MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE

Trevor S. Ferguson

March 20, 2011

Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (KJV)

1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

INTRODUCTION

The world today has largely been taken over by the culture of materialism. This is the belief that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life. The materialistic worldview has become so pervasive that even in the church today the culture of materialism is abundant. Many preachers have adopted a prosperity theology and have sought to elevate material possessions as a sign of God’s blessings or favour. While often not explicitly stated, they also imply that poverty is due to the absence of God’s favour. While we must acknowledge that the Bible teaches that it is God’s will for us to prosper and be in good health, it is definitely misleading to over emphasize prosperity and blessing at the expense of the basic principles, such as, the need for personal salvation, holiness, righteousness and godly living.  In fact, a careful reading of 3^rd John verse 2 reveals that John’s expression was couched in the context of spiritually prosperity “…, even as thy soul prospereth.”

Today, I want to re-lay one of the cornerstones of Christian Teaching using the second clause of Deuteronomy 8:3 “… Man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”

EXPOSITION

The book of Deuteronomy represents a re-stating of the Law towards the end of Moses’ life. The word actually means “Second Law” and consists of Moses’ farewell messages in which he reviews God’s covenant and promises to Israel. It is in Deuteronomy that we find some fundamental scriptures, such as the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD”. In addition, Deuteronomy 28 records the principles of blessing for those obedient to God’s covenant laws. We note however that the focus is on walking in obedience rather than striving for blessings.

The passage in Deuteronomy 8 was written as a charge to Israel instructing them to remember their past experiences in the wilderness and to understand the purpose of some of those experiences as they prepared for the exposure to abundance in the Promised Land. Embedded in the passage however is a statement which many may have missed while reading, but was brought to prominence by Jesus himself when faced with temptation by the Devil. Both Matthew and Luke in their account of Jesus’ temptation reports how Jesus while being hungry and thirsty after 40-days fasting in the wilderness responded to the Devils suggestion that he turns stones into bread by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 “… Man shall not live by bread alone … “

What then is the significance of this statement? What lessons can we apply to our present life?

The fundamental principle is that LIFE CONSISTS OF MORE THAN THAT WHICH PERTAINS TO THE PHYSICAL MAN and MORE THAN THAT WHICH PERTAINS TO OUT TEMPORAL EXISTENCE. While we affirm that food and other basic needs such as clothing and shelter are NECESSARY for life they are not SUFFICIENT reasons for living. Jesus asks an important question in Matthew 6:25 “Is not life more than meat and the body more than raiment?” He then goes on to instruct us to “… seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you”. Another passage of note is Luke 12:15 where Jesus tells us that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things which he possesses!

In this age of materialism we have been drifting away from such teachings and are increasingly being snared by the devil! How many of us have neglected the things of God while we focus on procuring food and other things for the support of the physical man? How often is it that we can’t   find time to pray or study our bibles because we have to take care of the flesh? How many times have we failed to spend time with or minister to our family as we seek after the material things of this life? How frequently have our families come under attack because we don’t have time to spend with our children because of the pursuit of worldly goods?

God is sending a word of reminder to us today: MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE!!  

OUR LIVES MUST BE BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD. The things that pertain to the kingdom of God are much more important than the things of this life. We must remember that this life is only a tiny fraction of our ultimate existence as we must spend eternity somewhere. The decisions we make today will determine whether we spend eternity in hell or in heaven. WE CANNOT LIVE FOR THIS LIFE ALONE!

REMEMBER ESAU: In moment of hunger he sold his birthright for bread and a bowl of lentils. He lived to regret the decision as Hebrews 12:16-17 tells us, he later sought it carefully with tears. MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE!

Another example is THE RICH FOOL of Luke 12. While he built his barn, preparing to eat drink and be merry, the death angel was around the corner! MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE.

CONCLUSION     

So today we have highlighted the futility of life focused on the physical man and have emphasized that our lives must instead focus on the word of God. I want to challenge all today to examine your life. See if your focus has been sufficiently on God or if you have put too much emphasis on this life. I challenge you to commit or recommit yourself to a life lived by every word of God. It is the only life that will bring satisfaction now and the hope of eternal life.

From today, ALWAYS REMEMBER and NEVER FORGET that MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE!!

WEAPONS AND WARFARE: Should Christians Bear Arms?

Trevor S. Ferguson
March 15, 2011

Romans 12:17-21 (KJV)
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

See the attached power point pdf for a discussion on the topic Should Christians Bear Arms? WEAPONS AND WARFARE 

A summary of the main points is given below:
 

1.      The New Testament teaches a principle of non-violence and no retaliation.

2.       Christians should avoid all situations that results in the death of another human being.

3.       Christians should avoid combat divisions of both the army and the police force

4.       Christians should avoid carrying weapons (definitely not guns)

5.       Christians have a right to defend themselves but only using non-lethal means

JESUS: THE ONLY SAVIOUR

Trevor S. Ferguson

March 5, 2011

Isaiah 45:20-23 (KJV)
²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
²¹ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
²² Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
²³ I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Acts 4:12 (KJV)
¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

INTRODUCTION

In every nation on earth there is a religious system that seeks to explain the existence of man and to offer a view as to what happens to man after death. The reason for this is that God created man with an innate desire to commune with Him. Man by himself and of himself feels incomplete and needs a relationship with a higher being to complete his understanding of himself. The problem however is that many people in their quest for meaning have not come to a full knowledge of who God is, or the way in which one may come to find salvation. People have therefore created all kinds of things and have made them gods – statues of gold, silver, wooden objects, animals and other humans; none of which have the power to save. Another problem is that many who have identified themselves as Christians still have not come to a full knowledge of who Jesus is or what is the bible standard of salvation. The passages today remind us that there is but one God and one Saviour, and that his name is Jesus Christ and that salvation is only through his name.

EXPOSITION

Let us look briefly at the context of the passage so as to understand its message.

Isaiah 45 begins with a declaration concerning Cyrus, king of Persia. Isaiah had prophesied that God would use Cyrus to deliver Israel with regards to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Note that this prophesy was given some 150 years before the event and that Cyrus is called by name before he was even born. God, through Isaiah, calls up this prophetic statement to establish his unique authority and power among the doubters and gainsayers. Let us look at vs. 18-21:

¹⁸For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.  ²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. ²¹ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

God declares himself to be the creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who have spoken and have brought things to pass. God challenges all the people who seek to put their trust in gods who cannot save, to behold his works and his doings and therefore recognize that he is the only Saviour: There is no God beside him, He is a just God and a Saviour, there is none else! He then challenges them to respond to the evidence he has presented: Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else! He then follows it up with a warning  …unto me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear. (Note that the same thought is echoed in Philippians 2:10-11). The question then is, do we wait unto we are forced to obey God or do we do so willingly now? Willing obedience to God comes with peace now and the hope of eternal life, whereas failure to obey will be characterized by the inevitable frustrations and disappointments of this life and eventually separation from God and eternal damnation. All will eventually confess the Lordship of Christ, but forced confession will be too late!

Let us look briefly at the passage in Acts 4: 12

We realize today that many have made a commitment to Christ but have not fully understood the gospel. As Paul said of the Jews in Romans 10 …they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Many well meaning zealous persons are doing much for God but have failed to follow the bible plan of Salvation. (Note Paul himself was such a person.) Acts 4:12 tells us that salvation comes only through the name of Jesus Christ, for there is none other name by which men can be saved. We apply this by water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Anything short of that is inadequate for salvation. There is no other way.

CONCLUSION

Jesus is the only way to Salvation! He invites people everywhere to look to him and be saved; No other god, no other system can bring salvation. Despite what we may have said or done the door to salvation is still open today to all who desire to receive him! Look to Him today and be saved!

See more on the New Testament Plan of Salvation in this link:Essentials of New Testament Salvation