Please God By Realizing He Is Sovereign

Posted on March 28, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Brandon Morgan on Unsplash

Tonight we’ll be beginning a new section of Proverbs, chapter sixteen.

By Way Of Introduction

My wife and I love to watch certain shows from The History Channel like “Mountain Men” and “Ax Men”. I don’t know what it is about it, but I like seeing reality shows where people are struggling against nature. One of our favorites is “Swamp People”. One of the characters on there is Glenn Guist. Glenn lives off of what he can find in the swamp. Several years ago his brother Mitchell died while working on a houseboat. In remembrance of his brother, Glenn and several others finished the project that Mitchell was working on when he died. Glenn said:

“I know my brother is looking down from Heaven smiling, happy that we finished this project for him.”

I’m now speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). I’ve watched the show since it came out in 2010. At no point has either Glenn or Mitchell acknowledged the God of the Scripture, nor His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. When they were able to trap squirrels (and other things) to eat, they made statements like “That was lucky”, never “We were blessed”. Perhaps they are believers in Christ. Perhaps the network cut that part out when airing it. If so, I praise the Lord. But what Glenn said echoes what many people tell me every day. When the lose a loved one they say,

“At least they are not suffering now.”

or “I know Heaven gained another Angel.”

or “I know that ____ is looking down on me right now.”

Those are foolish and unbiblical statements. If the person who left this life without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are not in a “better place now”. When the self involved rich man died, and was buried, “he lifted up his eyes in HELL, being in TORMENT” (Luke 16:23-24). He was not in a better place. When Lazarus died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s Bosom (Luke 16:22), he was in a better place.

Neither Lazarus nor the rich man “looked down from Heaven” to see their earthly families.

Lazarus did not become an angel, but was carried by the angels.

How does one get to Heaven? You must “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved” (Acts 16:31). The God Who owns Heaven, and all things (even us) has made faith in what His Son did on Calvary the key to Heaven. I believe much of our problems come about because we misunderstand the nature of God. God is not a “Big Man in Heaven”. He is IMMENSE, SOVEREIGN. The King James, along with the New King James, the New Living Translation, the New International Version, the English Standard Version, The Christian Standard Bible, the New American Standard Bible all translate YHWH or Yᵊhōvâ [Strong’s Concordance] into English as LORD (all capital letters).

Our God is SOVEREIGN. He is YHWH, LORD. As we come into Proverbs 16 we’re coming into a collection of scriptures that emphasizes the SOVEREIGN NATURE of our God. Eight of the first nine verses are YHWH sayings. Often translated into English as Yahweh or Jehovah, this name of God was considered so holy that the ancient Jews from around 300 BC refused to say it out loud. They substituted the name of God ADONAI in its place.

The God Of The Bible Is Sovereign,
Ruling All That He Has Made

Proverbs 16:1 The preparations (maʿărāḵ) of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Word Study: The word translated “PREPARATIONS” is the Hebrew maʿărāḵ, which means “the mental planning, arrangements, calculations, plotting in the mind”. Found only here in the Scripture, this word emphasizes that even our “free-will” can be over ruled by God.

Illustrate: Humans are often arrogant, speaking big plans. We are much like those at the Babel, originally founded by a mighty hunter named NIMROD. A powerful and charismatic man, he built a kingdom beginning with Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh (Genesis 10:10). That Kingdom was so prosperous that they thought they could build a tower to Heaven (Genesis 11:4).

The plan of man at the Tower of Babel was to defy God (Genesis 1:22 compared with Genesis 11:4), to NOT fill the earth, but to stay in one place.

God confused their language at Babel, and they scattered. “The answer of the tongue, is from the LORD”. God gives us air to breath, and a tongue to speak. Man may plan his words, but God controls the outcome of our words and plans.

The Sovereignty of God gives the believer comfort:Jesus told us that we as believers would be hated in this world. Jesus said:

Luke 21:12-15 (ESV) … {unbelievers} will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Though we will be tried, we are to rely on God. Evil may abound, but God SUPER ABOUNDS. The Joel Osteen of the Old Testament, Balaam, was hired to curse Israel (Numbers 23-24). Though he tried, God would not allow him to curse His people. Balaam found out through a talking donkey that God is in control. “The answer of the tongue, is from the LORD”.

Again Jesus said, “When they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do NOT be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but SAY WHATEVER IS GIVEN YOU IN THAT HOUR, FOR IT IS NOT YOU THAT SPEAK, BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Mark 13:11, ESV).

God is in control. Let HIM LEAD. Rest in His power, not in yours. Skipping down to …

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart DEVISETH (ḥāšaḇ) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Word Study: God is saying the same thing here. Though the word maʿărāḵ is only found once in Scripture, the word translated “DEVISETH”, ḥāšaḇ is used 124 times. ḥāšaḇ means “to reckon, calculate, to determine”. The very first time the word is used is when God shows Abraham the stars of Heaven, and says “as the stars are, so shall your children be”. We are told:

Genesis 15:6 (KJV) {Abraham} believed in the LORD; and HE (the LORD) COUNTED {ḥāšaḇ} it to him for righteousness.

We may pray, but God has the final say. God has given us freedom of will, but God’s will is always greater. Praise God for that! If God not exercised control over human history, we would more than likely have destroyed ourselves and the planet long ago.

The Sovereign Nature of God is displayed in the work of salvation. We do not work our way into Heaven. We believe on the Lord Jesus, surrendering our lives to Him. When that happens God changes the believer, just as He promised through the Prophet:

Ezekiel 36:26-28 (ESV) I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

God opens our eyes to our sinfulness, our hopeless estate, and calls us to salvation. We REPENT, and surrender to Him. He SOVEREIGNLY effects a change in us.

God changes us from the heart outward. The Christian obeys God because the Christian has a changed heart. This is illustrated in an early disciple called “Lydia”:

Acts 16:13-14 (ESV) … on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

Going back to what Glenn Guist said earlier – and what many others tout – those we consider good people do not automatically go to Heaven. Who makes the determination of Heaven of Hell? Not my opinion, not your opinion. God’s determination. We read:

Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

Everybody believes themselves to be better than the one next to them. Those in the most egregious sins justify their actions by comparing them to the actions of others in humanity. We consider ourselves “clean” or “unclean” based on our judgment. But “The LORD weighs the spirits”. The LORD examines the soul, because He made the soul, and owns the soul. The LORD defines right and wrong.

The LORD Weighs The Soul

It is so sad that so many are headed toward hell fire and eternal damnation, believing themselves to be “good, moral people”. We make excuses for our sin. We minimize our sin. We imitate the sin of Adam and Eve, and blame others – even God – for our failures. We pass laws that make our evil seem righteous, murdering children or twisting God’s standards. “The LORD WEIGHETH the SPIRITS”. It is God Who determines right and wrong.

God Looks At The Heart: The Pharisees thought that they were the ones who determined what was right and wrong. They fasted. They prayed. They were quite open in their religious acts. Yet Jesus called them “hypocrites”, people with two faces who did their acts of religion to please people, not the Lord. Jesus said:

Matthew 6:1-6 (ESV) Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Jesus was not saying that we should not do good in public. Far from it. In another placed Jesus told us as the Children of God “Let your LIGHT SHINE BEFORE MEN that they may SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, and GLORIFY your Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16, KJV). What Jesus – and the Bible – is telling us is that God knows the state of your heart. You are to do good to please God and bring glory to His Name. But you are not to do good to be seen of men so that YOU will be glorified.

God knows what YOU are DOING.

The Pharisees were not impressing God, for they were doing what they did so others would praise them. It was for THEIR gain, not for the glory of God. One commentary notes:

“Jesus told a Samaritan woman that the Father seeks those who worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). An outward practice of religion is worthless unless it is motivated by love for God and done in accordance with the truth of God’s Word. It is God, not man (1 Samuel 16:7), who is the perfect measure of our morality.”

To Please God, Do All With God In Mind

Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Give your life to God. Don’t let it be about you, but for God’s glory. To be self seeking and narcissistic is to ultimately come to vanity. The happiest and most joyful life is the one of service, surrendered to Christ. Jesus said:

John 16:33 (ESV) I have said these things TO YOU, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

You may be in a bad job. I’ve often been in bad jobs, bad places, bad assignments. But when I gave the job to Jesus, and did as best as I could for His glory, and not mine, I was able to overcome. In God, in Christ, you have peace. Do what you do for God’s glory. When your efforts are fully entrusted to God’s will and God’s control – you will have good results.

Psalm 37:5 (ESV) Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.

Illustrate: A good example of this was when Abraham sent his trusted servant to find a bride for Isaac. This was a tall order! God had promised Abraham his son Isaac. Through Isaac, the line of the Messiah would go. Through Isaac, God would “bless all the nations of the world” (Genesis 12:3). Abraham was “well advanced in years” (Genesis 24:1), and unable to find a mate for his son. So he asked his trusted servant to go. Abraham told the servant:

Genesis 24:3-4 (ESV) swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.

Abraham knew that the Canaanite women would lead Isaac away from God, for they were idolaters. So he sent his servant back to Ur of the Chaldees to find a bride. Traveling for many miles, the servant sought God in prayer. He prayed:

Genesis 24:12-14 (ESV) O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.

When Rebekah, the future wife of Isaac came to the well, she did exactly as that servant prayed for. Rebekah was to be Isaac’s bride! Finding Isaac’s wife, that precious servant said …

Genesis 24:48 (ESV) I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.

Every great work that has been done for God, has been done through God. The Bible says that “when PRIDE COMETH, then COMETH SHAME” (Proverbs 11:2), and “PRIDE GOETH BEFORE DESTRUCTION, and an ARROGANT SPIRIT BEFORE A FALL” (Proverbs 16:18). Put your life and its outcome in God’s hands – and you will be blessed with success.

Illustrate: When Nehemiah wanted to leave his master to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he prayed and asked God to guide the King in sending him (Nehemiah 2:4). Following his prayer and request, King Artaxerxes not only blessed Nehemiah’s mission, but he also supplied the building materials.

God controls the heart of the King (Proverbs 21:1). Our God is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).

The LORD God Owns EVERYTHING

Proverbs 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

God owns everything, and controls everything so that ultimately HE WILL BE GLORIFIED. The wicked often think that they have gotten away with their evil – but a day of reckoning is coming. God said in His Word …

Romans 14:11-12 (KJV) … As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

What we have, we have on loan from God. God did not make people wicked, but He foresaw their wickedness, and permitted it to a point – but He controls the outcome. When our Lord Jesus came into the world the Bible says:

John 3:19 … (NKJV) the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus came unto His own, but His own would not receive Him. Crucifying Jesus, the wicked thought that they were destroying Jesus Christ, and hiding His influence from the world. Instead, evil and wicked people caused Calvary, which in turn provides salvation to whosoever believeth in Him. God says:

Ezekiel 33:11 (NKJV) ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?

God bids the wicked to REPENT and TURN BACK to Him. But whether they will or will not, it has no effect on the final outcome. God uses the wicked.

When the wicked enter into Hell forever, they will be monuments to the JUSTICE and LONG SUFFERING of God. The Bridges Commentary notes:

“ {God} can decree nothing but good. If he permits evil, so far as not to hinder it, He hates it as evil, and permits it only for, the greater good – the greatest of all good – the more full manifestation of His own glory in it, and out of it. He will be glorified in, or on, all his creatures. ‘All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord!’ (Psalm 145:10). His retributive justice, no less than the riches of His grace, sets out His glory. (Romans 9:22-23)”.

Wickedness comes about when we set ourselves above God. We end with:

Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

God has a special distaste for the arrogant, the pride filled person. When God spoke of the seven deadly sins:

Proverbs 6:16-17 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 A PROUD LOOK (rûm ʿayin)..

The very first of these is PRIDEFULNESS. Pride is the sin of the devil. Made beautiful by God, the Arch Angel Lucifer began to become pride filled and narcissistic. Filled with pride he forgot that what he had, he had from the Lord. The Prophet declared:

Isaiah 14:12-15 (KJV) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Lucifer the Arch Angel, through pride, became the devil, the Red Dragon, that Old Serpent. He entered the Garden of Eden and introduced pride to Adam and Eve. Pride is the chiefest of sins, the root of all other sin. The step brother of Christ wrote:

James 4:6 (AP) God resists the PROUD, but GIVES GRACE to the HUMBLE.

You cannot be saved in your pride. Pride led man to eat of the forbidden tree, and to walk away from the Tree of Life. Pride leads people into damnation today. Many are proud of how good they feel they are. They virtue signal, but refuse to come to the Tree of Christ, that Old Rugged Cross. Hear the words of King David:

Psalm 51:17 (ESV) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

God will not bless the prideful. God will not save those who will not bend the knee to Him. We are told:

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

Grace is not available to the prideful. God says, “He that worketh PRIDE SHALL NOT DWELL IN THE MIDST OF MY HOUSE” (Psalm 101:1-2). By the mercy and truth of God in Jesus Christ, the sins of the believer are taken away. The power of sin over the life is destroyed by the mercy of Calvary. Christ bids us to bring our lives, broken and confused, to Him. Surrendering to Him as Lord and Savior, we humble ourselves before God’s Word and God’s Command. The Father sent His Son into the world to atone for our sin. Jesus Himself, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, humbled Himself. Jesus …

Philippians 2:7-9 (KJV) made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [9] Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

God humbled Himself to save you. You must humble yourself to be saved. If you are saved, it is “BY MERCY AND TRUTH”. I have been asked the question before, “When I sin, I ask God to forgive me for Christ’s sake … and yet I still feel there is something else I must do. Why do I still feel at odds with God?” Beloved, this is PRIDE.

It is PRIDE that says, “I must do this penance, I must count these beads, I must pray to this saint, I must flagellate myself emotionally to please God”.

Salvation is all of humility, not pride. The proud Pharisees would not follow the path of Christ, the path of “MERCY AND TRUTH”. Jesus told them:

Matthew 21:31 (ESV) Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.

Who shall enter into Heaven? The religious? No, but “the one who DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN” (Matthew 7:21). What is the will of the Father? Jesus said, “This is the Work of God, that YOU BELIEVE ON HIM WHOM HE HATH SENT” (John 6:29).

It is not by our efforts that we are saved, by by the finished work of Christ. Once saved, we follow Him, and do His will. When we fail, we REPENT, and put our sin under His Blood and His Work – not ours. It is abnormally normal to want to “pay back” God, or to “make good” our bad. It is also prideful, foolish, and ineffective. The Christian way of life cannot be lived in the power of the flesh. It must be lived out through the mercy and truth of God’s Sacrifice, of God’s Savior. May God touch your hearts with his Word. Amen.

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Do Not Modify God’s Word

Posted on March 23, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Romans 9:13-16 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

We Must Stay Within The Context
To Understand The Bible

We are coming through one of the most hotly debated Chapters of the Bible as we study Romans Chapter 9. A lot of “isms” were formed in the Christian Church because Bible Scholars practiced eisegesis instead of exegesis.

Eisegesis BAD, Exegesis GOOD

I just used two words you probably don’t understand, but you will. Eisegesis starts with what sounds like the pronoun “I”. Eisegesis is when you look at a text of Scripture and think, “How can I make this text satisfy my wants and desires? How can I make this text about ME?” The other word, Exegesis, comes from the Greek word exēgéomai (Strongs 1834), which means “to lead out or draw out of a narrative, to unfold a teaching, in particular the things related to God”. The word was used in Luke when the disciples from Emmaus met Jesus on the road home right after the Passover. They had seen Jesus die a horrid death on the Cross. Jesus met with them, and they didn’t know Who He was. They invited Him to supper, and as Jesus broke bread with them their eyes were opened … and He vanished out of their sight! (Luke 24:31). They immediately headed back to Jerusalem, and the Bible says:

Luke 24:35 (KJV) and they TOLD {exēgeomai} what things [were done] in the Way, and how {Jesus} was known of them in breaking of bread …

They SAW Jesus, and added nothing to or took nothing from that encounter. They EXEGETED the experience. The same word is used to describe the ministry of Christ:

John 1:18 (KJV) No man hath seen God at any time; the only Begotten Son {Jesus}, which is in the bosom of the Father {He is loved of the Father}, He hath DECLARED exēgeomai Him.

Jesus added nothing to or took nothing away from the Word of the Father. He said, “If you have seen ME, you have seen the FATHER” (John 14:19). Jesus said, “I came not to do My will, but the will of Him Who sent Me” (John 5:30; 6:38). Jesus added nothing, but spoke “it is written”, declaring the Word and Will of God without modification.

This is what we are supposed to do when we EXEGETE the text. We draw from the text, we do not impose our will on it. We ask the Father, “What would YOU want me to learn?”, then apply it to our lives.

This chapter is not about God programming some to salvation and some to damnation. In the first five verses we see the chapter is about ISRAEL:

Romans 9:2-4 (KJV) I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 Who are Israelites …

As I said when we started this text, this Chapter is not about individuals, but about the nation Israel.

Paul laments how the Messiah came to Israel, but Israel as a nation rejected Him. The Apostle told us:

John 1:11 (KJV) “Jesus came unto HIS OWN (the Jews, Israel), and HIS OWN RECEIVED HIM NOT”

Jesus was a Jew. He came to the Jews first as Messiah. Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham:

Genesis 18:18 … (NKJV) Abraham SHALL SURELY BECOME A GREAT AND MIGHTY NATION {this will be Israel}, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in Him {this is the promise of the Messiah through Israel}?

God didn’t say that Abraham might become a great nation that would bless all the other nations. God said, “Abraham SHALL SURELY BECOME A GREAT AND MIGHTY NATION”. Why “SURELY”? Because God is in control. God is sovereign. The Messiah will come into human history through Israel.

God sent the lineage of Christ from Abraham, to Isaac, and at Isaac’s twins the lineage of Christ branched off. The physically superior and first born Esau would have been the expected line of the Messiah. Instead, God chose a broken branch called Jacob. God decreed that “The Elder (Esau) shall serve the Younger (Jacob). Esau thought this was unfair. People have accused God of being unfair or unjust since the formation of Adam.

Is God Unrighteous Or Mean Spirited?

Romans 9:12-14 (KJV) It was said unto {Rebekah, Isaac’s wife}, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

When God told Rebekah “The Elder twin Esau shall serve the Younger twin Jacob” (Genesis 25:22-23). Around 430-480 years would pass from Jacob’s birth to the rise of Moses. When God called Moses to write the Book of Genesis, it would be another 1000 years before Malachi would write “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated”.

Esau & Edom Hated God: God sent the line of the Messiah through Jacob, who would become Israel. The line of Esau, though blessed of God, would become thoroughly pagan, rejecting God. The national God of Edom was QOS, along with Baal and Asherah.

Esau & the Edomites Hated Israel: When Israel left Egypt under God’s leadership – the Exodus – they were led by God through the King’s Highway. Israel asked Edom:

Numbers 20:17 (ESV) Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King ‘s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.

Edom refused their request. “You shall NOT PASS THROUGH MY LAND, or I will COME OUT WITH A SWORD” (Numbers 20:18). Edom not only stood against the will of God in sending the Messiah through Jacob, but did what she could do to destroy Israel. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 23:7 You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother.

“Is your life miserable because misery is baked into the structure of the world, or is your life miserable because you do stupid things and refuse to learn and bring endless misery on yourself in your presumption?”Jordan Peterson

The Edomites did stupid things, but blamed God. The Edomites believed that the God of the Jews was unrighteous, mean spirited. Yet this is not true. God gave Edom a land of their own, and blessed that nation richly though they would not acknowledge Him, but only idols. God determined that the line of the Messiah would go through Jacob, or Israel – not Esau. God knows best. And God is GOOD!

Why did God choose Jacob over Esau?

Joseph over his other brothers?
David over his other brothers?
Israel over the other nations?
Peter to lead the Apostles?
Paul to be Judas Iscariot’s replacement?

Romans 9:15 For {God} saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (a quote from Exodus 33:19)

Because God is God.

God showed Canaan to Abraham.
God gifted Canaan to Abraham.
God told Israel to go into Canaan, casting them out.

God told Israel in Exodus 33:2 (NKJV) … I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

How dare God do this? Beloved, God is God. He owns it all. God owns the earth and all that is in it. God gives us life, light, loot, love. God chooses what is right and wrong. He will not give up His GODNESS in order to please you or me. He said “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy”.

This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas–
His hand the wonders wrought.

God made it. God made us. Are you afflicted. Seek Him in humility. Pray! Focus on His glory. Trust in His mercy and love. We are not God. We cannot choose our sex. We cannot choose our pronouns. We cannot make anything that He will not allow us to make.

To Our Merciful God Be The Glory

Romans 9:16 So then it is not of him that WILLETH, nor of him that RUNNETH, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Some of you still think you are gods. You are not. Some of you are like Pharaoh, trying to stand against God. How many Pharaohs do we have here today? God laughs!

Romans 9:17-18 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth. {quoted from Exodus 9:16-17} 18 Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.

If you are Pharaoh, it is because God raised you up. If you are Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, it is because God raised you up. Whether you be Taylor Swift or Joel Osteen, God raised you up.

God raised up Pharaoh. He raised up Egypt. Egypt could have died out during the Great Famine, but God sent Joseph to Egypt to guide them through the years of want. God used Egypt to shelter and grow Israel, from a small family, to a great nation. God demanded that Pharaoh “Let My people go”, but Pharaoh refused, believing himself to be a god. He was not a god, and neither are we.

Illustrate: Everyone knows the name Billy Graham, but few today know the name of Charles Templeton. Before Billy became a household name, Templeton preached nightly revivals to stadium crowds of up to 30,000 people. Templeton in 1957 renounced his faith in God, and wrote a memoir “Farewell to God: My Reasons For Rejecting The Christian Faith”. I’ve never read it, and never will. When Templeton asked Billy Graham why he believed in God with all the bad in the world, Billy said:

“I believe the Genesis account of creation because it’s in the Bible. I’ve discovered something in my ministry: When I take the Bible literally, when I proclaim it as the word of God, my preaching has power. When I stand on the platform and say, ‘God says,’ or ‘The Bible says,’ the Holy Spirit uses me. There are results. Wiser men than you or I have been arguing questions like this for centuries. I don’t have the time or the intellect to examine all sides of the theological dispute, so I’ve decided once for all to stop questioning and accept the Bible as God’s word.”

God raises up, and puts down. God was going to bring the Messiah into the world through Israel – and did. God wants whosoever will to be informed of the Gospel, to know that salvation will only come through faith in the Messiah – not in our good works or powers.

God Is The Potter, We The Clay
God’s aim is His Glory & His Mercy

Romans 9:19-21 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto HONOR, and another unto DISHONOR?

God made both Jacob and Esau, Israel and Edom. God has control over the nations that He has made. God has control over America, and the Church. God controls your life, and mine.
His will WILL be DONE!

God raised up Israel, and raised up Edom and Egypt to build up His nation Israel. God cast out the Canaanites so that Israel could have the Promised Land. God endures a lot from humanity. Now Paul asks us a question:

Romans 9:22-24 What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, ENDURED with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory

24 Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Israel was God’s Chosen that would bring forth the Messiah. But Israel was not chosen to be the only ones saved. By the time Christ came through Israel, that chosen Nation had forgotten that God told them that He wanted to REACH THE WHOLE WORLD THROUGH ISRAEL. It was never God’s intention to just share the Gospel to the Jews only …. but also to the Gentiles.

God’s goal was always two-fold: Bring a nation out of Abraham, and a Messiah out of that nation for the WHOLE WORLD.

When the Messiah came, He initially told His disciples:

Matthew 10:5-6 (ESV) … Go NOWHERE among the Gentiles and enter NO TOWN of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

The Messiah came through Israel, and His initial ministry was to Israel. This would not last His whole ministry. About the middle of His ministry Jesus would send His disciples to the Gentiles as well. The Gospel of Christ …

Romans 1:16 … the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

While ministering in Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman – a Gentile – came begging Jesus. She had a demon possessed daughter, and wanted Jesus to heal her. Jesus said:

Matthew 15:24 … I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Jesus was not rejecting the Gentiles, but to fulfill God’s Promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Israel was to be saved first. Israel suffered under godless leadership for many years, and godless preachers. The Lord said:

Jeremiah 50:6 (ESV) My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains {where the idols were, the high places}. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.

Israel repeatedly wandered from God, but God endured their wandering in order to keep His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God endured their idolatry so that – at the right time – the Messiah, Jesus Christ, could come. The Messiah would gather the lost sheep of Israel (Ezekiel 34:23-24; Micah 5:4-5). Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Savior of Israel, the Savior of the world (John 10:11-16).

When the Canaanite woman persisted, Jesus said:

Matthew 15:26 (ESV) … It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.

The woman, humbling herself, replied:

Matthew 15:27 (ESV) … Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

Jesus declared, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour (Matthew 15:28). Humility and submission to the Messiah brings saving Grace. It was always God’s intention to save the world through Christ, through Israel.

God Is Not Done With Israel

Paul is now going to go to Old Testament Scripture to explain that Israel’s rejection of Christ is not a horrible failure, but something that God planned for. He quotes first the Book of Hosea:

Romans 9:24-26 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As he saith also in Osee {Hosea 1:10}, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

Our God is in the SAVING business. When the Jews as a nation rejected Christ, this became the opportunity for the Gospel of Christ to go out to the Gentiles. But God is not done with Israel. Though Israel today rejects the Messiah, there is coming a day when that nation will come to God.

Romans 9:27-29 Esaias {Isaiah} also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. {quoting Isaiah 10:20-23; 11:11} 29 And as {Isaiah} said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrha. {quoting Isaiah 1:9}

God will not abandon His people. God has a remnant. Israel shall be saved. In the future Christ will rule and reign on this earth from Jerusalem. Israel shall be saved.

What can we who are Gentiles
learn from Israel?

When the Messiah came through Israel and to Israel, Israel wanted a Messiah Who would conquer Rome and restore their national power. Israel wanted God on their own terms, not on His. Many today who call themselves “Christian” are not Christ followers, but people who follow an idol tacked to a gold cross. When you kneel to kiss the ring of a man called “Pope”, or “Cardinal”, or “Father”, or kneel to worship at a statue or the “Queen of Heaven”, you are worshiping a golden calf. When you do religious things to please God rather than worship and follow Jesus, you are not saved. You can call yourself “Israel”, or “Baptist”, or “Non-Denominational”, or “Pentecostal”, or “Methodist”, or “Presbyterian”, or “Church of Christ”, or “Christian Church”, or “Episcopal”, or “Lutheran”, or “Wesleyan”, or “Nazarene”, or …. you get the point?

Romans 9:30-32 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.

Salvation does not come about by your works, but by CHRIST’S WORK. What must you do to be saved? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you SHALL BE SAVED”. What did Jesus tell us?

Matthew 16:24-26 (NKJV) If anyone desires to come after Me, let him DENY himself, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS, and FOLLOW Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Do you want to come after Jesus? To live the life God wants you to live? To inherit eternal life? DENY yourself. Take up the Cross as YOURS – Jesus died for ME! And FOLLOW Jesus. Salvation is all about Jesus, all about the Messiah, all about God’s Word and Promise. To those who refuse to follow Jesus, we read:

Romans 9:33 … As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offense (quotation of Isaiah 8:14-15): and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. (quotation of Isaiah 28:16)

Jesus is the solid ground Rock on which you can stand – or a Rock that you will stumble over and fall. Will you follow Him? Will you give your life to Him? May God the Holy Spirit move in your hearts this very day. Amen.

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The Heart Must Be Restrained

Posted on March 20, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

The Unrestrained Heart Is Horrid

Proverbs 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

One man I like to listen to on the Internet is Dr. Jordan Peterson. Though not a Christian (I don’t believe), he is open to Christian teaching, and a practicing clinical Psychologist. Peterson made this telling statement:

“When people read the history of Nazi Germany, they always think they’re Schindler, they always think they’re the person who would have saved Anne Frank … They never read history as a perpetrator. They think, ‘I wouldn’t have done that’. Did you watch people during the Pandemic? In Canada, 30% of my neighbors were thrilled that they had the opportunity to inform on the people around them. Thrilled! They would have worn those … masks for the rest of their life if the payoff would have been they could feel morally superior and inform. … People have a very dark side.”

The human heart, unrestrained by the God Who made us, is a horrible thing. Jesus knows this. When He preached His Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:

Matthew 5:27-28 (KJV) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

When Jesus declared “you heard it was said”, or “it is written”, He was referring to how people interpreted the seventh Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery” (Exodus 20:14). The religious and self righteous believed that if you avoided the physical act of adultery, then you met the requirements of God. They thought that this was all the commandment was about. But our Lord Jesus said that if you “look on {blepō, turn the thoughts to or direct the mind to, to contemplate, weigh carefully, or examine} a woman to lust after {epithymeō, to covet, long for, to seek the forbidden} her” that this was the same as adultery.

When you dwell or think on the evil, in time you will likely DO the evil.

Proverbs 15:26 The thoughts of the WICKED are an ABOMINATION to the Lord…

The “WICKED” (Hebrew raʿ) is not a reference to a wayward believer, but a person who is unsubmitted to God. A person who rejects the direction of God’s commandments. A person who toys with sin for pleasure. Jesus was not condemning the casual glance or the errant thought. He was pinpointing the source of evil. When a WICKED person THINKS WICKED THOUGHTS while gazing at another man’s wife or another woman’s husband, it will not be long before they begin to plot how they shall accomplish the evil. This is the state of the wicked.

Adultery does not begin when the clothes come off, but begins when the wicked mind rejects the Word and Command of God.

Jesus applied this to the sixth commandment against murder.

Matthew 5:21-22 (KJV) Ye have heard that it was said {or “it is written”} by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill {phoneuō, slay the innocent, do murder}; and whosoever shall KILL {murder} shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca {raka, a simpleton, a moronic person, a person without sense}, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool {mōros, the one who is godless, one whom God does not care for}, shall be in danger of hell fire.

When you minimize someone in your heart, making them useless or nothing, and you are angry with them without good cause, then you begin to justify your thought process. First that person is RACA, an empty head, a simpleton. They are of no value. Next that person is MOROS, useless, Godless, something that God would take pleasure in you hating. As you in your thought process diminish your enemy – real or imagined – it becomes easy to allow actual murder to creep in.

When we remake people to be like furniture or animals in our hearts, then we it is easy to do evil toward them. This happened in America, in our Constitution. When Chattel Slavery existed in these United States, Article 1, Section 2 of our Constitution had a three-fifths clause:

“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.”

Though slaves were not directly addressed, the “Three Fifths Clause” implied that slaves were only three fifths of a free person when determining the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Ratified in 1788, this horrible clause was rescinded by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted July 9, 1868.

If we diminish a person in our hearts, or justify an evil in our HEARTS, it is not long before we are pursuing the evil with our HANDS.

The unrestrained heart is DECEITFUL and DESPERATELY WICKED (Jeremiah 17:9). Our Lord Jesus said:

Mark 7:21-23 (KJV) For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

The WICKED, rather than coming to Christ in repentance, seeking His saving Grace, they preserve the evil in their hearts. This is why God says “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination {tôʿēḇâ, disgusting or abhorrent} to the Lord”. God uses the Hebrew tôʿēḇâ to describe idolatry (Exodus 8:26), homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22), bestiality (Leviticus 18:23), Incest (Leviticus 18:7-16), Adultery (Leviticus 18:20), giving God the leftovers (Deuteronomy 17:1), Transvestite Behavior (Deuteronomy 22:5), and other perversions (Proverbs 3:32).

Though the Word of God will be offensive to the wicked, the text tells us:

Proverbs 15:26 … but the WORDS of the PURE are PLEASANT words

God’s Word, though often hated, brings life and light. His Word is “PLEASANT words”. Wickedness and wicked thoughts bring the opposite – they bring destruction. In the days before the Noahic Flood the Bible says, “the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5)”. The heart is where evil is brewed, and becomes sinful action. “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). The “PURE” seek purity because they have “stored up God’s Word in their hearts, so they might not sin against Him” (Psalm 119:11).

Greed Hurts The House

Proverbs 15:27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth GIFTS {matānâ, presents, bribes, sometimes used of sacrificial offerings} shall live.

This text is a reference to BRIDES and EXTORTION. God forbade His people from giving or receiving bribes. Bribes are gifts given to seek to pervert justice, to convey false information, to twist an outcome so as to bless the wicked. God said:

Exodus 23:8 (NKJV) you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

Bribes keep justice from making the proper judgment, a judgment that honors God. Again,

Deuteronomy 16:19 (NKJV) You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

To bribe someone, or to take a bribe, is to go against the very nature of God Himself. The Bible says “Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?” Absolutely not!

Many of those who are so called activists are only criminals and extortioners, evil before the gaze of God.

Bribes take many forms. Usually monetary, it can be used in other ways. I have heard of people who are purposely destroying Teslas that are not their own in order to force Elon Musk to do or act a certain way. That is evil. During one of the Southern Baptist Conventions I attended, homosexual rights activists marched out front and even invaded the meetings in order to attempt to force us to agree with their stance. That is extortion – and a bribe.

I suspect that the day will come when the Church in America will be told, “Do as we say, or lose your tax exempt status”. On that day many local Churches will acquiesce and agree to their terms in order to keep the peace. The visible Church in China and North Korea must preach only what the state allows them to preach. During the Covid Pandemic, Gavin Newsom demanded that Grace Community Church (John MacArthur’s Church) close, or have no more than 100 congregants.When the Church refused to close indefinitely, the state threatened the Church with $1000 per day fine or arrest for not complying. The Church refused both! The Supreme Court ruled that the state had no authority to restrict believers from worship, and the Church was awarded $800,000 in attorney fees from Los Angeles County and the state of California.

Proverbs 15:27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house…

When Abraham was offered money by the King of Sodom, he refused it (Genesis 14:22-23). When Peter was enticed by Simon the Sorcerer, Peter rebuked him (Acts 8:18-20). Taking a bribe for any reason hurts the family, the community, the Church, or the nation. The truth must be held sacred, and God glorified – or we bring destruction on ourselves!

Those Who Are Saved Fear The Lord,
And Heed His Commandments

Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous studieth {hāḡâ, to meditate on, to carefully devise} to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.

There is an old saying in carpentry: measure TWICE, cut ONCE. To do less is to waste effort and blessings. The same is true in what we say as believers. THINK TWICE, SPEAK ONCE.

The righteous person – the believer in Christ – should not practice blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. The righteous imitate Christ, Who often answered His critics with:

“It is WRITTEN”

Jesus never blurted out an answer to a question, but carefully considered His answer in the light of Scripture.

In the Christian walk, righteousness, wisdom, humility, and self-control all go hand in hand. When the Apostle spoke of the fruit of the Spirit, he wrote:

Galatians 5:22-24 (ESV) … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

A judgment day is coming for both the Righteous as well as the Wicked. In the Book of Malachi we are told of God’s “Book of Remembrance”:

Malachi 3:16 (NKJV) those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.

Those who are written in the “Book of Life” have their works written in a “Book of Remembrance”. In ancient times Kings had scribes who wrote down great things that their subjects did, so that they could be rewarded and their memory cherished (Esther 6:1-3). The WICKED will stand before God, and their works will damn them (Revelation 20:12). But God’s children, saved by faith in Christ, will even have their TEARS RECORDED in God’s Book (Psalm 56:8). “The eyes of the Lord are TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS and His ears TOWARD THEIR CRY” (Psalm 34:15).

PREACH: Though rewards are delayed for serving the King, the Book of Remembrance reminds us that God will bless our imitation of Christ. Jesus often spoke of our future reward (Matthew 10:42; Mark 9:41; Luke 6:23; Revelation 22:12). What happens on earth is forever recorded in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:10). The same Book of Remembrance that blesses the Christ follower will help damn the Wicked.

The Presence Of God Is What We Seek

I do not follow the Lord just because of future judgment, but because I desire His Presence every moment of every day. Our next verse states:

Proverbs 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked: but HE HEARETH the prayer of the RIGHTEOUS.

God is not just far from the WICKED in the afterlife, but He is far from the WICKED in this life. The Apostle wrote:

1 Peter 3:12-15 (NKJV) For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

In 1 Peter 3:12 the Apostle is quoting Psalm 34:15. God both watches over and listens to those who love Him. But those who practice evil, the WICKED, God turns away from them. His face is against them. He neither hears their prayers, nor watches over them.

The thought of Heaven is wonderful, but the best part of being a Christ follower is that you are following Christ – and He is always with you!

How do you gain the blessing of the Presence of God? We are told:

Proverbs 15:30-32 The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat. 31 The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. 32 He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

It is LIGHT that blesses our hearts, not darkness. Darkness may bring pleasure for a moment, but has horrible and evil side effects. The embrace of the strange woman may temporarily satisfy, but she shares with you the diseases of the hundreds of men she has laid with before you. A drug may make you feel like superwoman, but the addiction that follows destroys your life. We all must repent, and heed the good Word of God!

a good report maketh the bones fat

Good news blesses us from the inside out. The greatest news of all is the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the Shepherds guarding their flock by night heard the Good News, they could not wait to share it:

Luke 2:15 (NKJV) Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

Leaving the manger that night, they didn’t return to their sheep right away. They first went and told others, so that others could be blessed (Luke 2:17-18). To those who hear the glorious Gospel, to them that HEAR THE REPROOF of wickedness and, denying themselves they REPENT and give themselves to Jesus, they “ABIDE AMONG THE WISE”. But those who reject the Gospel, refusing the Call to salvation and to the leadership of Christ, they “despise THEIR own soul”.

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility.

There is no blessing from God without humbling yourselves before the Lord. Let us heed His Word. “before honor is humility”. God demands our total submission to Him and His Will. The Bridges Commentary notes:

“The exaltation of the Lord’s people in Providence, is therefore often conducted through the valley of Humiliation. Joseph was raised from the prison to the throne. Moses and David were taken from the Shepherd’s fold to feed the Lord’s inheritance. Gideon acknowledged himself to be of “the least of the families of Israel.” Ruth was humbled by adversity, ere she was raised to the high honor of a Mother in Israel, and progenitor of the Savior. Abigail confessed herself unworthy to wash the feet of her lord’s servants, before she was honored if to be his wife. And in the daily walk of life, the lowest place is the path-way to honor. And was not this the track of our beloved Lord–Before honor, humility–the Cross before the Crown? How deep was that descent, by which He, Who was infinitely more than Man, became “a worm and no man” (Psalm 22:6). And yet the honor, which rewarded this humility, what tongue can tell! (Philippians 2:9). We must not disdain to follow Jesus Christ.”

May God bless your hearts with His Word.

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God Keeps His Promises

Posted on March 17, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Joseph Corl on Unsplash

Romans 9:8-13 (KJV) They which are the children of the flesh, these are NOT the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. 10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth😉 12 It was said unto her, The ELDER {meizon, the greater} shall serve the YOUNGER {elasson, the little or less}. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I LOVED {agapaō, is beloved}, but Esau have I HATED {miseō, to hate or detest}.

Last week we spoke of the Sovereignty of God. Our God is omniscient, that is, He knows all things – even those things which have not yet happened. God is omnipresent, that is, He is everywhere and fully cognizant of every event, whether in the Heavens or on the earth. God is omnipotent, which means He has all power. When the young maiden Mary questioned Gabriel when he declared that she, though a virgin, was with child, that good Angel replied:

Luke 1:37 (NKJV) … with God nothing will be impossible.

Our Lord Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 19:26, “with GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE”. And again in Luke 18:27, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God”. The God Who made us and all that you see is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

God Always Keeps His Promises

We are saved because God promised to offer us salvation. God made several promises to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. God promised Abram (Hebrew aḇrām, meaning “exalted father”. This was what his father Terah named him) that a nation of children would be born through him and his wife Sarai (Hebrew śāray, meaning “princess”). God promised Abram that the nation that would come from him would bless all the Gentile nations. Now pay attention to this, dear one. When God made this promise,

Sarai was infertile.

Abram had no ability to have children because his soulmate was infertile. Abram himself was fertile, but his wife wasn’t. We know that Abram was fertile because, when it became evident to Sarai that she was barren, she suggested that Abram go in to her Egyptian slave Hagar. Believe it or not, this was Sarai’s idea – and Abram went along with it. “Abram went in to Hagar, and she conceived” (Genesis 16:4). That didn’t go well. God promised a child and a nation, even the salvation of the world. The promise cannot be fulfilled by Abram and Sarai helping God out!

Abram was 75 (Genesis 12:4) when he began to follow God, and 86 (Genesis 16:16) when Hagar had their child Ishmael (yišmāʿē’l, meaning “God will hear”). God made a promise to Abram, and as 11 years passed, Abram thought he needed to help God fulfill his promise. That was a bad idea.

God keeps His promises. As humans we often think we need to “help God out”. We make excuses for God. We twist the Scripture to make God satisfy our desires and our thought process. As the Apostle earlier said, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). God is Sovereign. When He makes a promise, He will keep that promise. The problem is, WE WANT TO BE GODS. So God often makes us wait until we surrender and acknowledge:

Father God knows best.

Why did God wait to send the Messiah into the world when He did? God promised the Messiah would come all the way back in the Garden of Eden. God told that old Serpent (Revelation 12:9), Lucifer:

Genesis 3:15 (NASB20) … I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.

It is God’s intention to save whosoever will through the Messiah. When the Messiah came, His ministry would stomp the head of the Devil – give him a holy headache – but it would just bruise His heel. Jesus would come and die on the Cross of Calvary. But this would be only a bruise, for on the third day He would rise again, ever to lead the family of God. God prophesied this back in Genesis.

So WHY did God wait until Israel was in Roman domination before the Messiah came to us through the maiden Mary? The Bible tells us:

Galatians 4:4-5 (NKJV) … WHEN THE FULLNESS OF TIME HAD COME, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

When hard headed Israel was at a point of surrender, the Messiah came. God makes a promise. God keeps His promise. But God determines the right time for that promise to be kept –and that time is often when we WAKE UP and SURRENDER. God wanted to reach the WHOLE WORLD through His Son Jesus. God determined to wait some 4000-6000 years between the promise and the fulfillment. God keeps His Word.

Romans 9:9 (KJV) For this is the word of promise, AT THIS TIME will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.

Abraham, “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME”. Not when YOU want, not through YOUR ability, but through MY ABILITY. I am God, Abraham, YOU ARE NOT!

We can’t help God out. God doesn’t need us to keep His promises (Genesis 18:10). It was not until Abram believed God fully, that God renamed him ABRAHAM (Genesis 17:5, aḇrāhām, the father of a multitude). At that time God renamed Sarai to Sarah (Genesis 17:15, śāray). Abram and Sarai believed God, and were saved. But it was only when they became more fully reliant on God that they were Abraham and Sarah.

God keeps His promises. He does not need our help, but DEMANDS our OBEDIENCE and our WORSHIP.

Genesis 18:14 (ESV) Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.

What is “the appointed time”? It is when God says it is. God will come and fulfill the promise, just as He has decreed, when the time is right according to God. Did He? Yes!

Genesis 21:2 … (ESV) Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.

The child of promise is Isaac (Genesis 17:21), not Ishmael. God would bless the family of Ishmael for Abraham’s sake. The Messiah promised in Eden would come through the promise of God through Abraham.

When God makes a promise, He always fulfills it when HE wants. Adam and Eve would never see the Messiah in this life. Abraham would see his child Isaac, but would never see his full lineage – nor Israel – in this life. God’s promises will be fulfilled, regardless as to our inabilities, our brokenness, or our help.

God Doesn’t Care What We Think Of Him: His Purposes Will Stand

Romans 9:10-11And not only this; but when Rebecca (Isaac’s wife) also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the PURPOSE OF GOD according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth😉

This section of Scripture has caused many theological arguments among various denominations in Christianity. Calvinists will seize on to these passages to teach the Five Points of Calvinism, but Arminians will often skip these verses entirely, or try to explain them away. The text is not confusing, but very simple.

Preach! This text is about God fulfilling His promise to the Serpent, to Abraham, and to the Church. God promised that the Messiah would come. He promised that His Son would become incarnate through the Abrahamic lineage. God controlled where the Messianic line went.

God established Isaac’s name: Abraham’s son, the son that God promised, was called Isaac as God so decreed (Genesis 17:19). In the ancient world the father of the child would give the child his or her name. Though Abraham and Sarah came together to make Isaac, it was God Who caused Sarah to be fertile. Without God the child Isaac would never have been born. God fulfilled His promise to Abraham by giving the couple the ability to bear Isaac (Hebrew yiṣḥāq, meaning “he laughs”).

Why “ISAAC” or “He Laughs”? I think it’s because God laughs at our feeble attempts to help Him out!

When Isaac grew up, he would marry Rebekah because God would choose her for him. When Rebekah conceived by Isaac, she had a twin conception. She was not aware of this until the children growing in her reached a certain stage, and began to battle inside her:

Genesis 25:22-23 (ESV) {Rebekah} inquired of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.

Before the children are born – in fact, long before even Abraham was born – God knew Rebekah would have twins. God also knew the character and the spirit of each twin. Each twin would represent a nation. The Older Twin, Esau, would father an unbelieving nation which would eventually be called EDOM (or the Edomites). God would bless Esau, though Esau had little use for God, but was all about self power, self promotion, self gain. You see Esau when you see famous or powerful people who are “self made millionaires”, or “highly talented”. God often blesses the ungodly, as our Lord Jesus noted:

Matthew 5:45 (NKJV) {your Father in Heaven} makes His sun to rise on the EVIL and on the GOOD, and sends rain on the JUST and the UNJUST …

God sends His goodness to all – even the Esaus of this world (and there are many). God would give Mount Seir to Esau and his descendants (Deuteronomy 2:5, 22), telling the nation Israel to leave Esau’s land alone (Joshua 24:4). God blessed Esau – but sent the line of Christ through the younger twin Jacob.

Esau Represents Humanism, Jacob Represents Brokenness and Surrender

Romans 9:12 It was said unto her {Rebekah}, The ELDER {meizon, the greater} shall serve the YOUNGER {elasson, the little or less}.

Word Study: When God refers to Esau, he is called meizon, which means THE GREATER. Esau was first born. As first born, according to human tradition, he should have inherited the leadership of the family upon Isaac’s death. He should have received the double portion of the inheritance. Esau was a man’s man. He was a warrior. He was powerful. His daddy was proud of him. He was Isaac’s favorite.

I was listening to John MacArthur the other day when he said something that stick in my head. He said (and I ad lib this) “There are only two religions in the world. There have never been more than two religions in the world. There is the Way of God that is found only through surrender to Christ, and the human religion of works.” That is so very true. All other religions in the world can be distilled down to this: work hard and earn your way, and you can achieve Heaven. It is only Christianity that says “Come to Christ broken, totally spiritually bankrupt, unable as Abraham was unable – and God will receive you as sons and daughters. Live your life broken, fully reliant upon God the Father Who loves you, and you will be BLESSED”.

Esau is humanism. Esau is human religion. Esau is human fame and fortune. Esau is a god-man. Esau is the Tower of Babel, working your way to Heaven. Esau is Abraham going in to Hagar, trying help poor, pitiful God to keep His promises. Esau is man centered, human power. Esau is global warming. Esau is redefining God’s design of marriage. Esau is crowd pleasing in order to get a blessing. Esau is godless desire. Esau is “mostly peaceful protests”, burning down a nation under a godless President. Esau is human tradition.

Now I’m going to make you mad, but Esau is Santa Claus over a crib in Bethlehem. Esau is the Easter Bunny without an empty Tomb.

Esau is seeking out a Church based on what I WANT, instead of what God wants. Esau is a Church song service without the preaching of the Word, and the preaching of the Word without that damnable, hated doctrine,

REPENT!

This is the most hated doctrine in Christianity, REPENT, surrender, let God be God. Esau is walking the aisle and being baptized, but ignoring God the rest of the week. Esau is easy believism. Esau is Joel Osteen, prosperity preaching that makes you feel good, but never demands repentance. Esau is a form of Christianity that never makes disciples. Esau rejects what Jesus commanded:

Mark 10:21 … come, take up the cross, and follow Me.

Mark 8:34 … Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Esau is not about self denial, but human satisfaction and ease. Esau uses “I” in just about every sentence. I see Esau in every person who uses the word “I” fifty or more times in five minutes of conversation. God told Rebekah:

Romans 9:12 … The ELDER {the GREATER} shall serve the YOUNGER {the LESSER}.

God did not want the Messiah’s line going through Esau, but through Jacob. Why? Was Jacob the better person? Absolutely not! Jacob was a mess.

Humanly speaking, Esau was Hollywood, and Jacob was deadwood. Spiritually speaking, both children were DEAD in trespasses and sins. Jacob is broken. God will have to break Jacob to save him. But God wants the Messiah to go through Nazareth, the lesser, and not Hollywood the humanly greater.

God said:

Romans 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Here the Apostle quotes not from Genesis, but from Malachi chapter 1. This is the key to understanding this verse. God did not say this to Rebekah. God told Rebekah, “The GREATER or STRONGER shall serve the LESSER or WEAKER” (Genesis 25:23). God spoke these words to the Israelites as a warning through the Prophet Malachi:

Malachi 1:1-3 (KJV) – The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. [2] I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? [Was] not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, [3] And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Why did God say He HATED Esau but LOVED Jacob? Because God gave Esau everything. He gave Esau first born status. God made Esau a great hunter. He made Esau Hollywood, beautiful. God allowed Isaac to love Esau best. Esau had everything – and yet never loved the Lord Who gave him everything. God had the line of the Messiah go through Jacob and not Esau because God knew how Esau and the Edomites were going to turn out. He knew that the Edomites would become pagans, and the line of Christ could not go through a pagan line. God knows all things, and because He knew that the unbelief of Esau would persist until destruction … so God sent the Messianic line through Jacob.

Because Esau and the Edomites would not repent, though God gave them a wonderful land to live in, and the abilities that they had, God said:

Malachi 1:4 (KJV) Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

Esau, you can keep rebelling against God. You can keep on ignoring His daily blessing. You can keep on magnifying yourself. And if you do, you will earn the HATRED of God. I have heard supposed Bible scholars say:

“When God said ‘Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated’, He just meant
that He loved Esau less”.

No. I love you, but you’re in bad error. The Greek miseo means “to hate”. EVERY SINGLE BIBLE TRANSLATION I CAN FIND EXCEPTTHE NEW LIVING TRANSLATION TRANSLATES MISEO AS HATED. The New Living Translation renders the word as “REJECTED”. In the Book of Malachi where God said “I HATED Esau” (Malachi 1:3) this is the Hebrew śānē’ (pronounced saw-nay’) which means “to HATE or BE THE ENEMY OF”. Once more, every single translation of the Bible I can find but the New Living Translation and the New English Translation renders this word HATED. Those two translations use the word REJECTED.

Hated means hated. God hates the spirit of Esau, the person who has received everything, and yet makes themselves gods. God hates those who will not acknowledge His gifts to them. God despises those who will rob Him of glory, so that they can glorify themselves. It is like stolen valor, to claim credit to yourself for what you never did.

Jesus Christ came through the broken line of Jacob, to an unknown birth in Bethlehem, to a tiny insignificant village called Nazareth. The Messiah came to save whosoever would come to Him with empty hands, repenting. He came to raise up a people to Himself, to the glory of God, to live under the power of the Kingdom of God.

If you are broken and surrendered to God, to Jesus Christ, “Jacob has He loved”. He loves the broken, the surrendered. But to you who claim Christ, yet do not obey Him. To you that are proud, even arrogant in all that you have achieved. To you who, like Esau, have the best and have been blessed – but glory in yourselves. “Esau has He HATED”. If you leave this life without Jesus, with the Spirit of Esau, you will find out that God does hate. We close with these words:

Romans 9:14-16 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

God will show you mercy if you come to Him through Christ. Come to Him today. Come repenting. Come surrendered. For your sake, come! May God the Holy Spirit lead you to Christ’s side today. Amen.

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Honor Your House By Honoring God’s House

Posted on March 15, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by vu anh on Unsplash

Proverbs 15:20-21 A wise son maketh a GLAD (śāmaḥ, pro. saw-makh’) father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother. 21 Folly is JOY (śimḥâ, pro. sim-khaw’) to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.

Good Leadership Is Important To The Future Of The House

In the Bible, the word “house” is often used not for a brick and stick building, but for a family, a community, a Church, or a country. God told Noah, “Come THOU AND ALL THY HOUSE into the Ark” (Genesis 7:1). God told Abraham, “Get thee out of thy country, and FROM THY FATHER’S HOUSE” (Genesis 12:1). When Pharaoh took Sarai to be his wife, the Bible says “the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house”.

For one generation to the next to have a healthy “house”, the father must teach his children the ways of Christ. The child must heed the instruction of the father if he would be a blessing to his mother. The John Schultz Commentary notes:

“What links these two verses together is the theme of joy and enjoyment. As in English, both words are related in Hebrew, though not identical. Samach means “to brighten up,” “cause to rejoice.” Simchah means “gladness” or “glee.”

The child who is wise, seeking the will of God in his life, “brightens up” his own father’s life. The Godly father trained him to love Jesus. The Bible says that if we:

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The child properly trained by the father or head of the home may drift from God for a while (remember the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32), but later in life the lessons taught young will come to the son’s remembrance. Throughout the Scripture God honored the creation order (Genesis 2:21-22) by calling MEN to lead their families in teaching the Word of God to the children. When God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, He first went to Abraham, saying:

Genesis 18:17-19 (ESV) … Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.

God told us men in the New Covenant:

Ephesians 6:4 (ESV) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Where there are no fathers in the home, the women should take the responsibility of training the child in the Way of Christ. In the case of Timothy, Paul’s convert to the faith, the Apostle told him:

2 Timothy 3:14-15 (ESV) … continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Timothy’s father was an unbelieving Greek and his mother was converted Jew. The mother taught Timothy the Way of Truth.

Though we know little of the father from Scripture, it was evident that his father did not teach him Scripture. As a wayward father (either physically or spiritually) Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois (2 Timothy 1:5) taught him the way of God. Where the father – either absent or unbelieving – will not do his job, the mother must take over. I was raised in that type of environment. Though neither father nor mother were faithful believers when I was growing up, my grandmother Elma and grandfather Bud taught me the Word of God. Had they not planted the seed, I probably would not be saved today!

Proverbs 15:20 A wise SON maketh a GLAD (śāmaḥ, pro. saw-makh’) father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

Word Study: The SON (bēn) who learns the lessons of the faith from the father brings great gladness to the older man. Notice that the same child, if FOOLISH (kᵊsîl, pro. Kes-eel’) or SILLY is not called a SON (bēn), but a MAN (‘āḏām). The name ‘āḏām was what God called the original creation.

The gender of the boy is not changed – he is still a male – but the position of the child has changed.

Honoring his father by following the Heavenly Father the child is a SON. Dishonoring his father by ignoring the Heavenly Father the child is a MAN. The mother has a very strong tie to her child. When the MAN decides to ignore the way of God, and to seek self-gratification and fleshly sensuality, the mother grieves. The Bible tells children:

Exodus 20:12 (ESV) Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Ephesians 6:1-3 (ESV) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

The commandment to honor your parents comes with a promise, “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land”. The child that refuses to honor his parents is headed toward a harsh life, and a premature death. This brings anguish to his mother!

Worldly Foolishness Will Not Build A Solid House

Proverbs 15:21 Folly is JOY (śimḥâ, pro. sim-khaw’) to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.

Illustrate: I like to watch horror movies. I remarked to my wife the other day that every horror movie has a common theme. Those who are terrorized by something bad, put themselves in a bad situation in the first place. I have never seen a horror movie that began in a Church service on Sunday morning! This illustrates the statement, “a man of understanding (tāḇûn) walketh uprightly (yāšar)”. Literally the text reads:

“the INTELLIGENT man walks the STRAIGHT WAY”

Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV) “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

The upright or straight way is the Way of Christ. To follow Christ is to find blessings in this life. The Bible says “make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all, and HOLINESS, WITHOUT WHICH NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD” (Hebrews 12:12-15).

The world teaches us to divorce ourselves from the House of God and to “follow your heart”. Dr. Thaddeus Williams wrote in his book Don’t Follow Your Heart:

“For years my children and I have played a game together called Spot the Lie. If they can identify a false idea in whatever we happen to be watching, they earn one dollar. When she was nine years old, my daughter Holland (“Dutch” for short) came cheerfully bounding down the stairs, saying, “You owe me another dollar!” “What did you find this time, Dutch?” “The commercial told me I should follow my heart,” she answered. “Okay, so where’s the lie?” I asked. Her answer, and I recall it verbatim, was, “Daddy, I don’t want to follow my own heart. My heart is fallen. I’d way rather follow God’s heart.” Cue the proud daddy tears. Let’s just say she earned five dollars for that one.”

According to recent polls, “84% of Americans believe the “highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible,” 86% believe that to be fulfilled requires you to “pursue the things you desire most,” while 91% affirm that “the best way to find yourself is by looking within yourself.””

Ungodly Counsel Will Destroy The House

Proverbs 15:22 Without COUNSEL {sôḏ, pro. sode}purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

The word translated “COUNSEL” is a Hebrew word which means “to meet together in closed session, to meet privately with a inner group of friends who are well known, or who have much in common”. We see the word translated thus in:

Jeremiah 23:18 (KJV) For who hath stood in the COUNSEL {sôḏ of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

In some places the word is translated “SECRET”, as in:

Job 15:8 (KJV) Hast thou heard the SECRET {sôḏ} of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

Psalm 25:14 (KJV) The SECRET {sôḏ} of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

Amos 3:7 (KJV) Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He revealeth his SECRET {sôḏ} unto his servants the prophets.

Or as “INWARD” in:

Job 19:19 (KJV) All my INWARD {sôḏ} friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.

Those who turn against “COUNSEL”, Godly counsel, will find that their purposes and plans will fail. Of course, you need to choose Godly counselors. Those you consult should be willing to listen to your plans, but they should also be well acquainted with you, your strengths and your weaknesses. It is important to realize that our Lord Jesus had an inner ring of friends – Peter, James and John, that He often consulted and specially trained. Jesus was not learning from this inner ring, but He was training them for important positions in the Church He would found.

The best Counselor you can refer to is God Himself. His Word counsels us, just as Jesus counseled the disciples. God revealeth his SECRET/ COUNSEL {sôḏ} unto his servants.

We read “in the multitude of counselors” your purposes or plans are established. If you expect to be blessed, or to do great things for God, you need to heed your godly counselors. King Rehoboam discovered the folly of trying to do everything on your own without heeding your counselors. In 1 Kings 12 Rehoboam was crowned King of Israel. The Ten Northern Tribes of Israel, led by Jeroboam presented themselves to the King to ask that their taxes be lowered. Their plea:

“Lower taxes and we will serve you” (1 Kings 12:4)

Rehoboam sent them away for three days while he met with his older counselors. The counselors said “If you will meet their needs, and speak with kindness to them, they will be your servants forever” (vs 7). This was good advise. But Rehoboam was arrogant with the pride of a new King. He went to his his buddies he grew up with and asked these ungodly men what they thought. Their advise: bear down on the people, answer them roughly, and tell them that their taxes will INCREASE.

Listening to stupid and ill advised counsel, Rehoboam was left with egg on his face – while the Ten Northern Tribes rebelled and left the House of David.

The people told Rehoboam, “To your tents, O Israel! Now see to YOUR OWN HOUSE, O David!”. The rift between the Northern Tribes and Judah has lasted unto this day. The breach will not be fixed until the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to this earth to rule over Israel in the Millennial Kingdom.

The Tongue Used Properly Can Make Or Break A House

Proverbs 15:23 A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!

When God called Moses to go to Pharaoh to demand the release of Israel from Egypt, that humble and grand old saint told the Lord:

Exodus 4:10 (AP) “Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent. I was not eloquent when you called me, nor am I now a great speaker. I am slow of speech, and of tongue”.

The Lord told Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” (Exodus 4:11-12, ESV). Had Moses remembered this, and allowed God to always guide his tongue, he would not have misused his tongue at Meribah, and been forbidden to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:8-12). When we allow God to guide our tongues, it is always more productive than defaulting to the flesh.

God gave us our lips, our tongues, and our breath. We were told in Proverbs 12:13&14, “The WICKED is ENSNARED by the transgression of his lips …. but a MAN will be satisfied with GOOD BY THE FRUIT OF HIS MOUTH”. When we let God guide our speech, the word of our mouths bring joy and happiness to our homes and to the House of God. The Bible tells us the story of Nabal the Calebite, who mocked King David’s delegation and refused to feed his army. King David armed his men, ready to destroy Nabal and his lands for the arrogance of his tongue. When Nabal’s wife Abigail heard of this, she carried provision to David’s approaching army. Humbling herself, Abigail said:

1 Samuel 25:25-28 (ESV) Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from blood guilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant.

A misplaced word can destroy a home, kill a house. The House of Nabal would have been surely destroyed had it not been for Abigail’s humble intervention. The Bible says, “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). Those who allow God’s Word to flow through them, to control their tongues – these words are gold in a setting of silver. On the other hand, the misused tongue is like a match in a dry forest (James 3:5-6), destroying all that it is around.

Dr. Constable’s Commentary on Proverbs notes:

“It is not just important to speak the truth. One must also speak appropriately in view of the time, place, and circumstances. The right thing said at the right time (“a timely word”) can be a source of joy and happiness to many people.”

Following The Way of Christ Leads To Life, Whereas Following The Way Of The World Leads To Death

Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is ABOVE to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

The WISE or those who are followers of Christ are blessed with life. It is God Who gives life. Man cannot create life, neither can the angels. Only God. God says “all SOULS ARE MINE” (Ezekiel 18:4). To anger God Who gave you life is to play with death. The Psalmist declared:

Psalm 30:5 (KJV) in {God’s} FAVOR IS LIFE

and we have previously read:

Proverbs 12:28 (KJV) In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.

Our Lord Jesus told us “The Father’s COMMANDMENT is LIFE EVERLASTING” (John 12:50). The Apostle warned us, “to be FLESHLY MINDED IS DEATH, but to be SPIRITUALLY MINDED IS LIFE and peace” (Romans 8:6).

If you continue to walk in darkness, it will not be too long before you stumble and fall into the pit of hell – both on this earth and in the afterlife!

The benefit of giving your life to Jesus is that He not only keeps you out of hell when you pass from this life – but He keeps your present life from being a living hell. The wonderful Gospel Singer Andre Crouch (who is now with the Lord) sang a song “If Heaven Were Never Promise To Me”. Part of the song went:

If heaven never was promised to me,
Neither God’s promise to live eternally.
It’s been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness,
You brought me the light.

Ti live the life that God designed you to live, you must follow the God Who gave you that life. God will not be a spare tire. God will not be an afterthought. God will not be a panic button, a fire alarm, a radon detector. God gave you life. He knows how you should live that life. When we bow up in pride, and say “My body, My life”, making ourselves into a god, we walk a dangerous and destructive path. The wages of sin is always DEATH (Romans 6:23).

Proverbs 15:25 The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the BORDER {gᵊḇûl, the place or the boundaries} of the widow.

The most powerful King in the world in his day was Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon. Because he was arrogant before God in all his riches and power, saying:

Daniel 4:30 (NKJV) Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?

As the words left his mouth, the House of Nebuchadnezzar fell (vs 31). He lost his mind, and became like an ox in the field, eating grass for “seven periods of time”. When Nebuchadnezzar repented, he said:

Daniel 4:34-35 (NKJV) I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

The widow who has no one to rely on but the Lord – and who does so – will find that God will bless her life. But the PROUD, the arrogant who will not hear the Lord, He will destroy their house. What God has given, God can take away. Let me ask you – has God helped you overcome a great disease? Has God given you riches, popularity, talent? Has God saved the life of someone you love? What God has given, God can take away. I say again, What God has given, God can take away. I have seen it, and know it to be true. Honor and bless your house by following the way of Christ. May God touch your hearts with his Word. Amen.

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God Is Still In Control

Posted on March 11, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Mat on Unsplash

Romans 9:1-5 (KJV) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

This Will Be A Long Introduction, But I Must Address The “Isms”

There have been a lot of misconceptions that have come out of a misinterpretation of Romans chapter 9. Some of these misconceptions have to do with what is called the “will of man and the sovereignty of God”.

  • A Theologian named John Calvin (1509-1560) found some really great truths in the Scripture, but he also extrapolated certain doctrines out of the Scripture that – in my opinion – were not there. There are those who follow Calvin’s teachings called “Calvinists”.
  • Another Theologian, Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) found some really great truths in Scripture, but he also extrapolated certain doctrines out of the Scripture that – in my opinion – were not there. There are those who follow Arminius’ teachings called “Arminians”.

Calvinism is not all wrong. Arminianism is not all wrong. As Christians we have brothers and sisters who adhere to one or the other of these “isms”. Me, I just try to stick with the Scripture.

Whether you lean toward Calvinism or Arminianism – or somewhere in between – to become a Christian is clearly presented in Scripture. The same Paul who wrote Romans 8 and 9 under the power of the Holy Spirit of God, this Paul also wrote in Romans 10:

Romans 10:9-13 … if THOU shalt CONFESS with thy mouth the LORD Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. {this is a quotation from Isaiah 28:16 & 49:23} 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED.

The same Paul who spoke of “predestination” and “election” also frequently spoke of “whosoever”. This same Paul wrote in:

Romans 5:18 (ESV) … as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

And Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:22 (KJV) … in ADAM ALL DIE, even so IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE.

And again Paul wrote in Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the Grace of God He might TASTE DEATH FOR EVERYONE.

And again in 2 Corinthians 5:15 (NKJV) {Jesus} died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Of course we all know John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God doesn’t say “He so loved the ELECT”, but “the WORLD”. This is further amplified in the Apostle John’s writing of:

1 John 2:2 (NKJV) He Himself {Jesus} is the propitiation [hilasmos, the means by which sin is covered and remitted. Used also in 1 John 4:10] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

God Knows Everything

Now let me quickly and clearly say this. “God knows everything” (1 John 3:20). We do not know everything, but God does. God does not increase in knowledge as we do. He is OMNISCIENT, which means “all knowing”. “All things are open to the eyes” of God (Hebrews 4:13). “The WAYS OF MAN are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21). The Bible says “The Everlasting god, the LORD, the Creator neither faints nor is weary. His UNDERSTANDING IS UNSEARCHABLE” (Isaiah 40:28). Our Lord Jesus said of God:

Luke 12:7 (NKJV) … My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! 6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

God knows and names all the stars. He knows the number of the hairs on your head. King David wrote of God:

Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

God knows everything about you. He knows what you’re going to eat for breakfast before you do. God not only knows, but controls. He says:

Isaiah 46:9-10 (KJV) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

God is in control. God knows all things. All things will be according to His will, not ours.

Before I was ever saved, God knew that when He called me to salvation that I would come. God knew that I would be a preacher of the Gospel back when I was a scared, shy, introverted child that everyone picked on. But here’s the truth. God called, and I chose to come. God calls, and whosoeverwill comes. Jesus died for everyone on Calvary, whether you choose to receive Him as Savior and Lord or not. God knows who will and will not come. And if you come, the Scripture calls you “The Elect”, and the Church “The Called Out Ones”. But God offers salvation to everyone.

So What Is Romans Chapter Nine About?

Chapter Nine is about Israel. Our God, Who is ALL KNOWING and ALL POWERFUL, made a promise to Abraham. It is in God’s eternal purpose to raise up a nation called Israel, and through Israel bring the Messiah into the world to save “whosoever will”. It was never God’s intent to just save Israel – but to fulfill what He promised to Abraham:

Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV) … Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

When God makes a promise, you can take it to the bank! God told this childless Abraham that “I will make you a great nation”. But that Great Nation (which would one day be Israel) would not exist just for itself, but through Israel would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord. Because the Messiah would enter this world through the line of Abraham, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed”.

Yet Israel has largely rejected the Messiah. This upsets Paul – and he shares this with us:

Romans 9:1-2 (KJV) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

Word Study: Paul write “I LIE NOT”. Here he uses the Greek pseudo, which means “to deceive by lies, to speak falsely so as to mislead”. Paul is speaking the “TRUTH IN CHRIST”. This is not his opinion that will follow, but Paul will share his heartache as an Apostle. Paul loved the Jews, loved Israel. Every Christian should love Israel, for the Messiah came to us through Israel. Paul was a Jew. All of the Apostles were Jews. All of the Bible, save the Book of Luke & Acts, was written by Jews. Those two books were written by the Gentile Physician Luke as the Apostles shared history with him. So Luke was, in fact, a Scribe for the Jewish Apostles. Paul said of his life:

Philippians 3:5 (KJV) {I was} Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee…

Paul loved his people. However, much of Israel rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. The Chief Priests and the Pharisees encouraged the people of Israel to release Barabbas, and crucify Jesus, though no fault could be found in Him (Matthew 27:23). The Bible says “the Chief Priests of Israel moved the people, that Pilate should release Barabbas to them and crucify Jesus” (Mark 15:11-15). One of the saddest Scriptures in the Bible is:

John 1:11 (AP) Jesus came unto His own, but His own would not receive Him..

The Messiah that Israel had so long waited for, prayed for, looked for. The Messiah came, and proved Himself by fulfilling Scriptureand by clear signs of miraculous healing. Jesus told the religious leaders of Israel:

John 5:39-40, 46-47 (KJV) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. 40 And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life. 46 had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?

Jesus is the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies and hundreds of shadows found under the Old Testament writings. Though some Jews received Jesus and were saved, the nation Israel rejected the Messiah Who came to save them. Paul grieved, saying:

Romans 9:3-4 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the ADOPTION, and the GLORY, and the COVENANTS, and the GIVING OF THE LAW, and the SERVICE OF GOD, and the PROMISES;

Paul wished himself “ACCURSED”, that is, lost if he could but lead Israel to Christ. Why? Because he states:

whom pertaineth the ADOPTION

God called Abraham, and chose to bring Israel out of Abraham’s lineage. Israel as a nation was ADOPTED, CHOSEN by God. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 7:6-8 … For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers…

God chose Israel because, as nations go, she was quite broken. God called Abram because he was quite broken. God chooses and calls the quite broken to save. Israel chose to use Israel because God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God keeps His Word.

It is through Israel that we see “the GLORY” of God. It was His pillar of cloud and pillar of fire (Exodus 13:20-22) that led Israel through the wilderness. It was the Shekinah Glory of God (2 Chronicles 7; Ezekiel 10) that comes into the Jewish Temple. It is the Shekinah Glory that shines through Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17).

the COVENANTS

God made covenants or promises to Abraham (Abrahamic Covenant, Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-27), Moses (Mosaic Covenant, Exodus 19-24), David (Davidic Covenant, 2 Samuel 7:8-29), and to the nation Israel the Palestinian Covenant (Deuteronomy 29:1-29; 30:1-10) just before Moses died.

the GIVING OF THE LAW

God gave Israel the Old Covenant, which illustrated to all that we desperately need the Savior. The Law was a “schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith is come, we are NO LONGER UNDER A SCHOOLMASTER” (Galatians 3:24-25). The Law was given to destroy self-righteousness, to teach all that we desperately need Jesus Christ. The Bible says:

Hebrews 8:13 (NKJV) In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The Old Covenant of dietary laws and sacrifices of animals and purification rituals and feasts and sabbaths were all made obsolete when our Lord Jesus came into the world through Israel. Dying for our sins, Jesus’ Blood is:

Matthew 26:28 … this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Israel was the foundation for the coming of Jesus Christ, The Savior of the World.

Romans 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

“The Fathers” of Israel, those Old Covenant Saints, believed on the Jesus Who would one day come. Those who believed on the Promise of God, who trusted that Jesus would come, these believers are the reason that the Messiah came in the flesh.

Had there been no Israel, there would have been no Messiah. God promised the Messiah would come through Israel. It had to be.

Now that the Messiah has come, Paul wants all of Israel to be saved. He wants his family, his friends, the priests that he grew up knowing, the Sanhedrin that he once upon a time served on … he wants every Jew to be saved.

But much of Israel rejected Christ then, and much of Israel rejects Christ today. So Paul grieves.

Though Israel Has Rejected Messiah, God’s Word And Will Triumphs

Romans 9:6-7 (KJV) Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

God’s Word is not void, nor is God’s power limited. The fact that much of Israel rejected the Messiah does not prove that God is weak or ineffective in what He has promised. Paul states:

they are not all Israel, which are of Israel

The Jews in Jesus’ day had become so infected by the world that they began to believe that “since I can trace my lineage back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then I must be saved”. Jesus Christ’s earthly lineage is given in the Scripture twice (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). Just because Jesus could trace His lineage by the flesh back to Abraham, this alone did not prove Him to be the Messiah.

  • Through Jesus the glory of the Father was seen (John 1:14)
  • Jesus did the will of the Father Who sent Him (John 5:30)
  • Jesus taught the Word of the Father (John 6:45)
  • The Father honored the Name of Jesus (John 15:16)
  • Jesus fully represented the Father (John 16:25)
  • Jesus did the works of God through miracles and healing (Luke 7:22)
  • Jesus was sent of the Father (Luke 4:18; 9:48; Matthew 10:40; John 4:34; 5:24)
  • Jesus sent God the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, to the believer (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7)

There were many who proclaimed to be Messiah when Jesus walked the earth. These people could trace their lineage back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But they were NOT the Messiah, though Jews in the flesh.

Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children

Jesus told the self righteous Pharisees who persecuted Him:

John 8:42 (KJV) If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Those who are the children of Promise, the True Israel, they love Jesus, because the Father sent Jesus. Jesus told them:

John 8:58 (KJV) … Before Abraham was, I AM

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the one and only Son of God. Jesus is the GREAT I AM that spoke to Abraham, saying “I AM thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Jesus spoke to Isaac, saying “I AM the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I AM with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake” (Genesis 26:24).

The seed of Abraham – the True Israel – loves Jesus. Those who reject Christ, though Jews in the flesh, are not Israel.

Romans 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: BUT the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

The Seed of Israel, the Nation that God will one day fully save, is not the physical but the spiritual or believing seed.

This is a big subject, and I am limited by time – so we will continue this discussion next week. But here’s the truth of the text.

Preach: Those who are physically born of Israel, who can trace their lineage back to Abraham, are not necessarily of Israel. The Jews thought they were saved and were the children of the promise because of human lineage and inheritance. Nothing is further from the truth. “The children of the promise are counted for the seed”

You enter the plan of God by faith in Christ. You love Him, Jesus Christ, the Messiah that God brought to us through Israel. Let me go further:

So many on the membership roll of this Church and of other Churches believe that they are “saved” and Heaven bound because of that physical relationship. Some of you think that, since you have a mother or a grandmother on the roll, that you are God’s child. Beloved, God’s children are children of the promise. God’s children love the Lord Jesus, and cling to Him as Savior and Head.

When Jesus first came to this earth, He told the disciples to go only to the Jews. It was only after Israel rejected Him, that Jesus told them to go to the Gentiles. Israel’s unbelief opened the door to the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles, praise His Holy Name! God is not done with Israel. God will save the nation Israel one day. But before Israel, or anyone for that matter, can be saved they must receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

John 1:11-13 (ESV) [Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

To receive the Son is to receive the Father (John 10:30; 5:43). Jesus said,

Whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me

(John 13:20; cf. Matt. 10:40).

As John Piper wrote:

“Therefore, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). Receiving the Son is how we “have” the Son. And only by having the Son do we have life. Indeed, only by “receiving” and thus “having” the Son do we have all that the Father is for us in the Son. Therefore, saving faith (John 1:12) is a receiving of Jesus Christ and all that God is for us in Him.”

Do you have Jesus? You do not have Him by default of birth, but only by faith in Him, receiving Him as Lord and Savior. Do you have Jesus? May God lead you to call on Him this very day. Amen.

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Give Your Heart To Jesus

Posted on March 6, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash

Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Give Your Heart To Jesus

The Proverbs found in verses 13-17 explore the relationship between inner happiness and outer circumstances. You can either allow your heart to be led by your outward circumstances, or allow your heart to be led by Jesus Christ.

What is the condition of YOUR heart?

The Bible mentions the “heart” over 1000 times, and in no instance can I find the Bible talking about the muscle in our chest that pumps blood. The “heart” as the Bible addresses it is the center of our souls, the part of us that reasons and drives us. We previously studied:

Proverbs 4:23 (ESV) Keep {guard} your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

As “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), and “in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28), outside of the Incarnate Son of God neither the Father nor the Spirit have a “blood pump” in their chests. And yet, the Bible says that God has a “heart”. We are told in:

Genesis 6:5-6 (ESV) … the LORD saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth … and it GRIEVED HIM TO HIS HEART

When God saw the Shepherd David, He said:

1 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV) … the LORD sought for Himself a man AFTER HIS OWN HEART …

Acts 13:22 (KJV) {the LORD said} I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.

What we allow in our hearts will ultimately effect how we respond to conditions around us. The human heart before it is born again gravitates toward godlessness. The Prophet Jeremiah said (17:9, ESV) “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”. Our Lord Jesus did not rely on what those around Him thought, because:

John 2:24-25 (ESV) … Jesus on his part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

Where does evil come from? It comes from unrestrained and godless hearts. Jesus said:

Mark 7:21-23 (ESV) From within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.

The way a person is saved is by REPENTING, and giving their HEART over to Jesus.

When we realize that we are unable to live the Christian way of life in our own power, when we give our hearts over to Jesus as both Lord and Savior, God creates in us a new heart (Psalm 51:10). This is the promise of the New Covenant. God promised:

Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV) … I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Once saved, we have hearts attuned to God and His Word – but we must guard what we put in our hearts.

Proverbs 15:13 A MERRY HEART maketh a cheerful countenance …

Word Study: The word translated “MERRY” is the Hebrew śāmēaḥ (pro. saw-may’-akh). The word means “to rejoice, to be filled with joy”. When you live your life seeking to please God, śāmēaḥ (pro. saw-may’-akh) is what fills your heart.

  • When Israel honored God and kept His commandments, then “the Lord blessed them … and they surely REJOICED [śāmēaḥ (pro. saw-may’-akh)]” (Deuteronomy 16:15).
  • When those who are helpless and broken come to God, trusting in Him, “the barren keep house, and are made JOYFUL [śāmēaḥ (pro. saw-may’-akh)] mother of children” (Psalm 113:9).
  • When we dwell on the glories that God has given us in the past, how faithful our God is, “we are GLAD [śāmēaḥ (pro. saw-may’-akh)]” (Psalm 126:3)

The saved – when tried – focus their hearts on God and not on their circumstances. We “count it all joy when we meet various kinds of trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3). Those who are focused on God as they go through the highs and lows of life are blessed – and it shows on their “countenance” or faces.

Proverbs 15:13 … BUT by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

As is usual with the Proverbs, one fact is followed by an opposing or opposite fact. “BUT”. “BUT” if you don’t keep your focus on Jesus, “BUT” if your heart is filled with SORROW rather than the LORD … the SPIRIT or HEART is broken. What you allow in your heart matters. We are told:

Proverbs 18:14 A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

When you allow your heart to be filled with hopelessness rather than the hope of God in Christ, in time you will begin to think “why do I bother? Why do I live?” From depression and depressive hearts comes suicide. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV) … godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Godly grief seeks a solution is GOD, whereas worldly grief seeks a solution in HUMANITY. God offers hope. The world does not! The Bridges Commentary notes:

“ Let sense and feeling be kept within their bounds; and the Savior’s voice, encouraging confidence, will be practically regarded. (lsaiah l:10) Even our very “sighing and crying for the abominations of the land” (Ezekiel 9:4) must not issue in heartless complaints, but, rather stimulate to the diligent improvement of present opportunities. Did we realize, as we ought, our present privilege, and grasp our eternal prospects; no sorrow of the heart would break our spirit. ‘I wonder many times’– says Rutherford –‘that ever a child of God should have a sad heart, considering what his Lord is preparing for him.’ The gleam of the present sunshine is the earnest of what it will be, when — as he again beautifully observes–‘we shall be on the sunny side’ … Meanwhile the first step in religion is, not only beginning “to be serious, but to be happy.”

The UNDERSTANDING Heart

Proverbs 15:14 The heart of him that hath UNDERSTANDING seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

Word Study: There is the joy filled or rejoicing heart [śāmēaḥ (pro. saw-may’-akh)] that is focused on God. Now we are introduced to the “UNDERSTANDING” (bîn, pro. bene) heart. This Hebrew word means “perceptive, discerning, one that thoughtfully dwells on something”. This was what King Solomon prayed for when he asked God:

1 King 3:9 (KJV) Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may DISCERN (bîn, pro. bene) between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

Solomon realized that it was impossible for him to effectively rule Israel unless God gave him the wisdom to do so. So Solomon admitted his inability, and asked God to give him a heart that was (bîn, pro. Bene) filled with wisdom. This particular Hebrew word is in the Book of Proverbs thirty times. The mouths of “FOOLS”, godless creatures, “feeds on foolishness”. They do not discern, but scream and cry and wheedle and demand like toddlers who don’t get their way. The godly person, however, carefully examines the situation in the light of God’s Word.

Proverbs 15:15 All the days of the afflicted are EVIL: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

How you perceive your situation in life with your heart matters. The word “EVIL” here does not refer to immorality or sinfulness. Those who feel that the trials of life are an “AFFLICTION” are constantly miserable because of their perspective. They are negative, gloomy, and never see a bright spot in their lives. They feel that the universe hates them, and they live out their lives making others around them just as miserable as they are.

Illustrate: Such a person was Jacob. God reached out to Jacob, and sent the lineage of Christ through Jacob rather than Esau. Jacob was given the promises of God. From Jacob God honored His promise to Abraham, and raised up the nation Israel. God blessed Jacob all throughout his miserable life, giving abundant grace to this creature. When Jacob – in the midst of a great famine – found out that Joseph was alive, and the right hand man to Pharaoh the King of Egypt – he went to Joseph and Pharaoh for help. Pharaoh told Joseph:

Genesis 47:5-6 (KJV) … Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

Saved from the famine, restored to his son Joseph, Jacob should have been deliriously happy. Yet when the Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”, Jacob replied:

Genesis 47:9 (KJV) … The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Jacob lived the life of the afflicted.

Proverbs 15:15 All the days of the afflicted are EVIL: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

Those who are perpetually miserable hate life. Yet those who look Godward have a “CONTINUAL FEAST”. The Apostle Paul, along with the fathers of the Church suffered horribly. Paul wrote:

2 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV) … dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Paul sang in the prison like he was in the palace.
When his goods were stolen, he praised God.

The Apostle said:

Philippians 4:10-13 … I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

When we learn, as the Apostle did, to look Christward in the bad times as well as the good, then every day is a feast, a party, a time of joy unspeakable and full of glory. God tells the believer to:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV) … give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

People that focus their hearts Godward are treasures to others. There was a disciple of Christ in the early Church called Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus. Many who came to Christ were shunned by their families, and lost their businesses. Joseph decided to sell a field that belonged to him, and contribute the proceeds to the needy. After he did this we read:

Acts 4:36 … Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement)

You can be an encourager or a discourager. You can spread joy, or misery. The key is the direction of your heart.

King David wrote in Psalm 4:7-8,

“You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Proverbs 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.

“FEAR OF THE LORD” means to have holy reverence toward and obedience to God. We honor God when we recognize that HE IS GOD and we are not. We honor God when we acknowledge Him as our Creator and Master. To fear God is to hate what He hates, and to love what He loves (Proverbs 8:13).

Wealth and power do not guarantee happiness nor peace. With riches comes trouble. The average man focused on living for Christ need not fear being robbed at gunpoint, unlike the wealthy who live in mansions and hire body guards. Further, the Bible tells us that:

Proverbs 11:4 (ESV) Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

Being rich may allow you to get away with murder in this life, but not in the next. John the Revelator, speaking of the Great White Throne Judgment, wrote:

Revelation 20:12 … I saw the dead, small and GREAT, stand before God

If you are not saved by grace through Christ, though you be famous, rich, or whatever …. you will stand before God one day and be judged. Riches will not save you. God owns “the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). The deer and wildlife do not belong to the government, but to the Lord Himself. “Every beast of the forest is Mine”. Your riches will not impress God when you stand before Him – nor do they impress God now.

Where there is fear of the Lord, there is moderation and contentment, joy and peace.

Jesus said, “Beware of greed. Your life is not increased by the stuff you possess” (Luke 12:15, AP). A materially poor soul is not worth less than the materially rich soul. Jesus spoke of a rich man who never thought of God, but whose money was his god (Luke 12:16-20). When God his soul from his body, the Father called him “You FOOL!”. Many today need to heed this. God does not care how many Facebook, Instagram, or Tik Tok followers you have. God does not care if your videos go “viral” on You Tube. Taylor Swift has 282 million followers on Instagram. God doesn’t care. Judgment day is coming. Better get your eyes on God.

Proverbs 15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

Some versions render the words “STALLED OX” as “fatted calf”, though the Hebrew šôr (pro. Shore) can mean “ox, bullock, cow”. The word translated “STALLED” is the Hebrew āḇas (pro. Aw-bas’), which means “to be well fed, well nourished, plump”. In the ancient world someone who owned an Ox was well off. Oxen were used to plow fields. Oxen who were well cared for, who were kept in a stall and fed, were the mark of the well to do farmer. The well to do farmer – with his fancy ox – ate very well. But the farmer who had just a hoe, a shovel, and a rake – just a small plot – ate poorly in comparison.

Solomon tells us that without love the better table is the poorer table. If you don’t have the love of your family and the love of God, your rich meal really isn’t that nourishing.

Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.

Just as a miserable person spreads misery where ever they go, a person with a short temper spreads anger where ever they go. Self control is a valuable asset to possess. Those who learn to control their anger and their actions, along with their tongue, are the best leaders. My commentary notes:

The Pulpit Commentary remarks: “It requires two to make a quarrel, and where one keeps his temper and will not be provoked, anger must subside.” We may add that it takes two carnal natures to start a fight. The Vulgate renders this verse: “He who is patient soothes aroused quarrels.” The Septuagint reads: “A long suffering man appeases even a coming battle.”

Our Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). We should remind ourselves who are Christians that it was the fact that God is slow to anger that led to our salvation

Psalm 103:8 (NKJV) The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

2 Peter 3:15 … count the patience of our Lord as salvation

If our God were not “SLOW TO ANGER” then none of us would be saved! Jesus warned us that “everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment..” (Matthew 5:22). Hot temper and uncontrolled anger do little to fix a situation – but it will inflame it.

When anger gets the BEST of us, it reveals the WORST in us. Ask God to help you control your anger.

Proverbs 15:19 The way of the SLOTHFUL MAN is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.

For the slothful and the procrastinator, there is always a reason not to do something. The slothful build “a HEDGE OF THORNS”. They do not want progress, but want others to delay so that they themselves will feel justified in their vain way of life. The slothful contribute nothing but hindrance and irritation. They are a thorn in the flesh of the Church. Though they go no where, when there is no blessing they look about for others to blame.

Proverbs 10:4 (ESV) A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

You make no progress in the journey if you don’t move. Nothing changes if you do nothing. The slothful, the sluggard will do nothing but cause irritation.

Proverbs 10:26 (ESV) Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

The righteous, however, know what they must do. They do not procrastinate, but follow the directive of the Lord to “Go, Tell, Make”. We who love the Lord have His Word as (Psalm 119:105) “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”. As Enoch walked with God daily until God took him home, we must walk with God daily. We are not called to doubt, nor to comfort, but to walk. Adam Clarke wrote:

“Because he is slothful, he imagines ten thousand difficulties in the way which cannot be surmounted; but they are all the creatures of his own imagination, and that imagination is formed by his sloth.”

Charles Spurgeon said:

“Unthinking persons suppose that the sluggard lives a happy life, and travels an easy road. It is not so…. Labor of a holy sort has ten thousand times more joy in it than purposeless leisure.”

May God draw you closer to Christ by His Word and His Spirit. Amen.

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A Really Good Question

Posted on March 4, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Nik on Unsplash

Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God Repurposes The Broken Vessel For His Glory

I have really enjoyed going through the Book of Romans. When our Lord Jesus called Paul to be His Apostle on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3-16), He changed this “chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Before conversion he was Saul, a “Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6), a Jew of Tarsus who studied at the feet of Gamaliel, taught the Law of God (Acts 22:3). Saul persecuted the Church, spilling the blood of Christians because he thought it was his religious duty. On the Damascus Road Jesus changed Saul to Paul, the persecutor of the faith to the protector of the faith.

When God calls a person to salvation and that person receives Christ as Lord and Savior, God uses the past experiences of the newly saved to promote His Kingdom.

Saul was trained at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the most highly regarded Bible teachers or Rabbis of his day. Gamaliel was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Ruling Council. Being trained by Gamaliel, the Apostle Paul learned the value of asking questions. A good teacher asks good questions so as to make the student think. As God used Paul to write Scripture, Paul often made use of questions to challenge his readers. Last week we studied:

Romans 8:28 … we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

How do we KNOW that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD for the Christian, the person who LOVES GOD? Because God saves us “according to His purpose”. God’s purpose for the saved person is to make us like Jesus. We are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son {Jesus}” (vs 29). God is going to make it happen. He saved you through Christ, to make you like Jesus. God justified you, declaring you righteous because of the Blood of Christ, so that He will GLORIFY you (vs 30).

A Good Teacher, Paul Asks Some Really Good Questions

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be FOR US, who can be against us?

What a great question!

God saved the Christian on purpose.
God repurposes the Christian as His child.
God determines the Child’s purpose.


“If God be FOR US, who can be against us?”. If you are saved by faith in Christ, then ANYTHING that comes your way comes under the will of God. Paul asks another good question:

Romans 8:32 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Jesus’ death was not just a tragic accident, a misunderstanding, a misuse of power. Jesus Christ is the “only Begotten Son of God” (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). God the Father sent His Son to the earth. God the Father did not spare His Son, but “delivered Him up for us all”. Jesus – the Incarnate Son of God – died a horrible death on the Cross of Calvary for us all.

If God paid a great fee for our salvation, if God did the greatest thing He could do for us at the Cross, will He not now do the lesser? Purchased at a great price, will God not take care of us? Absolutely! What a great question!

Illustrate: When God called the shepherd boy David to be King of Israel, from that moment on David grasped and held on to that great truth. When confronted by Goliath David kept his purpose before his eyes. When Goliath roared, David didn’t flinch. He was called by God to be King. Why should he fear Goliath, no matter how big he was? When David played the harp for King Saul, and Saul sought his death, David did not fear. God told him that he was going to be King of Israel. He kept the purpose of God before his eyes, no matter what happened.

Illustrate: When Joseph was told by God that he would one day rule over his family, his brothers were jealous of him. When they cast him into a pit and sold him as a slave, Joseph kept what God told him ever before his eyes. Unjustly accused and imprisoned, Joseph kept his eyes on the Lord Who called him. He was in the will of God, and though imprisoned 13 years, in time God raised Joseph up to be the right hand of Pharaoh.

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to God’s purpose.

Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s ELECT (eklektos)? It is God that justifieth.

God chose to save you. God called you. You chose to heed His call. You are His Chosen, those whom He has called out of the world.

Do Christians err? “It is God that justifieth”. Do Christians fail? “It is God that justifieth”. Do Christians stumble? “It is God that justifieth”. Absolutely. What is our solution? When we fail, we repent and return to God. “It is God that justifieth”. I cannot fix what I messed up. “It is God that justifieth”. I do not count beads, I do not pray to a saint or the Virgin Mary (who, by the way, is no longer a Virgin), I do not go to a Priest and ask him to forgive me. “It is God that justifieth”.

Our failings and sins do not define us. God called us to salvation, and we freely came to Him through Christ Jesus. Each one of us who are saved are in covenant with God. “It is God that justifieth”. It is God Who declares us righteous and and our sins covered. We do not live so as to please others, but God. Certainly we do not live arrogantly so as to hurt others, but our primary concern is to serve the Lord Jesus. The Apostle wrote:

Galatians 1:10 (ESV) For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The Christian is an object of God’s Will.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 … we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

“It is God that justifieth”. We are saved on purpose for a purpose. When we let anything absorb us or entice us but the glory of God, we walk a dangerous path.

Those who are more interested in pleasing others instead of pleasing God may not be saved.

Our Lord Jesus chastised the religious Pharisees of His day, saying:

John 5:44 (ESV) How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

The Pharisees were more concerned about what other Pharisees thought of them, but cared little of what God thought. That is not the way of Christ. Jesus said of these Bible scholars:

Preach This!

John 12:43 (ESV) … they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

The Christian lives to please God, to fulfill His purpose, to bring glory to Him. “It is God that justifieth”. That is who we live for.

Christ Paid For Our Sins, And Prays For Our Sanctification

Paul now asks another great question:

Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

The world is condemned by sin. Christ came to remove God’s condemnation from whosoever that believes in Him. A familiar text is:

John 3:15-18 (NKJV) … whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The condemnation that matters is the condemnation of God. This world, this God rejecting world, is under the condemnation of God. “God so loved THE WORLD that He GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”. The Father called on His Son to go to the Cross for our sins. The Father calls whosoever will to come to Him through Christ. “WHOEVER believes in Him, in Jesus, will NOT PERISH, but have EVERLASTING LIFE”. Though the world is under God’s condemnation, to come to Christ by faith is to leave the condemnation of God.

You are saved from damnation by the Blood of Christ. You keep on being saved by the Resurrected Christ, “who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Jesus saves us, and keeps on saving us. This is the purpose of God. Jesus promised:

John 5:24 (KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

When you believe on Jesus Christ, believing and receiving Him as Lord and Savior, you become one with the plan of God. The world may condemn you, but that doesn’t matter. God cannot condemn you. You are passed from death to life. You are changed.

Romans 8:1 (KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Jesus Christ saves us, the Holy Spirit indwells us, Jesus Christ intercedes for us, and the Father has a purpose for us.

What a glorious truth this is. I would give my life even now if I could make you all understand the power of living found in this truth. We live for Jesus, to please Jesus – not to please ourselves. The children of Adam live to please themselves, to bring glory to themselves. We live for Jesus, for the Kingdom of God.

Can You Do Something To Separate Yourself From The Love Of God?

Having read and studied all these things, we now come to what I call not just a good question, but a really good question.

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Is there anything from the outside of you that will separate you, dear Christian, from the love of Christ? Paul breaks it down. Let’s look at these words:

– Tribulation: Greek thlipsis. Affliction, anguish, oppression, great pressure. Some who hear the Gospel “have no root in themselves” and when affliction or anguish comes they bail out. Jesus spoke of these pseudo believers in Matthew 13:21; Mark 4:17. If affliction comes and you reject Jesus, you were never saved. Jesus promised that while we as believers are in the world “you will have thlipsis, but REJOICE, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

– Distress: Greek stenochōria. Tight spots, narrow spaces. Between a rock and a hard place.

– Persecution: Greek diōgmos. Attacks from the world.

– Famine. Nakedness. Peril. Sword. When your safety or comfort is threatened. None of these things shall separate you from the love of Christ. If you are saved, born again by faith in Christ, you will love the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus will love you. However, I want you to look at the text as to what it doesn’t say. The text says:

“Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ?”

But it doesn’t ask us:

“Who shall separate us from the BLESSING of Christ?”

The two statements are not the same.

Dear Christian, it is possible to be loved of God, but to get yourself in a mess of trouble by wandering either physically or spiritually from God in Christ.

Our Lord Jesus spoke a parable one time called by many: The Parable of the Prodigal Son”. This Parable is only told in Luke 15:11-32. Jesus never called this Parable “The Prodigal Son”, but merely introduced it as:

Luke 15:11 … a certain Man had TWO SONS

Jesus used this parable to explain the love of God for His children. In the parable, the younger son comes to the Father and asks:

Luke 15:12 .. Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me

He demanded that his Father give him his inheritance. Taking his inheritance, the young son went out into the world. He left his Father’s Kingdom, spent all that he had. Eventually the young man had to take a horrible job of slopping hogs. Many days he ate what the hogs ate. What a terrible place to be!

Nothing can separate you from the LOVE of Christ, but by willfulness you can depart from the BLESSING of Christ. You can go out into the world, and bring horrible suffering on yourself. The younger son illustrates many who claim to be Christians today. The safest and best place to be is in the Kingdom, serving the Father, trusting the Lord Jesus. But like this young son, if we wander away, we will find ourselves in a bad place. In the parable:

Luke 15:17-19 (NKJV) But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my Father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my Father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”

The young son did what every wayward Christian needs to do. He remembered the blessings that he had when he was in the Father’s house. The young son repented, and returned home. He humbled himself. Rather than demanding his rights and privileges, he said “I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants”. The young son physically left the blessing of Christ. But did he leave the LOVE of Christ? No. Jesus said:

Luke 15:20-24 (NKJV) … he arose and came to his Father. But when he was still a great way off, his Father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the Father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

The young son never stopped being the Father’s son. He was still loved of the Father. But when the son became one with the world, the Father would not follow him nor bless him. But once he repented and returned to the Father, in humility, the Father bestowed His blessings on that young son.

Christian, God will not bless you if you walk off into the world. You are to live in the Presence of the Father, to the glory of Jesus. You are not dead in sin, you are dead to damnation and condemnation. You are dead to the things of this world (Colossians 2:20). You are called to:

Ephesians 4:1 (KJV) … walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called …

Colossians 1:10 (KJV) … walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God ..

1 Thessalonians 2:12 (KJV) … walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Nothing can separate you from the “love of Christ”, but pride and willfulness can separate you from the blessing of God.

There were two sons in that parable our Lord told us. The young son physically walked away from the Kingdom of God. The older son came home, and heard the celebration and was jealous of his brother. In Luke 15:28-30 the older son was angry, and refused to go into the celebration. He was self righteous. The younger son physically left the Father’s Kingdom, but the older son spiritually wandered away. The Father told him:

Luke 15:31-32 (NKJV) ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’

Neither son glorified the Father, nor honored His Will. But the Father loved them both. The Father wanted the best for both sons.

Beloved, if you are saved by faith in Christ, the Father wants the best for you. We close with the final word of the Apostle:

Romans 8:38-39 (KJV) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you allow the flesh to lead you, you can separate yourself from the blessing of God. But if you are saved by faith in Christ, the love of God “which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” cannot be extinguished. God loves you. Love Him back!

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God Hates Religion

Posted on March 1, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Chapman Chow on Unsplash

Proverbs 15:8-9 The sacrifice of the WICKED is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth Him that followeth after righteousness.

God Despises Man-Made “Religion”

Word Study: What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the “WICKED”? This is the Hebrew rāšāʿ, which means “to be wicked or criminal, to violate the Law, to be guilty of sin or hostile to the command of God”. The word is not used of casual sin, but of those who do wrong regardless as to what God has said. The FIRST use of the word is in:

Genesis 13:13 … the men of Sodom were WICKED (rāšāʿ) and SINNERS before the LORD exceedingly.

They were “WICKED” because their outward actions violated the Will of God. They were “SINNERS” because their hearts were far from God. God determined that He was going to destroy Sodom because of its wickedness. Telling Abraham of His plans, Abraham pled for the life of his nephew Lot. He humbly asks God:

Genesis 18:23 (AP) … Will You destroy the RIGHTEOUS with the WICKED (rāšāʿ)

Those who are “RIGHTEOUS” do what God’s Will says is “RIGHT”. Those who are “WICKED” do what God’s Will says is “CRIMINAL or GODLESS”.

God had told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom, and Lot resided in Sodom. Though Lot was living in Sodom, the Apostle Peter wrote that after this prayer:

2 Peter 2:7-9 (NKJV) {God} delivered RIGHTEOUS LOT, who was oppressed by the FILTHY CONDUCT OF THE WICKED 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment

Word Study: Lot was stressed daily while living in the cesspool that Sodom had become. The conduct of the “WICKED” {Greek athesmos} or those who denied the Law of God, criminals, or wicked tormented Lot. Why? Because Lot had to “see and hear their lawless deeds”. The person who is “WICKED” as opposed to the one who is “RIGHTEOUS” is based on whether they order their lives according to the will of God or not. In the Book of Malachi God tells Israel that, when they return from exile, that they are to:

Malachi 3:18 (KJV) … discern between the RIGHTEOUS and the WICKED, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.

The “RIGHTEOUS” are marked by serving God in their daily lives. The “WICKED” however do not serve God, but themselves. Our Lord Jesus called:

Demons “wicked” (Matthew 12:45)
Satan “wicked” (Matthew 13:19)
The children of Satan “wicked” (Matthew 13:38)
Those who demanded “signs” as “wicked” (Matthew 16:4)

The Apostle Paul declared that the professing Christian in sexual sin is “wicked” (1 Corinthians 5:13). The Apostle John said that Cain who killed his brother was “wicked” (1 John 3:12).

It is possible to be RELIGIOUS and yet be WICKED. When the Pharisees said that “Jesus casts out devils by Beelzebub the prince of devils” (Matthew 12:24) our Lord chastised them, and warned them against committing the unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31-32). Jesus went on to say to the highly religious Pharisees:

Matthew 12:34 (KJV) O generation of vipers, how can ye, being EVIL {ponēros}, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Word Study: Here Jesus uses another Greek word – ponēros – which means “to labor for evil things, for bad or wicked intents”. These Pharisees were outwardly religious, just as many people are outwardly religious. They were careful with what face they showed to the public. But as with all “religious” people, they were more concerned with looking righteous than they were in being righteous.

Beloved, God does not care is you are “religious”. In November 1095 AD Pope Urban II called on the Catholic Church to arm itself, and take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. From 1096-1291 AD the religious Catholic “Church” warriors wearing the “Cross” marched in eight major expeditions into the Holy Land. Crusaders massacred Jews in various towns in the Rhineland (1096). In June 1099 Crusaders attacked Jerusalem. When promised that the inhabitants would be spared if they surrendered, hundreds of men, women, and children were killed as the Crusaders entered the city. John M. Robertson wrote in his book A Short History of Christianity (1902):

“It is a reasonable calculation that in the two centuries from the first crusade to the fall of Acre (1291) there had perished, in the attempts to recover and hold the Holy Land, nine millions of human beings, at least half of them {professing} Christians. Misery and chronic pestilence had slain most; but the mere carnage had been stupendous.” (page 278)

This was the action of “religion”. God hates religion. The word “religion” is found a few times in the Bible. The stepbrother of Jesus defines “region” for us:

James 1:27 (KJV) Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Jesus has never asked us to kill a bunch of people to get the Holy Land back from the Muslims. He asked us to minister to the weak and needy, and to not follow the evils and wickedness of this world. What else does James tell us about “religion”?

James 1:26 (KJV) If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

If your tongue is not controlled or BRIDLED by the Word of God, your RELIGION is EMPTY and useless. We are told:

Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the WICKED is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

If you are “WICKED” and contrary to the will of God, the Lord is not impressed with your “SACRIFICES”, your outward religious actions. God wants you to follow Jesus, not a Church movement or a worldly religion. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 10:27-28 (ESV) My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Who are “The RIGHTEOUS”? They are the “SHEEP” of Jesus. They are not Shepherds, but SHEEP. They follow Jesus. He knows them, and they know Him. They HEAR His Voice, and follow His Voice rather than the siren call of the world. People think, “If I go to Church, if I give a tithe, if I do this religious act – like counting beads and praying rote prayers – then God will be pleased with me”. But God says:

Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the WICKED is an ABOMINATION to the Lord

Word Study: You can do a religiously appropriate action – like the Lord’s Table – but if your daily fruit is WICKED God says “this is an ABOMINATION”. The word translated “ABOMINATION” is the Hebrew tôʿēḇâ, which means “that which is disgusting or idolatrous, reprehensible”. God classified homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22), idolatry (Leviticus 18:26), to profit from idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:25), to sacrifice your children to the gods (Deuteronomy 12:31), to give broken things to God (Deuteronomy 17:1), to be transsexual in dress (Deuteronomy 22:5), to be perverted (Proverbs 3:32), to cheat in business (Proverbs 11:1), to habitually twist the truth and lie (Proverbs 12:22), and to be puffed up with pride (Proverbs 16:5). God does not want the empty religious ritual of the wicked, no matter how much it might be. But we are told:

Proverbs 15:8 the prayer of the upright is His delight.

God delights in the prayer of His children, those who have given their hearts to Him through faith in Christ Jesus. The Pharisees, much like the religious Catholic, Non-Denominational, Pentecostal, Apostolic and Mainline groups in America today made the ritual more important than the relationship with God in Christ. Many of the religious groups create man-made standards that are not in the Word of God. The Apostle addressed this in:

Colossians 2:20-23 (NKJV) … if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

When we depart from the Word of God into the traditions and word of man, we move into bad religion, what God considers an abomination.

What does God want of us? We read:

Proverbs 15:9 (KJV) The WAY of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.

Our WAY is not to walk after our desires, but to “FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS”. To live our lives according to the will of God, which is to be obedient to following the WORD of GOD. We are told in:

1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV) As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

God Punishes Sin

Proverbs 15:10-11 (KJV) Correction is GRIEVOUS unto him that forsaketh THE WAY: and he that hateth reproof shall die. 11 Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

The Christian is called to follow “THE WAY”. When we ignore this Way, we bring upon ourselves grief. If we continue to reject “THE WAY”, God can take our lives. What do we mean by “THE WAY”?

In the Old Testament, God uses the phrase “THE WAY” to describe the direction He wants His people to go. We read in

Exodus 13:21 (KJV) … the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them THE WAY …

God commanded the leaders of Israel to …

Exodus 18:20 (KJV) … teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them THE WAY wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do

The Psalmist said, “the LORD knoweth THE WAY of the righteous: but THE WAY of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:6). David went on to say in Psalm 25:8, “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will He teach sinners in THE WAY”. And again:

Psalm 119:1 (KJV) Blessed are the undefiled in THE WAY, who WALK IN THE LAW OF THE LORD …

There is the Way of the Lord, and the way of mankind. The Way to God is through obedience to Jesus. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and THE WAY is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and THE WAY is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

To live by and walk in the darkness of the world is easy – but it leads to destruction in this life, and damnation in the next life. But to follow Jesus, to give yourselves to Him, is to find life, eternal life, though you will be at odds with the world. Jesus said:

John 14:6 I am THE WAY, the Truth, and The Life: No one comes to the Father but BY ME …

Jesus Christ came to give us “light in darkness, to guide our feet in THE WAY of peace” (Luke 1:79). To forsake His Way is to bring grief on yourselves. We are told:

Proverbs 15:10 … he that HATETH REPROOF SHALL DIE

When we give our lives to Jesus we become His Sheep, and He our Shepherd. The Bible tells us that God punishes His children when they get off course. God knows our hearts. He wants only the best for us. My commentary notes:

“When a man or woman departs from God’s path (the Way), in mercy God will send them harsh discipline. This discipline is a warning and opportunity to change one’s ways. … He who hates correction will die: The one who rejects God’s loving and merciful correction seals his own fate and sets his own course. They are on the way of death and will remain there.”

Proverbs 15:11 Hell {šᵊ’ôl} and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN?

Word Study: The word translated “HELL” is the Hebrew šᵊ’ôl (pronounced Sheol), which is a reference to the underworld not of Heaven. Though we cannot see either Sheol or sudden destruction, but God can always see these things. The same is true of the “HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN”. God can see the underworld – HELL or Sheol, but we cannot. He can see what brings forth DESTRUCTION on us. But God can also see the hearts of men. My commentary notes:

“God can see what we cannot. Hell and Destruction are presently invisible to us, but they are before the LORD. If we could see Hell and Destruction, we would think and live much differently. “We, silly fishes, see one another jerked out of the pond of life by the hand of death; but we see not the frying pan and the fire that they are cast into, that ‘die in their sins,’ and refuse to be reformed.” (Trapp)

Since God can see what we cannot see, we would best be blessed if we just take Him at His Word and do as He says.

The Scoffer Hates Correction

Proverbs 15:12 A SCORNER loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.

Word Study: The SCORNER (Hebrew lûṣ, pronounced loots) is the one who “mocks, scoffs at, or makes fun of” another person. The righteous or wise person does not hate correction, but sees correction as a means to make us more like Christ. King David prayed:

Psalm 141:5 (NKJV) Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.

He did not see rebuke from God’s people and God’s Word as something to be disdained, but as a blessing. This was why King David was “a man after God’s heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Compare David to the evil King Ahab. When Ahab was confronted by the Prophet Elijah over his allowance and promotion of idolatry in Israel, Ahab told Elijah “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”. Elijah told him,

1 Kings 18:18 (NKJV) … I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

Ahab would not hear. But when King David was confronted by Nathan for his evil acts against Uriah and Bathsheba, David heeded the Prophet and said:

2 Samuel 12:13 (KJV) … I have sinned AGAINST THE LORD ..

The mark of a lost person is that they will not hear nor heed rebuke from God’s Word, but instead mock the messenger and laugh at God’s Law. The saved both hear and HEED.

The Apostle Paul warned his student Timothy to stay true to God’s Word, no matter how many the scoffers. He said:

2 Timothy 4:2-4 (ESV) … preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

The scoffer, the lost person, will not “GO TO THE WISE”, because they enjoy the darkness of sin. Those who leave this life scoffing will wake up screaming and separated from God forever. Preach the Word! God tells us:

John 3:20 (KJV) Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light; neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Those who love the Lord with all their hearts (Matthew 22:36-40) will not mock God or His Word, but will cling to it as truth and blessing. We serve an awesome God! May God touch your hearts with His Word. Amen.

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Defeating The Enemy

Posted on February 26, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Luke Jones on Unsplash

Romans 8:28-32 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Our Enemy Wants Us “Religious”

When I was a little boy I was taught to pray before a meal. Mama taught us to say:

God is great, God is good;
Let us thank Him for our food.
By His hands we are fed,
Bless the Lord for daily bread.
Amen.

I grew up in a “religious” household. Not overly religious. Daddy didn’t go to Church. Mama made us go a Church on Sunday, a local Presbyterian Church. If you notice the prayer I said at meals (saying “Grace”) was not addressed to God.

“Religious” people talk about God. Those “saved by Grace” talk to God. Religious people want God to belong to them. Saved people belong to God. There is a difference between “religious” and “saved, born again”!

As a “religious” person I learned the “Shorter Catechism” of the Presbyterian Church, was baptized by sprinkling, and was given a Bible. I thought I was fine with God. The “Shorter Catechism” is 107 questions about God along with the answers. It taught us as young people about God. The first three questions (and answers) were:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?

A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

Religion teaches a lot about God. I knew a lot about God – but I didn’t know God. I had no personal relationship with God. Many in Christianity are the same way. They know about God. They talk about God. But there is no relationship with God.

The Enemy loves you to be “religious”.

Our enemy is the Devil, also called Satan, Lucifer, that Old Serpent or the Red Dragon.

It was the Devil who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). It was the Devil who tempted Jesus Christ when He was in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-4). The Devil was created perfect by God, called “Lucifer” which means “Light Bearer”, but he revolted from Heaven and led 1/3 of the angels in Heaven to rebel against God (Revelation 12:4). God cursed the Devil in the Garden of Eden, and promised that the Messiah would one day come and stomp on his head (Genesis 3:15). The Messiah Himself would be wounded in the encounter, but Satan’s power would be destroyed by Jesus.

Many people don’t believe in the Devil, Lucifer, that old Serpent. If you don’t believe in the Devil, you don’t believe in Jesus.

Jesus and the first Church believed in the Devil, a.k.a. Satan. Jesus gave His disciples power over demons and Satan in His name. Jesus said:

Luke 10:18 (ESV) … I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Jesus’ followers were amazed that demons trembled at the sound of His name, and that they had power over the enemy (Luke 10:17).

“There’s POWER in the Name of Jesus. There’s HEALING in the Name of Jesus. There’s MERCY in the Name of Jesus. There’s SALVATION in the Name of Jesus. The Demons tremble at the sound of that Name.” (Andre Crouch)

Jesus told His disciples when they saw the demons cast out in His Name,

Luke 10:20 (ESV) … do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

God writes the names of those saved in the Name of Jesus in Heaven. If you have submitted yourself to the Name of Jesus, your name is written in “The Book of Life” (Revelation 20:12). Those who are spiritually dead are NOT in the Book of Life.

  • Those in the Book of Life “labor together in the Gospel” (Philippians 4:3).
  • Those in the Book of Life “live as overcomers” (Revelation 3:5)
  • Those in the Book of Life “worship the Lamb of God”, not the world (Revelation 13:8)
  • Those in the Book of Life will never be damned (Revelation 20:12, 15)
  • Those in the Book of Life do not pursue a life of sin (Revelation 21:27)
  • Those in the Book of Life love the Bible, and will not modify God’s Word (Revelation 22:19)

The Devil wants you in Church, but he doesn’t want you in the Book of life. The Devil loves that you’re on a “Church Roll”, and that you know all about God.

The Pharisees knew all about God, but Jesus said of them:

John 8:42-45 (ESV) … If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

The Gospel Is About Loving The LORD

“Love” is a relationship – and the Enemy doesn’t want you to have a relationship with Jesus. Jesus told the Bible Scholars, the Pharisees, “If God were your Father, you would love Me”. The mark of the Christian is that you love Jesus, you love God. Satan doesn’t want you to love God. Jesus said:

John 5:39-40 (ESV) You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Jesus is the Source of Life. He said,

John 10:10 (ESV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

That’s what Jesus wants for you – an “ABUNDANT LIFE”. The Devil wants to steal that from you, just like he stole Paradise from Adam and Eve. Satan has convinced some of you that you don’t need a relationship with God. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 34:10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

“YOUNG LIONS” are prideful, arrogant. They are full of themselves. They think they don’t need the Lord. The Christian is not filled with pride, but is humble and submitted before the Lord. We are Jesus’ sheep, and He is the Shepherd. We follow Him, and obey His Word. Why? Because we love Him. Jesus said:

Luke 6:46 (ESV) Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

John 14:15 (ESV) If you love Me, you will keep My commandments …

The Christian loves God. The Christian loves Jesus. The Christian surrenders their life at the foot of the Cross. We recognize ourselves as unable, as sinners, as people who deserve Hell and want to be saved. We seek the Lord. We are not young lions, but understand that “they that seek the LORD shall not want in any good thing”. We “submit ourselves to God, but RESIST the Devil” (James 4:7). We do not want to be religious. We who are saved have a growing, going, dynamic relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. We believe His Word,

Romans 10:13 (KJV) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved …

We Defeat The Enemy By Giving Ourselves To The Lord Jesus

Romans 8:28 And we KNOW that all things work together for good to them that love God…

The world classifies things as GOOD or BAD. When the lost have a GOOD day, they are happy. When they have a BAD day, they are unhappy. Christians, however, are very different. We KNOW something the world does not know. “We KNOW that all things work together for good”. This doesn’t mean that all things are good, but that all things WORK TOGETHER for good.

All Things WORK TOGETHER for GOOD – but only if you LOVE GOD!

Why should a person love God? Because God gave the greatest thing He could give for us. Consider what Jesus did for YOU:

Romans 8:31-32 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God the Father “spared not His own Son”. When Adam brought sin into the world, sin brought with it death and disease. Sin brought separation from God. But rather than abandon us, or to leave us to a state of eternal damnation, God the Father “spared not His own Son”. He sent Jesus, the Beloved of God, to this earth to be born in the meanest of estates. Born in a manger, born to an unknown family, raised up in a small town few had any respect for, Jesus – the Infinite Son of God – was made lower than the Angels. Why? For the suffering of death.

Hebrews 2:9 (KJV) … we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

The Wages of Sin is DEATH (Romans 6:23). Adam made us all sinners, separated from God. But God reached out to us to save us through Jesus. We deserved death, and Jesus did not. But Jesus tasted death for us. Jesus bore our punishment, our separation from God, so that we, believing on and loving Him, could be saved. The Scripture says:

1 John 4:9-10 (KJV) In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. {10} Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation {the covering} for our sins.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, yet many – like the Pharisees – decided that they would rather love their rituals and their religion. They denied a relationship with Almighty God because they thought they were good enough for Heaven. Dear friends, none are good enough to get into Heaven. You must receive the Love of God by faith in Christ Jesus. You must turn away from your present way of life and turn toward Him Who loves you still. You must REPENT to be saved.

When you are saved, God sends the Holy Spirit to you to cause you to love God:

Romans 5:5 … the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

The saved LOVE GOD. Those who LOVE GOD know that all things work together for our good. The saved LOVE GOD’S COMMANDS and HIS WORD. We obey Him, for we love Him. We do not carry grudges or hatred. That’s the old man, the way of Satan. The Way of Christ is to love God, and love others. We read:

1 John 4:20-21 (KJV) If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? {21} And this commandment have we from Him (from God), That he who loveth God love his brother also.

All things work together for good to them that LOVE GOD.

The Saved BELONG To God

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

When we are saved, we belong to God. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 6:20 (KJV) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 7:23 (KJV) Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

PREACH: If you are saved by Grace in the LORD Jesus, you belong to Him. You defeat the enemy when you live your life to bring glory to Jesus. You do not live to please yourself, Satan, or the world around you. You live to please the One Who saved you!

Illustrate: If you are saved by faith in Christ, you not only love God and know that all things work together for your good, but you know that your life is a part of God’s PURPOSE and PLAN. Bethany Hamilton was surfing off the coast of Hawaii in 2003 when a 1500 pound tiger shark bit through her surfboard, taking with it most of her left arm. Was that “good”? No, but all things work together for good – for Bethany loved the Lord. She said:

“This was God’s plan for my life, and I’m going to go with it. … Jesus Christ … gave me peace when I got attacked by the shark, which severed my arm, and had to get back to the beach, which would take 20 minutes of paddling.”

The Christian’s focus is to love and serve the Lord Jesus, Who loves and cares for us.

Christian, you defeat the Devil when you realize you belong to God. Your God is not:

Humanism
Philosophy
Darwinism
DEI
Satan
Politics
Riches
Fame
Religion
or even Yourself

You belong to Jesus Christ. You belong to the Kingdom of God. You cannot split your allegiance. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). Jesus said “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation: every city or house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25; Luke 11:17). When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw Israel worshiping a golden calf, he cried out:

Exodus 32:26 (KJV) … Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

When Joshua – after a life of success in battle got ready to leave Israel in retirement, he cried out:

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) … choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

In the formation of the early Church, Paul, Timothy, James, Peter and Jude all describe themselves as “BOND SLAVES OF JESUS” (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1).

We who are saved by Grace are no longer under Satan nor the gods of this world. We who are saved follow Jesus as sheep, with Him as the Shepherd. We are “bond servants or slaves of Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:22; Ephesians 6:6; 2 Timothy 2:24).

We belong to God. We are “the CALLED according to HIS PURPOSE” (Romans 8:28).

What Is The Great Benefit Of Surrender To Christ?

We read:

Romans 8:29-31 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

If you belong to Jesus, everything is uphill. You have cancer, or some other disease. So what? You are, dear Christian, “predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son”. Everything that happens to you is to make you more like Jesus. Though people argue about what this verse means:

Romans 8:30 Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

You know what these verses mean to me? They mean simply this:

“If you belong to God, you will one day be in glory with God”

You defeat the enemy by giving yourself fully to Jesus. You trust His Word, the Bible. You hide in the salvation that the children of God receive. When the world challenges us, we look to God our Father. We rely on Jesus. We drive between the lines, knowing that while we are doing so, God is in control of the engine.

Romans 8:31 … If God be for us, who can be against us?

Beloved, you cannot defeat the enemy while playing on his team. Come to Jesus. Give your lives to Him. Stop being your own god, or following other gods. If you surrender to God in Christ, if you follow Him as LORD, you need not fear the little gods this world trots out.

I pray that God will lead you to Christ today. Amen.

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