Living in Liberty

A Ministry of Bryce Lowance

Elder Bryce Lowrance

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Luke 17:11-19 Only One Turned Back

16 June 2017

"And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." (Luke 17:11-19)

In this account, Jesus is now making His final journey to Jerusalem. He will travel through Galilee and Samaria probably hugging the border of each and staying out of large cities or towns. After all, He had already been rejected in both areas. Yet, He does enter one village and it has lepers.

Leviticus 13 requires that lepers live isolated, so it would seem that He went into a leper colony! This place is FULL of lepers.

Ten seek mercy. Only one is thankful. And so it is with sinners. All men are sinners. Those born of the Spirit desire mercy. Only a few of those who receive mercy show thankfulness and worship the Savior.

When the ten lepers ask for mercy, Jesus tells them to go show themselves to the priest. This is what you do when you think you are healed, but Jesus didn't heal them yet. We should act on the commandment of God even though we may not see the results yet. Sometimes the blessing of mercy comes after we obey.

As the men obeyed and went on their way to the priest, Jesus heals all of them. When they realize this, only one turns back to Jesus. The one who turned back was a Samaritan. He was unclean and a half breed! This means that the others were likely Jews and should have known better. Isn't that the case with so many children of God, even those who do attend church? They go through the process but they do not worship God in PURE thankfulness. This leaves an empty whole in their spiritual growth.

This man returned and gave God the glory while at the feet of Jesus. That’s a good place to be! There was no hint of him taking credit or wanting something more. He gave glory to God and recognized that Jesus was the only Mediator of that mercy!

The other nine were healed but only the one was "made whole."

There are many children of God who have been healed of the curse of sin but very few are "made whole." They do not worship God thankfully and therefore lack definition and fullness in their lives.

Faith is given by God and not the cause of salvation. It is the instrument whereby we can understand what God has done for us. Therefore, it just MAKES SENSE that we should use our faith to give thankful glory to God!

"O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalm 107:1)

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." (Col. 2:6-7)

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Tags: discipleship, harmony_of_the_gospels, luke

Welcome

Brentwood Hills Primitive Baptist Church is a community of believers working together to transform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. We believe it is our duty and privilege to live the gospel of the doctrines of grace in such a way as to edify the families within our church and other children of God in our community. Through regular worship based on strong Biblical principles, fellowship, admonishment, and outreach, we glory in the grace of the sovereign God working in our lives thereby showing the Spirit of God in the world.

Brentwood Hills was organized in 1906 in Fort Worth, Texas as Laodicea Primitive Baptist Church. You can find much of the history of the church, as well as other churches here: Primitive Baptist History Database

We identify ourselves as an old-line Primitive Baptist church. If you read our Articles of Faith, you’ll see that we hold to such doctrines as the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. We recognize the King James Version (KJV) as the only English translation worthy of being called the Bible. We believe in salvation solely by the grace of a sovereign God. We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to the earth to do the will of His Father, which was to deliver from the sentence of death all those the Father gave Him before the world began. We believe that Jesus fully satisfied the Father by atoning for all the sins of all His people. In time, we believe the Holy Spirit comes to each person that belongs to Jesus and regenerates them. Then (and only then) can anyone have faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit, by which you are able to believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not you ever hear the gospel, or believe it if you did hear it, or obey it if you did believe it, rest assured that Jesus will remain forever faithful to you because, if He died for you, He will never deny that you belong to Him.

We believe that everyone for whom Christ died will without fail be raised again from the dead to a glorified life. Even if we are alive when He returns to raise the dead, we shall be changed to a glorified life. All the Redeemed will meet the Lord in the air. Then He will take us to Heaven and there we shall forever be with the Lord. The wicked will be raised at the same time as the righteous, but the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment along with Satan and his angels. Until that glorious day when Christ returns to raise the dead, He has provided a place for His people to find rest for their souls. This place is the Church. Jesus Christ set-up His church on this earth before His death on the Cross. The church is there for those of His people who have come to believe that God saved them by His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe that Christ “paid it all” gives believers the strongest motivation to serve Him. Once enlightened to this glorious truth, then the child of God should feel an obligation to become and remain an active member of the His church. To serve the Lord in His church makes for one of the great blessings to experience this side of Heaven. It fulfills you to serve in His church and it gives your life purpose and meaning.