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Jesus The Bondsman Of A Better Covenant

Posted on May 22, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

Our Lord Jesus is a “surety of a better testament”. What does that mean? The word “surety” is the Greek engyos, (pronounced eng’-goo-os), which means “a sponsor, Someone pledged or given”.

The Engyos is a Person Who guarantees something with His own life. Jesus said “No one takes My life, but I lay it down of My own accord”.

Jesus is the PROMISE of God, the One Who came representing a “better testament” or a better Covenant between us and God. Jesus “was in the beginning with God, and WAS GOD” (John 1:1-3). Jesus is the Engyos of God, not just now, but from all eternity.

Word Study: What is the proof that Jesus is the Engyos of God? The phrase “BY SO MUCH” is the Greek kata tosoutos, which means “by so many GREAT proofs”. There are many proofs set forth in Chapter 7 that proves Jesus to be the Head of a Greater Covenant. One of those proofs is in the life of a mysterious Person called Melchizedek. Before we talk about the Melchizedek and Abraham, let me ask this question:

Does God Speak To People?

Illustrate: I was watching an episode of a show Sherry and I like called “Blue Bloods”. I’ve been a Tom Selleck fan from his Magnum P.I. days. The show is generally clean, and depicts a Catholic family in law enforcement, with Selleck in the lead as the Police Commissioner of New York City. On one episode a woman told “Danny” (the Police Commissioner’s son) that “the Lord spoke to me”. As Danny and his partner talked about this, they agreed “you have to be crazy if you think God speaks to you”.

I’ve heard this a lot. People say, “God doesn’t speak to man”. But that’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that God speaks to His people. I’ve had people ask me, “What does His voice sound like?” as they smirk, and I tell them “I can’t explain it to you”. God’s voice is internal, to His people, and easily discerned if you pay attention. He speaks through His Scripture, the Bible. But God speaks to His people. He guides us.

God spoke to Moses. God called Moses to service in Exodus 3 at a burning bush. In Exodus 6 God spoke to Moses, and told him:

Exodus 6:2-8 (ESV) “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.”

God spoke to Moses, and spoke to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God gave the land of Canaan to Israel, and because He verbally promised that land to Israel, He told Moses to tell the people they would be led into that land.

God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, giving him
the ceremonial & sacrificial Laws of Israel.

God speaks to people. If He didn’t, then our entire Bible is a fairytale. God calls us into a relationship with Him. A relationship implies communication. If you are in a relationship with someone, there is communication between you both. God says to His people:

Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV) Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known

And spoke in David, saying in Psalm 85:8 (ESV) Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

God Not Only Speaks To People,
But Appeared To People

The Bible teaches that no one has ever seen God fully but Jesus Christ. God spoke to Moses, but told His servant:

Exodus 33:20 (ESV) … you cannot see My face, for man shall not see me and live …

The Apostle said “No one has EVER SEEN GOD – the only God, Who is at the Father’s side, He {Jesus} has made Him {God the Father} known” (John 1:18). We who are frail and sin tossed humans cannot look on the pure and absolute holy Face of God and it not kill us. Jesus Christ – Who is Incarnate God (Matthew 1:23) is able to look on God the Father, for Christ is without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15). But God HAS appeared to man in the Old Testament. God appeared to Abraham.

Abraham had no Bible – the Bible was not yet made.
Abraham had no Church – the Church was not formed.
Abraham had no Priest – he was Priest over his family.

Abraham had nothing that we in the Church Age have. But God came to Abraham and spoke to him. God led Abraham, and Abraham followed God by faith. God sent an image of Himself to Abraham, an Old Testament picture of God.

Theologians call this Old Testament appearance of God a CHRISTOPHANY or a THEOPHANY. The Burning Bush that Moses spoke to, the Pillar of Fire and of Cloud, these are Theophanies. The High Priest Who appeared to Abraham named Melchizedek is a Christophany.

As you read the description of Melchizedek, you can easily see that He is not as we are. Let’s look at the text:

Hebrews 7:1-2 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

Background: A little background here. Abraham had been following God, and the Lord led him to the Promised Land of Canaan. Abraham was following God, but his nephew Lot was following his heart. Abraham went where God sent him, but Lot went where his heart sent him. Lot ended up in Sodom. Four Kingdoms made war with Five Kingdoms, and Sodom was part of the Five Kingdom alliance. When the two sides battled in the Valley of Siddim (Genesis 14:8) the four defeated the five. As part of their winnings:

Genesis 14:12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

When Abraham heard that his nephew Lot and his family were captured, Abraham led 318 of his men into battle against these 4 nations. Using guerrilla tactics at night, the Bible says “Abraham brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people” (Genesis 14:16).

Abraham’s defeat of a vastly superior force was not due to his skills, but to the power of God operating in his life.

Two men came to meet Abraham in the Valley of Shaveh (the King’s Valley). One was Melchizedek, the other the King of Sodom. The King of Sodom sought to reward Abraham, but Abraham refused, saying:

Genesis 14:22-23 (ESV) I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’”.

Abraham refused to receive anything whatsoever from the King of Sodom. Why? Because he did not want to glorify the King of Sodom, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Abraham acknowledged it was God alone Who gave him the victory. To Melchizedek, this mysterious Visitor, Abraham gave a tenth part of all the spoils of war.

Who was this Melchizedek? We are told in verse 2 that He is:

“the KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS”, and
“the KING OF PEACE”

No human can be “King of Righteousness” or the “King of Peace”. These are divine titles.

The “KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS” cannot be a Man as we are. Jesus said, “There is NONE GOOD, BUT ONE – that is, GOD” (Matthew 19:17). The Bible says in Romans 3:10, 17: “There is NONE RIGHTEOUS, no, not one” (Romans 3:10), and goes on to say “the way of PEACE have they not known” (Romans 3:17). Humans cannot be the King of Righteousness or the King of Peace. These are attributes of God.

But this Melchizedek cannot be God the Father. Our text states:

Hebrews 7:1 … this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him

He is not God the Father, but He is the “priest of the most high God”. This ancient Priest blessed Abraham, saying:

Genesis 14:19-20 (ESV) “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

Abraham was blessed of God because he walked with “God Most High, Possessor of Heaven and earth”. This is the only reason that Abraham with his 318 men could defeat 4 nations of armies where 5 nations could not stand. Abraham walked with God, and served God apart from the Law of Sinai. Melchizedek is further described:

Hebrews 7:3-4 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

This Melchizedek cannot be a human person like we are, though He is called a “Man”.

This MAN, for verse 4 calls Him a MAN, is “Without father, without mother, without descent”. Melchizedek had no father nor mother. Is there anyone here in this room that has never had a father or mother? No, we are all descendant from parents. Melchizedek had no family tree. To be a Levitical Priest, you had to be able to trace your genealogy back to Levi, as we are told in…

Ezra 2:62 (NKJV) {Some Levites} sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.

Melchizedek had no family tree – yet He was a “Priest of the Most High God”. Further, we are told that Melchizedek had “neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God”. He was “LIKE UNTO THE SON OF GOD”. He is a Man, but not as we are men. He is eternal, without beginning or end.

When Abraham met Melchizedek, he gave TITHES to Him. This was long before Sinai and God’s creation of the Levitical Priests. We are told in Hebrews:

Hebrews 7:9-11 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him. 11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

When Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, it was like Levi himself was paying tithes. Levi was the great-grandson of Abraham. In the Law of Sinai the people paid tithes to the priests. When Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, it was like Levi was paying tithes to Melchizedek, for Levi was “still in the loins of Abraham”. This makes Melchizedek the superior Priest.

Melchizedek is a Christophany, an Old Testament appearance of the New Testament Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Came From Judah, Not Levi

Melchizedek had no lineage to trace. The Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin named Mary, and His lineage could be traced back to Judah and King David (see Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). This is why we are told …

Hebrews 7:14-18 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of JudaH; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth another priest, 16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.

Under the Law of Israel you could be either a priest or a king. The priests were descended from Levi, the kings from David and Judah. Jesus is a fulfillment of God’s promise to David that he would have a Son that ruled forever (2 Samuel 7:8-29). Jesus – from the Tribe of Judah – could NOT be a Levitical Priest. But Melchizedek is the High Priest of God. Without beginning or end, without family tree, Melchizedek was “made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.”

This is an Old Testament appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. God promised that the Messiah, when He came, would be a Melchizedek:

Psalm 110:4 (ESV) The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Here is the point of the text:

Jesus Christ, the Engyos of God or Sponsor of the New Covenant, appeared to Abraham in Melchizedek long before Moses received the Law at Sinai. Jesus Christ, the Engyos of God or Sponsor of the New Covenant, appears to us today, offering Eternal Salvation. Jesus was BEFORE the Law of Moses. Jesus is AFTER the Law of Moses.

The Law Cannot Make Us Perfect, Righteous Enough To Stand Before God. But Jesus Can!

Hebrews 7:19-22 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. 20 And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: 21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek:{quotation Psalm 110:4}) 22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

The Law of Moses, delivered at Sinai by God, could not bring Israel into a relationship with God. All the Law could do was continually point out the failings of mankind. Jesus is the Sponsor of a Better Covenant, because He is a Better Hope than the Law was.

The Melchizedek that blessed Abraham, is the Jesus Who blesses us today. Abraham was blessed apart from animal sacrifice, apart from the feasts of Israel, apart from the Levitical Priesthood, apart from either Temple or Tabernacle. The Priests of Levi could not continue forever, for like all men, they died.

Hebrews 7:23-25 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: 24 But this Man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Levitical Priests came and went. In time, each suffered death. But Jesus Christ, like Melchizedek, never dies.

He saves “to the UTTERMOST those who come unto God by Him”. Why? Because Jesus never ceases praying for us, never ceases representing us before the Throne of God.

The Levitical Priests were all fallen men, just as I am. But Jesus is so much more. The One Who represents us before God is without flaw, without sin. He is …

Hebrews 7:26 … holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

The Levitical Priests were holy because they shed the blood of animals, paying for their own sins, before ever paying for the sins of the people. But Jesus is “HOLY” because He is God Incarnate.

Word Study: Jesus is “HARMLESS” (akakos, “free from guilt”). Jesus is “UNDEFILED” (amiantos, unsoiled, without deformity”). Jesus is not a sinner as we are. He is “HIGHER THAN THE HEAVENS”. He is righteous and just, the Holy Son of God. The Levitical Priests had to make offering for their sins, then for the people. But our Lord Jesus:

Hebrews 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when he offered up himself.

Jesus is “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29-32).

Hebrews 7:28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

Salvation is in Christ alone. Eternal security is in Christ alone. God spoke to His people prior to the Law, saving Abraham, who believed on God. God speaks to His people today, saving whosoever will answer His call. Do you know Him? Do you know my Jesus? Oh, that God the Holy Spirit would open your hearts to Him today. Call on Him and be saved. Don’t delay. The Law cannot save you. Your morality cannot save you. Jesus Christ alone can save you. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Abraham, Bible, Christ, christianity, Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, Hebrews, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, love God, Melchizedek, salvation | Leave a comment

Guard Your Heart

Posted on May 16, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues (tôwtsâʼâh, pronounced to-tsaw-aw’, the SOURCE) of life.

The most pushed theme on television today is “Follow your heart”. What is interesting is that this is not what God tells us, but what the devil tells us. God tells us to “Guard your heart”.

Humans Are Three Parted

The Bible teaches us that a person is composed of three parts:

Body,
Soul,
and spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Human Spirit: The “spirit” of a person is that which connects them with God. The lost person is spiritually dead or disconnected from God. When Adam sinned (Genesis 3:6) in the Garden of Eden, he brought spiritual death on all his progeny. Spiritual death is evidenced by,

hiding from God (Genesis 3:8)
shifting blame for sin (Genesis 3:12)

Sin came into the world through Adam, and spiritual as well as physical death by sin (Romans 5:12). In Ephesians chapter 2 the Bible tells us that before a person is saved, that person is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). The “spirit of man” connects us to the Spirit of God, so that we can know the things of God. The Bible says:

Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

1 Corinthians 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Our human spirit is made alive the moment we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit of God – also called the Spirit of Christ – indwells us (Romans 8:9). Our God examines the human spirit to see if we are in a relationship with Him or not. Our context continues …

1 Corinthians 2:12-14 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy {Spirit} teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

When you receive Christ as Lord and Savior, God causes you to be “born again”. That is, your human spirit is made alive, and the Holy Spirit of God indwells you. You can now know the things of God because you are attached to God.

The Body: Our “BODY” is the fleshly, outer container of our “SOUL” and our “SPIRIT”. The Body is temporal, being composed of the dust of the earth. God told Adam:

Genesis 3:19 (NKJV) In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.

Adam was formed of “dust” or of the earth before he ever sinned before God (Genesis 2:7). Abraham said “I am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). He wasn’t talking about his soul or spirit, but about his body. Our present bodies were never meant to be eternal, but temporal. Those who are saved by faith in Christ can look forward to a body made for all eternity. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 15:49 … as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

The Soul: Our “SOUL” is actually who we are. Your soul is the ME of YOU. Every person who is physically alive has a functioning soul. The lost have a human spirit, but it is dead in trespasses and in sins. The lost live their lives focused on pleasing not God, but their own flesh. They are “natural men”, not “supernatural men”. Since their human spirit is dead, they have no connection to God. If they acknowledge God, they rely on religion and ritualism to sensually attach themselves to a god. But they cannot know God.

Back to the “SOUL”. Everyone has a soul. The soul is the living part of you that animates your body. Your soul is made by God. When you die, your soul returns to God. He says:

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Everyone has a soul, made by God. Each soul is unique, but each soul will eventually return to God for blessing or cursing.

The Heart Is The Control Center Of The Soul

When the Bible speaks of the “Heart”, it isn’t talking about the pump in your chest that keeps your blood circulating. The Heart is the control center of your soul. Satan and the world is constantly trying to take control of your heart. If your heart is influenced for good, then you will produce good. If your heart is influenced for evil, then you will produce evil. It’s like that old saying,

“Whatever is down in the well, comes up in the bucket!”

The first King of Israel, King Saul, did not guard his heart. He followed his heart, and as a result lost the throne. When God chose a King to replace King Saul, a very flesh driven soulish man, God sent Samuel to the home of Jesse. When Samuel saw Eliab, the firstborn son of Jesse, he said:

1 Samuel 16:6 (AP) Surely this is the one the Lord wants me to anoint as King!

But God told Samuel:

1 Samuel 16:7 “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

When God had Samuel anoint the little shepherd David to be the next King of Israel, the Lord said:

Acts 13:22 … (ESV) I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do

As God is Spirit and not flesh, and we see from these words that God Himself has a Heart, the Heart spoken of is not that pump of flesh. It is the control center of who you are. This is why we are warned to:

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy HEART with all diligence

Word Study: The word translated “Keep” is the Hebrew nāṣar {pronounced naw-tsar’} which means “set a watch on, guard, preserve from danger”. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

If the control center of the soul is fouled with sin, the outward actions of the soul reflected through the body will be sinful.

We need to guard our hearts. The guarding of our hearts must be both defensive as well as offensive.

Defensively guard your heart

Understand that there is a war going on all around you, and that you are constantly being bombarded with messages and “truths” that are counter to what God teaches us in His Word. The devil and this lost world wants you to lose hope, to walk away from your faith. The dark world will twist truth and malign scripture. They will do all they can do to erode your faith.

Be careful who you WALK with. It effects your heart.

Proverbs 4:14-19 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

God does not tell us to avoid wicked people. He wants us to witness to the wicked, to those who are fleshly, dead in trespasses and sins. What God tells us is to AVOID WALKING WITH THE WICKED. He says,

Enter not into the path of the wicked

Not the PRESENCE, but the PATH. God says “go not in the way of evil men”. Don’t walk with them. Don’t bind with them in business. Do not partner with them in their enterprises. God says “these people would rather DO WICKEDNESS than sleep” (vs 16), and they so delight in dragging the righteous down that they will lose sleep if they can’t make someone stumble in their faith. They “eat and drink wickedness and violence”. Yes, you should witness to the lost – but you should never walk their paths. In the Scripture God commands us:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NKJV) Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” 17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”

When you “yoke” yourself in business, in marriage, in any partnership with a lost person, that lost person will drag your heart away from God.

When King Solomon under the inspiration of God wrote these words, he was writing from experience. The Bible says:

1 Kings 11:1-4 (NKJV) But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods …

I have seen this played out over and over again in Christ’s Church. A young man, dedicated to God, falls in love with a lovely but lost girl, and binds with her in marriage. What happens? She drags him away from Christ. Or a young lady marries an infidel, believing that she can change him. Does she? No. He drags her away from Christ in most every instance.

The devil is always watching, looking for an opportunity to drag our hearts downward and away from God. Don’t let him do it. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV) Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Offensively guard your heart

You should not only guard your heart by protecting yourself from bad characters – but you should “load your spiritual gun”. If you are saved by faith in Christ, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide you into spiritual truth. Do these three things:

Purposely study the Word of God.
Prioritize Scripture Memorization.
Practice that which God tells you to do in His Word.

We are told:

Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Feed the control center of your soul – your heart – the Word of God. Read Scripture. Memorize Scripture. Meditate on Scripture. King David wrote:

Psalm 119:9-11 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek You; let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

The problem with most American Christians is that they spend hours feeding their hearts the bilge that is on network television, but minutes feeding their heart the Word of God. The Bible says:

Colossians 3:1-5 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

The devil watches us, and looks for opportunities to drag us back into darkness. He did this with our Lord Jesus before He started His earthly ministry. Satan came to Jesus and tempted our Lord three times, each time enticing Jesus to betray His mission. With each temptation Jesus replied:

“It is WRITTEN”

Jesus quoted Scripture to the devil, Scripture He had stored in His soul. Satan was defeated because Jesus offensively prepared Himself to do battle with Satan. As Jesus’ ministry progressed, over the next 3 ½ years He was attacked by agents of darkness. Jesus was attacked by Pharisees (the Conservatives), Sadducees (the Liberals), Herodians (the politicians), and Scribes (the lawyers). Each group did their best to trip Jesus up. At one point, even Peter got in on the act, and tried to trip Jesus up. How did Jesus guard His soul? By those very words,

“It is WRITTEN”

Proverbs 4:24-26 Put away from thee a froward (ʿiqqᵊšûṯ, pronounced ik-kesh-ooth’, “crooked”) mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

We are to put away anything that stands in opposition to what God has written in this Book. Our focus is on Jesus Christ. We follow Him, and heed the word that He has given us. Refuse to dwell on evil things. Do not follow the crowd, but follow Jesus. Heed God’s Word. Guard your control center. That is the way to joy and peace. Amen and amen.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged devotional, God, guard your heart, hard hearted, hope, Jesus, study the word | Leave a comment

God Is Faithful, So Keep Walking

Posted on May 15, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 6:11-20 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

I have to admit that there are times I get very weary. It seems like I’m trying to put out a forest fire with a thimble of water. I just want to give up. Evil has abounded so much in America, and it seems as if there’s no hope. Our world is spinning out of control.

Then I come to passages like this.

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:8, “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (NKJV). We can dwell on the sad state of our country – or we can dwell on the faithfulness of our God. We can commiserate over the Goliaths that face the Church in the 21^st century – or we can focus on God, realizing He is bigger than anything that is against us.

Never Stop Being What God Wants You To Be

Hebrews 6:11-12 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The story of Old Testament Israel is a story of a people who started strong, but too often let other things get in the way of God’s promises. When the journey was easy, Israel was excited and hopeful. But when the journey became difficult they took their eyes off of Jesus, and focused on that which hindered them. God’s desire for this Church is that we show the …

same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end

Word Study: Let’s break this down. “SAME DILIGENCE” is the Greek autos spoudē. The word translated “SAME” is autos means “HIS”, “HER” or “THEIR”. This is a reflexive pronoun of self. It is pointing to the diligence that someone else showed. The word “DILIGENCE” is the Greek spoudē, which means “diligence, earnestness in accomplishing, carefulness in following through”. The person referred to – the one we are to copy – did not start out like gangbusters then fizzle out. This person acted as if they had a “full assurance of hope unto the end”. We are told in verse 12:

be not slothful

Word Study: This is the Greek ginomai mē nōthros, which means “to become sluggish, dull, or half hearted”. We have the promises of God Himself to rely on. Our God is faithful, and what He has promised will come to pass. God has called us into His Kingdom as sons and daughters of God, as VICTORS and not VICTIMS.

We are to trust God and keep on doing what He has told us to do with ALL DILIGENCE – for we serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Bible repeatedly tells the Christian, the recipient of the New Covenant:

Ephesians 4:1 (ESV) … walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called ..

Colossians 1:10 (ESV) … walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God …

1 Thessalonians 2:12 (ESV) … we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Once saved, we are not to drag our feet, but are to go where Christ bids us go, and do as Christ bids us do.

We do not know when the promises of God will come to fruition, but they will come in God’s own time. The Scripture says:

Galatians 6:7-9 (ESV) Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

We are to be, as verse 12 tells us,

followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises

We are to follow the examples of the Old Covenant Saints who paid attention to God’s Word, and honored God by – however imperfectly – continuing to have PATIENT FAITH.

We are not to follow the example of the first generation of Israel who whined and murmured and complained their way to the border of the Promised Land – and then refused to enter in. These sad sacks ended up dying in the wilderness over 40 years, wandering in circles while their destination was just over the horizon.

Believers Imitate Abraham, The Father of Faith

Hebrews 6:13-14 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by Himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

When God first called Abraham (who then was called Abram), the Bible says that:

Genesis 12:4 … Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

God had promised Abraham that – if he left his family and his country and FOLLOWED GOD, that God would “make of thee a GREAT NATION” (Genesis 12:2). This intrigued Abraham, as both he and his wife Sarai were without children, and past child bearing years. God promised Abram that if he’d follow God, that he would have not just a child, but a nation of children.

So Abram followed God. And the very next year Abram and Sarai had a child!
NOT!

When God makes a promise, God always follows through with that promise. The Scripture says:

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

When God makes a promise, He is ALL POWERFUL. “Our God is in the Heavens – He does ALL THAT HE PLEASES” (Psalm 115:3, ESV). “Nothing is too hard for God to do” (Jeremiah 32:17, AP). God knows “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10, ESV). So when God promises something, there is NOTHING that can come up to make God change His mind. Further, God is absolutely HOLY – He will not renege on what He has said He will do.

So God promises Abraham and Sarah a child, and a nation of children. But God doesn’t fulfill the promise the next year, nor the year after that, nor the year after that. In fact, God doesn’t fulfill the promise to Abraham until 25 years later:

Genesis 21:1-5 (ESV) The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Why did God make Abraham wait 25 years before Sarah had Isaac? What hindered God in fulfilling His promise? Nothing hindered God – absolutely nothing. The reality is,

God delayed in giving Abraham a son until Abraham was READY to have a son.

Abraham WANTED a son sooner than he got one. But Abraham wasn’t ready. God promised to give Abraham a son, but Abraham kept trying to help God out. God made a promise, and God was going to keep it. Abraham was called of God to follow God and do as God said – not to BE GOD and HELP GOD OUT.

We, Like Abraham, Are To Wait On God No Matter What!

So Abraham waited. The Bible tells us to trust God’s Promises, to “wait on the Lord”:

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalm 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

Proverbs 20:22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.

Abraham needed to learn to “WAIT ON THE LORD”.

What does it mean to “Wait On The Lord”?

It doesn’t mean to be slothful. We who are saved by the promise of God have, as we seen earlier, to keep on diligently serving God, doing as He says. The best way I can describe “Waiting on the Lord” is to talk about table waiters.

Illustrate: I was at “Legends” the other day with my dear wife, and I had gotten a horrible waitress. When we were seated it took her 15 minutes to get to our table. She wasn’t busy – she just wasn’t present. Other waitresses were busy waiting on their tables, and a couple even stepped in to help us though we weren’t their responsibility. Finally she showed up, took our order – and we didn’t see her again until she brought the check. I asked her where she had been, and she said “I was in the kitchen with the manager”.

The waitress is not to be the COOK.
The waitress is not to be the MANAGER.
The waitress is to TEND to the CUSTOMER.
To make the CUSTOMER HAPPY.

When God promised Abraham a son through Sarah, Abraham initially didn’t do what he was supposed to do but instead tried to do what God had promised. That’s a recipe for disaster. When Pharaoh took Sarah to be in his harem Abraham didn’t stand up like a husband should have and said “She’s MY WIFE”. No, he let fear reign, and Sarah was taken. God intervened. Abraham was supposed to leave his family and follow God, but took Lot his nephew with him. He did not honor God fully, and it ended up bringing trouble into his household. When Abraham separated from Lot God spoke to him, showing him the land of Canaan, saying …

Genesis 13:15-17 … all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

When Abraham fought the armies of five nations and won, Melchizedek the priest of the Most High God appeared to him (Genesis 14:18). Jesus said of this encounter that “Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:58). He saw Jesus. God had promised Abraham a son – a nation of children – but he had to learn to wait on God.

In Genesis 15 Abraham offers to help God out. Time has passed, and God has not given Abraham or Sarah a child. So Abraham tells God:

Genesis 15:3 … Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

Abraham had a young man born in his home Eliezer of Damascus (Genesis 15:2). A trustworthy young man, Abraham had already set him apart from the other servants. After all, if God wasn’t going to give an heir, then Abraham would have to step in and help God out! God told Abraham:

Genesis 15:4-6 … This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and {God} counted it to {Abraham} for righteousness.

Abraham believed God when he left Ur of the Chaldees. But there are varying degrees of belief. He believed God – but took Lot with him though God had forbidden it. He believed God – but feared Pharaoh and let him take Sarah to be his own. Abraham walked the aisle of the Church – but his heart was not committed to God. The Bible says that “man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the HEART” (1 Samuel 16:7). “The LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS” (2 Timothy 2:19). The Bible says that at this moment “Abraham believed in the Lord; and {God} counted it to {Abraham} for righteousness”. It is faith in God that brings righteousness. Not faith in our efforts, but faith that He is able to do what He says. God promised Abraham that he would have a child and a nation of children – and Abraham believed.

Abraham is a pattern of faith for every believer in Christ.

The statement found in Genesis 15 is repeated throughout the New Testament. The Apostle wrote:

Romans 4:18-24 In hope {Abraham} believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Abraham was physically and sexually dead, unable to have children. But the God Who made the universe is able to make the dead come back to life. Abraham believed God, and God counted that as righteousness. Did Abraham have a child at the end of chapter 15? No. Why?

Because Abraham was not quite ready to have that child.
Though he believed God, he kept trying to help God out.
Which is why Ishmael was born.

We Wait On And Trust God, No Matter What God Tells Us To Do, No Matter What God Sends Us Through!

Year after year passed. Five years, ten years, fifteen years. No child. Twenty years. In the twenty-fourth year from when God first called Abraham God told Abraham “next year” he would have the promised son. Then Abraham turned 100 years old. “after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise”. God promises, but will not give us the blessing of the promise until we trust in and wait on God. Abraham had to learn to trust and obey God. When Abram was 99 years old God spoke to him, saying:

Genesis 17:5-6 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.

God told Abraham to circumcise himself, and the males of his household – an act that Abraham immediately did. Yet he had to wait another another year until the promised child was born. Why? Why did God wait?

Abraham was not ready yet.

Then Abraham has Isaac. What a blessing that was, after 25 years, to have this precious Promised child. Was Abraham ready for the child? Absolutely! Think about this. You’ve waited for a child for 25 years, and at the age of 100 years old you get that child. How will you treat that child? Some people would make an idol of that child. They’d spoil that child rotten. They’d put that child on a pedestal.

God gave the child, but had He given that child too soon, Abraham would have made that child into a golden calf, a false idol. But Abraham was ready for the child, ready for the blessing – for his focus was on God.

God tells Abraham:

Genesis 22:2 (ESV) … “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

What does Abraham do? He loves Isaac, but he loves the Lord MORE. Isaac is not his idol, but his son, his only son. God had promised that:

Genesis 21:12 … in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Abraham’s seed would only come when he believed in God, putting GOD FIRST. This is the basis of salvation. We come to God, trusting what He has promised us in Christ, and receive Jesus as both Lord and Savior. Ishmael was a seed of Abraham, but not the child of promise. In ISAAC shall thy seed be called.

So now we have the test of salvation. You say you love the Lord. Do you love the Lord if your body fail you? Do you love the Lord if your child die? Do you love the Lord if your business fall into bankruptcy? Do you love the Lord if your spouse leave? God has said in His Word:

1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

And

Jonah 2:8 Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.

God will not share His love with another. He demands you love Him above all else. Abraham was ready for Isaac, for without a whimper he took Isaac to Mount Moriah, laid him upon an altar, and prepared to sacrifice him to God. Abraham told Isaac, “God will provide Himself the Lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8).

Abraham understood. What God promised, God will do. Abraham understood that, even if God had him kill Isaac, that God would raise Isaac from the dead. “IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE”.

Jesus Christ Is The Sure Hope Of Every Believer

Hebrews 6:18-20 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Abraham put his trust in God. Not in circumstances, but in God. And when he was fully ready to trust the Lord, God gave him the blessing of Isaac.

We who are saved put our trust in God. We run to Jesus. We “LAY HOLD UPON THE HOPE” that is Jesus. We cling to Him like a drowning man would cling to a life preserver, like one who has bailed out from a burning plane clings to the parachute above him. Jesus Christ is the “hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast”. It is impossible to lie. God has set His Son forth as the only PROPITIATION, the only SATISFACTORY OFFERING for our failures.

Just as there was only ONE ISAAC, there is only ONE JESUS, the Son of Promise. It is Jesus Whom the Father …

Romans 3:22-26 (ESV) … the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Do you know Him? Do you know my Jesus? Is He your Lord and Savior? It is Jesus Who went into Heaven, into the very Presence of God the Father, the Lamb of God offered for those who believe. Oh, that God the Holy Spirit would pierce your heart today, and bring you to Christ. Give your lives to Jesus. Believe in Him, follow Him. Trust Him. Not just momentarily, but for life. May God guide you to Him. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Christ, Faith, Following Christ, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love God, salvation, walking with God, walking with Jesus | Leave a comment

How We Got Our Bible #1: Introduction To The Series

Posted on May 6, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

As soon as I met the Lord Jesus Christ in salvation, believing that He died for my sins and rose again to be my High Priest, I decided to study the Scriptures. I believe that the Bible is God ordained and God inspired. The Bible says:

2 Timothy 3:1-7 (ESV) But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

This is a perfect picture of American culture today. A nation that was built on the faith of the Puritan Christian, Americans have become detached from God and enamored of the Serpent of Eden, that Old Devil called Satan (Revelation 12:9). The devil has, through godless media outlets and social networks, promoted the ideology that “we are our own gods”. This started in the Garden of Eden when Satan suggested that Adam and Eve depart from the Word of God and eat that which was forbidden. The Devil said, “God knows when you eat of the forbidden, YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD. You will determine what is good and evil” (Genesis 3:5, AP).

When Jesus came into the world, He came to “fulfill the Scriptures”. The Bible is the written Word of God, but Jesus is the Living Word of God, the Incarnate Word. John 1:14 (ESV) tells us “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth”.

God gave humanity His Word – both written and Eternally Living – because He wants us to know the way of peace and blessing, the way to abundant LIFE.

The Bible Testifies About Christ

The Old Testament of our Bibles – every type, figure, sacrifice, altar, and even the Tabernacle and Temple – speak to the coming Christ of the New Covenant. The Bible says:

Luke 24:27 (ESV) And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, {Jesus} interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Luke 24:44 (ESV) Then {Jesus} said to them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

And Jesus told the Pharisees and the Scribes who stood against Him:

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, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.

Jesus held the Scripture in high esteem, because the Scripture He preached from – the Old Testament that the Jews maintained – foretold His Messianic coming. Jesus told them:

John 5:46-47 (ESV) if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

The Scripture is not a man made book. It is a PROPHETIC Book. It PROPHESIED about Jesus, about the coming Messiah. The Old Testament believed in Jesus – and Jesus believed in the Old Testament, the Scripture, as God ordained. Throughout His ministry Jesus said:

“It is WRITTEN”

He was not talking about some philosophy or human writing, but about the Bible, the Word of God. When Jesus was questioned about marriage He replied:

Matthew 19:4-6 (NKJV) “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Jesus spoke authoritatively about the things of God because He viewed the Scripture of His day – the Old Testament – to be the Word of God. Jesus believed, like Solomon, that

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.

Jesus chastised the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadduccees and Herodians – the religious leaders of that day – for they twisted the Word of God rather than merely presenting it. Jesus told them:

Mark 7:13 (AP) You have made the Word of God of NO EFFECT THROUGH YOUR MAN MADE TRADITIONS – these things you keep saying and teaching …

Jesus lived His life following the true Word of God, the Bible. He said to the devil when tempted, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but BY EVERY WORD OF GOD” (Luke 4:4). Jesus told those seeking a blessing, “blessed are they that HEAR THE WORD OF GOD and KEEP IT” (Luke 11:28). Jesus as God Incarnate, God in the flesh, knew that the Bible is NOT a man-made thing. As the Apostle says:

2 Peter 1:21 (ESV) … no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

We started out by addressing this fallen world through 2 Timothy 3. The world detached from the Word of God gets crazier and crazier every day. After stating this premise, the Apostle writes:

2 Timothy 3:14-16 (ESV) But as for you, 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. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God uses the Word of God, the Bible, to not only save us, but to grow us. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing BY THE WORD OF GOD” (Romans 10:17). “The sword of the Holy Spirit is THE WORD OF GOD” (Ephesians 6:17). We are “BORN AGAIN BY THE WORD OF GOD, which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23)

We Have No Original Signed Books Of The Bible.
How Do We Know OUR Bible Is THE Bible?

One of the frequently made objections to belief in the Bible is:

“There are NO ORIGINAL COPIES of any book of the Bible in existence. How do we know what we are using is accurate to the original texts?”

or “The people that are obeying it to the letter of the words, they might not be following what Jesus really said because it’s been passed down from so many different people … So, do we really know what the Word of God in the Bible is?”

WHY are there no original signed texts {autographa} of the books of Scripture? Why do we have only copies? I believe it is because God knows our hearts. We as humans are prone to idolatry. When Israel was left by Moses so he could receive the first five Books of Scripture from God, the Israelis got a “Committee” together, went to Aaron, and said “Make us gods who will go before and lead us” (Exodus 32:1, AP). Aaron quickly complied. Had God left us with an original “signed” text (an autographa) from Moses, or Peter, or Paul, or King David, we would have put it in a glass case, and stood around it worshiping the scroll rather than the God Who gave us the Word.God wrote the Ten Commandments with His finger in stone (Deuteronomy 9:10), and gave it to Moses. Israel put the Ten Commandments inside the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:16; 31:18; 40:20). The Ark of the Covenant was first taken by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4-8), and 40 years later it disappeared when the Babylonians sacked the Temple (586 BC). The Bible tells us that the only Ark of the Covenant is now in Heaven:

Revelation 11:19 (ESV) God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

The earthly Ark of the Covenant was a shadow or copy of the Heavenly (Hebrews 9:23; 8:5). I suspect God took away the earthly Ark because God’s people started to worship the THING rather than the CREATOR OF ALL THINGS. God despises idolatry. We are repeatedly told throughout Scripture:

1 Corinthians 10:14 … Dear friends, FLEE FROM IDOLATRY.

1 John 5:21 … Dear Children, KEEP YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS.

God told us “those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them” (Jonah 2:8). God says to His people, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:3-4).

Like Israel did with the Ark of the Covenant, we would have stopped looking to the God Who commanded the Ark be made, and instead look at the Ark as a type of god or rabbit’s foot. God does not want this. He wants our faith to be in Him, and wants us to follow His Word because He gave it.

We have no “autographa” or original signed copies to protect us from ourselves.

Word Study: So how do we know that the Bible we have today is the same as the Bible which was originally written? If we only had a few copies of manuscripts we would not know what the original said. However, God has left us with a vast number of copies of “manuscripts”. The word “manuscript” is from two Latin words, “manu” (by hand) and “scriptum” (written). So “manuscript” means “that written by hand”. My source at Houston Christian University notes:

“There are approximately 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. In addition, there are 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and 9,300 manuscripts in other languages. The New Testament autographa, the manuscripts written by the original authors, are unavailable, but manuscripts have been discovered that are dated as early as the 2nd century.”

Though Moses received the Ten Commandments written on stone by God, Moses wrote down what God told him. The Bible says:

Exodus 24:2-4 (ESV) {God said} Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” 3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 31:9 (ESV) … Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.

Moses wrote the first five Books of the Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He gave the Law to the priests, the sons of Levi to guard and transmit to all of Israel. Once the Law was given:

The LAW = The TORAH = The PENTATEUCH = MOSES

to the Priests, the Priests that tended to copy the Scriptures were called Scribes (Hebrew groups of Scribes were Soferim, Tannaim, Amoraim, and Masoretes). My commentary notes:

“In the Mishnah (a Jewish collection of exegetical works that form the first part of the Talmud, or Rabbinic teachings) they are presented as pre-rabbinic teachers with authority, as well as copyists and teachers.”

The best known Old Testament Scribe is Ezra (Ezra 7:6). He was both priest and Scribe. The Scribes were considered guardians of the Law of God. The Scribes carefully copied Scripture on:

Parchment, made from lamb, goat, deer or cow skin, or
Papyrus, a reed plant that grows along the Nile.

Scripture was written in Scrolls (rolled pieces of papyrus or parchment) or Codex (bound like a book). The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, Chaldean, and Aramaic. Apologist Josh McDowell notes on his website:

“Paul D. Wegner, professor of Old Testament studies at Gateway Seminary in Ontario, California, shares further safeguards and protocols that aided scribes in their copying and storage of biblical texts:

~ Jewish writings mention that the temple employed correctors (meggihim) who scrutinized the scrolls to safeguard their precision.

~ At some point during the Talmudic period (100 BC to AD 400), meticulous rules were developed to preserve the Old Testament text in synagogue scrolls. These included only using parchment made from clean animals, using only black ink, lining the page before adding letters, and establishing a set column width and word spacing (the space of a hair between each consonant, and the space of a consonant between each word). Too, the scribe had to be freshly bathed and in full Jewish dress before beginning to copy the scroll.”

The Uniqueness Of The Bible

The Bible is unique in it’s writing. It has God as it’s Author, though God used human agents to accomplish His work. We saw earlier that God spoke as Moses wrote the Pentateuch or the Books of the Law. As God spoke through the various Prophets, they used phrases like:

Jeremiah 1:4 (ESV) Now the word of the LORD came to me …

We are told in:

Hebrews 1:1 (ESV) Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets

As the New Testament was written by the Apostles that our Lord Jesus hand picked, these Apostles often referred to the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Galatians 3:8 (ESV) … “the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’”

The Apostle who wrote Hebrews (most believe it was Paul) quoted Psalm 95:7-11 and attributed the writing not to King David, but to the Holy Spirit:

Hebrews 3:7 (ESV) Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,

The Bible was written by more than 40 humans, but they were not its author, but God is. God called people to write Scripture from all walks of life:

Kings Generals Peasants Philosophers Poets
Fishermen Tax Collectors Musicians Politicians
Scholars Shepherds Farmers Priests Servants

And on and on. Moses was saved from death by the princess of Egypt, and murdered a man – but God used him to write scripture. King David started out as a shepherd, and at one time failed God by committing murder and adultery – but God used him. Amos was a herdsman, Joshua a General, Nehemiah a lowly cupbearer for a foreign King. Daniel was enslaved, but rose to be Prime Minister in two kingdoms. Luke was a doctor, Peter a fisherman, Matthew a tax collector for the hated Roman Empire, and Paul a failed Rabbi.

God used various and broken people to write His Word, but the Word was flawlessly transmitted because God was its Author!

The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years by people from the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The Bible, as I said before, was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Chaldean for the Old Testament. Aramaic and Hebrew were common languages in the Old Testament times:

2 Kings 18:26 (NKJV) … Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.

Daniel chapters 2-7 and Ezra 4-7 are in Aramaic. There is also Aramaic in the New Testament. For instance, where Jesus cried out from the Cross:

Matthew 27:46 (NKJV) … about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

At the time our Lord Jesus ministered on the earth, the language of the people was Aramaic, Koine (Common) Greek, and Latin (Rome). This is because Alexander the Great, a Greek, conquered the world before the Roman Empire did. As Alexander conquered areas, he demanded that the people in those areas learn Koine or Common Greek. When the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he wrote in Greek rather than Latin. Why was this?

As Israel had wandered from God, and had been under the conquest of: the following nations:

Assyria (740 BC)
Babylon (597 BC)
Medo-Persia (539 BC)
Greece (329 BC)
Rome (63 BC)

Had Israel followed God and revered His Word, they would have never been captured and held against their will. God used the nations to punish His disobedient and wayward people:

Isaiah 9:13-17 (NKJV) For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts. 14 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day. 15 The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. 16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed. 17 Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

Israel continued to reject God. The Bible tells us that when the Messiah came:

John 1:11-13 (NKJV) {Messiah} came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Much of Israel had become so hard hearted to God, that they would not repent nor turn to the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Over time, many Jews – particularly Jews living in Alexandria – had forgotten how to read Hebrew. The Bible speaks of this in:

Nehemiah 13:24 (ESV) … half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.

As the Jews could not understand Hebrew, they could not understand the Bible So a plan was devised to translate the Bible into Koine Greek, the more common language of the people of that day.

Around 250 BC the Hebrew Old Testament was TRANSLATED from Hebrew and into Koine Greek.

This is the earliest translation of the Bible. Called The Septuagint (which means “70”) because there were 72 translators, 6 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. The Septuagint was considered by many to be on equal footing with the Hebrew text. The New Testament writers, like Matthew, often quoted the Septuagint as Scripture. Consider Isaiah 7:14, quoted in

Isaiah 7:14 {Hebrew} “Behold, the YOUNG WOMAN [‘almah] shall concieve”

Isaiah 7:14 {Septuagint} “Behold, the VIRGIN [parthenos] shall concieve”

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the VIRGIN [parthenos] shall conceive.”

It is very likely that the Bible the New Testament writers referred to was the Septuagint. What do we learn from this? God has always worked to insure His people have an understandable Word of God, Holy Scripture. The Bible tells us that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth:

John 16:13-15 (NKJV) However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

What is the “Truth” that the Holy Spirit will guide us into? Jesus later said, as He prayed for His Church:

John 17:17 (NKJV) Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

God the Holy Spirit gave us the Bible through over 40 human writers. The Bible is divinely inspired, written by man, but its output was controlled by Almighty God. May God bless us as we learn of His Word. Amen.

Posted in How We Got Our Bible, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Bible Study, Faith, Following Christ, Integrity of Bible, Jesus, salvation | Leave a comment

We Are Persuaded Better Things Of You

Posted on May 6, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 6:1-9 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

Last week we started studying verse 1 of this text:

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto PERFECTION…

Word Study: The word rendered “PERFECTION” is the Greek teleiotēs (pronunciation tel-i-ot’-ace) which actually means maturity or better Christian maturity. When a person believes in the Doctrine of Christ, that is:

1- We are all sinners deserving of damnation. (Romans 3:10, 23-24)
2- Christ came to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)
3- Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from hell. (John 14:6)
4- Christ died to pay for my and your sins. (1 Peter 2:21-25)
5- Christ rose from the grave to be my Lord and your Lord (Romans 10:9-13), my High Priest and your High Priest.
6- I am saved by REPENTING, that is, turning from being my own god, and by SURRENDER to Christ as Lord and Savior. (Luke 3:9-14; Acts 3:19; 26:20). The same applies to you.
7- When I, from my heart, cried out for salvation, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to cause me to be “born again” into the family of God. Every believer is “born spiritually” into the family of God. We are members of His Kingdom, citizens & children. (John 3:5-7)
8- Learning the basics, we do not stay where we were at the point of salvation. We grow spiritually, more like Christ every day.

This last point is what God is addressing now. The Christian has the basics. What are some of these basics?

Hebrews 6:2 … Of the doctrine of baptisms

Note that the word is PLURAL and not singular. There are two baptisms required for the Christian. One is physical, the other spiritual. Water Baptism is where a believer is submerged in water in obedience to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). Water Baptism is an ordinance, a command. The other baptism is Spirit Baptism, which is what God does to you when you receive Christ as Savior and Lord. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Though Christians debate the exact nature of Spirit Baptism, the Bible makes it plain that if you are a believer in Christ you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into His Body. You have, as a Christian, experienced “BAPTISMS”.

Hebrews 6:2 … Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands …

The Christian faith is an intensely personal faith, with its roots in Judaism. When the head of the family came to the end of his life, he would pass on leadership of the family by “laying on of hands”. The child blessed with the right hand would become the new family head (Genesis 48:14-20). In Judaism this is called Semikhah.

In Christianity, we pray for those who are sick by anointing with oil and laying on of hands (James 5:14). Jesus healed people by laying hands on them, though He sometimes healed without touching them (Matthew 8:8-13).

When the early Church called Deacons to serve the widow’s table, the Bible says:

Acts 6:6-7 {When the Deacons were} set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God increased …

When men were recognized called of God into the Gospel ministry, an Ordination Council of Elders laid hands on the candidates:

1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

Hebrews 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead

There is a life beyond this one. When you die, your soul goes to be with God (2 Corinthians 5:8; Revelation 6:9) if you are in Christ, or goes to hell and torment (Luke 16:23) if you have rejected Christ. There is a resurrection of the righteous where we will receive glorified bodies:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

There is also a resurrection of the dead who have rejected Christ. They will be gathered from hell, and stand before a Great White Throne where their works shall be judged. The Bible says of this terrible judgment:

Revelation 20:13-15 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

What a sad day that will be. Released from hell, they go into a lake of fire. Why? Because they rejected the Doctrine of Christ. They do not “burn up” in that lake.

Hebrews 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

It is “ETERNAL JUDGMENT”, or as Jesus called it, “everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46). How sad it is that people will reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! This life is so fleeting, and eternity forever.

Christians understand these “basics” of our faith. Those who are born into God’s family are to grow, to mature, to become more like Christ.

But what if they don’t?

If There Is No Growth As Believers, No Fruit But Only Thorns, You May Not Be Saved

Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Some people see this text as proof that the Christian, saved by grace, can lose his or her salvation. But that is a sloppy reading of the text. The text tells us of people who have experienced some levels of blessing from Christianity, but because they are flippant or will not repent they cannot be “renew(ED) them again unto repentance”. The text isn’t talking about those who are saved, but those who are on the fringes.

I see it all the time.

There are people who come to this Church, or other Churches where the Word of God is fully preached. They are “once enlightened”. They have heard the truths the Scripture teaches. They “tasted of the heavenly gift”. They heard all about the glories of walking with Christ daily, being in a living relationship with Him. In fact, there are many who “were made partakers of the Holy Ghost”. They enjoyed the benefits of God’s blessing.

Illustrate: I remember years ago when I pastored Rock Hill Baptist – a sweet congregation much like this – when a family on the Church roll who had ceased coming to Church (or any Church) experienced terrible sickness. The elder lady had an abscess in her back that had turned septic, and she was on the brink of death. I visited her in the hospital for weeks, then followed her to rehab, praying for her, anoint her with oil. And Beloved, God intervened! She was healed. She and her husband swore they would recommit themselves to Christ, return to Church – that they would give their lives to Jesus. Did they? No! They came to Church one time, and were totally unaffected by the Word of God. They never returned – and both died within the next two years.

They could not be RENEWED TO REPENTANCE. Instead of receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, they used Jesus as a spare tire or a stepping stool. He was a convenience, a tool to satisfy and enable their flesh.

This type of thing is found all throughout Scripture. I am reminded of the vast numbers who came to Jesus for healing when He walked this earth. One day Jesus entered a village between Samaria and Galilee on His way to Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that:

Luke 17:12-13 (NKJV) … there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Word Study: These ten men call Jesus “MASTER”, epistatēs (pronunciation ep-is-tat’-ace) which means “overseer” or “superintendent”. They did not call Jesus “Lord” or “Messiah” or “Son of David”, which is what He is. They did not even call Jesus “Teacher” or “Rabbi”. They saw Jesus as Someone Who had power – they didn’t care where that power came from. He is a “miracle man” or a “shaman”. Even though they did not see Jesus as Lord and Savior, they cried out “HAVE MERCY ON US”. God does this every day. God has had mercy on America for over two hundred years. We mock Him, we take His Name in vain. We murder the babies He blesses us with. We snuff out little lives in the name of “Health Care” and in order to support godless sexual behavior. But God has mercy on us.

God is so good, so merciful. We read:

Luke 17:14 (NKJV) So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

Jesus did not heal these lepers immediately, as He often did. Under the Law a leper was to show themselves to the priests once they were healed (Leviticus 14:2-4). Jesus told them to go to the priests. The Bible tells us “as they went, they were cleansed”. Jesus is Lord! When they obeyed Him and the Word of God, as they went the sickness was ended. These men, unbelievers all, experienced the Grace of God. As our text states, they “tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come”. They experienced the power of God through Christ, Who healed by the Spirit of God (Luke 11:20; Matthew 12:28). Oh, how they were blessed.

But were they saved? No, only one was. We read:

Luke 17:15-19 (AP) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you WHOLE.”

All ten of the lepers were healed, but only the one who returned to Jesus was told “Your faith has made you WHOLE”. The word translated “WELL” is the Greek sōzō (pronunciation sode’-zo), which literally means “has SAVED you”. The same Greek word is used in:

Matthew 1:21 {Mary} shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall SAVE {sōzō (pronunciation sode’-zo)} his people from their sins.

Matthew 18:11 For the Son of man is come to SAVE {sōzō (pronunciation sode’-zo)} that which was lost.

All ten experienced the blessings of association with Christ – but only ONE was saved, the ONE WHO RETURNED TO CHRIST.

There are many who are USERS of Christ but are not CHILDREN of God. They live their lives not to serve God and man, but to serve themselves. Notice the text:

Hebrews 6:6 they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Who was it that “crucified to themselves the Son of God” in the Scripture? It was those who refused to receive Christ as Lord, like the Roman soldiers:

Matthew 27:27-31 (NKJV) Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Unbelievers want what Jesus offers, but do not want to acknowledge Him as Lord God Almighty. Richard Dawkins, a famous atheist who has said of faith “Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence”. He wrote the book “The God Delusion” where he stated that “not only does God not exist, but if He did exist, He would be regarded by every right thinking person as a moral monster” (pg 31). This same Richard Dawkins recently stated:

““It’s true that statistically, the number of people who actually believe in Christianity is going down and I’m happy with that, but I would not be happy if, for example, we lost all our cathedrals and our beautiful parish churches. So, I count myself a cultural Christian.”

He wants what Christ offers, but not Christ Himself. Like so many lost people, he mocks the Lord, saying “it is a fundamentally decent religion in away I think Islam is not”. He admires certain elements of Christianity, but despises the Lord. He is like those at the foot of the Cross:

Luke 23:35-36 (NKJV) And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

How many thousands did Jesus heal while He walked the earth? How many did He make whole? How many did He feed and bless? How many supported Him at the foot of the Cross?

The Proof Of Salvation Is In The Fruit Of The Life

Hebrews 6:7-8 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Those who profess Christ as Savior but never bear fruit, never grow, never change from where they were to where they are supposed to be …. they may not be saved. Where is the fruit? Where is the fruit? Jesus promised eternal life to those who believe in Him. He said:

John 10:27-28 (ESV) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

If you are saved, you belong to Jesus. He calls you “My sheep”. He is the Shepherd, you the follower – not the other way around. As His sheep we “HEAR HIS VOICE”. We are not deaf to His Word – we hear and obey Him. He is our Protector and Friend. He knows us and “WE FOLLOW JESUS”. We are loved with an infinite love, our Lord’s Love. Nothing can separate us from Christ’s love (Romans 8:35-39). “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10). The Bible says “Jesus is the Vine, we are the BRANCHES” (John 15:5). When we abide in Him, we “BRING FORTH MUCH FRUIT”. Not briers, not thorns, but fruit. God has promised to the believer:

Philippians 1:6 (ESV) … He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

That is not true of the pretend Christian, but of the born again Christian. We who have received Christ not as a convenience, but as Lord and Savior have His assurance that we are heirs of God, headed toward

1 Peter 1:4-5 (ESV) … an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Is Jesus YOURS? Or better, do you belong to Jesus? As we close, the Lord says:

Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

The Lord saw the fruit of salvation in the Hebrew believers. He said:

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

The proof of salvation is how you show love toward God and toward your fellow believers. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). Christ could be seen in a crowd because He was the One doing good, regardless as to what others did to Him. He loved the unlovable. His life shows the fruit of the Spirit. Does yours? Is Christ to you just a way to Heaven – or a way of life? Your answer will determine your eternity. But do not fool yourselves. If you are your own god, your own shepherd – then you are not saved.

Make your calling and election sure. Do not put off repenting and coming to Jesus today, lest your heart harden, and it become impossible to renew you to repentance.

For God’s glory. In Jesus Name. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Following Christ, Fruit, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love God, salvation, true vs false believers | Leave a comment

Good Fathers Teach The Word Of God

Posted on May 3, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Tonight we’ll be in Proverbs chapter 4. In way of introduction I’d like to note,

The greatest gift a father can give to his
children is the Word of God.

The Christian faith must be purposely passed on from father to children if the faith is to progress as Jesus designed it to. The only time that angels will proclaim the Gospel is during the Great Tribulation:

Revelation 14:6 (ESV) I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

Even during that time God will set out 144,000 Hebrew Evangelists (Revelation 7:4) to preach and lead the lost on the earth out of that Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:14) – though it will cost them their lives. Until that time God has called humans to spread the Word of God. We are all familiar with the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

The Church is to spread the Gospel. But in the home, the father – as leader of the family – is to share the Word of God with his children.

Proverbs 4:1-4 HEAR, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. 4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

Let’s break this down.

Proverbs 4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

The father as the head of the family teaches his children to love God’s Word. In a section of scripture the Jews call “The Shema” or “The Hearing”, God tells His people:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NKJV) “Hear (šāmaʿ pronunciation shaw-mah’), O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Word Study: The word HEAR or šāmaʿ found in Deuteronomy 6:4 and in our text at Proverbs 4:1 means not to just hear something as noise, but to “hear with the intent of obeying, to perceive and do”. There is no value in hearing something – even if it is intelligent – then doing nothing about it.

Illustrate: I was talking with a pastor friend of mine this morning about the homeless problem in America. Politicians and liberal tell us if we throw enough money at it, the problem will go away. That’s not true. The only way to alleviate homelessness is to teach the homeless to be productive, and to reward productivity. The Bible is very clear on this point:

1 We are to give to the poor:

We are to help poor BELIEVERS: Deuteronomy 15:7, 11 (NKJV) “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’

Galatians 6:10 (NKJV) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

We are to help ALL poor: Psalm 41:1 (NKJV) Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

Proverbs 19:17 (NKJV) He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.

2 We are not to give to those who will NOT work:

2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 (ESV) For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

The welfare system in America is a tool of Satan, for it holds down rather than lifting up. It enables bad behavior. If we love people – if we love our children – then what we do or don’t do will be modeled based on the teaching of Scripture.

Not OPINION, But GOD’S WORD

Proverbs 4:2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

Many people attend Church today to get a little “sugar”, a little something “sweet” to make them feel better about themselves. Parents are instructed to spoil and give in to their children. The Bible, however, instructs fathers to “give GOOD DOCTRINE”.

What is “GOOD DOCTRINE?”

Word Study: The word translated “GOOD” is the Hebrew ṭôḇ (pronunciation tobe), which means “good, wealthy, precious, pleasant, beneficial”. This type of “GOOD” does not come from man, but from God. As God created the earth and the Heavens, the Scripture says:

“God saw the light, that it was GOOD (ṭôḇ)” (Genesis 1:4)

“God called the dry land Earth … it was GOOD (ṭôḇ)”
(Genesis 1:10)

“God saw everything He had made … it was very GOOD (ṭôḇ)”
(Genesis 1:31)

What God made is GOOD (ṭôḇ). God alone has the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of GOOD (ṭôḇ) and evil (Genesis 2:17). It is God, not man who establishes what is GOOD (ṭôḇ). The Bible teaches is that:

“There is NONE GOOD but One, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17)

“All have gone astray … there is NONE THAT DOETH GOOD,
no, not one (Psalm 14:3)

Human good is no good at all. When the father says “I give you GOOD DOCTRINE (leqaḥ pronunciation leh’-kakh, learning, teaching)”, this is not based on his opinion, but on what God has said. Further, the father says:

Proverbs 4:2 … forsake ye not my law.

He is not saying that this is truths that he made up, but as a believer he has assumed ownership of the Word that God gave him.

The Apostle Paul did the same thing with the Gospel of salvation when he said:

Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ …

2 Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

The Apostle Paul did not write the Gospel, but he assumed ownership and stewardship of it without changing it. It became “MY GOSPEL”. We as believers are to be so appreciative of the Word of God that we, like Paul and the writer of Proverbs, call the text “MY DOCTRINE”. God gave it to us as a stewardship – and we are to share it with others that we love.

Proverbs 4:3-4 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. 4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

The writer tells us that “I was my father’s son”. He was loved of his father, for his father taught him the Heavenly Father’s Word. He was “only beloved” in the sight of his mother. Why was Solomon “only beloved” of his mother? Solomon was not the firstborn child of King David. The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess. The second-born was Daniel by Abigail the Carmelitess, and the third-born Absalom the son of Maacah. While David was in Jerusalem, he had four children by Bathsheba: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. (see 1 Chronicles 3:1-9). If you’re counting, Solomon was actually the seventh-born child of David.

Why did David choose Solomon his son to reign in his place (1 Chronicles 29:28)? Why didn’t David follow the regular succession, and choose the firstborn Amnon to succeed him?

The Bible gives us the answer in:

1 Chronicles 22:7-10 (NKJV) … David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God; 8 but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

The reason that David chose Solomon to succeed him is because God chose Solomon to be the successor. David said “THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ME”. God called Solomon to succeed David, because SOLOMON BELIEVED IN GOD AND HIS WORD. Solomon was a born again believer. God said of him, “he shall be My son, and I will be his Father”.

God established the Throne of David through a believer, not through unbelievers. God blesses those who hear and DO His Word. David was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) because, though flawed as we all are, he cherished and looked for God’s Word. David said of God’s Word:

Psalm 119:47-48 (ESV) … for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. 48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

And again,

Psalm 119:2-3 (ESV) … Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, 3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!

Solomon was like his father in this. He sought the Word of the Lord.

Wisdom – The Application Of God’s Word –
Will Richly Bless You

Proverbs 4:5-8 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.

Word Study: WISDOM – the ability to not only know what the Scripture says, but the ability to USE it – “is the principal thing”. The phrase “THE PRINCIPLE THING” is the Hebrew rē’šîṯ {pronunciation ray-sheeth’}, which means “that which is chief or best, the choicest”. Again, to understand this word we have to go back to the Creation of all things. The word rē’šîṯ is the very first word in the Bible:

Genesis 1:1 IN THE BEGINNING {rē’šîṯ} God created the heaven and the earth.

Wisdom is from Heaven. It is from God. It is the foundation of EVERYTHING. To have wisdom in your life is to be blessed beyond measure. James 3:17 says:

“the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere”.

Proverbs 4:9-13 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. 10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. 11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Biblical wisdom – the ability to not just know what the Scripture says, but to put it into action – leads to

GRACE
A CROWN OF GLORY
LONG LIFE
A STEADY WALK

Without applying Biblical knowledge, you cannot be saved. The Bible says that:

Romans 10:9 (NKJV) if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.You can know that you are a sinner in need of salvation. But unless you “CONFESS” Jesus as Lord, and do so PUBLICLY, you cannot be saved. Jesus said:

Matthew 10:33 … whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Grace is a free gift from God, but it is not received in secret. When Noah found grace in the eyes of God (Genesis 6:8), the Lord told him to build an Ark – and do so publicly. If you do not both HEAR and DO what Jesus says, you will not be saved.

Wisdom – the application of Biblical knowledge – brings “A CROWN OF GLORY”. The Crown of Glory is mentioned in Peter in reference to God Called Pastors who do their jobs:

1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

The Pastor who cares for the Church God has entrusted him with, who FEEDS the flock the Word of God, who is not authoritarian or power hungry, who does not do it for money but who models Christ – this Pastor shall receive the Crown of Glory. The Crown of Glory is given to those who effectively use the spiritual gifts that God has entrusted to them for HIS glory and honor. It doesn’t apply to just the Pastor, but to every member in the Body of Christ. A devotional at Ligonier Ministries notes:

“… even though our salvation is a gift we do not earn, our Father not only promises eternal life to those who follow His Son, He promises many extra rewards to those who obey Him. This promise of extra blessings is found throughout the Bible. To the people of Israel already saved from the bondage of slavery, God promised many blessings if they would persevere in their obedience to Him (Deut. 28:1–14). Jesus promised that those who would leave everything to follow Him would receive a hundredfold reward in addition to eternal life (Mark 10:29–31). … God’s faithful servants can expect a reward. … And in the end, this reward will be for God’s glory, for one day we will cast these crowns at the foot of His throne in worship (Revelation 4:9–11; 22:3).”

Those who love the Lord and His Word will be granted a long and stable life. Oh, that we all would realize that the greatest blessing is not the land of Canaan nor the glory of Heaven. The greatest blessing is to live the life that God has given you under His watchful eye, doing what He says until the day you are received into glory.

Amen and Amen.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Bible is God's Word, Every Word Holy, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, GodsWordTrue, Jesus, Jesus Christ, prayer, salvation, Word of God | Leave a comment

The First Principles Of The Oracles Of God

Posted on April 29, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 5:10-14 {Jesus} Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull (nōthros, pronunciation no-thros’, means SLOTHFUL, SLUGGISH, LAZY) of hearing. 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The Danger Of Becoming Stalled In Your Faith

Why is it important that you not only hear the Word of God, but do the Word of God? It is because you can never advance and mature as Christ followers unless your hearts are opened to Him, unless you see His Word as the most valuable thing on earth – then apply that Word. The Book of Hebrews has been comparing the House of Moses (the Old Covenant) to the House of Christ (The New Covenant). We found out that God spoke to His people through both Moses and Jesus Christ. We found out that:

The Old Covenant relied on animal sacrifices and ceremonies to provide a temporary salvation.
The New Covenant relies on the once and for all sacrifice of Christ to provide a permanent salvation.
The Old Covenant was offered to ethnic Jews, and the Gentiles who would agree to circumcision.
The New Covenant relies on the work of the Holy Spirit to circumcise the heart of a person. Through the Spirit we are born again, born into the family of God.
The Old Covenant relied on fallen humans as priests to cover the sins of the people.
The New Covenant relies on the sinless Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, Who sits on the right hand of the Father covering our sins.
The Old Covenant was but a shadow of the coming New Covenant in Christ. The moral laws have not changed, but Atonement has.
Under the Old Covenant the Tribe of Judah led God’s people, whereas the Tribe of Levi ministered as priests. Messiah would come from the Tribe of Judah. Kings could not be priests.
Under the New Covenant Jesus, of the Tribe of Judah and the House of David, is the promised Messiah. Jesus is a High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek, an ancient priesthood that predates Mount Sinai. Jesus is both King and Priest, and the children of God by faith in Christ are Kings and Priests unto God (Revelation 1:5-6). We are children of the Most High.

Jesus is a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek, & there are many great truths that go with this that bless us. But the lazy listeners hear but refuse to do the commands of God’s Word.

Many today are like the children of Israel at the base of Mount Sinai, demanding that Aaron create them a Golden Calf. When Israel left Egyptian bondage that God moved on the hearts of the Egyptians, and “Israel borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and gold” (Exodus 12:35). When Israel came to Aaron and demanded “gods that shall go before us” (Exodus 32:1), the High Priest told the people to bring him the blessing that God bestowed on them at Egypt. He took that blessing, those jewels – and created a golden calf (Exodus 32:4).

God’s people are called to be salt, not sugar. We are called to hear God’s Word, and DO those things which glorify Him. We are not to make golden calves of God’s blessings to us. Those whom God is addressing should be mature believers, teachers of others. But instead they have become dull of hearing. They are lazy hearers. The lazy hearer hears what is being preached or taught, and is probably fascinated by it.

The lazy hearer rejects the MEAT but wants the MILK of the Word. Our text states:

Hebrews 5:12 are become such as have need of milk

There is nothing wrong with being a “babe in Christ” when you are first saved. Newly saved believers should want the “pure milk of the word”

1 Peter 2:1-3 (NKJV) Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Every Christian is a baby when they are first born again (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23). As you study God’s Word, you will grow. God has promised, “My Word will not return to Me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please” (Isaiah 55:11). But you must DO what God directs.

The Hebrew Christians had “BECOME” in need of milk. They brought this condition on themselves by their failure to live in Christ, to

Romans 13:14 … put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Saved by Grace, as Christians we

Ephesians 4:1-3, 24 (NKJV) …. walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. … 24 … put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Salvation is by Grace – but sanctification and growth is by spiritual effort.

The Blood of Christ POSITIONALLY makes us right with God. Our partnership with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible PRACTICALLY let’s us walk with God.

God gave us salvation so that we might positionally be righteous, righteous because of Christ. But once positionally righteous, God wants us to be practically righteous. We are to be salt and light, not sugar and darkness. God did not save us so we could be gossips, homosexuals, transgenders, adulterers, murderers, kidnappers, thieves – in short, walk in the flesh. God saved us by the blood of Christ so that we might walk according to the Spirit of God:

Romans 8:2-8 (NKJV) … the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The thought that Christ died for our sins so we could remain in our sins is foreign to the Scripture. The Scripture says:

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV) {Jesus} Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

God did not save us just to send us to Heaven. He saved us to make us children of God by faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26). As the Apostle John noted:

1 John 3:10 whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

We are to love our God, and keep His commandments (1 John 5:2).

Hebrew 5:13-14 For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But STRONG MEAT BELONGETH TO THEM THAT ARE OF A FULL AGE, even those who by reason of use have THEIR SENSES EXERCISED TO DISCERN BOTH GOOD AND EVIL …

The Christian who learns to not only HEAR but to DO what God has said is able to “DISCERN BOTH GOOD AND EVIL”. That Christian understands WHY something is right and WHY something is wrong. The Christian that not only HEARS the Word of Christ but DOES it has the ability to make godly, adult decisions. Children, on the other hand, often make bad decisions because they don’t know any better. Listen Beloved,

It is not PHYSICAL age that makes a mature Christian. It is SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE and APPLICATION of the Scripture to your life.

You cannot, as a Christian, “DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL” unless you are applying the Word of God to your life. When asked, “Why is homosexuality incompatible with the Christian way of life?”, you cannot answer this if you have never graduated from milk to meat. When asked, “What is Biblical marriage?”, or “Why do you think Jesus is the only Way to be saved – don’t you think that’s a bit intolerant?”, babies cannot answer this. “STRONG MEAT BELONGS TO THOSE OF FULL AGE”, Christians who not only read but DO what God’s Word says.

The First Principles Of The Oracles Of God

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God

The “First Principles Of The Oracles Of God” mentioned in Hebrews 5:12 are the foundational doctrines or truths that the Christian life is built on. The very FIRST foundational truth is “the doctrine of Christ”. The Doctrine of Christ is not only mentioned here, but also in:

2 John 1:9-11 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

The “DOCTRINE OF CHRIST” is the belief that there is no salvation outside of faith in Jesus Christ. He is the Only Savior. The Doctrine teaches that, once saved by faith, you are saved into a Family, the Family of God. You no longer belong to yourself, but are a purchased possession, a child of God. The Doctrine of Christ teaches that He Who saves you is also the One you wish to please and follow. Jesus said:

Matthew 4:19 … Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Matthew 8:22 … Follow Me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Matthew 16:24 … Deny yourself, take up your Cross, and Follow Me

Matthew 19:21 … Come and Follow Me …

John 10:27 … My sheep … Follow Me

John 12:26 … If any one serve Me, let them Follow Me …

The Doctrine of Christ is the doctrine of ABIDING. We cling to Jesus, like a branch to a vine (John 15:4-11).

John 15:5 I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that ABIDE (menō, cling to, remain in) in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.

Every work that the Christian does is built on the FOUNDATION OF CHRIST:

1 Corinthians 3:11 (ESV) For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

It is Jesus Who saves you, His Blood which covers your sins, His High Priesthood that maintains your status as a Child of God in the Father’s eyes. We live to glorify our Lord Jesus!

What is the next foundational truth?

Hebrews 6:1 … the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

“repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God” is key to the Christian way of life. Everyone fails at times. Everyone sins. What does the Christian do when we sin? Do we do PENANCE before God? Do we sacrifice animals, or beat ourselves with whips, or promise to do better? Every human action that attempts to bring us righteousness before God is a DEAD WORK. The Scripture says:

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV) But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

We cannot make ourselves RIGHT with God. Only CHRIST can make us right with God. When the Apostle Paul examined his own life – an Apostle – an APOSTLE I say – he declared:

Romans 7:18 … I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Romans 7:24 … Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

But then Paul cries out in verse 25, “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”. When we as believers sin, we REPENT and RETURN TO WHERE SALVATION IS. We do not strive to do penance, but we do REPENTANCE. Just as we were saved, we enter into His presence through the door of REPENTANCE. We put our faith in Him Who loved us, and gave Himself for us.

You Can Be Judas, Or You Can Be Simon Peter

Who failed Jesus – Judas Iscariot or Simon Peter? If you answered BOTH, you’d be right.

When Jesus was telling the disciples that He had to go to the Cross for our sins, Peter rebuked Jesus, and said, “No, this will not happen to You!”. Jesus rebuked Peter, saying:

Matthew 16:23 … “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Peter had left the foundation of Christ and began to follow the flesh. He was rebuked. Later Peter told Jesus,

Matthew 26:33 … (NKJV) … Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble

Peter was heavily relying not on the power of God, but of his flesh, his own strength. Jesus told Peter,

Matthew 26:34 (NKJV) … Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.

Jesus knows us better that we know ourselves. Peter continued to argue with the Lord. “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (vs 35). What happened? Jesus went to Gethsemane. While praying in Gethsemane, Peter couldn’t stay awake to pray with Jesus. When the soldiers came, Peter cut off a man’s ear, and was rebuked by Jesus (Matthew 26:52). Peter then ran away with the others. As Jesus was being tried, a servant girl saw Peter and said, “You were with Jesus of Galilee” (Matthew 26:69). Peter denied Jesus. Another young girl saw Peter and said, “That man was with Jesus of Nazareth” (Matthew 26:71). Again, Peter denied Jesus. Finally, several in the crowd spoke up. “You are one of Jesus’ men – your speech betrays you!” (Matthew 26:73). Peter swore and cursed, saying “I do not know Jesus!”.

And the rooster crowed. Peter left, weeping bitterly.

Then there was Judas Iscariot. He had all the blessings that the other disciples had. Judas was an Apostle, just as was Peter and the others. Judas had the power to heal the sick, and to preach the Gospel. As the disciples were sharing the Last Passover together, Jesus honored Judas and gave him the “sop”, a special honor, the Bible says “Satan entered Judas” (John 13:27) and Judas left the table to betray Jesus to the Pharisees for thirty pieces of silver. Interestingly, it was not long after this that Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed, he would deny Him three times (John 13:38).

You all know the story. Judas left the Table, and Jesus, after teaching the disciples a few more truths, instituted the Lord’s Table. Judas contracted with the Chief Priests and Pharisees to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. When Jesus went to Gethsemane for His final prayer prior to His trial, He was abandoned by all His disciples. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Jesus was tried, convicted, beaten, and carried before Pilate to be executed (Matthew 27:2). What happened to Judas?

Matthew 27:3-5 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Judas “repented himself”. He did not repent, and return to God. Judas “repented himself”. He tried to do penance instead of repentance. He did not go to God for forgiveness, but tried his own do it yourself religion. He thought by bringing the 30 pieces of silver back, that all would be well. It wasn’t. Finally, Judas killed himself, sacrificing his own life to make what he did right with God. Did it? No. Jesus called Judas “the son of perdition”, the “son of apōleia, of waste or destruction, of damnation” (John 17:12). Though Judas had the title of Apostle, though he was chosen by Jesus but “was a DEVIL” (John 6:70). Judas is the picture of many who PROFESS Christ, but are not POSSESSED of Christ.

The Devil enter Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter,
but only one repented and believed.

Peter denied Jesus also. He wasn’t at the foot of the Cross with Mary his mother and John the Apostle. Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Cleophas was at the foot of the Cross, but Peter was absent (Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40-41; Luke 23:49; John 21:24). But on the first day of the week, when the women ran back to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, both Peter and John ran to the Tomb – but Peter was the first to enter the Tomb. John got to the Tomb first, but Peter went in to see where His Lord lay. The Bible tells us that the first man to see Jesus resurrected was PETER:

1 Corinthians 15:5 {after His resurrection Jesus} WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN by the TWELVE.

“CEPHAS” is the Aramaic form of “Peter”, which is the name Jesus gave Peter once he recognized our Lord as the one and only Christ (Matthew 16:18). According to the Apostle Paul, Jesus appeared to Peter FIRST before He appeared to the other Apostles. Why? Because Jesus has promised us:

“I will never leave YOU nor forsake YOU” (Hebrews 13:5)

Peter belonged to Jesus by faith. And it was proved by his actions. In the final chapter on John’s Gospel, Peter was out fishing in the Sea of Tiberius with 6 others – including John. They fished all night long and found nothing. As they were coming toward shore, a Man called out:

John 21:5 (NKJV) … Children, have you any food?

When they said “No”, the Man said “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some”. As they hauled in the net, now filled with fish, John said “It is the Lord Jesus!” As soon as Peter heard this,

John 21:7 … {Peter} put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

Peter never tried to do penance. He never tried to make things right with his own works. Peter understood the basic foundation of Christianity is not our works, but to RUN TO JESUS. When we fail, we RUN TO JESUS. When we sin, we RUN TO JESUS. Our works cannot make things right – but Jesus can. And once we return to Jesus, we do that which Jesus tells us to do. Jesus asked Peter three times

“Do you love Me?”

Peter replied, “Yes Lord, You know I love you” (John 21:16). And Jesus said, FEED MY SHEEP. Do what I tell you to do. Cling to Me, as I cling to you. Obey Me if you love Me. If you fail Me, repent, and return to Me. I am your Lord, your Savior, your all.

That is the foundation our faith is built on – Jesus. Do you know Him? Have you received Him by faith? Have you repented, and come to Him with empty hands to receive the glorious Gospel of salvation. I pray you have. May God the Holy Spirit work in your heart today. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Prospecting For Wisdom In God’s Word

Posted on April 26, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Steven Paton: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bird-flying-near-a-flower-7200775/

Proverbs 3:13-18 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Opening: In Sri Lanka a man had hired a well dug in his back yard. While workmen were digging – looking for water – they found a star sapphire cluster. Since it was on his property, it belonged to him. He had it appraised through a gem trader and found out the 2.5 million carat sapphire is worth up to $100 million. The owner named it the “Serendipity Sapphire”. If you found it in your back yard, it wouldn’t look like anything at all to you. You might have rolled it out to the trash pickup. You’d have been wrong!

Gold is much like this sapphire. The inexperienced may find gold, but never know it’s gold, because it looks like dirty quartz until its refined. What looks like gold when you find it is Iron Pyrite, Chalcopyrite or Fool’s Gold. Gold, which isn’t golden until it’s processed, is worth $2336.30an ounce as of April 23, 2024. Fool’s Gold is worth .55 cents per ounce.

The miner is a person who has studied gold and it’s value. The miner knows how to prospect for gold, and how to ignore the false. Had the man who discovered the Serendipity Sapphire not been acquainted with gemstones, he would have tossed out this Guinness Book of World Records (largest star sapphire cluster ever found) stone.

As valuable as the Serendipity Sapphire is, there is something much greater in value. It is WISDOM.

Wisdom cannot be stolen from you. This is why the Bible says:

vs 14 the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver

Learn To Mine Wisdom From God’s Word, Not Rock From the Earth

Silver, gold, and diamonds can be easily stolen. Money in your bank account can be easily stolen. Hackers can get into your bank, and get all you have. Or bank tellers can push a wrong button, and your life savings is gone. Poof. Just like that.

Illustrate: Several years ago I left my silver coin sets out on a table in my home. While Sherry and I were gone out, thieves broke in and stole a lot of the silver. Oddly enough, they grabbed the shiniest pieces which, worth much, were not worth as much as they left behind. In the world of Numismatics (pronounced noo-miz-ma-ticks) it is the older, often dingier looking coin that is much more valuable. The fools go for the “Fool’s Gold”, but the wise know real value. Wisdom can be gained, and should be accrued as you grow. That wisdom you have cannot be taken away from you. You can only give it away, blessing others. We are told:

Vs 15 more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her

Word Study: Sapphires and Rubies are of the same mineral called corundum. When it forms blue, it’s a sapphire. When red, it’s a ruby. God is telling us that – as valuable as the Serendipity Sapphire is – WISDOM is much more “PRECIOUS” (yāqār), “more excellent, more costly”. In fact,

The Lord tells us that if you were to take everything you’ve ever desired – money, power, fame, good looks – wisdom would be worth more than it all.

The ancient Philosopher Plato said, “Better be unborn than untaught, for ignorance is the root of misfortune”. Wisdom from God teaches us to live our lives in joy and peace. Properly applied wisdom brings blessing. The Scripture says:

Vs 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor.

We’ve seen this before in Proverbs. Throughout the Proverbs God expresses the same thing using different poetic language. When we studied verse 2 of this chapter last week:

Proverbs 3:2 … for LENGTH OF DAYS and LONG LIFE … shall they add to you ..

We found out that “LENGTH OF DAYS” and “LONG LIFE” refers to QUANTITY as well as QUALITY of life. The same thing is true here. Wisdom is shown as a woman who, in her RIGHT hand has “Length of days”. Throughout the Scripture the RIGHT HAND was the hand of blessing.

Illustration: When Israel (Jacob) blessed Joseph’s children before he died, he laid his right hand on the second born child, Ephraim. When Joseph objected – for the firstborn was to be blessed with the right hand – Israel said:

“God will make Ephraim (the second born) as Manasseh” (Genesis 48:20)

The Right Hand of God is where the Son of God sits (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33; Acts 7:55-56; Romans 8:34). When you heed God’s Word, His Wisdom, you are blessed by the Son of God.

Riches And Honor Are Not From The World, But God

When you are under Wisdom’s right hand, with it comes the LEFT HAND. In Wisdom’s left hand is “RICHES AND HONOR”. Riches and honor does not mean to have a full bank account. It means to LIVE A GOOD LIFE IN CHRIST. King David prayed in:

1 Chronicles 29:10-12 (NKJV) Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.

Longer life as well as a blessed life is promised to those who seek out and cherish wisdom. Silver, gold, and sapphires can buy you things, but they cannot add one minute to your life. Often those who are richest in material wealth are the most miserable of people.

Wisdom not only protects you from misery, but it
protects you from an early death.

The unwise person runs around with other foolish people who do things that endanger their lives. They drink alcohol to excess, or take dangerous drugs, or as a few years ago, eat Tide™ pods. Why? Because you are trying to impress someone who could care less about you. If you want a good life, we should mine for Wisdom through God’s Word.

Proverbs 3:17-18 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold (ḥāzaq, pronounced khaw-zak’, to grab with all your strength) upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth (tāmaḵ, pronounced taw-mak’, to hold fast, to stay close to) her.

Again we have a picture of the miner, who goes outside his comfort zone to find gold. He dedicates his life to seeking out the true gold. It is so sad that we as Americans today will burn up all our energy on jobs, hobbies, games, politics, television, social media, foods, and so on – but will devote little time to God and His Word. The writer of Ecclesiastes states:

Ecclesiastes 9:16-18 … Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard. 17 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner destroys much good.

Wisdom does not matter whose hands it is in. The “poor man’s wisdom” is much greater than the rich man’s foolishness. I am reminded of the story Jesus told us of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man – well respected, famous, and blessed financially – ignored Biblical Wisdom, the Word of God, and lived his life as if there was no God. He had no respect for human life, but treated the poor as dogs, even wild dogs. Lazarus, on the other hand, was known by Jesus. Jesus knew his name. JESUS KNEW HIS NAME.

Word Study: He was “Lazarus” (lazaros, pronunciation lad’-zar-os) which means “The One Whom God Helps”. The rich man helped himself year after year, ignoring God, having no relationship with Him. But Lazarus looked to God for blessing, and trusted in His Grace though times were often tough. When they died, what happened?

Luke 16:22-23 {Lazarus} died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Lazarus had wisdom. He looked to God, the Author of True Wisdom. Having wisdom, Lazarus had “RICHES AND HONOR”. What! You say he has “RICHES AND HONOR”? You’re mad, he was a BEGGAR. Those who are saved are all BEGGARS at the Throne of Grace. When Lazarus died, he had “RICHES” for he was known of Jesus. In this life Lazarus had nothing, but in the next life he was taken to Father Abraham, the father of all who believe (see Romans 4:16). When Lazarus died, he had “HONOR”. He was given an ANGELIC ESCORT into glory, where he could be comforted in the arms of God.

God’s Word Brought Order From Darkness

Proverbs 3:19-20 The Lord by wisdom hath founded (yāsaḏ, pronunciation yaw-sad’) the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Word Study: It is God’s “WISDOM” that lay the foundation of the earth. It is by Christ “all things CONSIST” (Colossians 1:17), Greek synistēmi (pronunciation soon-is’-tay-mee) which means “are held together”. The Scripture says “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” (Psalm 33:6).

It was not evolution that created earth and its environment. It was not man, nor any creature that brought about creation. It was God. It is God Who sustains all things by His Word. Compare that to the wisdom of man, the wisdom of the rich.

Rich people on the Massachusetts coast spent $500,000.00 to build sand dunes in front of the beach front property. It was washed away in three days! What of God’s creation? Earth is in a remote part of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The only star near us is the sun, which is placed a perfect distance from the earth. How long will our sun last? Scientists calculate that the fuel of the sun, hydrogen, will run out in 5 BILLION years, but once it runs out will take 2-3 BILLION years to go through star death. What the rich fools did cost half a million dollars and lasted three days. What God did in the sun will last another 7.5 BILLION years.

The molten magnetic core of the earth not only helps us find North and South, but protects us from sun flares. The energy emitted by a solar flare is a million times more powerful than a volcanic eruption on earth.

The giant planet Jupiter protects the earth by eating up asteroids or comets that come near. It has been called “the vacuum cleaner of our solar system”. Our moon stabilizes our climate. God’s hand of design is seen all throughout creation.It is God’s Word that designed the rain clouds, and the cycle of water that sustains life on our planet.

Proverbs 3:21-23 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep (nāṣar pronunciation naw-tsar’) sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

Word Study: The believer in God is encouraged to “KEEP or GUARD SOUND WISDOM”. The stepbrother of Christ wrote:

James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The Wisdom of God is based on God Himself. It is SPIRITUAL, not fleshly and self serving. “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace”. God used His Word to give us life, and offers His Word to save us.

The Wise Live To Honor The God Who Saved Them:
5 Applications Of Wisdom

At this point Proverbs 3 God uses 5 verse sets to teach Biblical truth. Let’s look at these texts:

Proverbs 3:25-26 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

1 Don’t worry about what your enemy may or may not do. Trust in the Lord. Let Him avenge you:

Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Proverbs 3:27-28 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28 Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

2 If God in Grace has given you the means to do so, do good to your fellow man. Jesus spoke of this when He said:

Matthew 5:42-48 (ESV) Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

3 Be Light, Not Darkness To Those Around You.

Proverbs 3:29-30 Devise not evil against thy neighbor, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

Who is your neighbor? It is not the person who looks like you, but the person near you. Jesus explained this with the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). In that story a man of unknown race and heritage was attacked, stripped, and left on the side of the road as dead. A “Priest”, more than likely a Levite who functioned in the office of priest in the Temple, actually crossed the road when he saw the wounded man. Then a “Levite”, a person from the Tribe of Levi who worked in the Temple taking care of the things of God, also crossed the road rather than help the wounded man. Both Priest and Levite wanted to avoid being made “unclean” by touching this unfortunate.

Then came the Samaritan, the hated Samaritan. He bound the man’s wounds, took him to an inn, and payed for his accommodations. Jesus asked,

Luke 10:36 (ESV) Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?

It was the Samaritan who showed mercy. He was the neighbor. Jesus commands that we “go and do likewise” (37).

4 Do not imitate or desire what evil people have. Desire God.

Proverbs 3:31-32 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32 For the froward (lûz, the perverse) is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.

The “SECRET” of God is His personal presence and favor. Evil people may have riches and fame for a time, but they do not have what you have – a relationship with God each day of your life. I admire the Old Testament Saint Enoch. Enoch was born of Jared, and Jared lived 962 years. But Enoch lived 65 years before he had his first son Methuselah. He walked with God another 300 years, outliving all of his children and family but Methuselah. The Bible says:

Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

5 In time, God will bless His Children, but curse the wicked. Be patient. We end with these words:

Proverbs 3:33-35 The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. 34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Our God “giveth grace unto the lowly”. To those who are arrogant and perverse, God gives them their head. But a payday is coming someday. But God gives Grace to those who are humble. The Bible says:

James 4:6 (ESV) … {God} gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Young and immature believers tend toward arrogance, but God tells us to “clothe ourselves with humility” (1 Peter 5:5). We are to hear and do His Word. This is the only way to blessing. May God move on our hearts this very day. Amen.

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Jesus Is A Priest Forever

Posted on April 21, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Mikhail Nilov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-bearded-man-in-white-long-sleeves-praying-8720998/

Hebrews 5:1-6 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 4 And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus Came To Lead Israel From Old Covenant
To New Covenant

I do a lot of reading – and studying – because I’m fascinated with the Bible. I read an article the other day from a College Professor (Emeritus, City University of N.Y) named Bernard Starr (Ph.D). This learned man made the statement:

“Christianity began as a Jewish sect and that Jesus was a thoroughly dedicated practicing Jew who never suggested the launch of a new religion … Jesus lived and died a dedicated Jew, as observed by Christian writer Jean Guitton in his book ‘Great Heresies and Church Councils’ … Jesus did not mean to found a new religion. In his historical humanity, Jesus was a devout Israelite, practicing the law to the full, from circumcision to Pesach, paying the half-shekel for the Temple. Jerusalem, the capital of his nation, was the city he loved: Jesus wept over it”.

As many of the “great theologians” of the Scripture have done, they often ignore passages of Scripture while pushing their own doctrines. Jesus was a Jew, born of the lineage of David, of the Tribe of Judah. The Bible says that as Messiah:

John 1:11-12 (NKJV) {Jesus} came unto His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them gave He the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name …

Jesus came to the Jews first, the Messiah, to save whosoever would believe in Him. Jesus followed the laws of Judaism insofar as they were correctly interpreted. Jesus said,

Matthew 5:17-18 (NKJV) … Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, BUT TO FULFILL. 18 till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled ..

Jesus Came To Make The New Covenant Possible:Jesus came to fulfill the Law of God, the Ceremonial and Sacrificial portions that were shadows that would be fulfilled by the Messiah. The Bible is very clear that “the Law was a SHADOW OF THE GOOD THINGS TO COME” (Hebrews 10:1). The Feasts and Animal Sacrifices could not make a permanent covering for sin. The Messiah would have to come and, being perfect and holy, without sin, He would have to willingly go to an altar of sacrifice for sinners. His blood being shed would provide a covering for sin once and for all. As we are told in:

Hebrews 7:27 (NKJV) {Jesus} does not need daily, as those high priests {of Israel}, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

Jesus came to fulfill the Law of Moses, but He did not save us from the Law of Moses to bring in a new religion, but a NEW COVENANT. Jesus made this clear when He instituted the “Lord’s Table” out of the Feast of the Passover. Giving His disciples the “cup” of new wine, He said:

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new (kainos, “recently made, a new kind of, unprecedented, novel, unheard of, new or fresh”) testament (diathēkē, a covenant, a will or “testament” like “last will & testament”), which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new (kainos) testament (diathēkē), which is shed for many.

Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new (kainos) testament (diathēkē) in my blood, which is shed for you.

God spoke of this New Covenant to His Old Testament Israel through the Prophet

Jeremiah 31:31-24 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Under the Old Covenant that God gave Israel, the Law of God was given through Moses. The Law was proscriptive, but not prescriptive. It showed man to be a sinner, but did nothing to eradicate the sin – it only temporarily covered the sin. Under the New Covenant God would address the heart. He would cause people to be born again, Children of the Kingdom of God. When God speaks of “the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah”, this is a reference to a divided Israel – one that through civil war became North & South. The “house of Israel” or Northern Israel rejected the Levitical Priesthood and the Temple. Ten Tribes in revolt, they left Judah and Benjamin and started their own system of worship with Samaria as their Capital City. The “house of Judah” or Southern Israel (Judah and Benjamin) kept Jerusalem as their Capital City, and continued to worship in the Temple – though they were not obedient to God.

Israel was divided, conquered, and ineffective because they failed to keep the Old Covenant, and largely rejected the New Covenant that Jesus brought.

Jesus told us that

Matthew 12:25 Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand …

Jesus Christ was born of the Tribe of Judah, the Ruling Tribe, and is the fulfillment of God’s Prophecy to King David:

2 Samuel 7:12-13 … when thy days be fulfilled {when you leave this earth}, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

The “Seed of David” from the Tribe of Judah is Jesus Christ. God sent His Son Jesus to “BUILD A HOUSE FOR MY NAME”. God was not speaking of a Temple, but of a People. The Apostle tells us:

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (ESV) Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Where God’s people gather together in Christ’s name, we are His Temple. Our focus is on Jesus!

Under The Old Covenant, The High Priest Was Broken

Hebrews 5:1-3 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

God appointed Aaron, the brother of Moses, to be the “High Priest” of Israel under the Old Covenant. As High Priest Aaron (and his children) were to offer “sacrifices for sins”. The High Priest and his children, his successors, had to offer animals without blemish to God. But the priests themselves had to be without blemish:

Leviticus 21:17-21 (ESV) “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.”

The High Priest was a “shadow” of the coming Messiah, just as the “lambs without spot or blemish” were shadows of the coming “Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36). The High Priest had to be physically healthy – though as our text tells us:

Hebrews 5:2 … he himself also is compassed with infirmity (astheneia, pronounced as-then’-i-ah, “weakness”)

When called as a High Priest, Aaron and his sons were physically fine – but they were weak with sin. Outwardly they were without spot or blemish, but inwardly they were fallen and broken creatures, just as we all are. Under the New Covenant God would send us “The Holy Spirit to help our infirmities, our astheneia, our weaknesses” (Romans 8:26). Aaron had to make offerings for sin himself, before he could ever offer for the sin of the people.

God chose Aaron, knowing that Aaron was weak, a sinner. We are told in

Hebrews 5:4 And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

Aaron did not choose to be High Priest, no more than Moses chose to be Israel’s liberator. They were called.

God chose the Tribe of Levi to be the Priestly Tribe because of what happened at Mount Sinai. While Moses was receiving the Old Covenant, Israel turned to the flesh, to idolatry. When Moses came down the mountain and saw the children of Israel worshiping a Golden Calf, the Bible says:

Exodus 32:26 … Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

The Levites stood with their brother Moses. They were “ON THE LORD’S SIDE”. So God chose the Levites to be the Priests of Israel, and Aaron – with his sons – to be the High Priests.

Jesus Is Unlike The Levitical High Priests

Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

Aaron did not choose to be High Priest, but was a sinner chosen of God. Aaron was a Levite. But Jesus, as I’ve noted before, was of the line of David. He is the Messiah God promised David in 2 Samuel 7. Jesus, like David is of the line of Judah, not Levi.

Under Judaism Jesus could NOT be the High Priest. Under the Old Covenant Jesus could NOT be the High Priest. Why? He is of JUDAH, not LEVI.

As the Son of God, Jesus is “King of kings and Lord of lords, and with Him are His called, His chosen, His faithful followers” (Revelation 17:14). Jesus Christ did not come to reform Judaism, but to fulfill the Laws of Judaism so that He could bring in the NEW Covenant. Jesus is NOT a Priest of Judaism, for the Priests of Judaism are LEVITES. Jesus is High Priest of the New Covenant – the Messiah from the Tribe of David.

How could Christ be a High Priest? Because God the Father chose Him to be so. But also because Christ comes from a different priesthood.

Hebrews 5:6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

At this point the Holy Spirit quotes a Messianic Psalm,

Psalm 110:4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

When the Messiah came, He was to be LORD and King, because He would be from the Tribe of Judah, of the House of David. But when the Messiah came He was to be HIGH PRIEST of His House, a Priest NOT from the Tribe of Levi, but a more ancient priesthood.

One day Jesus was being attacked by the Pharisees, as they often did. They hated Jesus because He called them out on how they had modified the Old Covenant to suit themselves. Jesus told them “You are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father you do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and would not abide in the truth … he is the father of lies and liars” (John 8:44, AP). Jesus told them, “If anyone keeps My Word, he shall never see death” (John 8:51, ESV). The Pharisees challenged what Jesus said, saying “Our father Abraham died” (John 8:53). Jesus told them, “Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it, and was glad.” (John 8:56). Jesus went on to say, “Truly, truly I say to you, BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM” (John 8:58).

Jesus lived before Abraham. He is the Great I AM of God. Jesus said “Abraham saw My day, and was glad”. What is Jesus talking about?

In Genesis 14 we read where Abraham’s nephew Lot and his household was taken captive by several invading kings with their armies (vs 12). This was a huge group of armies that did this. When Abraham heard this, he stepped out in faith. The Bible says that Abraham “armed 318 servants, and pursued them” (vs 14). Abraham brought back all of the people taken by the armies – Lot and his family included – and brought them home to Sodom. At the end of this great victory the Bible says:

Genesis 14:18-20 … Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And {Abraham} gave him tithes of all.

This is before the giving of the Law on Sinai. This is before the Old Covenant. The Bible says “Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God”. This is an Old Testament picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Abraham saw Jesus, saw an Old Testament incarnation of Him, and was elated.

As A High Priest Of The Order Of Melchizedek,
Jesus Saved Us

Hebrews 5:7-9 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

When Jesus went to Gethsemane right after the Lord’s Table – a Table that represented Christ’s broken body and spilled Blood – He sought the Father’s will with “prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears”. In the darkness of that Garden Jesus told Peter, James and John:

Matthew 26:38 … My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.

Jesus knew what was about to happen, but He sought the Father in prayer. He said,

Matthew 26:39 … My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

Our High Priest, not a Levite but of the order of Melchizedek, prepared to offer the one thing that would pay for our sins. As He prayed, three times Jesus asked “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will”. And three times the Father said, “Son, You must go. There is no other way. Your Blood must be shed.” Jesus was obedient even to death. The Bible says:

Hebrews 5:9-10 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Word Study: Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord. He is the “author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”. The word translated “” is the Greek hypakouō, pronunciation hoop-ak-oo’-o, which means “to be obedient to, to listen to, to heed”. The New Covenant is marked by a heart that loves the Lord, that seeks to follow Him.

Beloved, you are NOT SAVED if you have
no intention of following Jesus.

Yes, we are flawed. Yes, we fail God at times. None are perfect. But we love Him Who saved us at such great cost. Jesus Christ is both KING and HIGH PRIEST to His people.

Do you know Jesus? Have you trusted your soul to Him? If you have, you have the promise of eternal life. And to God the Father, Christ has made you special. Jesus “has loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood, and has made us KINGS and PRIESTS unto God the Father” (Revelation 1:5-6). As Jesus is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, we are priests not of Levi, but of the order of Melchizedek. As Jesus is the Son of God, we are sons and daughters of God.

Do you know Him? If you do not, call on His name. Acknowledge yourself a sinner worthy of hell, and call on Him to bestow His abundant Grace on you. He suffered to save you. Do not leave this place today without the Lord.

Posted in General, Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Christ our High Priest, Eternal Salvation, Following Christ, Hebrews, Jesus, Melchizedek, Old vs New Covenant, salvation | Leave a comment

Your Best Life Is In God

Posted on April 19, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/rolled-20-u-s-dollar-bill-164527/

Proverbs 3:1-12 My son, forget not My law; but let thine heart keep My commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

The mega-church Pastor Joel Osteen preaches a prosperity gospel. In his book “Your Best Life Now” he makes statements like:

“God wants to increase you financially” (pg 5)
“Think big. Think increase. Think abundance. Think more than enough.” (pg 11)

Mega-church Pastor Steven Furtick preaches a Word of Faith gospel. The Word of Faith preachers are modalists. They deny the Trinity of God in favor of something they claim is more understandable, more relatable to the flesh. The modalists teach that there is one God, Who presents Himself in three different forms – Father, Son and Spirit. Preaching the words of Christ in

John 16:7-8 (NKJV) Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Furtick made this statement:

“{Jesus was saying} No, I am not leaving you. I am changing forms. See, up until now I have walked with you, but when I send my spirit, I will be in you.”

That isn’t what Jesus was saying. He spoke of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit as a Seperate Person. Furtick went on to preach:

“and now Jesus is taken from their sight, and hidden in a cloud, but he did not leave. He just changed forms. He did not disappear. He just was no longer visible. Instead he was internal… He said “it’s good that I’m ghosting you. It’s good that I leave in physical form because then I can give you in spiritual form, then I can direct you from a deeper place.”

This is not what the Scripture says. Osteen, Furtick, the various Word of Faith and Prosperity Preachers (Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar) appeal to the flesh of man rather than preach the Gospel. As Creflo Dollar preached:

“As the righteousness of God, your inheritance of wealth and riches is included in the “spiritual blessings” (or spiritual things) the apostle Paul spoke of in Ephesians 1:5. Based on Psalm 112:3, righteousness, wealth and riches go hand—in—hand. You have every right to possess material wealth—clothes, jewelry, houses, cars and money—in abundance.”

What does the Gospel preach? It does not preach peace and comfort in this physical world. God does not preach that we will all be rich in the things of this world. As a matter of fact, Jesus said:

Luke 12:15 (NKJV) … Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.

Matthew 6:19-20 (NKJV) Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And the Apostle Paul – who was a tentmaker – wrote:

1 Timothy 6:6-9 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

There is an easy way to determine if something is false and not from God, or if it is true and from God. Ask yourself, “Does it elevate GOD, or elevate MYSELF, my FLESH?” If the “truth” elevates God, it is from God. If it elevates US, it is from Satan.

Follow Your HEART?

For instance, people say “Follow your HEART. Your HEART will always be right?” Is that true? Let’s put that on the Scripture Scales and weigh it:

Proverbs 3:1-2 My son, forget not My law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

God does not say “Follow your Heart”. In fact, this is what brought sin into the world in the first place. God gave Adam a very clear set of instructions, and a warning against doing what his heart told him to do. Instead of listening to God, Adam listened to his heart. He let his flesh control him, instead of the Word of God. What happened? Paradise was lost.

God said:

“let thine heart keep my commandments”.

Word Study: The word “let” or allow is not in the original text. The word “keep” is the Hebrew nāṣar (pronounced naw-tsar’) which means “to OBSERVE, to PRESERVE as presented, to GUARD from evil, to WATCH CAREFULLY, to DRAW CLOSE TO so as to obey”. We are not to revel or elevate the flesh, our own desires, but are to glorify God our Creator by heeding at doing what He said. We are not to “let” our hearts do God’s Word – that is a poor translation. We are to “KEEP” our hearts focused on God’s Word. We are to put a leash on our hearts, and say to ourselves “What has GOD said and GOD ordered. We will follow GOD regardless as to where our hearts want us to go”.

When we reject our desires and instead put God first, then we are promised:

length of days and long life, and peace

What is the difference between “length of days” and “long life”? The first phrase has to do with the QUALITY of your life, and the second with the QUANTITY of your life. When I lay in the hospital with my left leg crushed, every day seemed like a week, and every minute like an hour, and every second like a minute. When you are suffering and in pain you have a bad day, or a long and torturous day. What got me through each day was my relationship with Jesus Christ. When you heed God’s Word, and cherish it, God helps you make it even through those kind of days. When you guard and cherish God’s Word, your life is extended. To disobey God is to court disaster.

It’s better for your flesh to ignore the flesh, and
heed the Spirit and the Word.

Jesus told us:

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

If you live in this fallen system, you will have trials and tribulations. However, our Lord has promised to see us through the worst of everything. He will “never leave nor forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5), saying “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).

Proverbs 3:3-4 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

As we go through this life we will find ourselves at odds with others. When someone does not agree with us, there is a temptation to do one of two things (both equally wrong):

1. We COMPROMISE the TRUTH of God so as to keep the peace, or

2. We ELEVATE THE FLESH and let our FEELINGS, our HEART
take the place of God’s Word.

Word Study: We are told to not allow either TRUTH or MERCY to “FORSAKE” us (the Hebrew ʿāzaḇ, to depart from us). We uphold and cling to the truths that God has given us in His Word. But we also operate from the place of mercy. We do good toward those who have done evil to us. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:43-45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

You do not compromise the Word of God in order to please the enemy – but you DO GOOD to those who have done evil to you. You emulate your Heavenly Father. Our natural inclination is to “get someone back” when they hurt us. Jesus said, “Get then back by NOT COMPROMISING TRUTH, but DO GOOD to them”.

Let the Word of God direct your heart and
your hands, not fleshly feelings.

bind them about thy neck

When the neck is injured, the doctors will put a brace around your neck that keeps you from turning your head or bending your neck. Mercy and Truth are to be bound around your neck. They should control your head. You are also to

write them upon the table of thine heart

You are to take the Words of God and WRITE THEM – those words of Truth and Mercy – on the table of your heart. We are to control our hearts. Our hearts are not to control us.

We read:

Proverbs 3:4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

The reason why many Churches have lost their influence over a lost and dying world is because the members of the Churches are no more spiritual than the lost world. God calls us to be Light and Salt, not Darkness and Sugar. The Author of the popular devotional “The Imitation of Christ”, Thomas à Kempis (Thomas of Kempen, the Netherlands) wrote:

“Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace.”

Trust In God Will Bless Your Physical Life

Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Modalism leans toward our own understanding. God is Triune. He is incomprehensible. His ways are incomprehensible. When the Apostle Paul considered the majesty of God, he wrote:

Romans 11:33-36 (NKJV) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

The way we glorify God is NOT to argue with Him at the border of the Promised Land, but to say “I don’t understand it. But Lord, if You say it, if it is in Your Word, I believe it”. God doesn’t care if we understand. He just tells us to DO what He says do, to glorify Him and Him alone. We have a tendency to “LEAN TO OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING”, and that is foolish. If God can be understood, then He’s not God. God is high above us. “IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM”. Put God first, and you will be blessed.

fear the Lord, and depart from evil

Fear of the Lord is when we hate what God hates. God hates evil, because evil destroys creation.

Global warming is not our world’s greatest threat. It is the spread and legalization of EVIL.

That which God has deemed is an “abomination” has become a plaything in America. The liberal leaning NPR (National Public Radio) published an article entitled “Live free and die? The sad state of U.S. life expectancy” (March 25, 2023). In the article we read:

“Across the lifespan, and across every demographic group, Americans die at younger ages than their counterparts in other wealthy nations. … How could this happen? In a country that prides itself on scientific excellence and innovation, and spends an incredible amount of money on health care, the population keeps dying at younger and younger ages. … Referring to a study “Shorter Lives, Poorer Health” the author quoted, “American children are less likely to live to age 5 than children in other high-income countries,” the authors write on the second page. It goes on: “Even Americans with healthy behaviors, for example, those who are not obese or do not smoke, appear to have higher disease rates than their peers in other countries.”

The article went on to give a myriad of reasons why the lifespan of Americans is decreasing. The Bible makes it clear. “The wages of sin is DEATH” (Romans 6:23). If you heed and do God’s Word, we are told:

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones

The ancient knew that the “navel” was the place where you received life. Your naval was where you were attached to your mother – but it was God Who formed you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-15). The ancients also knew that the MARROW is what produces your blood cells – and blood contains the life (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 10:10).

If you heed God and trust Him, not your heart, your stress levels will be lower, and the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:5-7)

Do Not Let “Stuff” Control You

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

God will bless you physically when you put Him – and not your “stuff” – first. Everything you have, you have because of the Grace of God. There are three things we need to always remember:

1. God is TRUSTWORTHY. What He has promised, that He will do. Always!

2. God has ENTRUSTED us with what we have. If we are saved by faith in Him, we are HIS POSSESSION – and all of our possessions are His as well. Boyd Bailey (founder of Wisdom Hunters) said:

“Only in complete surrender to Christ are we complete in Him.”

If we belong to Jesus, then our stuff belongs to Jesus. We’re just borrowing it for a time. Honor God with your stuff.

3. We are TRUSTEES or stewards of all that God has given us. Our souls belong to God, and will one day return to Him who made us. Are we honoring Him? There will be a judgment day. Those who know Jesus by faith will stand before Him, and that which He entrusted to us will be judged for reward or loss. The Shekinah glory of God shall test what we did with what He entrusted us with. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NKJV) For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The foundation is our relationship by faith in Christ. We build on this relationship. We do works that glorify our God, trusting Him above all else. May God move on us all to live for His Kingdom – for one day, if we are saved, we will be IN His Kingdom. Amen.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, fear of the Lord, follow Christ, follow Jesus, Jesus, keepHiscommandments, long life, the sane obey God, the saved obey God, wisdom | Leave a comment

Today The Day of Salvation
February 2026

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The Engyos is a Person Who guarantees something with His own life. Jesus said “No one takes My life, but I lay it down of My own accord”.

Does God Speak To People?

God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, giving himthe ceremonial & sacrificial Laws of Israel.

God Not Only Speaks To People,But Appeared To People

Theologians call this Old Testament appearance of God a CHRISTOPHANY or a THEOPHANY. The Burning Bush that Moses spoke to, the Pillar of Fire and of Cloud, these are Theophanies. The High Priest Who appeared to Abraham named Melchizedek is a Christophany.

Abraham’s defeat of a vastly superior force was not due to his skills, but to the power of God operating in his life.

This Melchizedek cannot be a human person like we are, though He is called a “Man”.

Jesus Christ Came From Judah, Not Levi

The Law Cannot Make Us Perfect, Righteous Enough To Stand Before God. But Jesus Can!

Levitical Priests came and went. In time, each suffered death. But Jesus Christ, like Melchizedek, never dies.

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Humans Are Three Parted

The Heart Is The Control Center Of The Soul

If the control center of the soul is fouled with sin, the outward actions of the soul reflected through the body will be sinful.

Defensively guard your heart

Be careful who you WALK with. It effects your heart.

When you “yoke” yourself in business, in marriage, in any partnership with a lost person, that lost person will drag your heart away from God.

Offensively guard your heart

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Never Stop Being What God Wants You To Be

We are to trust God and keep on doing what He has told us to do with ALL DILIGENCE – for we serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Once saved, we are not to drag our feet, but are to go where Christ bids us go, and do as Christ bids us do.

Believers Imitate Abraham, The Father of Faith

God delayed in giving Abraham a son until Abraham was READY to have a son.

We, Like Abraham, Are To Wait On God No Matter What!

What does it mean to “Wait On The Lord”?

Abraham is a pattern of faith for every believer in Christ.

We Wait On And Trust God, No Matter What God Tells Us To Do, No Matter What God Sends Us Through!

God gave the child, but had He given that child too soon, Abraham would have made that child into a golden calf, a false idol. But Abraham was ready for the child, ready for the blessing – for his focus was on God.

Jesus Christ Is The Sure Hope Of Every Believer

Abraham put his trust in God. Not in circumstances, but in God. And when he was fully ready to trust the Lord, God gave him the blessing of Isaac.

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The Bible Testifies About Christ

We Have No Original Signed Books Of The Bible.How Do We Know OUR Bible Is THE Bible?

We have no “autographa” or original signed copies to protect us from ourselves.

The LAW = The TORAH = The PENTATEUCH = MOSES

The Uniqueness Of The Bible

God used various and broken people to write His Word, but the Word was flawlessly transmitted because God was its Author!

Around 250 BC the Hebrew Old Testament was TRANSLATED from Hebrew and into Koine Greek.

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If There Is No Growth As Believers, No Fruit But Only Thorns, You May Not Be Saved

All ten experienced the blessings of association with Christ – but only ONE was saved, the ONE WHO RETURNED TO CHRIST.

The Proof Of Salvation Is In The Fruit Of The Life

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The greatest gift a father can give to hischildren is the Word of God.

Not OPINION, But GOD’S WORD

What is “GOOD DOCTRINE?”

He is not saying that this is truths that he made up, but as a believer he has assumed ownership of the Word that God gave him.

Why did David choose Solomon his son to reign in his place (1 Chronicles 29:28)? Why didn’t David follow the regular succession, and choose the firstborn Amnon to succeed him?

Wisdom – The Application Of God’s Word –Will Richly Bless You

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The Danger Of Becoming Stalled In Your Faith

Jesus is a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek, & there are many great truths that go with this that bless us. But the lazy listeners hear but refuse to do the commands of God’s Word.

The Blood of Christ POSITIONALLY makes us right with God. Our partnership with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible PRACTICALLY let’s us walk with God.

It is not PHYSICAL age that makes a mature Christian. It is SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE and APPLICATION of the Scripture to your life.

The First Principles Of The Oracles Of God

It is Jesus Who saves you, His Blood which covers your sins, His High Priesthood that maintains your status as a Child of God in the Father’s eyes. We live to glorify our Lord Jesus!

You Can Be Judas, Or You Can Be Simon Peter

Who failed Jesus – Judas Iscariot or Simon Peter? If you answered BOTH, you’d be right.

The Devil enter Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter,but only one repented and believed.

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Learn To Mine Wisdom From God’s Word, Not Rock From the Earth

The Lord tells us that if you were to take everything you’ve ever desired – money, power, fame, good looks – wisdom would be worth more than it all.

Riches And Honor Are Not From The World, But God

Wisdom not only protects you from misery, but it protects you from an early death.

God’s Word Brought Order From Darkness

The Wise Live To Honor The God Who Saved Them: 5 Applications Of Wisdom

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Jesus Came To Lead Israel From Old CovenantTo New Covenant

Israel was divided, conquered, and ineffective because they failed to keep the Old Covenant, and largely rejected the New Covenant that Jesus brought.

Under The Old Covenant, The High Priest Was Broken

Aaron did not choose to be High Priest, no more than Moses chose to be Israel’s liberator. They were called.

Jesus Is Unlike The Levitical High Priests

Under Judaism Jesus could NOT be the High Priest. Under the Old Covenant Jesus could NOT be the High Priest. Why? He is of JUDAH, not LEVI.

As A High Priest Of The Order Of Melchizedek,Jesus Saved Us

Beloved, you are NOT SAVED if you haveno intention of following Jesus.

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Follow Your HEART?

It’s better for your flesh to ignore the flesh, andheed the Spirit and the Word.

Let the Word of God direct your heart andyour hands, not fleshly feelings.

God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, giving him
the ceremonial & sacrificial Laws of Israel.

God Not Only Speaks To People,
But Appeared To People

We Have No Original Signed Books Of The Bible.
How Do We Know OUR Bible Is THE Bible?

The greatest gift a father can give to his
children is the Word of God.

Wisdom – The Application Of God’s Word –
Will Richly Bless You

The Devil enter Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter,
but only one repented and believed.

Wisdom not only protects you from misery, but it
protects you from an early death.

The Wise Live To Honor The God Who Saved Them:
5 Applications Of Wisdom

Jesus Came To Lead Israel From Old Covenant
To New Covenant

As A High Priest Of The Order Of Melchizedek,
Jesus Saved Us

Beloved, you are NOT SAVED if you have
no intention of following Jesus.

It’s better for your flesh to ignore the flesh, and
heed the Spirit and the Word.

Let the Word of God direct your heart and
your hands, not fleshly feelings.