that parable it elevates that parable to a level of importance above the rest of them.

The parable of the sower is about spreading the seed of the gospel everywhere. No care was taken to ensure that the precious seed only fell on good soil. If we choose to only spread the gospel to people who we deem worthy, then we have judged others.

Matthew 7

Judging Others

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Parables are just one way to discover the mysteries of the bible but do not by themselves instruct us in what to do with that knowledge. It would be unhealthy for a teacher to only share the parables. This life in Christ is much more than just sharing stories.

Many stories in the bible speak to the character of mankind, mistakes and consequences. By themselves they will not tell us how to act out this life in Christ. We need all the Word of God to understand all that we need to be considering that God is molding us.