Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Consider
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Psalm 64:9
The word "consider" (sakal) is linked with fearing God. The implication is that if one does not fear God, he is probably not considering God's ways—what God is doing—and he will end up on His wrong side. When we wisely consider what God is doing, we begin to fear God. When we think through all the things that God is doing, we come to a right appreciation of what is happening.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
"If I Have Not Charity"
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John 7:21-24
Jesus' command or instruction is that they quit judging superficially. His statement is interesting because the Pharisaical sect had for centuries been pouring over the Scriptures, and all of that time had been wasted. Jesus said that all of their thinking about the Sabbath was superficial, and they were not judging righteously. To judge means "to consider"; "to evaluate"; "to size up, to appraise, to discern"; or "to come to an understanding of" to form an opinion. What this means practically is that we will have to gather information, in some cases, from several sources, to compare and to balance them against each other to determine the right way. Notice that Jesus did not find fault with circumcising on the Sabbath—in fact, He used it as His illustration of a correct judgment. Why? The Jews looked into God's Word and saw that God commanded circumcision. They righteously concluded that it was God's pleasure, will, and desire that the circumcision be performed on the eighth day—or we might say, regardless of the day. They understood circumcision, the seal of the Old Covenant, to be of such overriding importance that its practice superseded any given Sabbath. In that sense, circumcision was greater than the Sabbath. A Sabbath circumcision did not happen very often in anybody's lifetime. A family might have ten boys, and maybe none of them would be born on a Friday. Perhaps it was a once-in-a-lifetime event for a large family. But when it did occur that the eighth day fell on a Sabbath, they rightly judged that because of what circumcision represented, it should supersede that Sabbath and be performed. It took only a few minutes, and it was over. THe parents took their squalling baby home, and that was that. The covenant was more important than the Sabbath in this regard. Today baptism—which has some parallels with circumcision—is done on the Sabbath by the true church without one whit of a guilty conscience. Why? For the same reason. Baptism has such overriding importance to a person's making of the New Covenant with God, that it supersedes the Sabbath. Jesus drew on this because it is an easily seen principle. He reckoned that the Jews judged righteously, and of course, He went on to His conclusion that it was therefore not wrong to make a person whole on the Sabbath day for the same reason.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Sabbathkeeping (Part 4)
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Hebrews 10:22-24
The first thing Paul lays out in this transition is a three-step trigger to prime the Hebrew Christians' latent memories so they will be armed with foundational incentives to rouse themselves spiritually and start moving forward. In verses 22-24, he makes three exhortations. First, "let us draw near." In other words, get moving! He says, "Take advantage of this privilege of coming before God, and believe without doubting, knowing your sins are forgiven and remembering that God is faithful and merciful to forgive." Recall that in the performance of their duties, the priests had to wash their hands and feet before entering the holy place. This is why Paul mentions water. He is alluding to the Hebrews' need to become clean. He urges them to repent of their lackadaisical attitudes and to meet with their Maker in prayer. Second, he commands them to "hold fast your profession." Paul uses a similar phrase five times before this. Apparently, lackadaisical drifting was a particularly common problem for them. He wants them to show by their conduct that they believe in what God has promised in the resurrection from the dead. In short, he advises, "Remember your conviction in the awesome hope of our calling." These people were allowing the world to get them down; they were succumbing to a "what's the use" resignation. They were not busy confirming their souls. Paul exhorts them to continue, to persevere in the grace God had already shown them, not wanting them to waste it by failing to look ahead and be persistent. He presses them to yield to God and to allow themselves to be reassured that He is faithful to His promises. Pay special attention to the third exhortation in verse 24. The word "consider" is very emphatic. He urges them to think upon and to strive for unity by giving conscientious care to each other. He wants the Hebrews to give special attention to their brethren's circumstances, trials, temptations, weaknesses, and needs. They need to "fire each other up" to promote love for God and for each other and to carry out our common responsibilities. Christians do this by setting a good example, by occasional suitable exhortations, by acts of kindness, and by expressions of appreciation. Notice that as this exhortation begins, Paul calls upon the "big three" Christian virtues: faith, hope, and love. These would form the foundation of what the Hebrews must do if they were to reverse their slide toward the Lake of Fire. These virtues must be implemented because they affect the quality of a person's relationship with God. Because a Christian has God's Spirit, these virtues are already part of him. However, each individual must himself choose to use them to turn his life around; no one can do this for another. Of course, it is understood that God is always there to help a person do this.
John W. Ritenbaugh
God's Power: Our Shield Against Apostasy
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