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So What’s The Difference Between Catholic And Baptist?

Posted on July 10, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Nearly everyone who doesn’t live under a rock has heard of the Pope, the Vatican, and the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, many believe there is little difference between Catholicism and other Christian Churches. This is contrary to what the Roman Catholic Church actually teaches. The Vatican, through its leaders and through the assertion of the Pope, that:

“Orthodox Churches are defective for not recognizing the primacy of the Pope, and that Protestant “ecclesial communities … cannot be called ‘Churches’ in the proper sense.” The reason given for the latter assertion was that “these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element [the Eucharist] of the Church.”

The Catholic Church teaches that the Apostle Peter was the first Christ given leader of the “Church”, and that he was it’s first “Pope”. “According to the Annuario Pontificio, the papal annual, there have been more than 260 Popes since St. Peter.” Since the “Pope” is associated with the one and only Catholic Church, and “Protestants”, that is, those who are not Catholic will not affirm the Pope as the one and only leader of the Church, then non-Catholic bodies of believers are not considered a part of the Church.

if you’re not Catholic, You’re not in the “Church”

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 846-48) we are told:

“Outside the Church there is no Salvation”: How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

“Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it”.

The Vatican does make an exception on this point, saying:

“This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation”

So if you’re ignorant of the fact that the only Church on earth is the Roman Catholic Church, and come to God in faith, then God can save you even though you were ignorant of the truth. But once you know the truth, you are to join the Church, the Catholic Church.

Well, what does the BIBLE say? We’ve seen what the Pope says, but frankly I’d rather see what the Bible says. A person becomes a Christian by placing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not in His Church. The Bible says:

Acts 16:31 (ESV) Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Romans 3:28 (ESV) … we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Romans 5:1 (ESV) … since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:12-14 (KJV) we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Salvation is a Divine Act, whereby when one receives Jesus as Lord and Savior, God the Holy Spirit comes to that believer and changes them, making them “born again” into the Kingdom of God.

Furthermore, the Bible teaches that God Himself joins us to Christ’s Church at the point of salvation. Speaking of the Church of Christ, the Apostle wrote:

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (KJV) as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 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.

When the Apostle wrote these words there was no Roman Catholic Church. The Church at the time that these words were written was under persecution by both Roman Authorities as well as Jewish Authorities. Christians were martyred for their faith, and considered heretics by the pagan religions around them. Christians suffered gruesome deaths for what they believed.

Though you may be of a particular “denomination”, may be Catholic or Protestant, if you are a genuine Christian you are bound to the Church of Christ by the Spirit of God. All believers, saved by faith in Christ, are part of this worldwide body. Believers meet together in various types of local churches, but every believer in Christ is a part of Christ’s Church. Jesus affirmed this when He said:

Matthew 18:20 (NASB) For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.

It does not matter how large the Body of believers, if those believers are “gathered together in the Name of Christ – for His glory – then Jesus is in attendance”. One of the early Pastors called Clement of Alexandria wrote (Stromata, 7.5, AD 220):

“For it is not now the place, but the assemblage of the elect, that I call the Church.”

The Bible defines “The Church” as a gathering of “those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:2). As a Pastor I can tell you that there are gatherings of every denomination of Christianity on many Sundays who are not actually the Church of Christ. The Church is the gathering together of those who are born again by faith in Christ, and we gather not to glorify ourselves, but to glorify the God Who so graciously saved us in Christ.

Word Study: The word we translate “Church” is the Greek ekklesia. This word is found over 100 times in our New Testament. Ekklesia means “those who are called out of the world”. The early Church or the Ekklesia met in private homes (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2) and in city wide assemblies (Romans 16:23; Acts 14:27; 8:1; 13:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1). The Bible speaks of …

Acts 9:31 … the Church (Ekklesia) throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria

You are a part of Christ’s Spiritual Body, the Ekklesia, if you “Hold fast to the Head (that’s Jesus), from Whom the entire Body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God” (Colossians 2:19).

The Church is not built on Peter (who was not a Pope), but is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20-22). An early Pastor named Ignatius of Antioch wrote in 105 AD:

“where Christ is, there is the … Church”

Formation Of The Roman Catholic Church

As I mentioned before, Christianity and the Church did not start out as “Roman Catholic”. Christians were vilified and persecuted as heretics until the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337 AD).

Constantine’s father Constantius was a member of the Tetrarchy, the ruling class established by Roman Emperor Diocletian. Constantius was a persecutor and killer of Christians. When his father died, Constantine moved to destroy the Tetrarchy and take over the Roman Empire. Prior to a decisive victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge (October 28, 312 AD), Church Historian Eusebius said that when Constantine was praying:

“A remarkable sign appeared in the heavens above the sun, the trophy of a cross of light with the message, ‘by this conquer.’”.

Constantine had the Cross painted on his soldiers shields. After the victory at Milvian Bridge against the armies of Maxentius, Constantine moved to remove persecution from Christians. In February 313 AD, Western Roman Emperor Constantine I and Emperor Licinius, who controlled the Balkans, met in modern-day Milan and, among other things, agreed to change Roman policies towards Christians.

Called the Edict of Milan, Christianity was given legal status and reprieved from persecution throughout the Roman Empire. This prepared the way for the Edict of Thessalonica (AD 380) which made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.

Though this appeared to be a good thing, it was actually the worst thing that could happen to Christianity. The Apostle wrote:

2 Timothy 3:11-12 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Our Lord Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). The CROSS was the Roman method of capital punishment against traitors, thieves, murderers, and heretics. Jesus told us as believers that we would be “hated of all men for My sake” (Mark 13:13). He said:

John 15:18-21 (NIV) If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

Christianity was never meant to blend with culture or with the darkness or with the government. Christianity is built on the application of the Word of God. Once Christianity was bound to the state of Rome, as Rome conquered areas it demanded that those conquered adhere to “Christianity”, often at the point of the sword. People cannot be converted to Christianity by crusade or force. The faith of Christianity is based on “whosoever will”. Many of the errors found in the Roman Catholic Church are a result of forcing unbelievers into the “flock”. When they came, they came with their false gods and goddesses, their unbiblical ideas.

Roman Catholicism And Scripture

Christians believe in the sufficiency and authority of the Scripture above any human document. When believers began to stand up against Roman Catholic excesses (the Protestant Reformation that began in 1517 AD with Martin Luther), one of the key doctrines was Sola Scriptura, which is Latin for “Scripture Alone”. The Christian affirms that Scripture – the Holy Bible – is the sole source of Divine Revelation, the only inspired, infallible, final, and authoritative norm of faith and practice”. We as believers quote the Apostle:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be {mature}, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

It is “THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES that we have hope” (Romans 15:4), and the “PROPHETIC WORD that is our lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19-21). Our Lord Jesus chastised the Pharisees, saying “You are WRONG, because you KNOW NEITHER THE SCRIPTURES nor the POWER OF GOD” (Mark 12:24). It is the Word of God that “guards our way” (Psalm 119:9). Catholics do not believe in Scripture alone, but believe in:

Roman Catholic Traditions, &
Papal Authority (Decrees of the Pope)

Many of the Catholic doctrines like purgatory, praying to the saints, praying the Rosary, seeking Christ through His mother Mary, the Queen of Heaven, Holy Water, Baptism of Infants, the priest’s power to forgive sin, the Infallibility of the Pope as the “Vicar of Christ”, and so on, are based on Catholic tradition and not Scripture. In fact, the Catholic Church teaches that only the Church and it’s priests can properly interpret the Bible. This is contrary to what Jesus promised:

John 14:16-17, 26 (KJV) … I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth … 26 …. the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:13-14, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

When the believer receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit of Promise comes to us. He “ABIDES IN US, and we in Him. He teaches us ALL THINGS” (AP, 1 John 2:27).

Roman Catholicism And Salvation

The Protestant Reformation not only taught Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), but also taught Sola Fide (by Faith Alone). Believers in Christ hold that it is faith alone in Christ alone that saves the soul. It is not works that saves us, but Christ Who saves us. Jesus said:

John 14:6 (KJV) … I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 10:9 (ESV) I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

1 John 5:11-12 (ESV) And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Once saved by faith in Christ, our Lord sends the Holy Spirit to indwell us, and to sanctify us or to make us more like Christ. Genuine faith in Christ, the Scripture tells us, will produce a changed life and result in good or Godly works (James 2:20–26). Justification is not by faith plus works, but a person who is truly justified by faith will show the fruit of the Spirit in their lives (Galatians 5:16-26). Christlike works are an outward show of genuine faith in Christ (James 2:14, 17, 20, 26). The Bible says that:

Titus 2:14 (ESV) {the Lord Jesus} gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

The person who professes Christ as Lord and Savior but who is not interested in living for Him is actually a deluded unbeliever. “We are Christ’s workmanship, created to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10, AP).

Christians believe that baptism is an ORDINANCE – a command of Christ – that every believer will willingly seek out. Catholicism believes that BAPTISM is a SACRAMENT – something necessary for salvation. For this reason Catholics baptize babies, whereas Protestants will not do so. If baptism is necessary for salvation, reasons the Catholic, it is best to baptize the baby as soon as possible lest it undergo sudden infant death syndrome and end up in hell. Baptism of babies is no where endorsed in the Scriptures, but it is taught as a sacrament by Catholics. For this reason they sprinkle the baby.

Catholics teach the sacrament of CONFIRMATION. They teach that when children are trained to be good Catholics, that they are “confirmed” into the Church. The priest lays hands on the child, and at that point the child receives the Holy Spirit of God. It is only the priest who can confer the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands – the Catholic priest. However, the Scripture teaches:

1 Peter 2:9 … (ESV) you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Every believer in Christ is a priest before God. Since we are “JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST” (Romans 8:17), and since Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is “a King and a Priest unto God”:

Revelation 1:5-6 … (KJV) Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Then every believer is a King and a Priest unto God according to the Scripture. The Holy Spirit is not imparted to us by the laying on of hands of a Catholic Priest. The Holy Spirit is sent to us by Christ Jesus at the point of our salvation.

The Catholic Church teaches the sacrament of Penance. When a sin is committed, the Catholic is to go to their priest, and confess that sin to the priest. The priest then “absolves” you of your sin, and gives the Catholic acts that they must do to right themselves spiritually with God. This is contrary to the Scripture teaches:

1 John 1:7-9 (KJV) But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession of sins is not made to any man on this earth, but to God the Son, Whose Blood cleanses us from all sin. Sin is an offense against God, and so only God can forgive sin. The only human being who has ever had the power to forgive sin on the earth is the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew Chapter 9 a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, Who said:

Matthew 9:2 … Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

This upset the Pharisees who knew that only God could forgive sins. Jesus looked at them and, using His Messianic Title (Son of Man) said:

Matthew 9:6-7 (KJV) that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house.

Only God has the power to forgive sins. “The Father judges no man, but HAS COMMITTED ALL JUDGMENT TO THE SON” (John 5:22). Only God can forgive sin. The Bible does not teach PENANCE, but REPENTANCE. When you sin, confess that sin to God the Son and He will cleanse you of all.

The Catholic Church teaches prayer to the saints, and to Mary the Mother of Christ. A document from Saint Paul Seminary entitled “Explaining Why Catholics Pray To Saints” notes:

“… the idea of the communion of saints. This is a fundamental belief in Catholic theology that recognizes the interconnectedness of all members of the Church, whether they are living on Earth, in purgatory, or in heaven. Catholics believe that canonized saints, who are individuals recognized by the Church for their exceptional holiness, continue to be a part of this communion even after death. When Catholics pray to saints, they are reaching out to these holy individuals, seeking their intercession and guidance in their relationship with God. … Catholics believe that saints can intercede on their behalf with God due to their closeness to Him.”

This is, once more, contrary to the Scripture. The Bible says:

1 Timothy 2:5-6 (KJV) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The Bible tells us that “Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). It is Christ and Christ alone that stands between us and God. We have assurance of salvation because:

Hebrews 7:25 (ESV) … {Jesus} is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

There is no one who stands between us and God but Jesus Christ. To teach that Mary or some Saint intercedes for us is Biblically incorrect. Further, there is no purgatory taught in the Scripture. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.”

The Catholics get the concept of purgatory from the Apocrypha (2 Maccabees 12:45) and the teaching of the popes. The thought is that when we leave this life, we are imperfect. So we must go through an intermediary area where God tunes us up for Heaven. But this is nonsense. Our sins are covered by the Blood of Christ. It is His work that saves us, not our works. Further, the Bible does NOT teach that a Christian goes through an intermediary area upon leaving this life. The Apostle wrote to the Philippian Church:

Philippians 1:21-23 (ESV) For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Paul did not say “I desire to depart this life, and head toward purgatory”. He spoke of departing this life an BEING WITH CHRIST. There is no “tune up garage” before you get to Heaven. When you leave this life, God eradicates you of all sin, and brings you into His presence – if you are IN CHRIST. Another text is

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV) So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

When you leave this life, dear believer, you are “at home with the Lord”.

In Conclusion or Summary

That which is called “The Catholic Church” is as imperfect and blemished as every other Church on the earth is. Can you be saved and be a Catholic? I’ll answer that with a question: Can you be saved and be a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Church of Christ, a Methodist? Absolutely. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and are fully reliant upon Him for salvation, then yes, you can be saved. It is not the denomination that saves you, but your faith in Christ Jesus. Having said that, I would not recommend the Catholic Church to any Christian. It is Christ’s death alone that can satisfy or propitiate God’s wrath against sinners (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10). No man on this earth is your priest, dear believer. Every believer is a king and a priest unto God, and Jesus Christ our High Priest. No man dressed in black, or red, or in white so called the “Vicar of Christ” forgives sin nor makes you right before God. As the Scripture says:

Titus 3:5-7 (ESV) {God} saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Find yourselves a Bible believing Church and immerse yourself in the Scriptures, not in what a human institution teaches. May God lead you in the right path. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Catholicism, christianity, Faith, Following Christ, Jesus, love God, salvation | 1 Comment

Faith, Faith

Posted on July 7, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

Hebrews 11:1-3 NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For BY it the elders obtained a good report. 3 THROUGH faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

One of the most important things in all the Bible is this thing we call FAITH. A person is saved from the darkness of sin and brought into the Kingdom of God by Grace, THROUGH faith. Salvation is a gift of God, not a work that you accomplish. We have often read:

Ephesians 2:8-9 For BY GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any {person} should boast.

No one enters the Kingdom of God by their works. When we get to glory, we will not look back and go “didn’t I do good in getting here”. Salvation is a free gift of God, offered to whosoever will. But salvation is not imposed or forced on anyone. It is received THROUGH FAITH. If your definition of “FAITH” is not the same as God’s definition of “FAITH”, then you’re in trouble. Words matter. Truth matters.

Why did God give us an OLD COVENANT before He gave us a NEW COVENANT? Why did God give us a Law of animal sacrifices, feasts, sabbaths, circumcisions, and ceremonial restrictions before He unveiled the New Covenant in Christ? It was to show us our utter inability to make ourselves right before God without the blood of Christ.

God gave us the Old Covenant to teach us that faith must be put in the RIGHT OBJECT. Faith in works, sacrifices, feasts, sabbaths, ceremonies will not save. Faith must be placed in God!

The Apostle Paul put it this way:

Galatians 3:24-25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

God gave the Law to teach us where to put our faith. He gave us the incessant animal sacrifices to teach us that we cannot save ourselves, but “God is our Savior” (1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3; Titus 1:3; Isaiah 43:3; 2 Samuel 22:3). No one has ever been saved by the Law of God. The Apostle said

Galatians 2:16 know that a person is NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, but BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST …. by the works of the Law no one will be justified

The Old Covenant was only given to Israel after God’s people continued to reject salvation by faith in God. The Old Covenant was diagnostic. It proved us sinners. But it had no real means to save us from our sins.

Salvation is by God’s Grace THROUGH FAITH.

What Is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Word Study: As God begins to define faith to us (NOW FAITH) we read that “faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for”. What does that mean? Let’s look at the word translated “SUBSTANCE”. This is the Greek hupŏstasis, {pronounced hoop-os’-tas-is}, which means “the foundation, the structure, the assured confidence”. The word was used in the earlier text of Hebrews, in:

Hebrews 3:14 For we are made {partners with} Christ, if we hold the beginning of our CONFIDENCE {hupŏstasis} steadfast unto the end;

Faith is not just an “I believe”. Faith is an
“I surrender” or an “I cling”.

Faith is an “I don’t understand, but because GOD said so, because His Bible declares it, I BELIEVE”. Saving faith does not have to understand all things. Saving faith looks at God and says, “Lord, what ever YOU have declared, I BELIEVE because YOU ARE GOD”.

The Atheist puts faith in himself and in man. He looks at the world around us and says “All that is seen – regardless as to its complexity and order – is just a happy accident. We are all creatures of evolution. Everything started with a big bang, and randomly evolved into the life that you see now”. God has no place in the created order. There is no Master Architect, because the fool has said that “there is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

The Christian looks at the order and the grandeur of the world around us and says, “I do not understand it, but I know that God created this world, this universe, this galaxy, and all that we see. He is the Grand Architect, and His fingerprints are on all of creation.”

Whether you are an Atheist, an Agnostic, or a Christian depends on where you invest your faith.

Word Study: We are also told “faith is …. the EVIDENCE of things not seen”. The word “EVIDENCE” is the Greek élenchos, {pronounced el’-eng-khos}, which means “the EVIDENCE or PROOF of, the CONVICTION”. Faith is a submission of this will to God. An unbeliever comes to a believer and asks, “How do you know that God is real, and that Jesus is the only Way to God?” The believer’s response is simply, “Because God said so”. Faith does not quibble with God.

Illustrate: Consider the Garden of Eden (yes, I believe in the Biblical creation). God tells Adam, “You can eat of anything in the Garden except the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The day you eat of it, you will surely die.” Why this Tree? Why was Adam forbidden that particular fruit? Because God alone establishes what is GOOD and EVIL. We who are created do not make up the rules. God does. God says what is right and wrong, and faith – the surrender of the will to God – obediently trusts and does as God says. When Adam partook of the forbidden tree it was not his action that destroyed his life. Adam’s sin was to approach life apart from absolute faith in God. When the serpent tempted Adam to eat that which was forbidden, Adam’s proper response – the response of faith – was to say “Because God said NO, it must be NO. Period.”

Faith Is What Pleases God

Hebrews 11:2 For BY IT the elders obtained a good report.

It is faith that has always pleased God. The Old Testament believers – many of whom will be mentioned in this chapter – believed on God, but died before “The Promise” came. We are told:

Hebrews 11:13-16 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an Heavenly: WHEREFORE God is not ashamed to be called their God: for HE hath prepared for them a city.

The Elders, those who lived before and during the Old Covenant, heard of the promises of God by faith. They lived to follow God, to glorify God, considering themselves “strangers and pilgrims on the earth”. The Elders lived before the Cross, before the completed canon of the Scripture. They had no printed Bibles, but lived by shared truths and stories passed down from generation to generation. Without the modern conveniences of technology, these Elders believed God, and believed what God said. They clung to Him as their only hope in existence. And God was faithful.

The Father of Faith is Abraham. The Bible often returns to this ancient believer, for he is the pattern of the faith that pleases God.

Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham stepped outside of his “comfort zone” and went where God told him. This pleased God. Compare that attitude to today’s “Christian”.

When God called Abraham He gave Abraham a simple directive. “Follow Me”.

Genesis 12:1-4 (ESV) “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him …

This is the same thing Jesus did in the New Testament: “Follow Me”. That’s how God operates. Follow Me. Submit to My Will. Do what I say, as best as you can. Abraham didn’t question God. God said “Go”, and Abraham went. God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a “GREAT NATION”. So Abraham left. He left the safety and security of his home town, of his family, and went out into a godless wilderness. Abraham stepped out in faith. In time, God would give Abraham a son – Isaac – but Abraham would never see the “GREAT NATION” that God promised him. Nonetheless, Abraham gave his sole allegiance to God. He did as God’s Word directed. He followed God to Canaan, and trusted God beyond that.

Hebrews 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

Though Sarah was well past child bearing years, she trusted the God Who made all of creation. She believed that He was able to do as He promised. When the time was right, God gave Sarah her child Isaac. Why? Because she was able? No, but because God is faithful.

Faith trusts in the faithfulness of God. The visible fruit of good faith is obedience and glory to God.

I Wasn’t There, But I Believe It. Do You?

Hebrews 11:3 THROUGH FAITH we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Word Study: The word translated as “WORLDS” is the Greek aiṓn, {pronounced ahee-ohn’} which means “the ages, the eternity, the universe, the worlds”. It is the “WORD OF GOD” that made all things. God spoke this world into existence. God created the order and patterns that we see. God spoke, and the universe became a reality. God created the stars and the planets without end by His Word. When we are told,

the worlds were framed by the word of God

It is God’s Word that made all things. Now, what does this mean? It has two distinct meanings. First, God spoke, and it was. Therefore God’s Word, His Bible, is His very creative power. It is faith in what this great Book says that gives us life. We believe it, because God said it. We believe it, because God wrote it. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

God spoke, and it was. He declared, and it came into being. God did not roll up His sleeves and make all things. He decreed it. He spoke it. And it was. What does this teach us?

God’s Word is trustworthy – it will create life.

The Apostle wrote of the lost, saying:

2 Peter 3:5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God

But there is another application of this. The Bible says:

John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

The Word of God, Jesus Christ, made all things. The Word of God, Jesus Christ “became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). When Jesus came, He brought the Word of God, the Bible, with Him. Throughout His ministry Jesus appealed to the Scripture, saying “It is written”. We are to believe in God’s Word, His Only Begotten Son. We are to acknowledge Him alone as worthy.

Revelation 4:11 Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.

What God has promised, God will do. If you have faith in God, you will cling to His promises no matter what He asks you to do. We are now given another wonderful illustration in Abraham.

Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

This is a reference to the time that God came to Abraham and said,

Genesis 22:1-2 (ESV) After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “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.”

By most accounts Abraham was at least 113 years old, and maybe 125 years old. Abraham was 100 years old when Sarah bore Isaac, and his son would have been in his teens. Abraham has enjoyed his son, and watched him grow. God had told Abraham “in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (see Genesis 21:12), and Abraham clung to that promise of God. Out of Isaac would come a mighty nation (Israel) that would bring blessing to the whole world (the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah). God had also told Abraham long before Isaac was born:

Genesis 17:19 (ESV) … Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

God promised that He would establish an “EVERLASTING COVENANT” with Isaac. That is, God would put Himself and Isaac in a non-revocable, eternal Covenant of Grace. And God does not lie. God does not lie.

Then, one day out of the blue, God says “Go sacrifice Isaac”. Here is a test of Abraham’s faith. Why did God test Abraham this way? God already knows Abraham’s heart. “God looks on the heart of man” (1 Samuel 16:7). God knows what Abraham is going to do. Abraham knows what Abraham is going to do. So why test Abraham.

So we can see what type of faith pleases God.
Abraham is our pattern.

God said to Abraham, “I’m going to bless the world THROUGH ISAAC”. God said, “I’m going to create a nation OUT OF ISAAC”. And God doesn’t lie. Now God says “Go kill your son”. And without hesitation, Abraham steps way out of his comfort zone, and goes to comply with God. He arises early in the morning and goes where God tells him. When he gets to Moriah, he leaves his servants at the wagon, telling them,

Genesis 22:5 (ESV) “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

Abraham fully intended to sacrifice Isaac. But in his mind, both he and Isaac would be back at the wagon in just a little while. Why? Because God is faithful. God cannot lie. God has promised a nation out of Isaac, and Isaac isn’t even married yet. We are told in Hebrews:

Hebrews 11:19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

What was Abraham’s mindset? God promised. God can’t lie. Even if I kill Isaac, God will raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham wasn’t worried. Abraham had faith.

Only Genuine Faith Pleases God

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

What pleases God? Faith. Trust in Him. Faith “come(s) to God … believ(ing) that He is”. God is God. Evangelist Vance Havner said, “Salvation is not a cafeteria where you take what you want and leave the rest. You cannot take Christ as Savior and refuse Him as Lord and be saved.” Saving faith brings you into the Presence of God. You believe God is – and want to be in His presence. But the faith that pleases God “diligently seeks Him”. God only blesses – rewards – those who “DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM”. God is not an afterthought, but in your Forethoughts.

If you are saved your life will reflect that salvation. Those who are saved will diligently seek after God. We who believe seek after God in prayer, in study of the Word of God, and in Christian fellowship or the meeting of the local Church. A Christian is never whole unless he or she routinely and habitually speaks to the Living Word of God (Prayer), studies the written Word of God (the Bible), and then puts the Word of God into action through fellowship in the local Church. I have heard people say, “I can worship God in the woods just as well as I can in the local Church meeting.” What does God say about that?

1 John 3:10-11 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, NEITHER HE THAT LOVETH NOT HIS BROTHER. (11) For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that WE SHOULD LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

1 John 2:4-5 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

God demands of the Christian that we put the Word in prayer, the Word in study, and the Word in action.

Do you know Him? Do you know Jesus Christ by faith? If not, today is the day to give your life to Him. Dr. Voddie Baucham said “Grace means that we deserved death, but received life.” This only comes by faith in God, in God’s Son, in Jesus. Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4). Is your faith in God, or in something else? Today is the day to ask yourself, “Am I saved by Grace, through faith in Christ Jesus?” If not, today is the day to be saved.

May God the Holy Spirit lead you to His bleeding side. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Abraham, Bible, Faith, faith in God, faithful God, Faithfulness of God, Following Christ, Genesis, Jesus, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

The Mountaintop of God

Posted on July 6, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Proverbs 9:1-6 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. 3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Opening: When God gave His Law to Israel through Moses, why did He give it from a mountaintop and not from a valley? Why didn’t God give His Law next to a beautiful stream? Why not in a green pasture? Why on a mountaintop? Pastor Russell H. Conwell wrote in his sermon “Above The Snake Line”:

“In one of his letters the great poet, William Cullen Bryant, who so loved the Berkshire hills {of Massachusetts}, mentioned the fact that when the hills were first occupied by settlers, they found that down in the valleys were very dangerous serpents. The rattlesnake was there, the poisonous adder was there, the copperhead was there. In order to escape these serpents, they built their residences upon the hills. Ancient tradition related that there was a “snake line” above which no poisonous snake ever crept. If a person builded above an elevation of about twelve hundred feet above the sea, no poisonous serpents ever bit his children, or destroyed his property, or endangered his life. But if he built in the valley, he was subject to these deathly dangers. In the old times when the country was settled, every person who approached was advised to build his house “above the snake line.” Above the snake line the early settlers dwelt—those pioneer New Englanders whose emigrants formed the foundation of the middle and western states. The farms were small, the ground stony and difficult to clear for agriculture. The mountains were covered with the primitive forest. The valley soil was richer and more easily worked, but those wise and pious Pilgrim fathers endeavored to build their homes safely “above the snake line.” ”

God offered His Word to Moses “above the snake line”. In order to receive God’s Word, Moses had to submit to God, climb the mountain, and rest on the mountaintop. The Word of God will always lead us to the mountain top, above the snake line.

Consider the first 9 chapters of Proverbs to be like a trip up the Mountain of God. We have seen the value and beauty of God’s Word.

God gave us free will, the ability to choose His Word or the cultural human word. We can either …follow God’s Word (Wisdom) or follow man’s word (Cultural Folly). Chapter 9 is the top of the mountain. Wisdom, God’s Word, speaks to those willing to climb this mountain. But at the same time Folly will call out in verses 13-18, trying to lead you into cultural wokeness and stupidity rather than the way of righteousness. If you decide to stay with Wisdom (God’s Word), the following chapters will give us practical applications for life.

Building The House Of Wisdom –
What Is It’s Foundation?

Proverbs 9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

Wisdom – the Word of God – builds a stable house, a stable home, a stable Church. What is the FOUNDATION that these SEVEN PILLARS stand on?

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

The foundation of Wisdom’s building is “fear of the Lord”. People – especially poor theologians – are constantly trying to downplay these types of scripture. Since “God is LOVE” (1 John 4:8, 16), the Lord doesn’t want us to fear Him, does He? These storefront theologians will tell you that “this just means to see how awesome God is, much like the awe I felt when I stood near Niagara Falls” This is ____. Let’s interpret the “fear of the Lord” using not our opinion, but what the Bible says is the fear of the Lord. When you look up the phrase “the fear of the Lord”, the first place you find it is in 1 Samuel chapter 11. In that passage, the Ammonites threatened to destroy the Israelites. Rather than rally behind their God given King Saul, the people allowed fear to take over, and became an effeminate, weeping nation of crybabies. The Bible says:

1 Samuel 11:6-7 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. [7] And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent [them] throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

Did you get that? God used FEAR to drive the people. Saul promised THAT GOD would destroy their OXEN, which is the same as destroying their means of livelihood … and did so at God’s behest.

When we as a nation have no fear of the Lord,
we can lose our economic prosperity!

Fear of the Lord is necessary for stability. It is the “fear of the Lord” that routes the enemy and drives the Israelites (2 Chronicles 14:14; 17:10). It is the “fear of the Lord” that leads God’s people to be faithful to Him (2 Chronicles 19:9), and the “fear of the Lord” that leads us away from doing evil (Job 28:28). King David was successful as a monarch because he knew “the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever” (Psalm 19:9), and he taught his children the “fear of the Lord” (Psalm 34:11). We have previously seen that “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13), and will be told in the next chapter that:

Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

Why are people dying from sexually transmitted diseases and suicide? Because they have no fear of the Lord. If you have no fear of the Lord, you do not care what God’s Word prescribes. You live life according to your whims and wants, rather than in the grip of God. Those who are on again, off again Christians have no fear of the Lord. They fear death and disease, public ridicule and financial loss, hair loss and aging – but have no fear of Him Who gave them life in the first place.

When you fear God, you walk according to His directives knowing that HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT.

Proverbs 14:26-27 In the fear of the LORD [is] strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. [27] The fear of the LORD [is] a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

If you have “fear of the Lord”, then you respect and honor Him, and put Him first in your life. There are no blessings to the person who will not fear the Lord. God is not a spare tire: He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.

The Foundation Laid, What Are The Seven Pillars?

Proverbs 9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars

The Bible is linear, written by One Author, God Almighty. To interpret the Bible we must use the Bible. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’s House are given to us in …

James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first PURE, then PEACEABLE, GENTLE, and EASY TO BE ENTREATED, full of MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS, WITHOUT PARTIALITY, and WITHOUT HYPOCRISY.

By the numbers, the 7 Pillars are:

Purity
Peaceable-ness
Gentleness
Reasonableness
Merciful To Others
Impartiality
Sincerity

Purity: Let’s look at these Pillars. We’ll start with PURITY. The first Pillar in the life that God builds is purity, the Greek men hagnos, which means “truly chaste, apart from the world, consecrated to God”. God saves us to be His children, and commands that we NOT be like the world. God does not save us IN our sins, but FROM our sins. God tells us:

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, [18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Yes, as humans we will sin. But we should not revel in it, wallowing in sin like a pig in the mud. We are God’s possession, not the devil’s. We belong to Jesus. God warns us in:

Psalm 24:3–4 (ESV) Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

Peaceable-ness:Jesus wants His people to live together in harmony, for it is in unity that we are empowered by God. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:9 (ESV) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

A peacemaker never compromises the truth of God’s Word in order to mollify someone. But like Jesus, He is never warlike and purposefully divisive.

The Scripture encourages us in Romans 12:18 (NIV) If it is POSSIBLE, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Gentleness: As believers in God, we are to stand firm on His Word, but not become violent or “shouting” when someone does not agree with us. Anger and rage that are dumped on others is of the flesh, not of God. The Scripture says that the:

Galatians 5:22-23 … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, GENTLENESS, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance…

We do not steam roll others, but are patient with them, knowing that God is in control. Along with gentleness, the next pillar is:

Reasonableness: People should be able to talk to us. It is possible to have different points of view without shouting and demanding. We should be able to have a discussion. But in the end, it is what God’s Word says that matters. The Bible says:

Philippians 4:5 (ESV) Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

Illustrate:Note how Jesus interacted with the Samaritan Woman at the Well. Though Jesus was clearly a Jew by His skin tone, and the Samaritan was used to Jewish racism, Jesus asked her for some water. Though the woman was argumentative and resistant, Jesus never took the bait. He stayed on point, constantly showing to her that He is the Messiah sent of God through Israel. When she moved into deception, trying to hide the fact that she was currently in an adulterous living arrangement, Jesus called her out and demanded she repent. Jesus ended the encounter by the great Biblical truth:

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

Many who worship God today – professing “Christianity” – are actually worshiping like the Samaritans did. Rather than worship God “in Spirit and in truth” they divorce their worship of God from the Scriptures. I saw a news video where the President, Vice President, and several other high political elites were “worshiping” together, singing praises to God. In the midst of the group stood a black man with a long flowing beard … dressed in a long, woman’s cocktail dress …. worshiping along with them. God must be worshiped in “Spirit and in truth”, and God is the Arbiter of Truth. Our leadership is worshiping a golden calf .. not God!

Merciful To Others: Being merciful to others does not mean justifying the evidence of sin in their lives. Statements like “I hate homosexuals” is incompatible with the House of God. We are not to hate anyone, but to understand that, without Christ, they are blind to their sin. Our God is merciful, but does not overlook sin. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

It is the MERCY of God that led us to salvation – not His judgment. God’s mercy did not condone our sins, but commanded us to repent and come to Christ. God made us alive in Christ BY GRACE, and raised us up from the darkness and into the light of God.

Impartiality: This is the Greek adiákritos {pronounced ad-ee-ak’-ree-tos}, which means “without dubiousness, ambiguity, or uncertainty”. The God that saved me by Grace can save ANYONE by Grace. We are not to make assumptions on what God will or will not do. Our job as Ambassadors for Christ is to present His Gospel to all, regardless as to their place in life. We are not to judge the hearts of others – merely the fruit. The seventh pillar is:

Sincerity: The Greek anypókritos {pronounced an-oo-pok’-ree-tos}, which means “unfeigned, without hypocrisy, undisguised”.

God’s Word Calls Us Out Of The World/ Culture

Proverbs 9:2-6 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. 3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

There is no want in the House of God, for Wisdom, having built her house, invites others to come. “She hath killed her beasts”. Wisdom has prepared a feast for her inhabitants. Her table is furnished, and the proper drink is at hand. Jesus said:

John 6:35 … I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.

The world by hunger gets into sin and deprivation. But those who indwell the House of Christ, who trust the Word of God, will find their needs met. God does not starve His Children! To enter Wisdom’s House – the Kingdom of God – you must first REPENT. Though God calls us, He demands of us:

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding

We are to live by the Word of God, to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:1, 4). You cannot follow God and follow the darkness. The saved walk with God. It is like that old hymn:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey!
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way;
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!

Proverbs 9:7-9 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. 8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

There are those who the Bible calls “SCORNERS” (lûṣ, pro. Loots) which means “those who mock, scoff, will not listen”. As believers we are to present God’s Word to all who will hear, but not waste time arguing with foolish argumentative people. At a certain point Jesus stopped trying to convince the Pharisees, and just spoke the brutal truth. You cannot argue anyone into Heaven. They must be willing to REPENT, to LISTEN, and to APPLY the Word of God to their lives.

Jesus never begged anyone to repent.
He just told them to do so.

God’s Word makes one final appeal to all who will hear:

Proverbs 9:11-12 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. 12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

Those who follow God’s Word to the mountaintop will find that their lives are better for it. But the choice is yours. God will not make you come to Him – He just says:

Revelation 22:17 … the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

It’s your choice. Follow God’s Word and live, or follow the culture and die.

A Final Word From The Valley

Proverbs 9:13-18 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. 14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, 15 To call passengers who go right on their ways: 16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. 18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

God’s Word, Wisdom, calls out from the mountain top. Step out of the valley, out of the darkness, and go to Him Who loves you. But many refuse that path, and instead of listening to Wisdom (God’s Word) they heed the woman of the valley, of culture, of man’s traditions, of the golden calves, of the bearded black men in evening gowns dancing next to the vacuous politicians. Who are in this house. We are told in the last verse:

the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell

It looks like a party, looks like fun and happiness, but it is the habitation of those who are spiritually dead, separated from God by their sins and sinful ways. They are in hell now, and are headed to hell for all eternity. Why? Because they would not go up the mountain to God. They would not say “no” to this lost world and “YES” to Jesus. Oh, that God the Holy Spirit would touch your hearts and draw you to Him today. A day of reckoning is coming, dear friends. The fruit that your life produces now shows the state of your heart. The golden calf will not get you to Heaven. Only Jesus can. Repent without delay, and come to Him Who loves you so much that He died for you. Holy Spirit, make it so today.

Amen and Amen!

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Bible is God's Word, Faith, Following Christ, God, Jesus, salvation, wisdom, Word of God | Leave a comment

If Anyone Draw Back

Posted on June 29, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 10:38-39 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any {one} draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto PERDITION; but of them that BELIEVE TO THE SAVING OF THE SOUL.

“God is Love” is a favorite sermon in the United States. The sermon is largely preached by Evangelists and Pastors that are more concerned about numbers and noses than they are your eternal soul. As long as the churches are packed and the coffers overflowing, these churches prosper materially while being terribly spiritually deficient.

“God is LOVE” is Biblical (1 John 4:8). But God is not just love.

“God is HOLY” (Psalm 99:9; 1 Corinthians 3:17). God is not just love and holy, but “God is JUST”, that is, He is righteous (Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 45:21). Further, God is the AVENGER. “Vengeance is MINE, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). What else? “God is JUDGE” (Psalm 50:6; 75:7). And further, “God is TO BE FEARED” (Psalm 89:7; 111:10).

God is LOVE
God is HOLY
God is the JUST
God is the AVENGER
God is THE JUDGE
and God is to BE FEARED

The Bible tells us to “work out YOUR OWN SALVATION with FEAR and TREMBLING” (Philippians 2:12). Ensure that you are saved. Are you what our text today calls “The JUST”. Let’s get into the text:

Who Are “The Just”?

This phrase “the just shall live by faith” is one of the most important teachings in the Bible. It is not just in the New Testament under the New Covenant, but is found as a principle of salvation throughout the entire Bible.

Who are “THE JUST”? One of the things we just learned about God is that “God is JUST” (Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 45:21). Man is a sinner. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). I have told you many times that because Adam sinned, he brought sin into the world on us all (Romans 5:12). All are natural born sinners. It is in our hearts to do the wrong thing, to be contrary to the Just and Holy God Who loves us. Can we fix ourselves? The Bible tells us that, no, we cannot. The Prophet said:

Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

We can’t. This is why we need the salvation of God. God is not only JUST, but God is the SAVIOR:

Isaiah 45:21 … there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside Me.

God says “Yes, I am JUST, I am HOLY and RIGHTEOUS, and you are all fallen far from Me and My standard. But because I LOVE YOU I MADE A WAY for you to be JUST as I am JUST. That way is Christ.

“THE JUST” is a reference to someone who is right in the eyes of our Holy God. “THE JUST” is the person who has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and has received Him as Savior. “THE JUST” once saved walks in the light of God, not in the darkness of this world. “THE JUST” fears God, and loves God, and obeys God.

The Bible says “the WICKED plots against the JUST” (Psalm 37:12). It says “the PATH OF THE JUST is as a SHINING LIGHT” (Proverbs 4:18). Why? Because “GOD IS LIGHT, and in Him THERE IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL” (1 John 1:5). The person who is saved, “THE JUST” walks not in the darkness but in the power of the Spirit of God (1 John 1:7). “THE JUST” person knows that “the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them” (Hosea 14:9).

In short, “THE JUST” is every person who has called upon the name of the Lord to be saved, and obediently SURRENDERED their lives to Him. “THE JUST” are not so because they have kept the Law of God perfectly, but because they have surrendered to Jesus and have become God’s possession.

The Prophet wrote:

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: BUT the just shall live by his faith.

The lost person’s SOUL is not upright, not looking god-ward. The lost person’s soul is LIFTED UP in pride and arrogance. “God made me this way” is their justification for the evil they do – yet they do not believe in God. If they believed in God, they would believe in His Word. The lost make excuses, and blame God, or try to elevate themselves to the position of God. But the Prophet said,

BUT the JUST shall live BY HIS FAITH

The righteous person is not saved by their own efforts, but by trusting in God. They LIVE BY THEIR FAITH. Faith is not a set of socks or stockings that they put on and take off, but it is a way of life. People have NEVER been saved by their denomination, nor any man-made institution, or any written law. The Apostle wrote:

Galatians 3:10-12 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

The Law said you had to be circumcised. The Law said you had to keep the feasts. The Law gave Israel dietary restrictions. The Law gave Israel animal sacrifices. These ceremonial things could not bring salvation. This is what we’ve discovered as we’ve studied the Old and New Covenants. The Bible says:

Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

No one was EVER saved by the Law. The Law showed us to be sinners in need of the Savior. Listen Beloved, anything an unbeliever can do can not save you.

The Pharisees – who kept the Law perfectly – rejected Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Jesus told them “If you CONTINUE IN MY WORD, YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES. And you will know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall set you free” (John 8:31-32). Jesus then went on to tell the Pharisees that they were children of the devil, not of God or Abraham (John 8:37-45).

An unbeliever can sacrifice animals.
An unbeliever can be circumcised.
An unbeliever can join a Church.
An unbeliever can be baptized.
An unbeliever can keep feasts.
An unbeliever can follow s special diet.

What is the ONE THING the unbeliever cannot do? They can not – will not BELIEVE IN JESUS.

Anything an unbeliever can do is not that which saves. What is the ONE thing the unbeliever cannot do. They cannot believe in God nor His Word. They cannot exercise saving faith. “The JUST shall live by faith”. This has always been true. The Apostle wrote:

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

“THE JUST” is the one who heard the Grace of God, and received it by faith.

“The JUST” Do Not Draw Back

The JUST are saved by and live by their faith. The JUST are saved BY GOD and spiritually BORN AGAIN. Are you born again?

Read with me:

Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: BUT if any man DRAW BACK, my SOUL shall have NO PLEASURE in him.

Word Study: Let’s break this out. God says “if you DRAW BACK, My SOUL finds NO PLEASURE in you”. The word translated “SOUL” is the Greek psychḗ, (pronounced psoo-khay’), which is a reference to the life essence of God, His eternality. God says to those who DRAW BACKfrom faith that in His innermost being GOD IS NOT PLEASED.

Word Study: The phrase translated “DRAW BACK” is the Greek hupŏstĕllō, {pronounced hoop-os-tel’-lo}, which means “to cower or shrink away from, to withdraw or shun, to be unwilling to utter from fear, to shrink from declaring, to conceal, dissemble”. To DRAW BACK is to compromise your faith, to hide it or be unwilling to share it out of fear of others, to put your fear of man ABOVE the fear of God. We’re told in the next verse:

Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Word Study: What is “PERDITION”? The Greek apṓleia, {pronounced ap-o’-li-a}, the word means “damnation, destruction, eternal ruin or loss”. The word is used frequently by Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus said,

Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the {narrow} gate {that’s Jesus}: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to DESTRUCTION (apṓleia) and many there be which go in there at:

The NARROW GATE that leads to eternal life is to believe on and receive Jesus Christ. The WISE GATE that leads to eternal punishment – PERDITION – is to ignore Him and do it your way. Our Lord Jesus called Judas Iscariot “The SON OF PERDITION (apṓleia)” (John 17:12), a child of hell, because he rejected the way of the Master. The Apostle spoke of those who rejected faith in Christ in order to please themselves, saying:

Philippians 3:19 Whose end is DESTRUCTION, (apṓleia) whose god is their BELLY {the flesh}, and whose glory is in their shame {let’s have a PRIDE month}, who mind EARTHLY {Greek epígeios, that which is of this world, worldly} things.

The unbeliever is enamored with anything that pleases their flesh. They are not seeking to glorify God, but to glorify self, to make themselves gods and goddesses. They may assume the guise of the believer for a while, like a worker at Disneyland puts on a Mickey Mouse suit. But when something extreme happens this false believer “draw(s) back unto perdition”.

Here is the proof of your salvation: when tried, do you move TOWARD Jesus or AWAY from Jesus?

As believers in Christ go through the trials of life, the trials do not draw them away from God, but draw them closer to God. No trial the believer faces:

The death of parents,
The death of child,
A diagnosis of a fatal disease,
The loss of all that property

There is NOTHING that can make the believer in Christ, renounce the Savior and Lord. I am reminded of the Prophet Job who, having everything, but lost everything in such a short time. Did he DRAW BACK on his faith? No. The Bible says:

Job 1:20-21 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped {God}, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

And even in the midst of terrible suffering, The Bible says that Job declared to his shrewish wife:

Job 2:10 … What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

Here is the problem that I perceive with the Prosperity Gospel, the Social Gospel, the Liberation Gospel, and all the other fake gospels being spewed out as truth in America today. These fake gospels teach that God wants to save you so that He can heal you and give you large bank accounts, or that He might bring a utopia on earth. These false gospels have deceived many, and do not save a person. In time every person on the face of this planet will be touched by the hand of suffering and injustice. Bad things happen to everyone, not just one or another groups. When the bad thing comes, you who have believed the Gospel of Salvation, who have received Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior, will not shrink away or hide or “deconstruct” your faith. No, the saved always overcome. Always. Look at the Book of Revelation, as God speaks to the Churches. What does He say?

Revelation 2:7 … To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life…

Revelation 2:11 … He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life …

Why do the JUST always OVERCOME? Why is it that the JUST do not DRAW BACK TO DAMNATION? It is because God’s Spirit indwells the believer.

1 John 4:4 “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world”

You do not draw back, dear Christian, because God keeps His own:

Psalm 37:23-24 If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; {24} though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. {21} Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, {22} set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Jude 1:24-25 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy– {25} to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Those whom God saves, He keeps on saving. He Who is in us is greater than anything we might encounter on this earth. God has promised to keep us close, and He promises never to leave or forsake us. If a person can DRAW BACK from Christ, that person was never saved in the first place!

God Now Gives Us Examples Of Saving Faith

The last verse in chapter 10 is:

Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

What are some examples of those who “BELIEVED TO THE SAVING OF THE SOUL”? We need only turn to the next chapter of Scripture:

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

The very first murder ever committed in humanity was when Cain killed his brother Abel. God told Abel what type of sacrifice He wanted him to do, and without question Abel complied. But Cain told God what type of sacrifice HE was willing to give. When God wouldn’t budge, and demanded that Cain give an acceptable sacrifice, Cain murdered Abel. Abel stood his ground, and would not compromise with what God said though Cain threatened him — and paid with his life.

Abel would not draw back.

I know pastors who have drawn back from Bible truth because they had a son or a daughter “come out of the closet”. Beloved, God’s Word is not negotiable. Again I say, God’s Word is not negotiable. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 10:35-38 (NKJV) For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; [36] “and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his [own] household.’ [37] “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. [38] “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

You cannot change Bible truth because your family members are offended. What Jesus has said, He has said. Jesus declared that faith in Him would bring division between you and your lost relatives. I will not DRAW BACK regardless as to what my family says.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

We know very little about Enoch in the Bible. We are told in

Genesis 5:21-24 (ESV) When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

For 365 years Enoch (ḥănôḵ, pronounced khan-oke’ which means “dedicated”) “WALKED WITH GOD”. God was not an afterthought, but Enoch’s Father and Friend. Every day he sought to “PLEASE GOD”. Then one day God told Enoch, “Friend, just walk on into Heaven with Me”. I will live to honor my Heavenly Father, else I am DRAWING BACK.

Hebrews 11:7 By faith NOAH, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

In Genesis 6:13 God comes to Noah (nōaḥ, pronounced no’-akh, meaning “he who rests”) and told him that the world was going to be destroyed – and he needed to build a boat. Noah did not question God, though Noah had never seen a flood. Noah went against the cultural demands of his day, and began to build as God directed fearing God, until the project was finished.

Noah did not DRAW BACK. He stayed the course, and finished the race. Why? Because, saved by Grace, he was a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Noah was not perfect – we none are. But Beloved, if you are saved then you WILL NOT DRAW BACK UNTO DAMNATION …

BUT BELIEVE TO THE SAVING OF THE SOUL.

If you are not truly born again, I pray that today – without hesitation – that you will give your life to the Lord Jesus. “The JUST are SAVED BY FAITH”. I can’t get you to Heaven. You can’t get you to Heaven. There is but one way to have a faith that saves your soul.

Total surrender to Jesus. May God touch your heart with His Word!

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

God’s Wisdom Not Man’s Wisdom

Posted on June 19, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Proverbs 8:1-7 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? 2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. 4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. 6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

To those who say “I didn’t know”, God says “You did know, but refused to listen”.

There will be many who stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment who will say, “I didn’t know”. In fact, I have heard people say “What about the people who never heard the Gospel, never heard the Word of God, never heard of the Old Rugged Cross? Will they get a free pass into Heaven because they haven’t heard?”

Short answer: NO!

Longer answer: God Himself has made clear and plain what He expects. No one leaves this life saying “I never knew”. Christians will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:20; 2 Corinthians 5:10) where our works for Jesus that we did in this life will be judged. I am sure there of some of you who will say,

“I never knew”

To which Jesus will reply “You were told, but would not listen”.

God’s Wisdom Is Not Hidden

Proverbs 8:1-3 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth (nāṯan, naw-than’, to give) her voice? 2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.

Where is God’s Word not revealed? His Word is “in the top of high places”. You can be in the Palace, the White House, the Congress. You can be a dictator like Putin, or a President like Biden. No matter how high you go, God’s Wisdom reaches there. Wisdom is by the way “in the places of the paths”. God’s Word is accessible to the common person like you and I. God’s Word “crieth at the gates”. In ancient times the “gates” was where merchants came to do their business, so God’s Word is accessible to major corporations and businesses, CEO and SEOs, Wall Street and Fortune 500 Companies. But God’s Word is also “at the coming in at the doors”. It comes into homes, no matter who you are. God makes sure His Word penetrates everywhere. There is no one who says, “I never knew”. Why is this?

Because God’s Word is embedded in our conscience, our creation.

When the Apostle Paul discussed the horrendous evil that was dragging the Roman Empire down, he wrote:

Romans 1:18-20 (ESV) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Inside of every human is the concepts of what is good and what is evil. In time we can convince ourselves that good is evil and evil is good. We can create a month where we celebrate sexual sin (like June) and then corporations can push sexual sin and acceptance of perversion until a fearful people decide they cannot speak out against it. It doesn’t make it right – but we know what is right.

God gave us all a conscience, but we can, through perversion and willfulness, harden that conscience.

Proverbs 8:4-7 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. 6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

When God says “my voice is to the sons of man”, that doesn’t mean He just speaks to MEN. The phrase “sons of man” is a reference to humans born in a human way.

God speaks right and wrong to every person. He clearly represents Himself and His desire for us in His Bible.

I got home from Church last Sunday to find an invitation to a new cult that is meeting in Columbia. It uses the Mulehouse on Sundays at 10 am, and has attracted a large crowd. Called the “Belonging Co” it is co-pastored by a man and his wife, Henry and Alex Seeley. Past of the “Word of Faith Movement”, they believe that since we as humans are created in the image of God, what we say has the power to change reality. From a recent sermon, Alex Seeley stated:

“God’s Word has creative power. It forms something out of nothing. We are made in the image of God, we have creative power, so we need to watch our words.”

We DO NOT HAVE CREATIVE POWER with OUR words. This is what the world believes. What do we hear in our society? “Live our YOUR TRUTH”. “You can BE WHATEVER you want to be”. Young people are told that they can be “furries” because they believe they are “furries” and purr like “furries”. That’s nonsense. God’s Word, Wisdom, says:

Proverbs 8:4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.

Wisdom comes from God. The Bible says,

James 1:5-6 (NKJV) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting …

We are born with a knowledge of good and evil because God created us that way. If someone beats a kitten to death with a ball-peen hammer we don’t celebrate that. It is wrong to torture and kill something so soft and helpless. But if a person dismembers a tiny baby in its mother’s womb, and flushes the little body parts into the dumpster, we celebrate this. Why? Because we have convinced ourselves that the convenience of a selfish and self serving mother trumps the life which is within her.

And we are horribly wrong.

God’s Word is truth. God tells us:

Proverbs 8:8-9 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing FROWARD (pāṯal, unsavory or twisted, torturous) or PERVERSE (ʿiqqēš, crooked, perverse) in them. 9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

God says “My Word is not torturous. What I say is not meant to make you suffer. What I speak, I speak in love, and want you to understand your life will not be blessed until you receive it”. For we who love the Lord have learned to trust the Lord, even if we do not agree at the time with what He has said. We know that, in time, God’s Word is ALWAYS right.

God’s Word, His Wisdom, Sets The Standard

The “Word of Faith Movement” is dangerous on many levels, for it elevates the Word of Man over the Word of God. They teach “our words have creative power”, a quotation from their female pastor Alex Seeley. Here’s my problem with these types of churches.

They are blatant about ignoring Scripture.

Let’s start with they have a female Pastor. What’s wrong with a female Pastor? What’s wrong is that it violates what God has established as the parameters of the Pastoral office. The Bible ties the office of Pastor back to the creation of humanity. The Apostle writes:

1 Timothy 2:11-15 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

When the qualifications for the office of the Pastor were established in the very next chapter, the Apostle wrote:

1 Timothy 3:1-5 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

This is culturally offensive in our America today, but nonetheless what the Scripture says. God designed us and gave us value within our sexes. Adam was FIRST FORMED, then EVE. Eve was formed out of Adam. The leader in the family is to be the husband and father. The leader in the Church is to be male. PERIOD! It has been historically true that once women were introduced into the pulpits as Pastor, the mainline churches next normalized sexual perversion and began to celebrate “Pride”. That is the way to destruction.

We Are To Receive God’s Word, Not Man’s Word

Proverbs 8:10-13 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. 12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. 13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

It is God Who establishes the parameters of our faith. For instance, God defines EVIL and PERVERSION. We do not define it. God’s Word defines it.

The devil and his acolytes spend time debating what God has clearly said. The righteous just DO the Word. The saved by faith always seek to follow God.

Christians cherish God’s Word, even if we do not fully understand it. God says “wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it”. Wisdom is the most important thing in the world. Why? Because it lends toward “PRUDENCE”. God hates pride, arrogance, and evil ways. He hates these things for the harm they bring to His creation.

Proverbs 8:14-21 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. 15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. 17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: 21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

The way to blessing is to RECEIVE and OBEY God’s Word. You will never succeed in life until God’s Word guides it. God’s Word brings order out of disorder. It brings stability to nations. It is God’s Word that is the basis of the laws of nations. God’s Word goes on to say “Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness”. There are great riches in following God, in adhering to His Word. We are told in:

Ephesians 1:7-8 (ESV) In {Christ} we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight …

Through God’s Word we have the “RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE”. Through faith in the Gospel, we are promised the forgiveness of our sins, and redemption from eternal punishment. The “RICHES OF THIS WORLD” choke the Word of God from our lives (Matthew 13:22), and lead us to failure. But when we believe on and DO that which God tells us,

Romans 10:12 (ESV) …. the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

We who have believed on Christ have “THE RICHES OF HIS GLORIOUS INHERITANCE” (Ephesians 1:18). God brings us into His family, and guarantees that we are His children both now, and into eternity.

Again, compare this to the teaching of Alex Seeley (Belonging Co):

“God waits for our “yes”, and our “yes” brings increase in our lives. God is saying, “I never ask of you that which you are not able to accomplish. I’m never going to give you more than you can handle. But I do need to co-labor with you. If you say “yes” to God, you will always find increase”.

That’s not in the Scripture. God often puts more on us than we can handle, so that we can follow Him in faith. Further, when you say “yes” to God and live for His glory (and not for your pocketbook), you will find persecution. The Apostle write:

2 Timothy 3:12-17 (ESV) Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 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.

There is ALWAYS going to be a new brand of toothpaste, and another cult like the Belonging Co. They were in the early Church, and they’re here now. Peter said:

2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

They rise up, preach untruths that have no foundation in the Word of God, and live lives of luxury on your money. They do not preach a Gospel of salvation, but a false gospel, a social gospel, a prosperity gospel contrary to the Scripture.

If you turn to Jesus “the Wisdom of God” the Lord will bring you into His Kingdom. He will write His Law on your heart, and teach you to love His Word. God’s intent for His Church is not to re-write scripture, nor to twist what He has said, but to heed His Word and do what He says. We do not boast about ourselves, but about our Jesus. And we do what we can to please Him, loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and being …. and loving our neighbors the way we want to be loved.

We are not Gods.
We are God’s.
We do not speak as Gods.
Only God has the authority of God.

May God the Holy Spirit guide you into His truth.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Belonging Co, Bible, Bible is God's Word, false disciples, false doctrine, false followers, false prophets, false religion, God, God's Word, GodsWordTrue, Jesus, Word of Faith Movement/Cult, Word of God | Leave a comment

How We Got Our Bible #4: The New Testament Formation (Part 1)

Posted on June 10, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

The Bible that Jesus and the earliest Church had
was The Old Testament

As our Lord Jesus taught, He did not create new Scripture – but instead properly interpreted and taught Scripture to show its true intent. Groups like the Pharisees, though well meaning, had twisted the Scripture through their own opinion. Jesus chastised them for this, saying:

Mark 7:6-9 Well hath Esaias {Isaiah} prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

Note that as Jesus chastised them, He referred back to the Old Testament prophesies of …

Isaiah 29:13 Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Though the words are not exactly the same, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 29:13 (which is originally Hebrew) in Koine Greek (the language of the people). Jesus is most likely quoting from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Every Scripture Jesus quotes in His ministry are Old Testament texts, The Bible of His day. These quotes are probably from the Septuagint.

Jesus was recorded as quoting from the Old Testament texts of:

Deuteronomy 8:3; 6:4-5,13, 16; 17:6
Exodus 20:13-14
Isaiah 29:13; 56:7; 61:1-2
Hosea 6:6
Genesis 2:24
Malachi 3:1
Psalm 8:2; 22:1; 31:5; 35:19; 69:4; 110:1; 118:22-23

Jesus made the claim that all the Scripture (the Old Testament) spoke of Him, the Messiah:

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

John 5:45-47 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Again, the Scripture was just the Old Testament – and there was a need for a New Testament. Why? Because with Jesus’ death on the Cross, His resurrection on the third day, and His ascension into Heaven, the Old Covenant was passed – we are now under a New Covenant. This doesn’t mean that the Old Testament is of no use today. After His resurrection, Jesus taught His disciples:

Luke 24:44 These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

The Old Covenant foretold the coming of Christ, and Jesus in His lifetime fulfilled the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-18). No one else has ever done that, proving that Jesus is the Messiah, the One Who brought in the “New Covenant in His Blood shed for us” (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 12:24). The Old Testament is valuable to the Christian because it proves that Christ is Messiah. One of the early Reformers of the Church, Martin Luther said:

“The Old Testament is the swaddling clothes and the manger in which Christ lies” (Luther’s Works, 35:235)

Dr. Brian Tabb, the President of Bethlehem College & Seminary wrote:

“The great church father Augustine once wrote, “The New {Covenant} is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New {Covenant}” (Writings on the Old Testament, pg 125). Indeed, the two testaments hang together in a way that reveals God’s grand plan of redemption and confirms the complete reliability of God’s word. Readers would be hard pressed to find a chapter of the New Testament that does not explicitly or implicitly reference the promises, patterns, and principles of the Old Testament.”

When Jesus introduced Himself to Nazareth as the Messiah of the New Covenant, He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2 …

Luke 4:18-19, 21 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. … 21 This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

God ordained men wrote the New Testament. These were:

Apostles Peter, Matthew, John & Paul
Evangelist John Mark
Gentile Doctor Luke
Jesus’ stepbrothers James & Jude

The stepbrothers of Jesus did not believe Him to be the Messiah until after the resurrection (see John 7:5; Mark 3:31-35).

The New Testament Scriptures were written to pass on the Apostolic Teachings of men who learned at the feet of Jesus, and were leaders in the early Church. Dr. Brian Cunningham (MA in Apologetics from Biola University, and a PhD in Theology and Apologetics from Liberty University) wrote:

“At the crucifixion, I think it’s a very big deal that Jesus entrusted his mother to his disciple John (John 19:26-27). I’m assuming James is the oldest sibling after Jesus, since he is always listed first. And one would think that Jesus would have entrusted Mary to James.”

Jesus did not entrust Mary His mother to either James nor Jude, because as He hung on the Cross they in unbelief abandoned Him. As the believing Apostle John was standing at the foot of the Cross as Jesus died, Jesus entrusted His mother to him. However, the Lord always gives us a second chance. The Bible via the Apostle Paul tells us that after His resurrection,

1 Corinthians 15:7-8 {the resurrected Jesus} was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me {Paul} also, as of one born out of due time.

Through this visit James and Jude became believers – and ended up writing Scripture as God the Holy Spirit led them to do.

The First New Testament Scripture Written
Was Not The Gospels, But The Epistle Of James

In our Bibles the first New Testament Books are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. The reason they are presented this way is because they cover the early ministry of Christ and the Church. However, none of these Books were the first Scripture written. That distinction goes to the Epistle of James. Though Mary was a virgin (Luke 1:27), after she had Jesus her husband Joseph loved her, and they had several children together (Matthew 1:25). Jesus had four half-brothers, as we are told in …

Matthew 13:55 (ESV) Is not this the carpenter ‘s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas (or Jude – not Iscariot)?

After Jesus resurrected and appeared to James, James along with Jude prayed in the upper room until the Day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).

James is one of the Pastors of the Church in Jerusalem, and was considered a “pillar of the Church”. When the Pharisee named Saul was converted on the Damascus Road to become Paul the Apostle, he wrote in his testimony:

Galatians 1:18-19 … after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

When Peter is imprisoned for the faith by King Herod, and an Angel released him from prison and two soldiers, the Angel of God recognized the authority of James, telling him …

Acts 12:17 … Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren.

James supported preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. When God began to lead Gentiles into the Church under the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, James, the leader of the Jewish Church at Jerusalem, stood up for them. James quoted Amos 9:11-12 when he endorsed Gentiles becoming members of Christ’s Church, saying:

Acts 15:13-17 (ESV) … James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’

James was an Elder of the Church, a Shepherd (Galatians 2:9) at Jerusalem, and his endorsement of Paul and Barnabas to preach to the Gentiles carried a lot of weight.

Pastor John MacArthur notes that James wrote his Epistle sometime between 44-49 AD.

My commentary notes ..

“James’ speech at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:14-21 reveals his reliance on Scripture, his desire for peace within the church, his emphasis of grace over the law, and his care for Gentile believers, although he himself ministered almost exclusively to Jewish Christians. Also worthy of note is James’ humility—he never uses his position as Jesus’ blood relative as a basis for authority. Rather, James portrays himself as a “servant” of Jesus, nothing more.”

The focus of the teachings of the Book of James is that those who are saved by faith in Christ will undergo internal spiritual changes that will effect their outward actions. “You MUST be BORN AGAIN”

James Epistle primarily addresses a Jewish Christian audience that was being persecuted by unconverted Jews and Gentiles.

James 1:1 (ESV) James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

James encouraged them to continue to follow Christ, regardless as to the cost. James does not preach easy believism, the nonsense that you heard from many pulpits today, but taught that trials are God’s way of purifying and guaranteeing the genuineness of our faith. Just as James went from unbeliever to the Pastor of the Church at Jerusalem on meeting Christ, the believer in Jesus undergoes a profound change. James points out that this is consistent from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. Those coming to Christianity from Judaism were being cast out of their families, treated as criminals, and sometimes killed by both Jews and Gentiles. James tells us today:

James 2:18-22 (NKJV) But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

James wanted the Christians in his charge to know that for a faith to save, that faith must stand. God will save anyone – but He saves from the inside out. You are not saved by good works, but by believing in the work that Jesus did on the Cross and at the empty tomb. But once saved, that which is in your heart will show in your hands, your feet, your lips. Faith without the proof of works is like a corpse – it is dead! “As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26, NKJV).

James was martyred for his faith in 62 AD after writing his epistle. It is fitting that the Scripture God wrote through James was the first written book of the New Covenant.

The Second Book Of The New Testament Written Was By God Through Paul The Apostle

It is reckoned that the Book of Galatians was written from
49-50 AD by the Apostle Paul.

Paul was a Pharisee, a “hit-man” sent by the Sanhedrin or the Ruling Council of the Jews to round up Christians. Known then as Saul, he was present at the stoning to death of the Evangelist Stephen (Acts 7:58). After killing Stephen, Saul ravaged the Church, leading people into Christian homes to drag them off to prison (Acts 8:3). As Joseph told his brothers who had betrayed him to Egypt …

Genesis 50:20 (AP) … you meant evil against me, BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD, to bring it about that many people would be preserved to life

Though Jesus had commanded His Church to go into

Acts 1:8 … (ESV) Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

The Church largely stayed in Jerusalem, and Jews were the primary ones saved. When God allowed Saul to rise up, it scattered the witness of the Church from the Temple in Jerusalem, throughout Samaria and into Damascus. This is what brought Saul to the Damascus Road. Here Jesus knocked Saul down, blinded him, and said …

Acts 9:5-6 (ESV) … I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city {of Damascus}, and you will be told what you are to do.

Jesus had a plan for Saul, the persecutor of the Church. Jesus told His disciple Ananias,

Acts 9:15-16 … {ESV} Go {to where Saul is}, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.

Though Saul – later called Paul the Apostle – would preach Christ to Israel, his primary mission was to share Christ with Gentiles and Gentile Kings. Paul as a Roman citizen (though Jewish) would be executed by Emperor Nero after sharing the Gospel with him. Paul died under the sword shortly after Nero burned Rome, 67-68 AD.

Galatians was written to the churches of Southern Galatia, mixed audiences of both Jew and Gentile. One of the common problems in the early Church was that the saved Jews believed that the Gentiles, once saved, needed to keep the rituals and feasts of the Mosaic Law. In Galatians the Apostle addresses this, explaining that salvation does not come through outward ritual (like circumcision or the keeping of feasts) but by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” Paul was well acquainted with the Law of Judaism. He wrote in

Philippians 3:4-7 (ESV) … If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

In Galatians Paul addresses why God gave the Law, and why the New Covenant supersedes the Old Covenant.

1 & 2 Thessalonians and 1 & 2 Corinthians

As an Apostle commissioned to go to the Gentiles, the Apostle Paul next wrote his letters to the Church at Thessalonica, 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Written between 51-52 AD in Corinth, the Bible says in

1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 (ESV) … not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

As Paul notes they “turned from IDOLS to serve the LIVING GOD”, those in Thessalonica were not converted Jews but GENTILES. The primary focus of 1 Thessalonians is…

“… to encourage Jesus’ believers to continue to progress in their faith” (Oxford Bibliographies)

The focus of 2 Thessalonians is the impending judgment of God’s enemies. As the Thessalonians were being persecuted for their faith, the Apostle wanted to encourage them. They were an example of how Christians are to stand up under persecution. The Apostle wrote:

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 (ESV) … your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

As Paul wrote Thessalonians from Corinth, it makes sense that he wrote 1 & 2 Corinthians as God led him to establish Churches. The Corinthians Epistles were written 55-56 AD. Corinth was a large, international metropolis, filled with people from many different backgrounds. There was extensive idol worship and unrestrained sexuality in Corinth. This had crept into the Church, and brought division and fighting.

Paul chastised the Church on its compromise with the world, reminding its members that they were to be light, not darkness.

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians because many responded to his first letter by rejecting his Apostleship. Chuck Swindoll writes:

“Just as Paul wrote to the Corinthians in the wake of their repentance from divisions and quarrels, the message for today is clear: living in unity requires us to humbly forgive one another and to follow our leaders. Second Corinthians reminds us that even as Christians, we hurt each other and need to forgive those who wrong us (2 Corinthians 2:7). That Paul was willing to exhort the Corinthian believers to forgive those who had fallen away and repented, even as he defended his own apostleship against a vocal opposition”

Paul’s Epistle To The Romans – AD 57

Paul had not been to Rome when he wrote Romans. He wrote in:

Romans 1:9-12 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Paul would end up in Rome a year later, but as a prisoner of Rome. This wasn’t his first imprisonment for preaching the Gospel. He was imprisoned in:

Macedonia (51 AD – Acts 16:23-34)
Jerusalem (Acts 21:11-23:11)
Rome (Acts 28:30-31)

Placed under house arrest in Rome, Paul was allowed to preach the Gospel. Every time he was imprisoned, Paul focused on his mission to preach the Gospel.

Paul wrote to the Roman Church just three years after Nero ascended to the throne as Emperor of Rome. At this time the Church was relatively safe. Nero wouldn’t sponsor attacks on the Church until he sets Rome on fire in 64 AD. Chuck Swindoll writes:

“The letter to the Romans stands as the clearest and most systematic presentation of Christian doctrine in all the Scriptures. Paul began by discussing that which is most easily observable in the world—the sinfulness of all humanity. All people have been condemned due to our rebellion against God. However, God in His grace offers us justification by faith in His Son, Jesus. When we are justified by God, we receive redemption, or salvation, because Christ’s blood covers our sin. But Paul made it clear that the believer’s pursuit of God doesn’t stop with salvation; it continues as each of us is sanctified—made holy—as we persist in following Him.”

We’ll continue this study in two weeks, after Father’s Day and our VBS Graduation. May God bless you all richly!

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The Old Covenant Is Gone Forever

Posted on June 10, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 10:8-10 Above when He {Jesus} said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou {God the Father} wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said He {Jesus}, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He {God the Father} taketh away the first, that He {God the Father} may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

As we have come through the Book of Hebrews, we have seen the New Covenant that Jesus brought in, and have seen how it replaced the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant had animal sacrifices and ceremonies that were supposed to appease God. In verse 8 we see a conversation between the Son of God and God the Father. We can determine who is speaking in the text based on the context. In verse 8 we read:

Hebrews 10:8 ABOVE when He {Jesus} said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not …

The word ABOVE tells us to look at the previous text. In verse 5 we read:

Hebrews 10:5-6 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

Who is the One that “COMETH INTO THE WORLD”? Who is it Who had “A BODY PREPARED FOR ME”? It is Jesus. The Bible says:

1 Timothy 1:15 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners …

Mark 10:45 … even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

And again in John 6:38-39 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

Jesus specifically came into the world because animal sacrifices and feasts and circumcisions did not satisfy God, for these things did absolutely nothing … NOTHING to bring a person closer to God. So God Himself made Jesus a body (vs 5 a body hast thou prepared me).

God Was Never Pleased With “Looks Like” Religion

The reason God sent Jesus into the world – the reason He was “born of a virgin” (Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 7:14), is because God cares nothing for “looks like” religion. The first animal sacrifices were made in the Garden of Eden, when God covered the nakedness and sin of Adam and Eve with the fur of the innocent animal. But God never was pleased with animal sacrifices. He said in through the Prophet:

Isaiah 1:11 (ESV) “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

The purpose of the animal sacrifices is to show us that we cannot work our way to God. I cannot stress this enough. You say to me, “But Pastor, we don’t have animal sacrifices today”. Don’t you?

Our Sacrificial Animals: When I first came to this Church, I called every name on the Church roll to see if I could get them back to the Church. One man I called said, “Well, I don’t go to Church anymore.” I then asked if I could have his name removed from the roll. His response: “Oh no! Keep it on the roll. My mamma would roll over in her grave if she knew I had my name removed from the Church roll”. The Church roll, to many, is much like an animal sacrifice. They have the idea that Jesus cares about the Church roll. No, He doesn’t. The Bible says what brings you into the Church is the Holy Spirit of God. Don’t believe me. Read this:

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 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. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Church membership was not even a thing in the early Church. If you were saved by faith in Christ, you were a member of the Church. Membership rolls were not kept because to do so would be a death sentence! Christians were persecuted, and did not advertise where they met.

God wants you on the roll of the Book of Life. He wants you in a living, loving relationship with Jesus. He will not judge you based on whether you are on a human roll – but on the Roll up Yonder!

Other Animal Sacrifices: Baptism is a wonderful time in a Christian’s life, when you act obediently and do what Jesus said, publicly proclaiming your faith. But water baptism has become an animal sacrifice in many churches. Here’s the thing: is the person who was BAPTIZED now LIVING FOR JESUS. If so, praise God. But if the person baptized is THE SAME PERSON LIVING FOR THEMSELVES, then God is not pleased with the baptism.

When John the Baptist saw the Pharisees coming to his baptism in the wilderness, John didn’t welcome them in order to get more nickles and noses in the crowd. He publicly said:

Luke 3:7-9 … O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Now John preached in the transition between Old and New Covenants, but he spoke the truth. God is NEVER satisfied with the symbolic, the looks like, the pretend. God is calling a people to Himself that will love Jesus, love one another, and follow His commandments without debate.

God was never satisfied with just Israel, circumcision, and the symbolic feasts. The Old Covenant was ritualistic, closed, locked down. The New Covenant is life altering.

The Christian Is SANCTIFIED By The Body Of Jesus – Not By The Denomination He Attends

Hebrews 10:9-10 Then said {Jesus}, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first {Covenant}, that he may establish the second {Covenant}. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Word Study: Jesus came to this earth to set apart a people for God. The offering of the “BODY OF JESUS CHRIST” on the Cross of Calvary “sanctified” us. That is, once we receive what Jesus did for us by faith, believing on Him, God “SANCTIFIED” us. This is the Greek hagiazō which means “to be separated from the profane and the dark, and be dedicated to the service of God”. You are no longer what you were. You now belong to God. You are “SANCTIFIED” because you have believed on Christ. The Holy Spirit has come to you, and you are changed – internally – from what you were to now a Child of God.

Just as God is holy, we are holy. We do not chase after the darkness, because God has changed our perspective. We have …

Acts 26:18 (AP) … our eyes OPENED, we are turned FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, from the POWER OF SATAN TOWARD THE POWER OF GOD. Our sins are forgiven, and we have an inheritance among all who are SANCTIFIED by faith in Christ …

We are not saved by calves, nor are we saved by golden calves. Some say “Unless you are a member of our Church, you cannot go to Heaven”. Hogwash! This is no more than repackaged Catholicism. We are SANCTIFIED by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16), SANCTIFIED by faith in the finished work of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11), SANCTIFIED by the OFFERING OF THE BODY OF CHRIST ONCE AND FOR ALL.

My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:

all other ground is sinking sand;

all other ground is sinking sand.

No “Church” went to Calvary to die for our sins, no animal, no ideology, no one but Jesus.

His sacrifice was so complete that the Bible says:

Hebrews 10:12-14 But this MAN, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Why does it call Jesus a MAN? Because “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). It was the sin of Adam that brought universal sin into the world. But the Scripture says:

Romans 5:19 as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Because Jesus OBEDIENTLY took on Himself manhood, because Jesus OBEDIENTLY went to Calvary for the sins of the world, because Jesus loved us so …. faith in Him makes us righteous before God. We come under the blessings of the Second Covenant, the Covenant of Grace.

The New Covenant Brings A Change
Of Heart And Mind

Hebrews 10:15-17 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

When the Old Covenant was given, it relied on the outward, the festival, the circumcision, the Sabbaths, the animal sacrifices. But the New Covenant brings something entirely new. God said,

I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them

God makes the Christian understand and want to do His Law, His moral code. Some today teach that once you are saved, you are free to do whatever you want, for the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you of all sins.

This is hogwash!

Once saved, there is “no more offering for sin” (vs 18). But once saved, God puts HIS LAWS IN YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS. You know what pleases God.

1 As Children of God, we want to be closer to God. Under the Old Covenant people were frightened of God. From God’s mountain came thunder and lightening, and people trembled at the thought of getting too close to God. We who are saved by the Blood of Christ have an assurance. We read:

Hebrews 10:19-22 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Jesus’ death covers our sins, but Jesus’ resurrection assures us we have a High Priest over the House of God. Jesus saved us, and keeps on saving us. We are saved to the uttermost.

2. As Children of God, we want to serve God in unison. We read:

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

If someone tells me that they are saved, but have no desire whatsoever to serve God in their salvation, I immediately suspect there is a problem. Salvation cannot be procured by works – but once you are saved, you will want to work for God. He has written His Law on your hearts. You have experienced His love.

Because Jesus took my sin, I can take His Heaven. Such a thought should bless you greatly. I owe Jesus everything. I owe Jesus everything.

Illustrate: I heard a great illustration the other day I thought I’d share with you. A preacher went to visit a friend of his, and his friend had a very big dog. He took his small daughter with him, and asked her to go back to the car and get something he had forgotten to bring in. His daughter started running toward the car – and the dog, growling – started to go after her. The dog’s owner called out: “You’d better not run, honey. He doesn’t like it when people run away from him. Walk with him. Put your hand on his neck. He won’t hurt you.”

God is like that. God doesn’t like it when we run away from Him. We should fear Him, that is, respect His Laws and Commandments. We should work together with other believers to serve Him. Pastor John Piper wrote:

“I picture myself climbing in the mountains, say the Himalayas. And I’m on these massive rock faces, and I see a storm coming. It is going to be a massive storm, and I feel unbelievably vulnerable on these mountain precipices. And so, I am desperately looking for a little covert in the rock where I won’t be blown off the side of the cliff to destruction.

And I find a hole in the side of the mountain, and I spin quickly, and suddenly the holiness, and justice, and power, and wrath, and judgment of God breaks over me like a hurricane, but I know I am totally safe, which means all that horrible danger is transposed into the music of majesty, and I can enjoy it rather than fearing it. And I think that is what the cross is. Jesus died for us to provide a place where we could enjoy the majesty of God with a kind of fear and trembling and reverence and awe, but not a cowering fear.”

Those under the New Covenant are protected by the Blood and Body of Christ. Those under the New Covenant are called into union with other genuine believers, to serve and glorify God in our lives. We are called as believers to together “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works”.

Once you are saved, God writes His love on your hearts. You want to love Him, and follow Him. You want to love others, to love your local Church, and to serve the Lord for His glory.

What If I Reject The New Covenant
That Jesus Offers?

Hebrews 10:26-29 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Some have taken this verse to mean that you can lose your salvation. This is why we ALWAYS read scripture in context. “if we sin willfully” does not refer to just any sin. EVERY sin is a WILLFUL sin. You never accidentally sin – you will it. The WILLFUL sin in this text is the sin of rejecting the New Covenant, the sin of rejecting Jesus.

There is but one sin that sends a person to eternal damnation – that is the willful rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Those who were under the Old Covenant who “despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses”. If you rejected what God commanded under the Old Covenant, there was no recourse. You were cut off from Israel. You died if you blasphemed what God said.

If you have heard of the Grace of Jesus, heard that He died for your sins, and rose again to be your High Priest. If you, on hearing this, reject Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you are willfully sinning against God. You’ve received the truth.

The Catholics believe if you leave this life without Jesus, that you will be in pergatory until you work your way out.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe if you die without Christ, your soul will be incinerated.

People think there will always be a second change after this life. The Bible doesn’t teach this. If God sent His Son to die for you, to take your hell so He could get you to Heaven, and you reject God’s provision …

you have no hope.

Word Study: If you mock and make light of the Cross of Christ, you walk on the Son of God. You have done despite to the Spirit of Grace. The phrase “DONE DESPITE” is the Greek enybrizō, which means “to insult”. To hear that Jesus died for you, but to cling to the Old Covenant, believing your human works will please God – it is a horrible insult to the Spirit of Grace. If there were a work that you could do that would save you, why on earth would God send His Son to the Cross? There wasn’t, and there never will be. God says:

Hebrews 10:30-31 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Those who are saved put their faith in Christ. We love Him, and surrender to Him. We trust Him. We believe that His sacrifice is sufficient to pay for our sins, and that Jesus and Jesus alone will get us into the family of God and Heaven. The chapter ends with these words:

Hebrews 10:38-39 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Those who are “JUST” live their lives by “FAITH” in Jesus Christ. Those who claim faith in Him but “DRAW BACK INTO PERDITION (apōleia, destruction, damnation)” are not saved at all. Judas Iscariot was called “The Son of Perdition” (John 17:12), a “devil” (John 6:70). He did not show evidence of salvation. Those who are saved have God’s Law and God’s Love written in their hearts. Judas had the external only, the ritual.

And he died in his sins!

Beloved, do not delay. Repent, and turn to Christ this day. Give Him all of your lives, and cling to Him Who died for you. This is where salvation is – the Author of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ. May God the Holy Spirit move on your hearts. Amen.

Posted in Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Christ, christianity, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, love God, New Covenant, Old vs New Covenant, salvation | Leave a comment

God’s Wisdom and Understanding vs The Strange Woman

Posted on June 6, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Proverbs 7:1-5 My son, keep My words, and lay up My commandments with thee. 2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. 3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. 4 Say unto WISDOM {chokmâh pronounced khok-maw’}, Thou art my sister; and call UNDERSTANDING {bîynâh pronounced bee-naw’} thy kinswoman: 5 That they may keep thee from the STRANGE {zûwr pronounced zoor} woman, from the stranger which FLATTERETH {châlaq pronounced khaw-lak’} with her words.

In Proverbs Chapter 7 God contrasts two women, one called Wisdom who is to be your sister and her kinswoman Understanding, to one unnamed STRANGE woman who wants to take advantage of you. The word translated “STRANGE” is the Hebrew zûwr {pronounced zoor} which is used in Scripture for strangers, foreigners, enemies, profane people. The “STRANGE WOMAN” uses her words to “FLATTER” you. This is the Hebrew châlaq {pronounced khaw-lak’}, which means “to separate, to draw away, to divide from what God wants for you”. Let’s look first at

God’s Word is Wisdom, The Kinswoman Understanding
– Want To Bless You

Proverbs 7:1 My son, KEEP My WORDS, and LAY UP My COMMANDMENTS with thee.

Word Study: To “KEEP” {shâmar, shaw-mar’} God’s Word is to “guard it, to put a hedge about it, to treasure it, to protect it”. How do we guard God’s Word? We guard His Word by adding nothing to it (like our opinion) or by taking anything away from it. We consider God’s Word to be complete, something to be cherished and done. God said of His Word:

Revelation 1:3 (ESV) Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

We are not to be a judge of God’s Word, but are to guard it from opinion and cultural influence.

When we cease guarding God’s Word and instead begin to judge His Word, it is not long before we find ourselves, like Adam and Eve, in a very bad situation. Our Lord Jesus said:

Luke 11:28 (ESV) Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and KEEP {phylássō, foo-las’-so – guard it, preserve it, obey it} it!

Jesus chastised the Pharisees for, though they knew the Word of God, they allowed their opinions to enter into what God clearly said. In so doing they violated the commands of God, but established their own golden calves that they expected others to follow. Jesus told the Pharisees:

Mark 7:6-9 (ESV) Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

When we fail to GUARD and DO the Word of God, and instead begin to twist it and add what suits our sensibilities to it, we lose the protections that the Word of God gives us. Take for instance the Social Gospel, a nonsense preached from many pulpits today. When the Social Gospel replaces the Gospel of Repentance and Obedience, virtue signaling people begin to think they are saved and Heaven bound because the have appeased the culture. When we love and support the culture more than we do the Word of God, we become part of the darkness. Jesus said:

John 14:23 (ESV) If anyone loves me, he will KEEP {tēréō, tay-reh’-o, to OBSERVE or HOLD FAST TO} my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

The Genuine Christian is the one who “Hears the Word of God, and HOLDS ON TO IT with honesty and sincerity, bearing fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).

Word Study: We are to “LAY UP” {tsâphan, tsaw-fan’, to TREASURE} God’s Word. What the Lord has said to us is valuable, more precious than gold or silver. Why? Because we are told:

Proverbs 7:2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

It is the Word of God that brings life, and light. It is the Word of God that brings us from Satanic Darkness and into the Light of God. We who are saved by the preaching of the Word are resurrected beings.

Our Lord Jesus said in

John 8:12 … I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

And again in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

Those who walk in the darkness, walk apart from God and stumble through life. Those who walk with the Lord walk in the Light of His Word. We have eternal life because of His Word. We guard and treasure God’s Word. HOW we do so is next very graphically described:

Proverbs 7:3-4 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. 4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

The Word of God is bound on your fingers. Does this mean to write Bible verses on your hands? It could. God told His Israel:

Deuteronomy 11:18-20 (ESV) You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes …

Deuteronomy 6:8-9 (ESV) You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Word of God is to be treasured. It should drive what you DO with your hands. It should direct your heart to the things that are pleasing to God. Write God’s Word on your heart, then follow what God has said.

God’s Word will …

Proverbs 7:5 … keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

The Strange Woman Lies In Wait
For The Simple Minded

Proverbs 7:6-10 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, 7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, 8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, 9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: 10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtile of heart.

Word Study: God now gives us an illustration through King Solomon. Solomon said that he was looking out his window, observing “SIMPLE ONES” {pᵉthîy, peth-ee’, “foolish, naivete, simple or open minded”}. We have some “SIMPLE ONES” like this not far from this Church. On their church sign they have:

“Open HEARTS, Open MINDS, Open DOORS”

What’s wrong with that? The Bible calls “OPEN MINDEDNESS” simple minded, foolishness, ignorance. The Bible says that as God’s Children:

1 Corinthians 2:16 … But WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST …

The believer is not called to have “Open MINDS”. Our minds are to be on Christ and God’s Word. Our focus is on “with ONE MIND GLORIFYING GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6). Our minds are to be closed to the world, closed to darkness, closed to Satan, but filled with the Word of God. The Bible commands us:

1 Corinthians 1:10 … by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Philipians 1:27 … stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel

1 Peter 1:13-15 (ESV) … preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct …

It saddens me that professing Christians and so called pastors have succumbed to the culture, and departed from the Word of God. No good ever comes of it.

We who are Christians are to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:5-7)

Where does the “STRANGE WOMAN” lurk?

Proverbs 7:9-10 … In the TWILIGHT, in the EVENING, in the BLACK AND DARK NIGHT: 10 And, behold, THERE MET HIM A WOMAN with the attire of an harlot

The devil and his agents hide in the darkness. They whisper lies over the phone, gossiping, murmuring. Here you meet the “WOMAN WITH THE ATTIRE OF A WHORE”. In the Book of Revelation, God calls the false religions of the world

Revelation 17:5-6 … MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

The Whore does not want to bless you, but to curse you. The Whore of false religion is “drunk with the blood of the Saints”. Who was instrumental in killing Jesus? Was it not the false religion of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians? Was it not a vile judge Pilate who, though he found no fault in Jesus, sentenced Him to a criminals death? Who was the first Martyr in the Church after Christ our Lord? Was it not STEPHEN (Acts 7:54-60). And who killed Stephen. Was it not Pharisees, hypocrites, religious self righteous bigots? Who was the second martyr in the Church? It was Herod the King (Acts 12:1-3) who wanted to please the Jews, the Pharisees.

The whore walks in darkness, not light. The whore is part of the culture. She is not quiet, but LOUD and INSISTENT.

Proverbs 7:11-12 (She is LOUD AND STUBBORN; her feet abide not in her house: 12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

Word Study: The whore is “LOUD AND STUBBORN”. The word “LOUD” is the Hebrew hâmâh, {pronounced haw-maw’}, which means “to RAGE, to CLAMOR, to make a scene, to be in an uproar”. She is not just noisy, but “STUBBORN”, the Hebrew çârar, {pronounced saw-rar’} which means “to be rebellious, against that which is civil”. She has no shame. She may go about shouting at diners, ruining their meals while demanding “Say BLACK LIVES MATTER”, or angry because you did not use her pronouns of choice.

Proverbs 7:13-18 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. 15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. 16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

The whore offers peace and love if you will compromise with her. She claims to want nothing from you. She is no whore for profit. She says “I HAVE PAID MY VOWS”. She is wed to another, and does not want to marry you, but to be with you. She is not seeking wealth from you. She says, “I have decked my bed” with the finest weaving, the finest linen. The bed itself is top of the line.

Illustrate: The most expensive bed in the world today is the Baldacchino Supreme Bed. There are only two of these in the world. Hand built by Italian furniture makers, it is intricately carved. The canopy over the bed is 250 pounds of 24 carat gold, silk and cotton sheets, and diamonds adorn the headboard. It’s value? $6,300,000. This woman’s bed is much like this. Very expensive – she claims to want nothing of you but your presence.

But she wants your soul.

She claims her husband is not at home – that he has sufficient funds to stay away, and will not return until the appointed time (verses 19-20). Because the young and simple man did not have God’s Word in his heart, we are told:

Proverbs 7:21-23 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. 22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; 23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

The devil knows how to entice you into his trap. And when you fall into the trap, it is like “an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks”. In ancient times (and I wish they would bring it back) they would take criminals who broke the Law (but not a CAPITAL offense) and put them into the public stocks. It was for misdemeanor crime. Your hands and feet were bound in front of you, and you were publicly ridiculed – and sometimes pelted with food – until your time in the stocks was passed. This is where we get the noun “laughingstock”. You were in the stocks, and people made fun of you, and laughed at you, mocking you, up to and even after the time you were released.

The point: If you do not store the Word of God in your heart, and instead follow after the whore, the least you can expect is to be made a laughingstock of. At the most – it will KILL you!

You can be trapped as a bird in the snare, or have a “dart strike through his liver”. If you are shot in the liver you have a 40-60% chance of death, even with emergency treatment. Rejecting God’s Word and chasing after the cultural whore can not only kill you – but send you to damnation. We end with these words:

Proverbs 7:24-27 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. 26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. 27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Nothing good comes of following the ways of this world. The best thing you can do is store God’s Word in your heart – then run from the cultural whore. Going into her house will lead to – at the least – shame, but at the most – death and damnation.

Cling to God’s Word, His Wisdom, and do as He says for abundant life. May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Bible is God's Word, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, God's Love, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love God, Treasure Scripture, Word of God | Leave a comment

How We Got Our Bible #3: God Gave Us Translations

Posted on June 5, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

When I was being examined by the Pulpit Committee in view of becoming the Pastor of this Church, one member asked me

“What Version of the Bible do you preach out of”?

I explained that I preach primarily from the King James Version (what many called the “Authorized Version”), but that I also referred to the original language of the Scriptures (the manuscripts) as well as other versions.

Since I’ve been at this Church, I found out that – though many use the King James Version – others use other versions. I have had people call and ask me if we were a “1611 King James Only” Church, and when I told them “No, I’m sorry, we’re not” they hang up. Sadly most people who are in the “1611 King James Only” camp have never studied nor even thought about what they believe. Let me ask this question:

If the 1611 King James Version is the only real Bible that there is, what did people use for Bibles before 1611?

Slide One Picture of my 1611 KJV

Did no one have a Bible before 1611? Did God deprive His people of the Scripture until King James came along? No, He did not. God has always given His Word to His people. God has given His Church two gifts:

1 God gave us the HOLY SPIRIT to guide us into His Word.

Slide 2

John 16:13-14 (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.

Slide 3

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

The Word of God – the Bible – is the TRUTH the Church is built on. God has always given His Church the Bible, a Bible we can understand. God gave His Old Testament people a Bible they could understand. Therefore,

2 God gave BIBLE TRANSLATIONS to His people.

I Love The King James Bible

Lest you think I have a “problem” with the King James Bible, I don’t. But if I love you, I will “speak the truth in love so that you will become more like Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). I was saved under the preaching of thew King James Bible – the version many of you are using today. The original 1611 King James was translated by 47 scholars. All scholars were members of the Church of England and all except Sir Henry Savile (a scholar and mathematician, Warden of Merton College & Oxford) were clergy. The Bible was commissioned in 1604, and published in 1611. It was sponsored by King James VI and I. Known as King James VI from July 24, 1567 as King of England and Ireland. When the Scottish and English crowns united he was called King James I until his death in 1625.

My commentary notes that the King James Version was the third translation of the Bible in English approved by the Church of England.

The first translation of the Bible into English approved by the Church of England was the Great Bible (1539). The Coverdale Bible (1535) was the first complete English Bible printed on a press (1535). Incorporating the Matthew 1537 Bible into his work, Miles Coverdale produced the Great Bible (1539).

Slide 4 The Great Bible (1539)

Though the Coverdale Bible was the first whole Bible printed in English, it was never “Authorized” by the King or the Church England. The Great Bible – which incorporated Matthew’s 1537 Bible,

Slide 5 Matthew’s Bible 1537

The second “Authorized” translation into English was The Bishop’s Bible (1568), though in Switzerland the “Reformers” translated the Geneva Bible (1560) from the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures.

The King James translators referred to the Geneva Bible as they worked – and it influenced the translation.

Slide 6 Bishop’s Bible & Geneva Bible

Though the Geneva Bible (1560) was more popular than the Bishop’s Bible, the translators of the Geneva Bible translated the word KING as TYRANT some 400 times. This is one reason the King refused to “Authorize” the Geneva Bible.

The original King James text (1611) contained a number of differences from the King James text you have today. Though you may or may not have the 1611 Preface in your King James Bible,

Slide 7 KJV 1611 Preface

The King James Bible you have is NOT a 1611 version. The original 1611 Version had a monthly Moon Chart and Prescribed Prayers for each day of the week:

Slide 8 Moon Chart and Prescribed Prayers

The original KJV had a much older English than what you see in your King James. Here we see a “Table and Kalender” that gives an order to read the Psalms and lessons to be learned. You can easily see this is very old English.

Slide 9 Table And Kalendar
Slide 10 Proper Psalms On Certain Days

The original 1611 KJV did not just contain the 39 Books of the Old Testament and the 27 Books of the New Testament (the 66 Books of our Bible), but also contained the false scriptures known as the Apocrypha.

Slide 11 The Apocrypha

These are the 14 books rejected by the Protestant Church as Scripture, though the Catholic Church still holds these books to be part of the Bible. Though the Church of England broke from the Catholic Church, the translators kept the Apocrypha in place in the 1611 King James. The Apocrypha:

1 Taught a person was saved by their good works and not by faith in Christ:

Slide 12

Tobit 12:9 For alms giving saves from death and purges away every sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life …

2 Taught that a person who was not good enough for Heaven could go to “PURGATORY”, and could be bought out of Purgatory if enough good was done on the earth by their relatives:

Slide 13

Second Maccabees 12:41-45 The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened as the result of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. … Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin …

3 The Apocrypha taught that God hears the prayers of the dead:

Slide 14

Baruch 3:4 O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the dead of Israel, the children of those who sinned before you, who did not heed the voice of the Lord their God, so that calamities have clung to us …

There are many other reasons the Apocrypha was rejected as Scripture. It teaches that souls preexist before a person is born (Wisdom 8:19-20), that God created things out of preexistent matter (Wisdom 11:17), that the body weighs down the soul (Wisdom 9:15), and on and on. The Apocryphal writings are false scriptures that the Church rejected.

Slide 15 The Changing English Language

Thankfully we do not have a 1611 King James Bible now, because frankly, I don’t think we could read it. On your screen you see a page photographed from my 1611 King James Bible, John 3:14-17. Notice how much the language has changed from 1611 to the version of the King James you currently have. Notice the spelling of the words in the Book of Proverbs:

Slide 16 Prouerbes

The 1611 King James underwent two major revisions in 1629 and 1638, courtesy of Cambridge University in England. Thomas Nelson Bible Publishers note:

“Two of the leading universities in England—Cambridge (again) and Oxford—began work on updated standard editions. Francis Sawyer Parris oversaw the Cambridge edition, and Benjamin Blayney oversaw the Oxford edition. The Cambridge edition was finished first, in 1760, but the Oxford version, which was finished nine years later, superseded it.

Blayney’s exacting work on the Oxford revision calls to mind Psalm 12:6: “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

His revisions fall into five categories. The first is the use of italics. Blayney used italics to identify words that are inserted into a passage to make the meaning clear but aren’t found in the original Hebrew or Greek text.

The original 1611 version used small “roman” type to identify such words. Because of printer’s errors and other factors, however, not all of those words were properly identified. The 1769 Oxford edition is much more heavily italicized than the original.

The second category of revisions involves very minor changes to the text itself. For example, in the 1611 version, Matthew 13:6 contains the phrase “had not root.” In the 1769 version, the phrase is changed to “had no root.”

The third category involves spelling (“sinnes” is changed to “sins”), capitalization (“holy Ghost” is changed to “Holy Ghost”), and punctuation. In the century and a half since the original version was written, the rules of writing had changed. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation had become more standardized. Blayney attempted to introduce this standardization into the Bible text.

The fourth category involves changes to the margin notes, including removing references to the Apocrypha. The fifth category involves correcting a handful of printing errors, including changing “might” to “night” in Matthew 26:34.”

The version of the King James you are using today is the 1769 Oxford edition. You have the essence of the 1611 King James – a wonderful translation – but it has gone through updates that are necessary because of the changing nature of language. It is indeed a Biblical masterpiece of translation. However, it is not the only translation God has given us.

People Change, And All Languages Change

The first translation of the Bible from the original manuscripts into the people’s language was not the King James, but the Septuagint. The Encyclopedia Britannica notes:

Slide 17 Hebrew Language Bible

“The Septuagint was presumably made for the Jewish community in Egypt when Greek was the common language throughout the region. Analysis of the language has established that the Torah, or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), was translated near the middle of the 3rd century BCE and that the rest of the Old Testament was translated in the 2nd century BCE.”

Slide 18 The Septuagint

The Septuagint (so called because there were supposed to be 70 or 72 translators) translated the Hebrew text of the Old Testament into Koine or Common Greek, the language of the people of that day. One article I read noted:

“The Septuagint is quite possibly the most important translation of the Bible. It is the oldest translation of the OT into another language. It was considered by Philo and Josephus to be on an equal footing with the Hebrew Bible. It was preferred to the Hebrew by the Early Christian Church. And it sheds much-needed light on the development of the New Testament. …

Hebrew ceased to be a spoken language as early as the exilic or post-exilic period (cf. Nehemiah 13:24), and Aramaic became the {language} of the Jewish people. With the rise of Alexander the Great and the Greek empires, the Jews in the diaspora were Hellenized, and for some Jews, especially those living in Ptolemaic Egypt, Greek became the primary language. Thus, it became necessary for the Scriptures to be translated into Greek.”

God will not leave His people without His Word, so He raises up translators to insure that we have access to His Word. Languages change over time, and God wants His people to know His truths.

As I preach through the Bible, you may have noticed that there are times I allude to “the original text”. In my office and online I have access to lexicons, which are a type of dictionary that ties the Bible translated word back to the original manuscript that it was translated from.

Slide 19 Lexicons and Greek New Testament

Now I’m no expert Theologian by any means, but if you are using a King James Bible there are a number of Lexicons out there keyed to the King James text. There are a number of online resources as well that help you find the original language word. These resources are very helpful. Even though your King James is the 1769 Oxford edition, English has undergone many other changes since 1769. For instance, when people brought their children to Jesus to bless, but the disciples tried to stop them. What did Jesus tell them?

Slide 20

Matthew 19:14 … Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

The word translated “SUFFER” is the Greek aphiēmi (pronounced af-ee’-ay-mee) which means “allow, permit, do not hinder”. The same word is used when Jesus told John the Baptist to baptize him, and John initially refused. Jesus told John:

Slide 21

Matthew 3:15 … SUFFER (aphiēmi) it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he SUFFERED (aphiēmi) Him.

In our day to “suffer” means to hurt. But in the Greek aphiēmi means “to allow, to not hinder”. But depending on the context, the word can mean “to leave one place for another”, as in:

Slide 22

Matthew 4:22 And they immediately LEFT (aphiēmi) the ship and their father, and followed {Jesus}.

It can also mean to ABANDON SOMETHING, as in the Lord’s Prayer:

Slide 23

Matthew 6:12 And FORGIVE (aphiēmi) us our debts, as we FORGIVE (aphiēmi) our debtors.

Jesus intends that we ABANDON VENGEANCE against others when we are offended. That is the way that aphiēmi should be translated in those instances. Now, why did I show you all these illustrations from this one word?

Because study of the Scripture is not merely MECHANICAL, but it is SPIRITUAL. Bible translators – who are God given people – come together to translate the Scripture from the original text to our language. Yet English and all languages are constantly growing and changing.

Let’s go back to my beloved King James text. Is the Third Person of the Trinity the Holy GHOST or the Holy SPIRIT?

You will find the Third Person of the Trinity referred to as “Holy Ghost” 183 times in 89 verses, but as “Holy Spirit” 44 times in 21 verses.

Is there a different word used in the original text for “Ghost” and “Spirit”. No, it’s the same word – Pneuma – which means “Spirit”. The Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible tells me that Pneuma is translated:

“Spirit (111x), Holy Ghost (89x), Spirit (of God) (13x), Spirit (of the Lord) (5x), (My) Spirit (3x), Spirit (of truth) (3x), Spirit (of Christ) (2x), human (spirit) (49x), (evil) spirit (47x), spirit (general) (26x), spirit (8x)”

It’s all the same word. In modern English when we speak of a “ghost”, we think about a disembodied soul that is roaming the earth. God is not a ghost, but a “Spirit”. Our Lord Jesus said:

Slide 24

John 4:24 God is a Spirit (Pneuma): and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

God is not a disembodied soul, but a Spirit. God took upon Himself flesh and bones so that He could save us, but God in His essence is Spirit. God is everywhere, not localized as we are. The theological term for this is OMNIPRESENT. The Bible says:

Psalm 33:13-14 (ESV) The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,

God as a Spirit is immense. The Prophet wrote:

Isaiah 40:12 (ESV) Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

As one commentary notes:

“He fills all things with His presence (Colossians 1:17) and upholds everything by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3) – yet He is not necessarily everywhere to bless. … Just as God is sometimes separated from His children because of sin (Isaiah 52:9), and He is far from the wicked (Proverbs 15:29) and orders the godless subjects of darkness to depart at the end of time to a place of eternal punishment, God is still there in the midst. He knows what those souls suffer who are now in hell; He knows their anguish, their cries for respite, their tears and grief for the eternal state that they find themselves in. He is there in every way as a perpetual reminder to them of their sin which has created a chasm from every blessing that might be otherwise granted. He is there in every way, but He displays no attribute other than His wrath.”

It is God the Holy Spirit Who inhabits the Christian, guiding us in the Scripture, teaching us the deep things of God. God the Holy Spirit is not limited by the translation of Scripture you use. If we will diligently seek His truth through a decent translation of the Scripture, God will guide us into all truth.

What Bible Translation Should I Use?

Slide 25 Types Of Bibles Available

If you are comfortable with the King James text, I recommend you stay with it in studying your Bible. I’ve stayed with the King James text as my foundational study Bible because it has been around so long, and there are many original language helps that are keyed to the King James. However, I am not afraid of other Bible translations, and turn to some of them if I seek a deeper understanding of the text.

There are three types of Bibles available in English:

1 Word for Word Translations (Literal)

2 Thought for Thought Translations (Dynamic)

3 Idea for Idea PARAPHRASES

If a Bible is a PARAPHRASE, it is NOT a translation. Someone read a Bible Translation, then re-wrote that translation in the way they understood it. A Paraphrase may be easy to read, but I would not recommend doing any serious Bible study with it. Some of the Paraphrase Bibles are:

Slide 26 Paraphrases

The Living Bible: Kenneth N. Taylor used the American Standard Version of the Bible (1901), and re-wrote it in his own words and interpretations.

The Message: Written by Eugene H. Peterson. My commentary notes:

“The Message has engendered more criticism for its lack of serious scholarship and outright bizarre renderings than just about any other Bible version to date. One common complaint from many who read The Message or hear it read aloud is “I didn’t recognize it as the Bible.” Other critics declare The Message to be not a paraphrase of what the Bible says, but more of a rendering of what Eugene Peterson would like it to say. In an interview with Christianity Today, Peterson described the beginning of the creative process that produced The Message: “I just kind of let go and became playful. And that was when the Sermon on the Mount started. I remember I was down in my basement study, and I did the Beatitudes in about ten minutes. And all of a sudden I realized this could work.”

I wouldn’t recommend it – I don’t believe it is the Word of God, but the Word of Man. Be careful when dealing with Paraphrases. The Good News Bible or The Passion Translation may be easy reading. But what you’re reading may be man’s traditions and thoughts – not God’s Word!

Slide 27 Word For Word

Word for Word (or Literal) Translations attempt to be accurate to the original text, but for this reason are often harder to read than Thought to Thought Translations. Some of the more popular versions are:

KJV – King James Version
NKJV – New King James Version
NASB – New American Standard Bible
ESV – English Standard Version
NRSV – New Revised Standard Version
ASV – American Standard Version
AMP – Amplified Bible

Slide 28 Thought For Thought

Thought for Thought (or Dynamic) Translations respect the original language, but place a high emphasis on conveying the thought of what the text conveys. It is easier to read than the Literal Translations. Some of the more popular of these are:

CSB (used to be HCSB) – Christian Standard Bible
{A Southern Baptist Translation}
CJB – Complete Jewish Bible
CEV – Contemporary English Version
NCV – New Century Version
NLT – New Living Translation

Though this is not all the Translations and Paraphrases available today, this graphic shows where these versions rate on the Biblical Translation Spectrum:

Slide 29 Where The Versions Rate

I personally prefer focusing on the “Word for Word” (Literal) translations, though I will sometimes read the text in the “Thought for Thought” (Dynamic) versions to help get a better understanding of what God is trying to tell me. But as I said before – Bible Study is not MECHANICAL, but SPIRITUAL. As I read and study the texts, I pray and seek God’s direction. May God bless you as you study His precious Word!

Posted in How We Got Our Bible, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Bible is accurate, Bible is God's Word, Bible is true, christianity, Faith, God, Jesus, salvation | Leave a comment

To Serve The Living God

Posted on June 5, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 9:11-14 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The act of God saving Israel from Egypt is a type or a shadow of the salvation we have in Christ.

When Israel cried out to God (Exodus 2:23-25) the Lord heard them, and raised up a Redeemer. “The people groaned because of their slavery, and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery went up to God.” While we are satisfied with our lives, satisfied that “we are gods” or that the gods we have created are sufficient, God will not help. But when we realize that we need the True God, the Power of God Himself, and cry out, God will raise up the Redeemer.

God raised up a Redeemer in Moses for Israel. Moses is a type or a shadow of Christ. Moses goes to Egypt – the Lost World – and demands that Pharaoh release God’s people. Why? God told Moses to say:

Exodus 7:16 … The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let My people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness …

Exodus 8:1 … Let My people go, that they may serve me.

Exodus 8:20 … Thus saith the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve me.

God saved Israel from Egypt so that “they might serve God”. This is a pattern of salvation. God saves us, rescuing us from Egypt or the World, so that we might serve Him. We are not to serve ourselves, but Him Who saved us. We live for Him.

Under the Old Covenant People Served God
By Eternally Striving To Be Saved

Israel was saved to serve. We are saved to serve. What was the difference between the service of the believer under the Old Covenant as compared with the service of the believer under the New Covenant? That’s where the Lord is taking us today. Read with me:

Hebrews 9:1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.

Under the Old or the First Covenant, service to God was accomplished mainly in a worldly sanctuary. All service to God was mainly accomplished in the Tabernacle (the Tent of Meeting) or in the Temple. These were “ordinances of divine service”. The word “ordinances” is the Greek dikaíōma, {pronounced dik-ah’-yo-mah}, which means “deeds required for justification or righteousness, laws established that ensured salvation”. There were things that you had to strictly adhere to to retain your salvation before God. This was a works salvation.

The Law governed what you are as clean or unclean.
The Law required frequent animals sacrifices to cover sin.
The Law required ceremonial washings and cleansings.
The Law required set feasts and celebrations.
The Law controlled who approached God, and who did not.

We read:

Hebrews 9:2-5 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the sanctuary. 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.

Breakdown of the Temple: Under the Old Covenant when you entered the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and looked left you would see the Golden Candlestick. This Candlestick was pure gold, beaten and made of one piece. It had a main light, but also six branches of lights meaning there were seven lamps in total. The Golden Candlestick cast light on the Table of Shewbread. The Table of Shewbread had twelve loaves of bread – one for each Tribe of Israel – to show God’s provision for His people. These were shadows of what would come under the New Covenant.

The Golden Candlestick represented the Holy Spirit of God, and Table of Shewbread the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus told us:

John 6:32-35 (ESV) Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

As the Golden Candlestick illuminated and revealed the Table of Shewbread, the Holy Spirit illuminated and revealed Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. In the inner most part of the Temple – called here the “Holiest of all” – was the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant represented God.

Who served God in the Temple? The people who brought the sacrifices, but also the Priests that killed the sacrifices. Blood was shed, and carried into the Holy of Holies, making Atonement for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 9:6-7 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

The PRIESTS or Levites served God in the first part of the Tabernacle, “accomplishing the service of God”. The HIGH PRIEST or the sons of Aaron served God in the Holiest part of the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies. The people brought sacrifices for their sins, and the priests and the High Priest made the sacrifices and made the offerings.

Under the Old Covenant, the works of the Law were accomplished to insure your place as an Israelite, and as a saved believer in God. The intent of the Law was to show that we could not save ourselves no matter how hard we tried.

While the Holy of Holies stood, the “WAY INTO THE HOLIEST OF ALL”, the Way into Heaven, was not manifested.

Hebrews 9:8-10 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

The earthly Tabernacle and the human priests could not make the worshipers perfect or right with God. “The Way into the holiest (God’s Heaven) was not yet manifest while the first Tabernacle was standing”. Man cannot save himself. We cannot make ourselves right with God by any work that we do. We can go through the motions – but it is highly ineffective. God must save us!

What is “The WAY unto the Holiest of All”? It is JESUS. Jesus said (John 14:6) “I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the Life: No man or woman cometh unto the Father BUT BY ME”.

The New Covenant Saves The Believer
So We Can Serve God

When the Gentiles began to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the question came up as to circumcision. We are told in the Book of Acts:

Acts 15:5-6 (ESV) some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

A sect of believing Pharisees rose up in the Church, people who did not understand the fullness of the grace of the New Covenant. They wanted to impose the Old Covenant requirements on the Gentiles. They wanted to require circumcision on every male believer, and require the keeping of the Law of Moses, the feasts and sacrifices, the holy days and sabbaths, the laws of food and drink. As the elders (the Pastors) of the early Church deliberated on this, the Apostle Peter spoke up, saying:

Acts 15:7-11 (ESV) Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.

The concept that salvation is by works is a yoke on the neck of the believer. It is a yoke that, in time, you cannot bear. Salvation has always been a free gift of God.

Noah, who lived long before the Law, was saved by Grace.
Enoch, who lived long before Sinai and Moses, was saved by Grace.
Abraham, the father of faith, was wholly saved by Grace.

The New Covenant was not God’s “Plan B” because mankind failed the Old Covenant. God saved Israel from Egypt BY GRACE before He ever gave them the Law.

Why did God institute the Law? Because Israel kept making golden Calves. Israel kept trying to save herself. Only God can save. Only God is God.

Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

The Levitical High Priest served God in a worldly Tabernacle or Temple. But Jesus Christ serves God not in an earthly Temple, but in the “perfect tabernacle” of Heaven, that place which is “not made with hands”. Heaven is God’s structure, God’s construction. No man laid the street of gold. No man put up the gates of pearl. No man builds mansion in that place, but the God-Man Christ Jesus. He builds mansions there. He, the Son of God, reigns in that place.

Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

The Bible says:

Galatians 3:19 (ESV) Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

Why did God give the complicated, convoluted, crippling Law at Mount Sinai? It was added “BECAUSE OF TRANSGRESSIONS”, because Israel would not listen to or obey the voice of God by faith. The Law was like a king over Israel. When Israel had God as its King, it needed no other King. God is the Perfect King. But Israel wanted a King so they would be like the other nations – so God stepped down and gave them a king.

They traded the King of Kings for a king. But God promised in David that He would send a King of Kings once more (2 Samuel 7:8-29).

The Law was given “until the offspring should come”, the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. When the Lord Jesus Christ came, He came to offer Himself for His Sheep. He said:

John 10:11-15 (AP) … I am the Good Shepherd – not a hired hand. I know My Sheep, and they know Me. I know the Father, and He knows Me. I lay down MY LIFE FOR THE SHEEP…

No one took Jesus’ life – He laid it down of His own will (John 10:18). The Eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ, was “made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus TASTED DEATH FOR EVERYONE. The Bible says that Jesus did not take the blood of the Old Covenant, the blood of animals that were without spot or blemish, into the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Jesus BYPASSED THE TEMPLE. The Bible says:

by his own blood he entered in once
into the holy place

The priests entered into the Holy of Holies years after year, sacrificing frequently for the sins of man. But Jesus carried HIS OWN BLOOD into the Holiest of All, into Heaven itself. His Blood was efficacious and effective. He entered ONCE into Heaven, paying for our sins. How effective was the Blood of Christ. We are told that Jesus:

obtained eternal redemption for us

Read the text carefully. It doesn’t say that Jesus obtained eternal LIFE for us, but that He obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION. The word rendered REDEMPTION is the Greek lýtrōsis, {pronounced loo’-tro-sis}, which means “deliverance from the penalty of sin”. The believer in Christ is no longer enslaved to sin. The believer in Christ is no longer bound to the darkness. The believer in Christ is now a purchased possession of God. As the Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 6:20 {you} are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 7:23 {you} are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

You who are saved by faith in Christ belong to Him Who saved you. You are children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You were redeemed from Egypt, from the world, so that you can serve the Living God.

Hebrews 9:13-14 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The blood of bulls, goats, the heifer all sanctified to the purifying of the flesh. It outwardly cleansed the offerer, but did nothing for the soul or the spirit. Just as the High Priest going into the Holy of Holies was a shadow, the sacrifices were shadows, without any real substance. The offerer had to constantly be examining himself to see if he fulfilled every jot and tittle of the Law. What was the net effect? Under the Old Covenant people were constantly sacrificing and keeping the Law in order to stay in God’s graces. But under the New Covenant, Jesus did the work.

There is no more sacrifice for sin.
The work is done, so we as children of God can focus on serving our Lord. Not to be saved – but because we are saved. Having Eternal Redemption, we also have an Eternal Inheritance.

Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

We who are saved have an “ETERNAL INHERITANCE” waiting for us. We who are saved by faith in Christ are promised that when we leave this life, we will enter another life where our Father is God, our Brother is Christ, and the Holy Spirit will be with us forever. We are not just given forgiveness now – but that state continues into eternity because of Christ. We stand right with God because of Jesus.

Are You Ready For Your Appointment?

I want to close by skipping down to the last two verses in this text:

Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Each and every person in this place – on the face of the earth – has an appointment with death. It is sure, and it is certain. You will ONCE DIE. But will you just ONCE DIE, or will you DIE TWICE? If you are in a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, you will only DIE ONCE. But if you have no relationship with Jesus – if you are not one of His Sheep, His Followers – then you will DIE TWICE. The Bible speaks of this in:

Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 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.

God will judge every person who stands before Him at this Great White Throne. As we read in this text, “they were judged every man according to their works”. What is “The Work of God” that God is looking for when He judges their works? Jesus said:

John 6:29 (AP) THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD, that you BELIEVE ON HIM WHOM GOD HAS SENT …

You have an appointment with God, with judgment, coming. Have you believed on Jesus? Or are you relying on your good works to get you into Heaven. They will not. What will get you into Heaven is the WORK OF GOD which is to BELIEVE ON JESUS. To give your life to Him. To trust Him, and follow Him as your Good Shepherd. When you do so, your name will be written in the Book of Life. But if you will not surrender to Him, following Him, loving Him, then the Bible says:

whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire

This is the SECOND DEATH. Oh Beloved, do not put it off. Recognize yourself as a sinner in need of the Savior. REPENT of be8ing your own God, and turn to Him Who is God the Son, Who died on Calvary for your sins and mine. Turn to Him Who today sits at the right hand of God the Father, Whose Blood cleanses us from all sin.

Do not delay. Come to Him today! Your works will ever fall short if you put them BEFORE Jesus. Once saved, you will work for Him. Not to BE saved, but BECAUSE you are saved.

May God speak His Word deep into your heart. Amen and Amen.

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

Today The Day of Salvation
October 2026

M T W T F S S

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if you’re not Catholic, You’re not in the “Church”

Salvation is a Divine Act, whereby when one receives Jesus as Lord and Savior, God the Holy Spirit comes to that believer and changes them, making them “born again” into the Kingdom of God.

Formation Of The Roman Catholic Church

Called the Edict of Milan, Christianity was given legal status and reprieved from persecution throughout the Roman Empire. This prepared the way for the Edict of Thessalonica (AD 380) which made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.

Roman Catholicism And Scripture

Roman Catholic Traditions, &Papal Authority (Decrees of the Pope)

Roman Catholicism And Salvation

In Conclusion or Summary

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God gave us the Old Covenant to teach us that faith must be put in the RIGHT OBJECT. Faith in works, sacrifices, feasts, sabbaths, ceremonies will not save. Faith must be placed in God!

What Is Faith?

Faith is not just an “I believe”. Faith is an“I surrender” or an “I cling”.

Whether you are an Atheist, an Agnostic, or a Christian depends on where you invest your faith.

Faith Is What Pleases God

Abraham stepped outside of his “comfort zone” and went where God told him. This pleased God. Compare that attitude to today’s “Christian”.

I Wasn’t There, But I Believe It. Do You?

God’s Word is trustworthy – it will create life.

So we can see what type of faith pleases God.Abraham is our pattern.

Only Genuine Faith Pleases God

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Building The House Of Wisdom –What Is It’s Foundation?

When we as a nation have no fear of the Lord, we can lose our economic prosperity!

When you fear God, you walk according to His directives knowing that HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT.

The Foundation Laid, What Are The Seven Pillars?

A peacemaker never compromises the truth of God’s Word in order to mollify someone. But like Jesus, He is never warlike and purposefully divisive.

God’s Word Calls Us Out Of The World/ Culture

A Final Word From The Valley

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Who Are “The Just”?

What is the ONE THING the unbeliever cannot do? They can not – will not BELIEVE IN JESUS.

“The JUST” Do Not Draw Back

Here is the proof of your salvation: when tried, do you move TOWARD Jesus or AWAY from Jesus?

God Now Gives Us Examples Of Saving Faith

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God’s Wisdom Is Not Hidden

God gave us all a conscience, but we can, through perversion and willfulness, harden that conscience.

God speaks right and wrong to every person. He clearly represents Himself and His desire for us in His Bible.

God’s Word, His Wisdom, Sets The Standard

We Are To Receive God’s Word, Not Man’s Word

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The Bible that Jesus and the earliest Church had was The Old Testament

Every Scripture Jesus quotes in His ministry are Old Testament texts, The Bible of His day. These quotes are probably from the Septuagint.

The First New Testament Scripture WrittenWas Not The Gospels, But The Epistle Of James

The Second Book Of The New Testament Written Was By God Through Paul The Apostle

It is reckoned that the Book of Galatians was written from49-50 AD by the Apostle Paul.

1 & 2 Thessalonians and 1 & 2 Corinthians

Paul chastised the Church on its compromise with the world, reminding its members that they were to be light, not darkness.

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God Was Never Pleased With “Looks Like” Religion

God wants you on the roll of the Book of Life. He wants you in a living, loving relationship with Jesus. He will not judge you based on whether you are on a human roll – but on the Roll up Yonder!

The Christian Is SANCTIFIED By The Body Of Jesus – Not By The Denomination He Attends

The New Covenant Brings A ChangeOf Heart And Mind

What If I Reject The New CovenantThat Jesus Offers?

There is but one sin that sends a person to eternal damnation – that is the willful rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

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God’s Word is Wisdom, The Kinswoman Understanding – Want To Bless You

It is the Word of God that brings life, and light. It is the Word of God that brings us from Satanic Darkness and into the Light of God. We who are saved by the preaching of the Word are resurrected beings.

The Strange Woman Lies In WaitFor The Simple Minded

Where does the “STRANGE WOMAN” lurk?

The whore walks in darkness, not light. The whore is part of the culture. She is not quiet, but LOUD and INSISTENT.

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I Love The King James Bible

People Change, And All Languages Change

What Bible Translation Should I Use?

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Under the Old Covenant People Served GodBy Eternally Striving To Be Saved

The Golden Candlestick represented the Holy Spirit of God, and Table of Shewbread the Lord Jesus Christ.

The New Covenant Saves The BelieverSo We Can Serve God

They traded the King of Kings for a king. But God promised in David that He would send a King of Kings once more (2 Samuel 7:8-29).

There is no more sacrifice for sin.The work is done, so we as children of God can focus on serving our Lord. Not to be saved – but because we are saved. Having Eternal Redemption, we also have an Eternal Inheritance.

Are You Ready For Your Appointment?

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David Buffaloe

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Today The Day of Salvation

Roman Catholic Traditions, &
Papal Authority (Decrees of the Pope)

Faith is not just an “I believe”. Faith is an
“I surrender” or an “I cling”.

So we can see what type of faith pleases God.
Abraham is our pattern.

Building The House Of Wisdom –
What Is It’s Foundation?

When we as a nation have no fear of the Lord,
we can lose our economic prosperity!

The Bible that Jesus and the earliest Church had
was The Old Testament

The First New Testament Scripture Written
Was Not The Gospels, But The Epistle Of James

It is reckoned that the Book of Galatians was written from
49-50 AD by the Apostle Paul.

The New Covenant Brings A Change
Of Heart And Mind

What If I Reject The New Covenant
That Jesus Offers?

God’s Word is Wisdom, The Kinswoman Understanding
– Want To Bless You

The Strange Woman Lies In Wait
For The Simple Minded

Under the Old Covenant People Served God
By Eternally Striving To Be Saved

The New Covenant Saves The Believer
So We Can Serve God

There is no more sacrifice for sin.
The work is done, so we as children of God can focus on serving our Lord. Not to be saved – but because we are saved. Having Eternal Redemption, we also have an Eternal Inheritance.