The Strand Study Bible

MATTHEW MATTHEW come ( and they glorified the God of Israel ). However, if the people we help only get help for this world, then all we’ve done is made a better world for them to go to Hell from. Todd Friel, host of “Wretched” on Family Net, notes: Our job is not to make the world a better place for people to go to hell from. 1 In a publication called The Gathering , Franklin Graham noted that churches that have made social justice issues (poverty, AIDS, orphans, clean water, etc.) “job one” in their church are going in a direction Jesus never told the Church to go. 2 Jesus never said, “Go ye into all the world and alleviate the poor and AIDS victims and orphans. Oh, and while you’re at it, I want you to spend your time, your talents and your tithes on cleaning up the water systems of the world.” The truth is: What good is giving a clean glass of water to someone here if he can’t take it with him when he dies? Remember the rich man in Luke 16:24 who died and went to Hell? He cried: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Again, what good is a glass of water here if where you’re going doesn’t have any? Mark Cahill in One Thing You can’t Do In Heaven notes: 1522 Jesus never told us to make social issues more important than the scriptural issue of seeing someone saved. No, He plainly told us to, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (preach the Gospel) –that’s “job one.” Sadly, the Church has failed miserably to proclaim it like God said to proclaim it (Mt 28:18-20). Why? Because the “happiness preachers” have taken over ( Ezk 13:10a ); it’s what people want. 15:32 CHRIST performed miracles because of His compassion for humanity, not His concern for publicity (Phil 2:7). 16:3 a Most people can discern the physical, which is temporal ( ye can discern the face of the sky ). However, few seem to be able to discern the spiritual, which is eternal (called here “ the signs of the times ”). In order to discern the spiritual, one must study the eternal Word and gain its perspective ( II Cor 4:18 ). 16:3 b The “ signs of the times ” dealt with the predictions surrounding the coming of the MESSIAH . Had the Pharisees and the Sadducees been “looking” for the promised SAVIOR (Gen 3:15), they would have clearly seen the “ signs of the times ” and, most likely, accepted CHRIST . However, like most religious people, these men were interested in religion, not a REDEEMER . NOTE – Had the Pharisees and the Sadducees studied just two passages of prophesy concerning the MESSIAH , out of the hundreds and hundreds that were available to them, they would have known the approximate time of the MESSIAH’S coming into the world: 1. According to Malachi 4:2, the MESSIAH is referred to as the “ Sun of righteousness ” The term ( Sun of righteousness ) is a play on words. According to Numbers 24:15-17, Luke 1:78 and Revelation 22:16, the “sun” is an illustration of the SON OF GOD . Therefore, just as God revealed the physical light of the sun four days into creation (Gen 1:16), so God would reveal the spiritual light of the SON OF GOD 4,000 years into creation. All the Pharisees and the Sadducees had to do was study the six days of creation to know the approximate time of the SON’S arrival. Why? Because, according to II Peter 3:8, “ one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day .” Had they checked their calendars, they would have clearly known the approximate time of CHRIST’S coming. 2. According to Daniel 9:24-27, the MESSIAH’S coming would include three events: * His approximate arrival (Dan 9:24-25) - Even the Gentiles knew about His approximate arrival (Mt 2:1-2). * His earthly mission (Dan 9:26) – Even the Samaritans knew about His earthly mission (Jn 4:25). * His redemptive work (Dan 9:26) – Even the common people knew about his redemption (Lk 2:25-38). Three-hundred-million years from now, what will be the only thing that will matter? Will it matter how much money you made? Will it matter what kind of car you drove? Will it matter who won the NCAA football and basketball titles this year? Will it matter who you took to the homecoming dance? Three-hundred-million years from now, the only thing that will matter is who is in heaven and who is in hell. And if that is the only thing that will matter then, that should be one of our greatest concerns now. 3

1 Friel, Todd, host of “ Wretched ” on Family Net (Aug. 2009) 2 Graham, Franklin. The Gathering 3 Cahill, Mark. One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven , Rockwall, TX, Biblical Discipleship Pub., 2002-2008. Print