SIGNIFICANT LISTS

 

I had company coming for lunch last Friday, so Thursday morning I wrote down two lists I had been making in my mind. One was a “To Do” list, the other a grocery list. Then I categorized the ‘To Do” list according what tasks needed to be done first, in order of importance.

I organized the grocery list differently, arranging the grocery items according to where I would quickly find each thing in each store. Without my lists I would have forgotten essentials, wasted time and energy and may not have reached my goals for the Friday lunch.

There are many lists in the Bible. When we come across one we should pay close attention, because when God makes lists for us they are especially important. They inform us of vital things that we don’t think of, and teach us how to successfully reach a desired goal. They help us to know Jesus Christ.

 

Some of God’s lists are in order of importance like my “To Do“ list. For instance, the list of the Ten Commandments starts with the most important Commandment of all, which gives us a reason for keeping the rest of them. The ten commandments are a precise picture of how it would look if we could perfectly do the first listed, most important commandment.

" 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'

"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

No matter what good we do, or evil we don’t do, without this “great and foremost” commandment, keeping the rest of the list would be legalistic do-gooding. God’s purpose in the list is that we will see that we need a Savior because without Him, in spite of our efforts, we love ourselves with all our heart, soul, and mind rather that God. Jesus is the only perfectly humble Man who perfectly kept this list, and is qualified to be our Savior. These facts are vital to understanding God, scripture, the gospel, and ourselves.

Some of Scripture’s significant lists are progressive in that they progress from one pre-requisite to another, from the first thing listed to the last, each building upon the previous item. An example is II Peter 1:5-11.

 

(I include 5:2-4 for important context.)

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

Like all progressive lists, this one starts with where we must begin. If we are to make progress through the list toward the goal, moral excellence is first. Then we will progress on to knowledge of God, then to self control, and then--down the rest of the list. We will be rendered “useless and unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” if we try to start in the middle of the list, putting off supplying “moral excellence” in our faith. Starting here may require repentance and confession, then trusting in the grace and forgiveness provided by Jesus Christ’s payment of death for our sins.

 

Another progressive list is in Romans 5:3-5

 

“And not only this (context: God’s grace in justifying us, and the hope it gives us), but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

The “proven character” (like Christ‘s) , “hope” (of heaven with no fear of dying), and “the love of God” (from the Holy Spirit) of a Christian starts with being triumphantly optimistic in tribulations, knowing they are of God‘s grace for our eternal good! Consistent godly character, hope and love is achieved by determinedly responding to tribulation with God’s grace and love. What a significant insight this is, from one of God’s significant lists.

Some Scripture lists are defining lists, as well as progressive lists, such as Galatians 5:22-23.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.“

This list defines the fruit, “love“, that the Holy Spirit produces in us. If we accept the cross of discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into us to grow us toward living by His supernatural love. This love is defined by, and results in, the list of things that follow. We can read the list, and evaluate the source (The Spirit of Christ) and fruit (joy, peace, patience, etc.) of our love. But, again, the starting point is love from the Holy Spirit of Christ. Without it we will not know joy and peace, or become righteously patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, or self-controlled.

 

Another defining list is in II Timothy 3:1-5.

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

This lists starts with “men will be lovers of self” and then defines how that looks, so that we can recognize it in ourselves and others. Loving ourselves as gods is the SIN from which all our sins originate. It is this overriding sin that the greatest commandment speaks to, and is why we desperately need a Savior to save us from our automatic, genetic, idolatrous SIN of loving ourselves more than God (“with all our heart, soul, and mind” all the time) and His people. Lovers of self commit idolatrous sins against God and people by putting themselves first, loving themselves most. Again, we need a Savior! From ourselves!

Lists in Scripture sometime organize related concepts to teach us Jesus Christ’s counterintuitive thoughts and ways. As though we were saying “Well, here’s what I think…”, Jesus answers “But I say to you….”. Such a list is in Matthew 5:38-48.

"You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

Our automatic setting of the flesh, our SIN, and the world system is telling us “an eye for an eye” and “hate your enemy”. We do not need a list to remind us to be vengeful and unloving. But we do need to refer to the counterintuitive “But I say to you” lists constantly, lest we lose our way in the natural easy sin of self interested love, and forget that we need a Savior and His Holy Spirit to be our righteousness before the Father.

I will include one last significant list, out of many in scripture not mentioned here, that contains a caution, a definition, and a promise! It defines the deceptive world of sin that we automatically respond to.

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” I John 2:15-17

This list tells us that there are two warring sources of motivation to love two very different things that are enemies of one another. There is a choice to make from loving the world (we are automatically doing that!) to “doing the will of God“. That ‘will of God” is found in Jesus Christ who, in His disciple, loves the Father whole heartedly (“heart, soul, mind“) and the people He puts in his life. He saves us from ourselves, and then gives us His pure love of God and people.

Were the Scriptures to list all that Jesus Christ has done for His called out people, all that He is to them now, all that He will be to them for eternity, it would be an infinitely Significant List! The world could not contain it, nor heaven. We could not comprehend its’ mystery. We see tiny glimpses into that infinitely Significant List in the Significant Lists given us in Scripture--each one begging our close attention to and faithful adherence of God‘s orderly revelation to us. May we see the glory of His grace in them.