Martha Faith, Mary Faith, and Religious Faith

Posted on October 24, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Taryn Elliott: https://www.pexels.com/photo/back-view-of-a-person-standing-on-a-vast-green-grass-field-4652275/

John 11:21-27 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

There’s three kinds of faith that has always been in the world. There is Martha Faith, Mary Faith, and Religious Faith. Everybody in this room has one of these types of faith.

Martha Faith Saves, But Is Weak

Those who have Martha Faith are saved by grace.

The Pharisees that followed and persecuted Jesus were not saved by Grace. They believed that they could be saved by their works, by keeping sacraments, performing blood sacrifices, and by serving the Law faithfully. They dressed in a certain way, and faithfully attended synagogue, keeping the sabbaths that the Law established. God said through the Prophet:

Isaiah 64:6 (ESV) We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

The Bible says that, even on our best days, that

Romans 3:23 (ESV) …. all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God …

and Romans 6:23 (ESV) … For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Salvation is a FREE GIFT OF GOD that is received by faith. We believe that Jesus is THE CHRIST. The word CHRIST – the Greek CHRISTOS – means “MESSIAH, DELIVERER, SAVIOR”. Jesus and Jesus alone is THE Christ, THE Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16).

The knowledge that Jesus is THE CHRIST only comes to a person through God (Matthew 16:17).

The person who “seeks God with all their heart” (Jeremiah 29:13) will find God. The Pharisees did not seek God, for they thought that the works of the Law saved them, that they were on good terms with God because of their religious efforts. But they did not know Jesus.

Martha knew Jesus. Rather than persecute Jesus as the Pharisees did, Martha ran to Him when hurt. We read:

John 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him …

Martha took her hurt and suffering to Jesus. She tells the Lord:

John 11:27 I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world

Martha believes that Jesus is THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD. She believes Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, the One Who came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). But Martha’s faith, though it has saved her, is still in a immature state. Though she is the elder sibling, Mary’s faith is much more mature than hers. Martha tells Jesus:

John 11:21 Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died

Martha thought that DISTANCE limited the power of Jesus. Yet Jesus is God. Jesus said, “I and the Father ARE ONE” (John 10:30). If the Father is everywhere, Jesus is consciously everywhere and all powerful. Jesus could have healed Lazarus from where He was camped, by just a word. Jesus is not just “my LORD”, but He is “my GOD”. We are told that we are to be …

Titus 2:13 (ESV) … waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Jesus is not limited by distance, for He is God. He healed the Centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:13) from a distance. Jesus Christ is both Savior and Lord of All.

Martha also thought Jesus was limited by power. She said to our Lord:

John 11:22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

There are people who think that Jesus is a little “g” god, but not GOD. Yet this is not what Jesus said, nor what the Father has said of Jesus. The Father said to Jesus in …

Hebrews 1:8 (ESV) … Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

The Father calls the Son GOD, and says that He has an ETERNAL THRONE. Jesus has the same power that both Father and Spirit have. “In HIM was LIFE, and that LIFE was the LIGHT of man” (John 1:4). Certainly Jesus never stepped outside of the will of God, but He did not need to “ASK OF GOD”. He is God.

Finally, Martha thought Jesus was limited by TIME. When Jesus told her, “Thy brother SHALL RISE AGAIN”, she responded,

John 11:24 … I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

There is a resurrection day coming where “the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This is the Rapture of the Church, where every believer in Christ will receive a glorified body. But Jesus has the power to raise Lazarus NOW. Jesus tells Martha:

John 11:25-26 … I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?

With these words Jesus declares Himself Lord of both life and death. In “Him is life, life abundantly” (John 10:10).

As we look at these words, and see Martha’s faith, why is her faith less mature than Mary’s?

Mary Faith Listens To The Lord,
Waiting On Him

It is because Martha – though saved – often filled her days with important things, but not the MOST IMPORTANT thing. When Jesus visited this household, Martha ran about waiting on the Lord, while Mary sat at His feet and ABSORBED the Word of God (see Luke 10:41-42). Jesus told Martha, “Mary has chosen the GOOD PART that will not be taken away from her”. Mary gave preeminence to the Word of God in her life. She sat still and listened to Jesus. Martha knew Jesus, and was saved by Jesus. She ran to Jesus. But notice the difference in Mary.

John 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

John 11:28-29 And when {Martha} had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

Martha ran to Jesus for comfort – but Mary waited to be called. Mary trusted that Jesus loved them, and that He had power over whatever might happen. Mary waited on the Lord, and LISTENED to His Word.

Luke 10:39 … Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.

Both Martha and Mary loved Jesus, I am certain. But Mary loved to sit at His feet, and listen to Him. Mary waited on Jesus. When she heard that Jesus called for her, then and only then did Mary(vs 29) “arise quickly, and came unto him”.

John 11:30-32 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him. 31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. 32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto Him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Now Mary says exactly the same thing that Martha says:

Martha in John 11:21 said:

Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Mary in John 11:32:

Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Martha is limiting Jesus, but Mary is grieving, questioning why her brother died. Though they are both saying the same thing outwardly, their body position shows that Mary is grieving, but surrendered to Jesus. She falls down at Jesus’ feet. He is Lord, and Mary is submitted to whatever He says – though she grieves.

I have often wondered why these next verses are here – but Mary’s faith explains it. We read:

John 11:33-35 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept.

Jesus did not weep when Martha approached Him, but when He “SAW MARY WEEPING” along with the “JEWS WHICH CAME WITH HER”, our Lord wept.

Abraham wept when he buried Sarah.
Jacob wept after he wrestled the Angel of the Lord.
David and his friend Jonathan wept together.
Hezekiah wept when he became sick unto death.
Josiah wept over the sin of Israel.
Nehemiah wept when he heard the walls of Jerusalem were fallen.
The Prophet Jeremiah wept over his unbelieving nation.

As a weeping Jesus moved toward the tomb of Lazarus, the religious questioned Jesus.

John 11:36-37 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! 37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

They knew that Jesus had opened the eyes of the blind. So they questioned Him. “Could not this man” have caused Lazarus to not die? Religious people often question God. “Why did God allow this? If God is a God of love, how could He have let this happen?”

John 11:38-40 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. 39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

How can the glory of God be seen? Only “if thou wouldest believe”. Jesus has the power to raise Lazarus from the grave. Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life. Oh, how God delights in the life that surrenders to Him.

John 11:41-44 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Lazarus is a picture of what Christ does with every sinner who surrenders to Him by faith.

God is glorified in the sinner, raised by the power of Christ, who leaves the bed clothes of dead works behind in that tomb. Oh, how Christ is glorified and the Father in Him when that which was unworthy such as you and I have been raised to sit with Him by faith.

Sincere faith in Christ will draw Lazarus from the tomb.
Sincere faith in Him will cause the sinner to forsake sin’s pleasure.

A faith in Christ that does not bring an inner change in the heart, a desire to leave the crypt, is no faith at all. This Gospel we stand in is a Glorious Gospel (1 Timothy 1:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4), that is, it takes that which is unworthy and confers the worthiness of Christ on it. Because Christ has raised the believer from spiritual death, we walk in newness of life. John MacArthur said:

“… Christians love Someone they cannot see, hear, or touch. It is a supernatural, God-given love. “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19, KJV). There is no such thing as a Christian who lacks this love. Peter is saying categorically that the essence of what it means to be a Christian is to love Jesus Christ. In fact, perhaps no better way exists to describe the essential expression of the new nature than to say it is continual love for Christ.”

Saving Grace is rooted in a love for Christ and His Word. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Do you love Him? Or do you just love Heaven, or Healing, or Happiness? Some do not love Jesus, but love what Jesus offers.

1 Corinthians 16:22 (ESV) If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!

True Christians love Christ. His love for them, producing their love for Him (1 John 4:19), is one of the guarantees that they will persevere to the end (Romans 8:33-39). Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:23). “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me” (John 14:21). Jesus also said, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:24).

Do you know Jesus? Are you just religious, or are you a Christian, a follower of Him? John MacArthur wrote:

“Those who are devoted to Christ long to promote His glory. They long to serve Him with heart and soul and mind and strength. They delight in His beauty. They love to talk about Him, read about Him, fellowship with Him. They desire to know Him better and to know Him deeper. They are compelled in their hearts to want to be like Him. Like Peter, they may stumble frequently and fail in pathetic ways as sinful flesh assaults holy longings. But like Peter, all true believers will persevere until the goal is ultimately reached. “Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).”

If you love Jesus, you will persevere in faith. You will overcome. Salvation is all about following Jesus. Are you following Him? May God draw you to the arms of Jesus, to sit at His feet as Mary did, to adore Him both now, and forever. Amen and Amen!

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The One God Helps Part 2

Posted on October 13, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Brett Sayles: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-jacket-standing-in-front-of-grave-3648309/

John 11:17-22 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. 18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. 21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

Last week we started looking at one of the greatest miracles Jesus did, the resurrection of Lazarus. This is not the first time Jesus resurrected the dead. A ruler of the Synagogue named Jairus (Luke 8:41) came to Jesus because his daughter lay dying. When Jesus got to his home, the daughter was dead. But Jesus …

Luke 8:54-55 (AP) … took her by the hand, and said “maiden, rise”, and she arose and ate …

In Luke 7:12 Jesus met a funeral procession. A widow of Nain, her only son, was being carried to his tomb. The Bible says …

Luke 7:14-15 (AP) Jesus touched the funeral couch. They stopped, and Jesus said “Young man, rise up!” and he sat up and began to speak …

The Bible tells us that “it is God Who gives LIFE TO THE DEAD, and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17, ESV). The devil and his fallen angels have no power to bring to life the dead. The devil has the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-15), but not of life. By raising the dead, Jesus proved that He is Messiah, the Christ, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

The resurrection of Lazarus is different from the resurrections of the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow of Nain. In those two resurrections, the daughter had just died, and the son had been dead no more than a day, his body prepared for the tomb. But with Lazarus we read:

John 11:17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

When someone died, the Jews would wash and prepare the body for burial. At the death of a loved one, the relatives comfort one another and mourn. The Chevra kadisha (the Holy Society) cleanse the body (tahara) and dress it for burial. The body is guarded (Shmira) until it is taken to the tomb. The cleansing and dressing takes several hours, and the body is usually entombed the day the person dies.

Decomposition begins around four minutes after a person dies. In the heat of the land where Bethany was, 24-72 hours after death internal organs decompose. Lazarus’ body would have been bloated by the fourth day, with no hope of resuscitation.

John 11:18-19 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

Bethany wasn’t far from Jerusalem. “fifteen furlongs” is about 1.8 miles, a very short distance to walk. Lazarus was obviously well known and perhaps an influential leader, because we read “many of the Jews” came to offer condolences. Now Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were “Jews”. In fact, Bethany is a Jewish town. So why does John say “many of the Jews” came? When John uses the phrase “the Jews” it often referred to the Pharisees, the MODEL Jews of that day (John 3:1; 3:25; 7:1). It was “THE JEWS” who sought to kill Jesus (John 5:16, 18), who murmured at and mocked Jesus (John 6:41; 8:48, 52), and terrorized the populace into silence (John 7:13). These were Pharisees that came from Jerusalem to attend Lazarus’ wake. We are told that they came down …

John 11:19 to comfort them concerning their brother

Word Study: The word rendered “comfort” is the Greek paramythéomai, which means “to encourage, to calm or console by speaking to”. What they were doing was a good thing. As humans, when we mourn, we need encouragement to look beyond the tragedy we are in, and to look with hope in another direction. The Jews (the Pharisees) were encouraging Mary and Martha with what they had put their hope in, the Law of God.

The Law of God has no power to comfort, but to convict.

The LAW of God was given to us to give us knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil. We are told “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). Religious Law cannot comfort the grieving. But the Promises of God, given to those who love Him, do have the power to comfort. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 119:49-50 Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. 50 This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

The Word of God does have the power to comfort and encourage the believer in God. The Law CONVICTS, but God’s promises COMFORTS and CONSOLES. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God.

John 1:14 … the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Pharisees are trying to comfort Mary and Martha. They are sincere in their efforts. But the Law of God cannot comfort. When we go through trials and tragedy, we need the Word of God. We need the Word made flesh. We need Jesus.

John 11:20-22 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. 21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

Martha didn’t wait for Jesus to get to her, but instead ran to Jesus. Mary often sat at the feet of Jesus when He taught (Luke 10:38-42), but with the loss of her brother she “sat still in the house”. The trial had shaken her faith. God uses trials to shake us up, to bring us to surrender in the arms of Christ. Martha tells Jesus something interesting:

Lord, if thou hadst been here,
my brother had not died

She thought that Jesus was limited by distance, that He had to be there to heal. Yet this is not true. Distance means nothing to God, Who is everywhere. A nobleman, a royal official of Cana in Galilee asked Jesus:

John 4:49 (NIV) … come down before my child dies …

He was begging Jesus to come and heal his son (John 4:47). Jesus didn’t go, but simply said,

John 4:50 (NIV) Go … your son will live …

In another instance, a Centurion asked Jesus to heal a favorite servant who was dying. Though Jesus volunteered to go and heal the servant, the Centurion said:

Matthew 8:8 … Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Jesus marveled at his faith, saying “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith”. Jesus did not need to be in proximity to Lazarus to heal him. He could have spoken the word, and he would have been healed. Why didn’t He?

Because God grows us through our trials. He strengthens our faith by testing it, by trying us. Jesus told Martha:

John 11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

The believer in Christ has the absolute assurance of God that he shall rise again. As Jesus rose from the Grave, so shall we all who believe in Him rise. Death has no hold on us. We have the promise of the Living Word of God.

Thy BROTHER shall rise again.
Thy SISTER shall rise again.
Thy SON or DAUGHTER, HUSBAND or WIFE.
Thy GRANDMOTHER or GRANDFATHER.
If they have loved and believed in Jesus.
They shall rise again!
Jesus knows His sheep, His people.
He redeemed us, and we follow Him.
Both now and forever. Amen!

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The One God Helps (Part 1)

Posted on October 11, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-crying-beside-a-man-in-a-cemetery-6841583/

The story that we will look at today is only found in the Gospel of John. As the other Gospels usually show a different perspective of Jesus’ teaching on the same event, many have wondered why only here do we have the recounting of the resurrection of Lazarus. Some believe it is because during the resurrection of Lazarus Peter was not present, but was in Galilee while Jesus was in Bethany. The “Synoptic Gospels” (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), so called because they can be “seen together”, that is, they tell the same stories, and the stories follow all twelve Apostles (including Peter). Others believe the reason Lazarus’ resurrection is not mentioned in the other Gospels because this event so inflamed the Pharisees.

The resurrection of Lazarus was an irrefutable proof that Jesus Christ was THE Son of God, for only God can give life from death.

The Bible says that Lazarus became hated among the Chief Priests, who plotted to put him to death (John 12:10). Lazarus was a walking advertisement for the Messiah! Let’s read some of the text:

John 11:1-3 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

Word Study: Let’s break this down. We read first that “a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany”. There’s several things we can say about this text. First, “was sick” is the Greek Imperfect Tense of ēn with the Present Active Participle of astheneō. The Imperfect Tense implies that Lazarus had been sick for a long period of time.

What is interesting is that “Lazarus” means
“The One Whom God Helps”.

The name “Lazarus” is used by Jesus in another place, in Luke 16:20-25 when He speaks of the Rich Man and the beggar Lazarus. Lazarus, though a beggar, was loved by God, and carried to “Abraham’s Bosom” when he died, whereas the rich man “lifted up his eyes in hell”. Why did “God help” Lazarus? Because when Jesus came, He said that it was His mission to help:

Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

The Lazarus of Luke 16 is a “beggar”, a very poor man. The poor and hurting often are more sensitive to the hearing of the Gospel, as the rich and comfortable have their riches and their comfort as their gods. To those in suffering, Jesus is so needed!

Why So Many Marys?: Back to our text. Lazarus is a man “of Bethany”, a town two miles southeast of Jerusalem on the same ridge as the Mount of Olives. When Jesus was in Jerusalem, He often stayed with Lazarus, and his two sisters Mary and Martha. There are a number of Marys in the ministry of Christ. Why are there so many Marys (Hebrew Miriam, Greek Maria) in the Bible? It goes back to the time of Moses. Israel knew that the Messiah was prophesied to come through Abraham’s seed (Genesis 12:1-3), and knew the history of Israel. When Israel was in bondage in Egypt the Pharaoh decreed the death of all boy children born (Exodus 1:16). If you remember last Sunday’s sermon from 1 Peter 3, this was Satan’s attempt to destroy the conduit of the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15) that would destroy that Old Serpent, the Devil, Satan (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). When Moses’ mother Jochebed (Exodus 2:1; 6:20) had her son, she hid him until she could no longer do so. The Bible says that:

Exodus 2:3-4 … when {Jochebed} could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

Jochebed put her child into a little Ark, a small boat, and floated him down the river Nile. His sister Miriam followed the Ark, making sure it did not tip over and drown the baby, until it found its way to the Princess of Egypt. The Princess pulled the baby out of the water, and named him Mōšê (Môsheh) which means “Drawn or rescued out of the water”. Ironically, though it was the Pharaoh who decreed male babies be killed, the Pharaoh’s daughter saved Moses from death and drowning. Yet it was Miriam who guided the baby to the Princess. Had not Miriam, Moses’ sister, watched over her brother, the Savior of Israel would have died – and Israel would have been destroyed. Because Miriam was faithful and loved her brother, she was the savior of the Savior.

Families in Israel began to name their female children Miriam or Maria (which is, in English “Mary”), believing that Miriam’s actions in saving Moses would one day lead to another Miriam (Mary) in bringing forth the “Seed of the Woman” or the Messiah. This is why I believe there are so many Mary’s in the Bible – and the reason that the actual “Seed of the Woman”, Jesus Christ, would come from another Mary, Mary of Bethlehem.

John 11:1-2Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

Word Study: Lazarus (which means “The One Whom God Helps”) gets sick, and is sick for some time. Lazarus has two sisters, “Mary” (Miriam/ Maria) and “Martha”. Let’s look at little further at these names. “Mary” (Miriam/ Maria) in the Greek means “their rebellion”. When Pharaoh ordered males children (including Moses) to be drowned in the river, both Jochebed and Miriam rebelled against this order. They obeyed God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Believers in Christ should never obey any law of man that supersedes the Law of God. We are commanded to honor our Father and Mother (Matthew 15:4), and yet to “love Jesus more than any relative” (Luke 14:26). We are commanded to “love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). God is to be in our hearts first. As Miriam was rebellious against the darkness, so must we be.

Word Study: The name “Martha” (Greek Martha) doesn’t mean “THEIR rebellion”, but means “SHE was rebellious”. We are introduced to Mary and Martha in:

Luke 10:38-42 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

We see a big difference in the lives of Mary and Martha in this text. First, Martha is a very responsible person. The Bible tells us that “MARTHA received Jesus into HER HOUSE”. The home in Bethany doesn’t belong to Mary or Lazarus – they are staying with Martha. And Martha is a worker! That is not a bad thing – and Jesus does not truly rebuke Martha. We need the Marthas. We need people who are willing to wait on the Lord, to do the things that bring glory to Him. Martha was not doing a bad thing.

Martha was doing the RIGHT thing
at the WRONG time!

When Martha complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping her, Jesus tells her “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful”. Jesus calls Martha’s name TWICE. God does this sometimes in Scripture. He called “Abraham, Abraham” Genesis 22:11-13), “Jacob, Jacob” (Genesis 46:1-4), “Moses, Moses” (Exodus 3:1-10), “Samuel, Samuel” (1 Samuel 3:1-10), and here “Martha, Martha”. He is not rebuking Martha, but says “one thing is needful (Greek chreia, your business or employment)”.

While Jesus is TEACHING, Martha should have been sitting at His feet LISTENING. What HE says is important! Once the lesson was over, THEN serve.

There are many good Christians who are hard workers, very much needed in the Church. But many of these hard workers allow other things to take precedent over sitting at Jesus’ feet, hearing what Jesus has to say. It is bad to be lazy and negligent in serving God. It is bad to skip Church, to turn your back on the family of God for other things. But it is equally bad to always be busy, always be volunteering, always be doing but never hearing Christ.

We need to hear the Word of the Lord. We need to be like Mary. But when not hearing Jesus, we need to serve Jesus. We read:

John 11:2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

I have often heard people say it was Mary Magdalene (which means Mary of the town of Magdala) that washed Jesus’ feet. That’s not true. In Luke 7:36-38 there is an unnamed “Woman of the City, who was a sinner” (vs 37) who washed Jesus feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. She was a “Woman OF THE CITY”. We are told in the context of Luke 7:11 that “Jesus went to a TOWN CALLED NAIN”. This unnamed woman is from Nain, not Magdala.

It was Mary of Bethany that anointed Jesus, and “wiped His feet with her hair”. It was at BETHANY when this happened, while Jesus was at the home of Simon the leper (see Mark 14:3; Matthew 26:6-7). As far as I can tell, there is no clear place where Mary of Magdala washed Jesus’ feet, insofar as the Scripture is concerned. We are told that Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair because she was not afraid to humble herself before Him. Mary was always careful to LISTEN to Jesus when He taught, and WORK FOR Jesus when He was NOT teaching. By doing the RIGHT thing at the RIGHT time, Mary of Bethany “CHOSE THAT GOOD PART”.

Come And Help The One Whom God Helps!

John 11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto {Jesus}, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

The two sisters of Lazarus send a messenger to Jesus. They didn’t leave themselves because Lazarus was on the brink of death. They don’t name Lazarus, but instead say “he whom thou lovest is sick”. In the Greek language there are several words used to describe “love” in The Greek New Testament. There is:

Agape – The love of God
Phileo – The love between deep friends
Storge – The love between family members
Eros – Sexual or intimate love

When the sisters say “he whom Thou lovest is sick”, they are using the word phileō. This is someone who is a deep friend of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus said those who LISTEN to Him were HIS FRIENDS (Greek philos, Luke 12:4). Jesus said that those who OBEY Him were HIS FRIENDS (John 15:13-15). The believer, saved by Grace, both LISTENS to Jesus and OBEY Jesus. That believer is Christ’s FRIEND. When Mary and Martha sent word that “The one who is YOUR FRIEND IS SICK”, they didn’t ask Jesus to come. They didn’t mention Lazarus’ name. They just said, “Your FRIEND is sick”, expecting Jesus would hear this and come without delay. We often sing:

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer!

Jesus, I’m Your Friend. Come and heal me. Come and fix what is hurting me! What does Jesus do? We read:

John 11:4-6 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

Often when we are sick, or in pain, in suffering, we cry out to God for relief. We beg God to fix what ails us. And yet, there are times when God delays. When God delays we begin to think that “maybe God doesn’t love me”. But that’s not true. Jesus delayed when He heard that His dear friend Lazarus was sick. Yet we are told,

vs 5 Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus

Word Study: Here we do not see the word Phileos, but the Greek Agape (actually the verb agapaō). The word AGAPE is used the describe the Love of God (see Luke 11:42; John 5:42; Romans 5:5). Lazarus is a believer that Jesus loves (Phileo), as He loves all believers. But every believer is under the LOVE OF GOD (Agape). The Bible says:

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Christians are BORN into the Kingdom of God to DO GOOD WORKS. We are GOOD trees that are to bear GOOD fruit. We are to be like Jesus. We are to reflect His LIGHT in this present darkness.

In Christianity, Jesus said “Take up YOUR CROSS and follow Me” (Mark 10:21; Matthew 16:24-26). Just as Jesus prayed “let this cup (the Cross) pass from Me (Matthew 26:39) and the Father allowed Jesus to go to it anyway, there are times of suffering that we as believers MUST go through for the glory of God. This is what Jesus said:

John 11:4 This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby

God had a GREATER GLORY He wanted to show His people. He wanted the world to see that “in Jesus is LIFE” (John 1:4). Jesus is not just a Rabbi, a Teacher of Israel. He is the Messiah. He is the One Whom God has sent to save us from sin and death. Jesus waits two days, and then says to His disciples:

John 11:7-10 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? 9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

When Jesus tells His disciples it is time to go, they begin to debate Him. “Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?”. The Jews knew that Jesus loved to stay in Bethany – about 2 miles from Jerusalem – when He came into that area. Pharisee spies would be watching for Him in Bethany. The disciples were reluctant to go, afraid that Jesus would be stoned. But Jesus said, “If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him”. What is Jesus telling them? The Jews divided days into two parts, day (when the sun shined) and night (when the sun did not shine). Jesus said, “If you walk in the Light, you will not stumble”. What He means is that “God is LIGHT, and in Him is NO DARKNESS” (1 John 1:5). The reason Jesus waited two days in the same spot is because God told Him to do so. He said,

“My FOOD is to do the will of Him Who sent Me” (John 4:34)

Jesus said, “I am among you as ONE WHO SERVES” (Luke 22:27). He said, “If you have seen Me, YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER” (John 14:8-9). Jesus stayed where He was until the Father – through the Holy Spirit – told Him to move. Jesus was “walking in the Light” of God and was not going to stumble. He would not die until the Father said it was time, regardless of His enemies.

Beloved, if you are following God like Jesus did, you are immortal until God calls you home.

Jesus goes on to say that,

Our Friend Lazarus Sleeps

John 11:11-15 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

When an unbeliever dies, they DIE. They go to a place of DEATH and DISMAY. But when a believer dies, the Bible says they SLEEP. For instance,

1 Kings 2:10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

1 Kings 11:43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father …

1 Kings 22:50 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father:

When we are told that the believer SLEEPS, this does not mean that his SOUL SLEEPS in the grave. It means that his BODY sleeps, but His SOUL stays awake, and goes to be with the Lord. The Apostle wrote:

2 Corinthians 5:6, 8 … we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

The believer never loses consciousness, but once death comes, their body sleeps but their soul goes to be with Jesus. The unbeliever, however, goes to be in torment (see Luke 16:19-31). The believer is comforted, whereas the unbeliever is tormented (Luke 16:25). If we who believe are “absent from the body” then we are “present with the Lord”. Lazarus was dead – he slept! But his soul was in another dimension. Jesus told His disciples:

John 11:14-15 Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe

Jesus said “I am GLAD My friend Lazarus is dead”. Why would He be GLAD of this? Jesus said, “to the intent ye may believe” Because it would give Jesus an opportunity to grow the faith of these disciples, along with Mary and Martha. God often allows trials to come to us who love Him to help us GROW in our faith. The Bible says:

1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

At this point Thomas (often called “Doubting Thomas”) speaks up, and says:

John 11:16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

The disciples had already expressed concerns that Jesus was heading into a deadly place, a place where He might be stoned. Then “Thomas, which is called Didymus” speaks up. The word “Didymus” means “two fold, double, or twin”. The modern name “Thomas” is from the Aramaic tĕʾomâ which means “twin”. Though Thomas is only mentioned eight times in the Bible, he is a man who wants to see things for himself. When Jesus resurrected and the other Apostles saw Him, Thomas said:

John 20:25 Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe …

When Thomas saw Jesus face to face after the resurrection, he declared Jesus to be …

… My Lord and My God (John 20:28)

Jesus never actually rebuked Thomas, but did say “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29)”. Though people called him “Doubting Thomas”, other disciples also doubted Jesus’ resurrection (see Matthew 28:17; Mark 16:11, 14; Luke 24:36-43). One thing we can say about Thomas is that he wasn’t a coward. He had faith in Jesus, and was willing to go to Bethany with Him though they all expected the worst.

Thomas was willing to die with Jesus. What about you? Are you willing to die with Jesus? Yes? If so, then why do you not speak up for Him in public? Why do you not faithfully serve Him in His Church? Why do you not give of yourself sacrificially, for His glory? Dear ones, life is short, but eternity is long. Live for Jesus while you can. When you pass from this life, will you DIE or SLEEP? When you enter eternity, will you see Jesus or the rich man? May God touch your hearts to follow Him while you can. Amen and Amen.

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Arm Yourselves

Posted on October 11, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/soldiers-in-line-to-get-in-a-plane-54098/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to

1 Peter 4:1-2 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Opening: Last week Andy Stanley’s Church, North Point Community, held what they called an “Unconditional” conference. Two of the speakers were men “married” to other men. During the conference, LGBTQ was recognized as legitimate categories of human identity. When criticized, Stanley replied:

“We’re dealing with real people and real relationships. … It is not political for me. … It is relational, because we are in ministry, and because we’ve learned to distinguish between theology and ministry, we can figure this out.”

What Stanley is saying is that we should unhitch ministry from theology, that is, from what the Bible says. Yet Jesus never did this. When Jesus addressed His critics, it was always with “It is written”.

Jesus quoted the Bible of that day, the Old Testament, 78 times, and the Law of God 26 times. He quoted Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah, and Malachi.

Jesus made a profound statement when He said:

John 10:35 … Scripture cannot be broken …

Word Study: The word “broken” is the Greek lyō, which means “loosed, destroyed, put off, dissolved”. Stanley and other liberal “pastors” seek to break or destroy the Scripture – but the Scripture is the Word of God. Jesus told His disciples:

Luke 24:44-46 (ESV) … These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. …

Luke 16:17 (ESV) … it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Matthew 5:17-18 (ESV) Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Jesus did not come to give us a workaround for the Law of God. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, to be the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus did not come to make it easier for us to sin and disobey God. He came to free us from sin. America has entered a stage of paganism – ancient paganism – called Gnosticism. The Gnostic believed that Christ came to cover our sin. Since His Blood covers our sin, we are free to sin with impunity. This is not what the Bible teaches – and God through Peter explains that to us today.

Sin Is Never A Playground, But A Battleground

1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind…

People think that sin is something to be winked at. Yet the Bible tells us “Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh”. Notice it does not say that “JESUS SUFFERED” (though He did), but “CHRIST SUFFERED”. What is the difference? “CHRIST” is the Greek christos, which means “The One Anointed of God, the Messiah, the Son of God”. What caused the Messiah – God Himself – to suffer? It was SIN.

God became Man because of Sin. God suffered as Man because of sin. Sin demands suffering, for sin departs from God.

Why is there suffering in the world? Because of sin. Because Adam failed to obey God. It was after Adam sinned that God told the woman:

Genesis 3:16 I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children …

Before sin entered the world, child bearing was not bad, not painful. But because Adam and Eve walked away from God and heeded Satan, “in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children”. The birth will be sorrow. The child raised will be at times rebellious and sinful. Some children reject all discipline, and end up incarcerated, diseased, drug addicted, and the parents weep. It is sin that does this. God told Adam:

Genesis 3:17-19 … cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee … 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground …

Those evils that are in the world today are in the world because of sin. Sin brought tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. Sin brings murder and death into the world, rape and racism. Sin brings sexually transmitted diseases, cancers, heart failure, leprosies and horrid pandemics. Sin is seen in massive genocides, where innocents are wiped out by military coup.

And sin is insidious. It is in the smile of the whore, the grin of the pusher. It dresses up in Las Vegas and Reno, and robs families of money they need to live in state lotteries claiming to “educate the child”. Sin encourages a far walk from God. Sin is in scientific evolution, for the Bible says:

Psalm 14:1 (53:1) The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

The more you pursue sin, the more you suffer. You may smile for a while, but in time the pain will come. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin promises life, but brings death.

Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind

Why did “CHRIST” come into the world? The Bible says:

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

Illustrate: “CHRIST” did not come into the world to ENABLE sinners, but to SAVE sinners. Imagine if you will that you are at the beach, out swimming, when a riptide grabs you and begins to pull you away from shore. You cry out, drowning in the waves, for salvation. A life guard swims out. When the life guard gets to you, he begins to reason with you as to how you should not be afraid of the water. After all, humans are 60% water. The water is your friend. Before you were born, you floated in amniotic fluid, essentially water. Quit struggling. Just let the water take you! It will be all right.

Does that make sense? NO! But this is the preacher who will not warn you to run from sin and into the arms of Christ. Sin causes God suffering. Sin causes us suffering. Sin caused Christ suffering. The Bible says:

Matthew 27:28-31 {the soldiers} stripped {Jesus} and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

What had Jesus done to deserve His suffering? Had He violated God’s Law? No, for the Bible says that He was “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15; 9:28). When examined of Pilate the Governor, he cried out …

Matthew 27:23 … (AP) Why should He be crucified? What evil has He done?

None could give a cause for Christ’s suffering and death. They just demanded, “Let Him be crucified!”. What evil had He done? None! What caused the Christ, this Righteous One, to be so cruelly treated and horribly executed? It was sin. The Prophet said:

Isaiah 53:5 But He {the Christ} was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

When Christ came to this earth, the Bible says in Hebrews 4:15, “The CHRIST was, in every respect tempted as we are, yet without sin”. Though Jesus never deserved what happened to Him, He bore the suffering of sin in order to save us from sin. We have previously studied:

1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God …

Christ did not suffer for sin to BRING US TO SIN, but to BRING US TO GOD.

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV) {Jesus} himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Jesus Christ, an Innocent and Perfect Man, suffered the scourge and pain of the nails in order to stand in judgment in our place. Sin brings suffering. Salvation brings relief from sin. Salvation takes us to a different mindset.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) For our sake {God the Father} made {the Christ} to be sin who knew no sin, so that in {the Christ} we might become the righteousness of God.

Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind

Word Study: The word translated “arm” is the Greek hoplizō, which means “take this up as a weapon, prepare yourself for battle with this tool”. The reason God uses this word here is because we are in a battle with forces of darkness. These forces come from all directions. Sometimes

Matthew 10:36 … a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

When the devil attacks, he attacks from the family. There are many young people today confused because of the wide spread propaganda of evil on the internet. Many parents and grandparents have been confronted by children who are influenced into sexual evil or drugs – or worst! I know pastots who have compromised what the Scripture said because their children or grandchildren have “come out” in some sinful and evil way. Beloved, to normalize sin is to lose the battle.

1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin…

In order to save us from sin, the Christ had to “cease from sin”. Now Jesus never sinned. We were told in:

1 Peter 2:22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

Jesus never had to repent of sin. When Pilate ordered Him crucified, He said in

John 19:6 … I find no guilt in Him …

Jesus Christ was sinless, guiltless, the Lamb of God. So what is God telling us in this focal text. The point is,

Jesus’ suffering on the Cross would have been USELESS had He given in to sin. Those who compromise with sin only bring damnation, not salvation.

Parents and grandparents, preachers and evangelists that put whitewash on sin, and preach a dumbed down Gospel will only bring eternal condemnation to those they claim to love. The first thing that happened in Jesus’ earthly ministry was

Matthew 4:1 … (ESV) Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Do you know how Jesus responded to each temptation that the devil threw at Him? Jesus said, “IT IS WRITTEN” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

Jesus did not rely on what he thought, but on what the Scripture said. Why? Because He was teaching us to not be like Adam, but be like HIM. Sin is contrary to God. Sin brings death, disease, destruction and dismay. You will never bless anyone – least of all God – by compromise with sin.

Christians Are Called Out Of Darkness And Into Light

1 Peter 4:2-3 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

The believer in Christ is saved by the suffering of Christ for a purpose. It is so that “he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God”.

Jesus Christ suffered in the flesh for sin so that He could not only COVER the sin of believers, but FREE us from sin’s enslavement. Before the Christian was saved, we “walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries”. In other words, as unbelievers we pursued:

lasciviousness (Greek aselgeia), wanton unbridled lust, shamelessness
lusts (Greek epithymia), desire for the forbidden
excess of wine (Greek oinophlygia), drunkenness
revelings (Greek kōmos), carousing, rioting, partying
banquetings (Greek potos), bar hopping, drinking about
abominable idolatries (Greek athemitos eidōlolatria), wokeness

Divorced from God, these things were normal to us. You may be sitting there thinking, “Well, I never did those things”. That’s true, you probably did worst things. You were probably “self righteous”, like the Pharisees that Jesus said were “white washed mausoleums, beautiful outwardly, but filled within with dead men’s bones and uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). God said of the self righteous that they are “a smoke in My nose, a fire that burns all day long” (Isaiah 65:5). Those without Christ need Jesus, need what Jesus provides.

They must be born again, just as we as Christians were born again. (John 3:3, 7). They must be “born again, the the Word of God, which lives and abides forever”
(1 Peter 1:23).

How do these lost people see Jesus? We read:

1 Peter 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

The lost world does not understand why you do not support what it does. Why we are not “woke” along with others. Why we do not endorse drug use, communism, transgenderism, homosexuality, fornication, pornography, drunkenness, and so on. We as believers do not pursue “the lusts of men”, but “the will of God”. Why is this? Is it because we are better than others. No.

It is because we are saved by Grace. We once were enslaved to sin and the suffering that it brings, but we met Jesus Christ. We as Christians are indwelt of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9) and understand that

Romans 6:16 … to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness

We understand what the Bible says when we are told, “The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), that Jesus came to free us from sin. For those who believe that Jesus came to save us just to enable us to freely sin, you need to read and re-read Romans chapter 6. The Apostle said:

Romans 6:1-2 … Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

When you were saved, dear Christian, you became “dead to sin”. What does that mean? It means you understand that sin is no playground, but a battleground. Sin is destructive. Sin is deadly. You were not saved to freely sin, but to live within the will of God. We are told:

Romans 6:11-18 reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Christians are indwelt of God’s Spirit. We belong to God. We are not children of Adam, but Children of God.

What The Christian Does Has Eternal Consequence

1 Peter 4:5-6 Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

We shall all stand before God one day. We “shall give account to Him”. What does that look like for the unbeliever? They will give account at a Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15). As their name is NOT written in the “Book of Life”, they will depart the Presence of God into “The Lake of Fire, the Second Death” (Revelation 20:14). But what of the Christian.

Romans 14:12 … every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

What will this look like. Let’s think of it this way. You get to Heaven, and see all its splendor. You had a child, or a husband, or a wife, or a friend or co-worker that you loved who preceded you in death. So you look about Heaven. “Has anyone seen my daughter? Has anyone seen my granddaughter? I’ve looked and looked, but I can’t seem to find her”. Then you see Jesus. “Jesus, I know you know where my daughter is. I know you know where my granddaughter is, my son, my husband, my wife. Where have they gone?” Jesus looks at you, and says,

“I never knew them” (Matthew 7:23)

While you were so busy trying not to offend them, you withheld the Gospel from them. The Gospel is to REPENT and FOLLOW Jesus. You were woke. You pleased the world. And your loved one is gone forever.

Revelation 7:17 … and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

May God lead you, dear believer, to live for Christ while there is time to make a difference. May God the Holy Spirit convict and save. For the glory of God. Amen and Amen!

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The Great Ark Of God

Posted on October 3, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Jose Vasquez: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-man-doing-christian-baptism-on-the-water-4400997/

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Our God Is Always Faithful

It should not surprise you if I tell you people make mistakes, that people are fallible, and prone to evil. Yet God never makes mistakes. People can be ignorant, dense even, but God knows all things. He is ever faithful, ever dependable, ever trustworthy, and very precise. His precision is seen in the Heavens, in their clockwork movement, in their complexity. It amazes me that people are constantly looking for space aliens and ufo’s, but will not look around the beauty of this earth and see God’s handiwork. Only a fool would look at creation and ascribe it to random chance. The Bible says:

Psalm 14:1-3 (ESV) The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

To do good is to look around you, to look up, to see the clear design of the Creator’s loving hand, and to rejoice that He cares so much for us. Of the thousands of worlds that are seen by astrologers, only earth has been so blessed by God. It is here that He planted us, it is here that He loves us.

Yet sometimes love MUST punish. If a cancer grows in your body, you allow the doctor to attack it, to poison it, to excise it. So it is with sin. Sin is a moral and physical evil that kills what it clings to.

We “wink” at sin today, but sin is a horrible thing. Sin separates us from God. Why is that dangerous? Because God is the Source of life. Life and light are in God. I came across this great truth the other day – and it is true because it is scriptural.

Illustrate: When God wanted to create GREEN things – plants and trees – He spoke to the EARTH. He said “Let the EARTH sprout” (Genesis 1:11) and the earth brought forth trees and grass, plants of all types. When God wanted to create FISH He spoke to the WATERS. He said, “Let the WATERS swarm” (Genesis 1:20) and the waters brought forth the fish and sea creatures. But when God created humanity, HE SPOKE TO HIMSELF (Genesis 1:26). He said “Let US make mankind in our image, after our likeness”. If you take a tree out of the EARTH, it will die. If you take a fish out of the WATERS, it will die. If you take a person out of GOD, that person will die. God is the Source of human life!

Jesus Christ did not come to this earth just to be an example to us. We are told:

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God

Jesus did not just die to bring us to Heaven. So many people think this is the end all and be all of salvation, but this is not true. Jesus did not get His ticket punched so you can get free admission to Heaven. Jesus died on Calvary – died a horrible death – “that he might bring us to God”. God sent His Only Begotten Son to this earth to offer a way to…

cover our sins (atonement),
conquer our sins (indwelling Holy Spirit),
CARRY us into the Family of God.

Why do we need to be in union with God? Because to be in union with sin and Satan is death. “The wages of SIN is DEATH” (Romans 6:23). As SIN spreads, like cancer it brings DEATH. God does not want this. He said:

Ezekiel 33:11 (ESV) … As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die ?

I have often read those passages in the Old Testament where God sent Israel into an area or a town, and told His people “You must completely destroy them – the Hethite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite ….” (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). Or where God said, “Go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.” (1 Samuel 15:3). I read these things and shudder in my soul. How horrible this must be! And yet, God has said “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked”. If God is love, then how can we reconcile the deaths of whole people groups – with their animals – with the loving character of God? Dear one, it is simply this.

Sin is a cancer, a departure from the life that should be in God.
Cancer unchecked will destroy a body.
Sin unchecked will destroy a world!

God did not choose destruction as the first course in dealing with the wicked. If they would not repent, then He ordered them “driven out” (Exodus 23:29; Leviticus 18:24; Numbers 33:52), lest their sin spread through His Church. God did not drive out people because of their ethnicity. If you look in Chapter 1 of Matthew at the lineage of Christ, you will see in Christ’s lineage several believing Gentiles:

Tamar the Canaanite
Rahab the Midianite
Ruth the Moabite

God is not racist. He loves all people. But God is against sin, regardless as to your color or nationality. Yet you will not come to God unless you come through Jesus. God is FAITHFUL, and in His FAITHFULNESS He sent Jesus Christ to this earth to die for our sins and rise from the grave to lead us to God.

The devil has fought to keep us from this great truth.

The Devil Fought It, But God Is Faithful!

1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

Word Study: To bring us to God our Lord Jesus was “put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit”. The word “quickened” is the Greek zōopoieō, which means “was made alive, restored to life”. The Bible tells us that it is “God Who brings to life the dead” (Romans 4:17). When Jesus went to the Cross, He did not just swoon or pass out. He literally DIED. His body lost all of his soul and spirit. He was dead, inspected as dead by executioners. When the executioner pierced His side, “blood and water (John 19:34) came out”. Jesus was dead. He was cleansed, wrapped in linen, and put in a sealed tomb. He was dead. He died for our sins. Then God the Holy Spirit brought Him back to life. Why? This was God’s assertion that Jesus Christ ALONE is the Messiah, the One and Only Who can bring us to God. We are told that Jesus was “quickened by the Spirit”. But now our God – through the Apostle Peter – takes us down a strange road. He says:

vs 19 By which {Spirit} also He {Jesus} went and preached unto the spirits in prison

Word Study: Following His death and resurrection Jesus took a “field trip” for God. He “went and preached unto the spirits in prison”. The word “prison” is the Greek phylakē, which means “a place watched over, a place where someone is guarded, a holding area”. What is our Lord telling us? These “spirits in prison” are tied to the Flood of Noah, for we are told

vs 20 Which sometime {pote, literally “in times past”} were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah

These “spirits in prison” are in prison because of what the did “in the days of Noah”. So what is our Lord telling us? To understand this, we have to go back to the beginning, back to Genesis. Directly following the fall of humanity – a fall engineered by “that Old Serpent, the Devil, called Satan” (Revelation 12:9; 20:2) – God told Satan:

Genesis 3:15 I {God} will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God told Satan that He would send a “Seed of the woman” Who would “bruise” his HEAD, but that “Seed” would have only a “bruised” HEEL. I’ve seen street fights before when a person gets knocked down on the ground, and the person standing stomps down on the fallen’s HEAD. The person standing may limp away, but the one whose head was stomped doesn’t get up.

God promised Satan that his head would be
stomped by the coming “Seed of the Woman”.

Satan has no desire to get his head stomped – so he started working. He watched the woman Eve. When she had a son named “Cain”, Satan watched Cain and his brother Abel. Abel loved the Lord, for Jesus called him “RIGHTEOUS ABEL” (Matthew 23:35). We are told in Hebrews 11:4, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous”. Satan watched the brothers, and enticed Cain to sin rather than repent (Genesis 4:7). When Cain killed Abel I suspect Satan felt relief. He had killed the “Seed of the Woman” by killing the lineage of Christ. Yet our God is FAITHFUL (1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13). The Bible says:

Genesis 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

The Hebrew “Seth” means “the substitute”. Satan wanted to cut off the lineage of Christ, but his efforts failed. As you go forward in the Bible history you come next to the Flood of Noah. What brought about this Great Flood? The Bible tells us:

Genesis 6:2 … the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

The righteous of God compromised and blended with the unrighteous. The Bible says “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). What caused this massive spread of evil?

(1) The LIGHT of God’s Children blended with the DARKNESS of the lost.
(2) Satan inspired angels – those who joined him in rebellion against God – fanned the flame of evil.

Wickedness progressed to the point where God decided to “destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air” (Genesis 6:7). Yet “Noah found GRACE in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). For 120 years Noah built an Ark as God decreed, and for 120 years God gave mankind a chance to repent. Yet mankind would not repent. So only 8 souls were saved on that Ark from out of humanity. But the lineage of Christ was on that Ark.

What about those “Spirits” that were involved in the days of Noah. The Bible tells us in:

Jude 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Word Study: The fallen angels that “left their own habitation” are thought by many to be angels that “possessed” the lost during the time of Noah. As the Flood destroyed all but eight souls, the angels that “left their own habitation” were imprisoned by God in a place called “Tartaroō”. This is also written of in:

2 Peter 2:4-5 God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to HELL {Tartaroō}, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

There is an interesting place in Luke 8 where Jesus visits an area in Gadarenes to address a demon possessed man. The Bible says that the demons that possessed him – fallen angels – called themselves “Legion” (Luke 8:30). Now we come across an interesting statement:

Luke 8:31 And THEY {Legion begged Jesus} that He would not COMMAND them to go out into the DEEP {Greek abyssos}.

Word Study: The Greek abyssos means “the Abyss, the Bottomless Pit”. This is a reference to Tartaroō, the place where the angels that contributed to the corruption that led to the Great Flood are imprisoned. Legion begged Jesus not to send it there. This Bottomless Pit is mentioned again in Revelation 9, when these demons are released on the earth during the Great Tribulation to hurt those “which have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4). Those trapped in Tartaroō are horrible creatures, creatures that sought to destroy Christ’s lineage. Yet God is faithful.

The Devil Sought Our Damnation,
But God Our Salvation

Though Satan was thwarted at the Great Flood, and God protected the lineage of Christ, he did not stop trying to destroy the Plan of Salvation. When God promised to Abraham:

Genesis 12:2-3 … I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Satan heard what God said. God was going to bring “The Seed of the Woman” through Abraham, through Israel. So many years later when Israel was in Egypt, Satan moved in the heart of the King to decree:

Exodus 1:16 (AP) … If you mid-wives see a Hebrew woman giving birth, if she bears a MALE child, KILL IT – but if a daughter, then she shall live …

When the mid-wives failed to do this, the King extended his decree. “Every SON that is born, you will cast him into the river” (Exodus 1:22). Yet God prevailed, and raised up Moses to lead Israel from that demon infested place. The lineage of Christ was preserved.

Go forward a few more years. God decides to bring the “Seed of the woman” through David, a lowly Shepherd. David’s line is the Line of Judah. The Bible tells us that when King Ahaziah of Judah died, his mother Athaliah decided she would rule Israel. What did she do next?

2 Kings 11:1-3 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram (the 9th King of Northern Israel, see 2 Kings 8:16, 25-28), sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah … put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. 3 And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Word Study: What better place to hide the lineage of Christ than in the Temple of God. The devil won’t go there! The line of Christ was down to just one righteous person – “Joash” – but Satan did not triumph. The name “Joash” (Hebrew Yôʼâsh) means “given by the Lord”. Satan tried, and failed again. Our God is faithful.

Is Satan done? No, he’s not. When the Wise Men come to Israel looking for the young Jesus, they stop in at the palace of Herod (Matthew 2:1-7). Herod told them that, if they would find Jesus and come back and tell him about it, that Herod would go and worship the Lord. God knew the intent of Herod’s heart, and warned Joseph to flee to Egypt with his family (Matthew 2:13-15). When the wise men didn’t return to Herod, the Bible says:

Matthew 2:16 (ESV) Herod … became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

But Jesus – the “Seed of the Woman” – was safely in Egypt while this horrible thing happened. Satan wanted Jesus gone. He did not want his head crushed. But once more, he was thwarted by the Lord.

When Jesus came of age, and was ready to begin His ministry, the Bible says that:

Matthew 4:1 … (ESV) Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

During one of those temptations we are told that:

Matthew 4:5-6 (ESV) … the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

The devil quoted Psalm 91:11-12, a prophecy of the coming Christ, hoping that Jesus would jump from this great height, killing Himself. If Jesus took the bait, the “Seed of the Woman” would not come, and Satan could continue to rule this earth. Yet Jesus was and is God Incarnate, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus quoted Scripture back to Satan, “You shall not test God” (Numbers 14:22; Deuteronomy 6:16; Psalm 78:18, 41, 56; Psalm 95:9; 106:14). Satan did all he could to destroy the “Seed of the Woman”. This is the pattern he has followed from the fall of Adam till now. We are told of Satan’s attacks in

Revelation 12:1-5 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne …

The pregnant woman is the nation Israel, from whom Christ would come. The “great red dragon” whose tail swept down a third of the “stars of heaven” is Satan, who led a third of the angels in revolt against God. Israel gave birth to the “Seed of the Woman” through the virgin named Mary. Satan did his best to destroy Jesus, to kill Him before He crushed Satan’s head – but could not catch Him.

It amuses me when people are scared of Satan. You should be frightened of him, and of sin, just as you should avoid poison ivy or a rattler. But Satan is no more than a created being. If Satan couldn’t destroy Jesus, maybe he could modify what Jesus was going to do. The Bible tells us that:

Matthew 16:21-23 (NASB) … Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. 22 And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.”

Jesus MUST go to the Cross. Jesus MUST be bruised, and beaten. Jesus MUST suffer the humiliation of Calvary. Jesus MUST bear the penalty of our sin as He dies, suffering immeasurably, upon that Tree. Only the Seed of the Woman can do what He is going to do.

And He does it. Jesus hangs on that Cross. The sun darkens. He cries out. “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46). He knows why, but the pain makes Him cry out, just as pain makes us cry out. Why? Why? Satan watches from the sidelines, his agent Judas Iscariot watching. An innocent Man is being crucified between two thieves. Satan has surely won. What does the Scripture say?

James 1:15 (AP) When LUST has conceived, it brings forth SIN, and SIN “WHEN IT IS FINISHED” brings forth DEATH

Satan has won! The Evil Won has triumphed. The “Seed of the Woman” will no longer be a problem. Then what happens? We are told:

John 19:30 … {Jesus} said, “IT IS FINISHED”, and bowed His head, and GAVE UP THE GHOST …

But before Hell could celebrate the death of Christ, the Bible says that “when Jesus gave up His spirit …

Matthew 27:52-54 (NASB) …the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now as for the centurion {, he said…} “Truly this WAS the Son of God!”

Satan thought Jesus was done. But He wasn’t done. Dying, we read that …

1 Peter 3:19-20 {Jesus} went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime {pote, literally “in times past”} were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah

The demons bound in Tartaroō thought that they had beaten Jesus. But He came, and “preached” unto those fallen creatures. Why do you think He preached? I believe He preached “God is FAITHFUL. God is TRUE. God cannot be thwarted. God is in control!”.

Why Does God Bring Water Baptism In At This Point?

1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Water baptism is “the answer of a good conscience toward God”. What does Water baptism symbolize? It is symbolic of the Noahic Flood. When the rain fell, the water would be the judgment of God that destroyed the unbeliever. The BELIEVER GOT ON THE ARK of God. The BELIEVER did not try to swim through the flood, but GOT ON THE ARK. As the judgment of God fell, that same judgment raised the believer above the water unto safety. If you have received Jesus Christ as BOTH your Lord and your Savior, your resting in Him will raise you above the judgment of God. The “Seed of the Woman” Jesus Christ will destroy death and the devil for you – but you must receive Him. Do not believe you can escape judgment if you reject Christ. The demons in Tartaroō probably thought that, upon Christ’s death, that they would be freed from prison. They were not, and will not be until God frees them. God is faithful! God is true!

1 Peter 3:22 {Jesus} is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.

He has crushed Satan’s head! He is Lord! Jesus Christ is the Great Ark of God. Is He YOUR Lord and Savior? If not, today is the best time to call upon His Name and be saved. May God the Holy Spirit draw you to His side. Amen and Amen.

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You are gods

Posted on September 29, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brass-colored-balance-scale-on-a-lawyer-s-table-6077961/

John 10:30-38 I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Two Wrongs Never Make A Right!

When Jesus said,

vs 30 I and my Father are one.

The Pharisees picked up stones to “to stone” Jesus. This is one of the two times they sought to kill Jesus by throwing stones at Him. The other time was earlier in His ministry when Jesus said:

John 8:56-59 (ESV) Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

When Jesus said “before Abraham was, I am”, He was applying the most holy name of God to Himself. When God met Moses in the desert of Midian, He told Moses that His Name was “I Am”. “Tell Israel that I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). God said, “This is MY NAME FOREVER” (Exodus 3:15). Jesus took the name of God – His most holy Name – and applied it to Himself. In our text today Jesus told the Pharisees:

vs 30 I and my Father are ONE.

Word Study: The word “ONE” is the Greek eis, which means “singular, one in essence, a part of a unified whole”. The same word is used by Jesus in Matthew 19 to describe the marriage of man and woman:

Matthew 19:6 (AP) … the married couple are no more TWO, but ONE {eis} flesh. What therefore God has joined together, do not try and tear apart.

As well as to how He described His relationship to us as His disciples:

Matthew 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for ONE {eis} is your Master, even Christ.

When Jesus said that He was “I AM”, He was making Himself out to be God. When Jesus said that He was “ONE” with God, He was saying He was co-equal and co-eternal with God. The Jews understood this – and Jesus did not correct them. They said,

vs 33 thou, being a man, makest thyself God

God in the Law said that “whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him.” (Leviticus 24:16). To “take the name of the Lord in vain” (Deuteronomy 5:11) is not just to make God’s name profane, but to apply the name of God to what you’re doing or to yourself. The Pharisees thought Jesus was “making Yourself God”. This was a serious crime, punishable by stoning – however, Jesus was to be stoned only after a proper trial before a priest!

The Jews took it upon themselves to be vigilantes – to be judge, jury, and executioner. This was very unlawful in itself. It is like many people do today when they seek vengeance while quoting – out of context:

Leviticus 24:19-20 (ESV) If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.

This verse did not mean that the Israelite was to pay back in kind an injury done to themselves. What the Law of Eye and Tooth did was to prescribe the maximum punishment for a crime once a person was convicted of it. No Jew had the right – just as no American has the right – to TAKE THE LAW INTO THEIR OWN HANDS. A person was tried, then once found guilty was punished. No one was ever to be punished by a lynch mob!

As the Jews prepare to illegally stone Jesus, He does what He always does. If you watch our Lord, any time He was attacked He (1) asked good questions, and (2) quoted the Scripture.

Vs 32 Jesus asked :Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

Jesus points out that the works that He did – “GOOD WORKS” – are works that are from Father God. The signs that Jesus is the Messiah is that “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:5). These are GOOD WORKS, not evil works. Every “GOOD GIFT and every PERFECT GIFT is FROM ABOVE, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). What Jesus has clearly been doing is good works, not evil works. So Jesus asks them to consider His works. He will later tell them:

John 14:11 (ESV) Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

The Jews ignore the works that Jesus did, and instead refer to the Law of God. They only follow the Law when it suits them. Since Jesus “makest Thyself God”, then they felt they were justified in – vigilante style – executing Jesus.

You cannot obey just the parts of the Scripture
that suit you! This is hypocrisy!

Jesus Refers To The Law By “It Is Written”:
“Ye are gods”

John 10:34-35 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If He {God} called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

Since they have ignored the testimony of His good works, Jesus now refers to the Law of Moses. He tells them “Is it not written in your law”. This is the Law you often quote at Me, often declare I am against. When Jesus came, He told any who would listen:

Matthew 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

The Jews had so twisted and re-interpreted the Law, that it was but a shadow of what it should be. As The Messiah Jesus came to FULFILL the Law. He came as the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He came to be the “once for all” sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 7:27; 9:26). He came to give His people – and us – a clear and concise understanding of God’s Law and what He expects of His people. Jesus is actually quoting:

Psalm 82:1-7 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. 6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

What is God speaking of in Psalm 82? How does this apply to Jesus? In the passage Jesus is quoting, Psalm 82, God is speaking to the Judges and Leaders of Israel. The Word of God came to these Judges and Leaders, and God Himself appointed these people to represent Him before the people. The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

“The judges of Psalm 82 were called “gods” because in their office they determined the fate of other men. Also, in Exodus 21:6 and 22:8-9, God called earthly judges “gods.”

Let me see if I can put it another way.

There is only ONE GOD Who made everything. This ONE GOD is Triune, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This God was never created, but has always been. This is why He is called “I Am”. This God appointed people to represent Him in the earth. In Psalm 82 the Eternal God calls these Judges and Leaders “gods” (little “g”) because they are supposed to represent Him. These little “g” gods are not co-eternal nor co-equal with the One God. They represent Him. God calls these little “g” gods “SONS OF THE MOST HIGH” because they are saved by Grace. The Word of the Lord came to them. As long as they represent the God Who made them and called them, they are little “g” gods.

Yet these Judges and Leaders in Psalm 82 forgot that they were little “g” gods. They began to think themselves big “G” Gods, in their offices because they were worthy or better than others. God told them because they – instead of honoring the God Who appointed them, they “JUDGED UNJUSTLY” and “ACCEPTED PERSONS THAT WERE WICKED” – that God will make them “DIE LIKE {LOST} MEN, AND FALL LIKE ONE OF THE {HEATHEN} PRINCES”. They would be no better than the lost in their deaths.

When God designates a steward, that steward represents God. In that sense they are little “g” gods. The little “g” god relies on the Word of God, not on themselves.

When God sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh, God told that old man:

Exodus 7:1 … See, I have made thee a {little “g”} god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

In the Bible there is the True God, the God of Scripture. There are His representatives, the little “g” gods. And there are the false little “g” gods who stole the title, Satan and the idols that Satan’s people create. Once you understand this concept, other Scriptures become clearer:

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (ESV) Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Deuteronomy 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

Jeremiah 10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

When our God created the Heaven and the earth, He created Adam out of the dust of the ground, and Eve out of Adam’s rib. The Scripture says the Word of God came to Adam and Eve and said:

Genesis 1:28 (ESV) … God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over{creation}

Though God made the creation, He gave control of it to Adam and Eve. God had “created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27, ESV). In that sense Adam and Eve were little “g” gods. They were stewards of what God gave them stewardship of, and were required to heed the Word of God that commissioned them.

Illustrate: One of my favorite books is one written by Jack London called “White Fang”. White Fang was half-wolf and half-dog. In the book’s chapter 6 as White Fang looked at his human captor, we read “The god sat down several feet away. White Fang could see nothing dangerous in that. When the gods administered punishment they stood on their legs. Besides, this god had no club, no whip, no firearm”.

God in His Grace made humans little “g” gods over creation. We, like God Himself, were given free will. The Word of the Lord came to us. And as little “g” gods, we are to do as our Maker has said – or suffer the consequence.

If God Appointed Judges & Leaders And Called Them Lower “g” gods, Then Why Is It Blasphemy For Jesus To Declare Himself God As His Works Prove He Is?

John 10:35-38 If He {God the Father} called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 Say ye of Him {Jesus the Messiah}, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Jesus says “If God called Judges and other Leaders little “g” gods because the Word of God came to them” which is clearly seen in Psalm 82, “then why is it wrong for Me to say I am the Son of God, as My works are clearly from God?” Scholar D.A. Carson said in The Gospel According To John, pg 397:

“As Jesus uses the text, the general line of his argument is clear. This Scripture proves that the word ‘god’ is legitimately used to refer to others than God himself. If there are others whom God (the author of Scripture) can address as ‘god’ and ‘sons of the Most High’ (i.e. sons of God), on what biblical basis should anyone object when Jesus says, I am God’s Son?”

Jesus’ logic and quotation of Scripture is impeccable. Jesus did the “works of My Father”. The Judges and Leaders in Psalm 82 did not do what they were supposed to do, yet were called little “g” gods. Jesus did what He was supposed to do. The Word of God came to Jesus, and He reflected it perfectly to honor Him Who sent Him. Jesus said:

John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does His works.

Jesus Christ is the “Faithful Witness” of Revelation 1:5. He has seen and knows God, for He is God. He is God in the flesh, “God with us” (Matthew 1:22-23). Jesus came to give us life, to bring us into the Family of God as sons of God. The Apostle wrote:

2 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Paul Carter wrote:

“God is alone. He is one. He is unique. So what is Jesus saying? He is simply saying that in so much as human beings fell by rejecting the Word of God, they are restored, enlarged and ennobled by receiving the Word of God. When we come back under the Word of God, we begin to be elevated back toward our former height and glory. ”

You, dear Christian, are not called to be big “G” God, but stewards of God, His representatives, little “g” gods. We obey His Word. We follow His Christ. We worship Him and Him alone. We do not make ourselves the focus, but our focus is Christ and our Heavenly Father. We live our lives under the power of the Spirit and the Scripture. As Carter said, “Yes, the Bible is authoritative, yes the Bible is inerrant, yes the Bible is infallible – it is all those things. And it is transformative. Gloriously, marvelously, miraculously transformative.” The Scripture says in

Psalm 19:7–9 {NKJV} The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

We Are Not Big “G” Gods – EVER!

One of the ancient heresies that is creeping back into televangelism today is that “We are equal with God”. This has been broadcast on TBN. Televangelists like Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, and others in the Word-Faith Movement have taken John 10:30-38 and Psalm 82 and twisted them to teach that those who receive God’s Word are in actuality a class of gods. Copeland said on TBN’s Praise The Lord Show (February 6, 1986) “Man was created in the god class. . . . All right. Are we gods? We are a class of god’s”. No, we are not. This is a false doctrine that the Mormons have taught for years. Called “The Doctrine of Eternal Progression”, LDS Church Leader Lorenzo Snow said, “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be”. This is a lie that Satan first planted in our minds in the Garden of Eden. God said:

Isaiah 43:10 (ESV) … I am He. Before Me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after Me.

Our God, our Creator, the God of Scripture is called “The First and the Last, I am He” (Isaiah 41:4). He has declared “I am God, there is no other; I am God, and there is NONE LIKE ME” (Isaiah 46:9-9). “From the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:6). Though God may have designated stewards to work on His behalf according to His Word, we will never be like God in power, in knowledge, in scope, in ability. He is the Shepherd, and we are the Sheep. He is the Potter, and we are the Clay. He is God, and we are His people. We will never be equal to God!

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Suffering Well

Posted on September 26, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lonely-woman-crying-with-closed-eyes-4471316/

1 Peter 3:12-17 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify {hagiazō, elevate above all, consecrate, dedicate solely} the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation {anastrophḗ, manner of life, conduct} in Christ. 17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

As humans, we often ask “Why is there suffering in this world we are in?” Sometimes we see suffering in children, such as those at St Jude’s Hospital. Open your newspaper and you don’t have far to look for suffering. I subscribe to “Main Street Maury”, our local newspaper. I like it because it seems to have balanced reporting. In the opinion section there is a liberal column right next to a Libertarian column. I don’t agree with all I read, but I do like balanced reporting. I look at my paper. On the front page, “SAFE Clinic helps victims of violence”. A wonderful ministry operated locally by the Center of Hope. It exists because of suffering. Turn the page. “Domestic incident leads to Columbia woman’s death; suspect hospitalized”. This is horrible. It’s suffering. Next page. “Free legal assistance to low income residents”. Suffering. The obituaries. Death and suffering. You see where I’m going.

If “God is good”, if there is a God Who created all things, why is there such suffering?

The Bible tells us that suffering entered our world because mankind chose to walk away from the God Who created all things “VERY GOOD” (Genesis 1:31). When God made us, He made us – both male and female – “in Our image, after Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). God gave humans authority over the earth, telling us to “have dominion” and to “multiply and fill the earth”. God gave us authority over the animals and nature, but gave us a free will to make choices. We could choose to follow our Creator, or we could follow another created being.

Many of us, like Adam, choose to follow
the created rather than the Creator.

Adam chose to follow the created – a serpent that represented a fallen angel – rather than God. Making this choice Adam surrendered the world to evil. Evil leads to suffering. Evil began to move outward, to infect, to destroy. Rather than repent and return to our Creator, we, like Adam, blame God and others. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. Nothing was fixed by playing the blame game. Humanity was barred from Paradise and became servants of suffering because of decisions we made. Cain followed in his father’s footsteps. Rather than do what God said, he chose to blame God and His creation. What happened? Cain murdered his innocent brother Abel (Genesis 4:8). The blame game never fixes anything. The end result of the blame game is suffering, and it can will to death.

I’ve been reading a book entitled “Who Made God? Answers To Tough Questions”. Written by Ravi Zacharias and Norman Geisler, it has some interesting statements in it on suffering and evil. This one caught my eye:

“Evil is not something that has an existence all its own; rather, it is a corruption of that which already exists. Evil is the absence or privation of something good. Rot, for example, can exist only as long as the tree exists. Tooth decay can exist only as long as the tooth exists. Rust on a car and a decaying carcass illustrate the same point. Evil exists as a corruption of something good; it is a privation and does not have essence by itself. Norman Geisler tells us, “Evil is like a wound in an arm or moth-holes in a garment. It exists only in another but not in itself” … Today we face the reality of both moral evil (evil committed by free moral agents) … and natural evil (involving such things as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and the like).”

Ironically one of the authors of this book, Ravi Zacharias, stopped following the Lord and suffered not only death, but the loss of his ministry for it. This Church is a safe place where God’s people are expected to live in the Light of Christ. We do not tolerate sexual abuse in any form. We follow the Lord, redeemed by the Blood of Christ, knowing that God is watching us and hearing us. Those who are saved by faith in Christ live their lives to please the Lord.

Live Your Life For Jesus Christ

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

The Bible says “the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous”. First of all, WHO are the “righteous”? Is it the outwardly righteous? No, but it is those whose heart is right in God’s eyes. Jesus told the Pharisees – people who thought they were righteous:

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

The righteous love Jesus. Why do we love Jesus? Because the Bible tells us that we are all born sinners, all born with our hearts far from God. We read:

Romans 3:10 (ESV) … None is righteous, no, not one …

When Adam brought sin into the world by misusing his free will, he brought sin on us all. The Bible says in Romans 5:12, “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. Adam brought a universal breach between us and God. And yet, the Father was not willing to leave us in this state. The Bible says that God sent His Son – His Eternal and Co-Powerful Son Jesus – into the world to save us. As Adam’s

Romans 5:18-19 (ESV) … one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness {this is Christ’s Cross} leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience {Christ’s death for us} the many will be made righteous.

Through faith in Christ’s death on Calvary, through belief that He rose from the grave, we are led to righteousness. Listen:

Every person has a BC. The believer has an AD.

Human time used to be divided BC and AD. BC stood for BEFORE CHRIST. AD stood for ANNO DOMINI which means “In the year of our Lord”. BEFORE CHRIST all people are naturally unrighteous, separated from God by sin and suffering. Jesus came to take us from BC to AD. Jesus came to bring sinners to salvation, and the unrighteous to righteousness. When the Pharisees (the religious right) and the Sadducees (the religious left) saw Jesus working with “sinners” they snarled, “Why do you sit with SINNERS?” (Matthew 9:11). Jesus quickly replied,

Matthew 9:13 (ESV) … I came not to call the RIGHTEOUS, but SINNERS ..

Sinners in the BC were required to bring a sacrifice (lamb, dove, bullock) without blemish to the Temple and the Priests to be sacrificed. The sins of the sinner were placed on the head of the animal, and the animal died in their place. When Jesus came, He came as the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36). Those in BC had to repeatedly offer animals for sins, “in those sacrifices a remembrance is made of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:3). “It is not possible that the blood of animals take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). What did Jesus do?

Hebrews 10:12 {Jesus} offered ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOREVER …

In BC sacrifices were made frequently. But with AD, when Jesus comes into your life, Jesus Christ made one sacrifice for sins FOREVER. It is Jesus and Jesus alone Who “made PURIFICATION FOR SINS” (Hebrews 1:3). When we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, He as our High Priest “is at the RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE FATHER INTERCEDING FOR US” (Romans 8:34). Jesus Christ is not only the Christian’s ONE and ONLY COVERING FOR SIN, but Jesus is our HIGH PRIEST (Hebrews 8:1-2). It is Jesus Who “entered ONCE FOR ALL INTO THE HOLY PLACE” of God, and “by MEANS OF HIS OWN BLOOD SECURED ETERNAL REDEMPTION” (Hebrews 9:12) for those who believe in Him.

You were purchased from satan and sin at a great cost. You, dear Christian, belong to God!

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers

The Christian is RIGHTEOUS because of what Christ has done for us. But the Christian is also RIGHTEOUS IN PRACTICE. The day you were saved, God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell you, to walk with you, to partner with you. The Holy Spirit is a PERSON, not a POWER. Jesus promised the believer:

John 14:17 {The Spirit} lives with you, and WILL BE IN YOU. …

The Bible reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies”

The intent of Christ in dying for us was not just to get us to Heaven, but to bring Heaven to us. The Holy Spirit washes us, and regenerates us (Titus 3:5). We become partakers of the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4), and are called to “honor God with our bodies”.

God watches OVER that which He has purchased at such a great cost. God listens to your prayers, and hears your words. The Bible says:

Proverbs 15:3 – The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

God watches over and hears His Children, those adopted into the Family of God by the Blood of Christ.

Psalm 121:8 – The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

As God saved the Christian, the Christian is to live to please the Lord. Our text again notes:

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

God watches this world. Those who “do evil” are eventually punished according to the evil they did. Sadly, there are times when believers who should know better do evil – and suffer for it. The “face of the Lord is against them that do evil”. This applies not to just unbelievers, but believers as well.

Consider Moses. This was a great man of God. As he led a murmuring Israel to the Promised Land, they made camp at a place called Kadesh. The Bible says “there was NO WATER for the congregation” (Numbers 20:2). Moses went bto God in prayer, and the Lord told him,

Numbers 20:8 (ESV) Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.

Moses was only to SPEAK to the rock, for “that ROCK was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Instead, Moses SPOKE the the congregation, saying:

Numbers 20:10 (ESV) … Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?

Moses robbed God of His glory, claiming that he did the good rather than acknowledge this was an act of the Grace of our Lord. Because of this Moses was barred from entering the Promised Land, and his ministry was turned over to Joshua.

The wages of sin is DEATH.

I could tell you of King David who committed adultery with another man’s wife, then had her husband murdered. Though David repented, God told him:

2 Samuel 12:10 … the sword shall NEVER DEPART FROM YOUR HOUSE, because YOU DESPISED ME, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife …

God’s eyes are over us. He watches us. The strongman and judge Samson learned this the hard way. Blinded and tied to pillars, mocked by Philistines, he killed himself and his enemies by pulling the stadium down on their heads.

The wages of sin is DEATH.

Everyone Suffers In This Life: Ensure You Suffer Well

1 Peter 3:13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

If you are a Christian, you are called to be “followers of that which is good”. What does that mean? Last Wednesday, we studied in the Gospel of John where our Lord Jesus said:

John 10:11, 14, 27-30 (ESV) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.

Who will harm us if we follow that which is GOOD? People may attack us as Christians. They may persecute us for our belief in Christ. They may mock our morality. But if we are following the GOOD SHEPHERD, the Lord Jesus Christ, then He will make everything come out right. He is the Good Shepherd, and we are His sheep.

The Christian who never suffers for the faith is the Christian who is not following Christ. The world will hate the believer. Jesus said, “you shall be HATED OF ALL for My name’s sake” (Matthew 10:22). He said:

John 15:19 (ESV) If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

We used to walk according to the ways of this world (Ephesians 2:2-5), but now walk following that which is good, that is, our Jesus. We are saved from what we were, and are daily sanctified to be more like what we will become (Titus 3:3-7). We are “called out of darkness into Christ’s marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9-12). You will “suffer for righteousness’ sake”.

Good Christian music offends the world. The song “In Christ Alone” states:

“In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.”

The Presbyterian Church USA dropped this song from their hymnal, because they don’t believe that God’s wrath hangs over the unrepentant sinner. The song is not inclusive enough – after all, God loves everyone. Yet the Scripture says:

John 3:18 (ESV) Whoever believes in {Jesus} is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:36 (ESV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

1 Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

Our Lord Jesus said this same thing in His Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who will be in Heaven? Those who lived to please the King of Heaven while on this earth! If you live for hell on this earth, you need not expect Heaven beyond it!

You who are saved by Grace are Children of the Kingdom of Heaven. You are to live by Christ’s directive, not by the whim of this world. You are to be:

Ephesians 5:1-8 (ESV) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…

Suffering Well Requires We Keep Our
Eyes On Our Shepherd

The devil and this fallen world will do its best to frighten us into following the darkness. The Lord tells us to not be “afraid of their terror, neither be troubled”. The word translated “troubled” is the Greek tarassō, which means “to cause inward commotion, to become anxious or distressed”. The world and its god will do what it can to get you to compromise your faith in Christ, to step away from truth and into the lie. The Lord gives us three things to do if we are to be overcomers in this darkened world:

1. “sanctify {hagiazō, elevate above all, consecrate, dedicate solely} the Lord God in your hearts”. Humans were designed to worship God. If we do not worship God, we will worship something. One thing I hear today is the saying, “Follow your heart”. This is the suggestion of Satan, who suggested to Adam and Eve to “follow your heart” rather than follow your Creator. The Bible says,

Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Rather than follow our hearts, we put Jesus on the Throne of our hearts and follow Him. That is the sense of “sanctify” the LORD GOD in your hearts. To “SANCTIFY” means “to set apart, to treat as holy, to regard with reverence and honor”. Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). Who do you love MORE? You are to love God MOST.

Is it possible that some of our suffering comes about because we have forgotten our God? Is it possible that we have, like the Church at Ephesus, “Lost our first love”? (Revelation 2:4). Isaiah told Israel:

Isaiah 8:13-14a (NASB) It is the Lord of armies whom you are to regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread. 14 Then He will become a sanctuary;

If you are a sheep, you need to be with the Good Shepherd. Stay close to Him. Be obedient to Him.

2. Be prepared to tell others about Jesus. We are told in verse 15, “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”. The phrase “” is the Greek etoimos, which means “to prepare ahead mentally and be on the alert”. We do not know when nour Jesus is coming again – it might be today. Jesus used this same word when He told us:

Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

We are in a battle for the soul of America. Be ready. Prepare ahead what you might say in different circumstances. Do you know why you love Jesus? How will you tell it?

3. Work as unto the Lord, not unto man. Finally, we are told:

1 Peter 3:16-17 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation {anastrophḗ, manner of life, conduct} in Christ.

Live your lives for Jesus. Honor Him in all that you do. Know that “it is better … that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.” Those who follow Satan and the way of the world bring suffering upon themselves and upon this nation. May I ask you ….

Are YOU saved?
Are YOU ready to see Jesus?

The difference between ac lost person and a saved person is see in what they cling to. The saved may sin, but will not cling to that sin, but fall under conviction, and repent, returning to Christ. The lost will sin and cling to the sin, embrace the sin, normalize the sin, and live in the sin. If you are not saved, today is the day of salvation. Call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for cleansing. Give yourself fully to Him, and allow Him to embrace your life. Do not delay. Amen and amen.

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Jesus The Good Shepherd

Posted on September 22, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/agriculture-clouds-countryside-daylight-414363/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

John 10:11-18 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus spent a great deal of time describing Himself and His mission by using every day items that people would understand. For instance, last week Jesus described Himself:

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Everyone knows what a “door” is. We go into and out of buildings using doors. We do not climb in through windows – that’s something you’d do if you were trying to bypass the lock. There have been times when I’ve accidentally locked myself out of my home, and climbed in through an open window. That’s not normal, though. The only person who normally enters a horme by any way but the door is “a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). Jesus is THE Door. He is THE Door to Heaven.

Jesus is THE Door to life, both eternal and abundant.

As we’ve studied through John, we’ve seen Jesus use other “I Am” statements describing Himself and His ministry. He said:

John 6:35 … (ESV) I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

If you try to live your life on this earth without Jesus, you will never be satisfied. Why? Because the God Who made you, made you incomplete without Jesus. Jesus also said:

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

Before Jesus said this, people thought that “the light of the world” was the sun by day and the moon by night. But here Jesus is not speaking of physical darkness, but spiritual darkness. The Bible says:

1 John 5:19 (NIV) We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

From Adam’s fall until the rise of Christ, the whole world was dominated by satanic darkness and wickedness. But Jesus came to lead us into the Light of God. Jesus Christ is the Messiah Who, having come in the flesh, “tells us all things” (John 4:25). Today Jesus tells us that He is “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD”.

Jesus is not the mediocre Shepherd.
Jesus is not ONE of the Good Shepherds.
Jesus is THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

Jesus Is THE Good Shepherd Who Voluntarily
Lays His Life Down For His Sheep

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

First we note that Jesus is the “GOOD Shepherd”. It is not humans, but God Who determines what is good or evil. As God created all things, He declared at each stage of creation “God saw that it was GOOD” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). When God created man and woman and finished what He started, God said “it was VERY GOOD” (Genesis 1:31). God established what was good, and what was evil. God told Adam that he could eat of any fruit, but:

Genesis 2:17 … the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Man could do good, which is what God said, or choose to do as he saw fit. Adam did as the serpent suggested. He ate of that which God said was bad. This caused man to die spiritually, and to lose Paradise. The Bible says:

Genesis 3:22 … the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil

This does not mean that man can now determine what is GOOD or EVIL, but that man THINKS he can determine GOOD and EVIL. Man cannot know good, because good is only defined by God. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 19:17 (also Mark 10:18) there is none good but one, that is, God

If there are none good but God, then how can humans determine good? We cannot apart from God. We think we can. We think we are gods, but we are not. Only God is God. Only God is good. The Scripture says:

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

If it is GOOD, then it comes from God. Our good, our human goods, are stained and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus Christ is GOOD. He is GOOD because He was sent from the Father. John the Baptist said of Jesus:

John 3:31-36 (ESV) He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Jesus Christ is the GOOD Shepherd because He comes from above. Jesus Christ is God the Son. He said, “No one has seen the Father, except He WHO IS OF GOD, He has seen the Father”. He said, “He that has seen Me, has seen the Father” (John 6:46; 14:9).

Jesus is not only GOOD, but He is the
SHEPHERD of God’s people.

He is the GOOD SHEPHERD. In the Old Testament, God alone was said to be the Shepherd of His people. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 80:1 Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!

Psalm 95:7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

And through the Prophet God said,

Ezekiel 34:31 “As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Jesus is not the Shepherd because He has to be, nor because He is paid to be, but is the Shepherd because He wants to be. Jesus said:

John 10:12-13 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

Word Study: The “hireling” (Greek misthōtos, hired servant, wage worker) does what he does because he is paid money for it. He is a sharecropper or a steward of the sheep. He has no personal invested interest in those sheep. When that misthōtos sees a wolf or a bear coming, some type of threat that might hurt him, the misthōtos leaves the sheep. Why would he be willing to die for another man’s sheep.

Jesus is not a misthōtos, a hired laborer. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 2:9-11 (ESV) But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers…

Jesus Christ is the co-creator of all that you see, whether in the heavens or on the earth. When Adam sinned, he subjected all creation to darkness and the devil. Jesus Christ came to redeem that which He created, to restore creation to its rightful owners. He did not come because God the Father offered Him some reward or cash price for coming. Jesus willingly volunteered to come to restore and redeem us to Him. Jesus by the Grace of God “taste(d) death for everyone”. It was His intent to “bring many sons to glory”. Not everyone, but those who believed in Him.

Our Great Shepherd gave His life for us because He loves us. We are His purchased possessions. He is not paid to watch over us, but Himself paid a GREAT PRICE for us. The Scripture says:

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession (peculiar people in the KJV)

1 Corinthians 3:23 (ESV) you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Galatians 3:29 (ESV)And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Romans 14:8 (ESV) For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

When the Bible says “we are the Lord’s”, we are not just a possession – but someone the Lord intimately loves. Jesus said:

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Word Study: The word translated “know” is the Greek ginōskō, which means “to have an intimate knowledge of”. This word is so intimate that it is sometimes used of sexual intercourse between husband and wife (Matthew 1:25, “and KNEW her not”, or Luke 1:34, “I KNOW not a man”), or to deeply understand something (Mark 5:29, “she FELT”). Jesus has an intimate and ongoing relationship with His Sheep, His people.

Illustrate: In one episode of M*A*S*H Colonel Potter relates to his friends how he met and fell in love with Doris Day. He states that he’s never been to a Doris Day movie with his wife Mildred. But whenever he feels bad about his love affair with Doris Day, he remembers that Doris never knew him, either. He loved her from afar! Many people profess to be Christian, and say they are saved. But like Potter did with Doris Day, they love Jesus only from afar. They never acquainted themselves with the Lord. They never loved Him, nor gave their lives to Jesus. They are like those Jesus speaks of in:

Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew {ginōskō} you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Those who KNOW Jesus INTIMATELY walk in the light of God with Him. Those who KNOW Jesus INTIMATELY know that He died for our sins, so they do not rejoice in wickedness. Those who KNOW Jesus INTIMATELY will imitate Him and do His Word. What saith the Scripture?

1 John 1:7 … 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.

We are cleansed from sin when we walk WITH our Shepherd and WITH other of His Sheep!

Our Shepherd Is Not Only Our PROVIDER And PROTECTOR, He Is Our POTENTATE

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

The Sheep under the Shepherd obey the voice of their Shepherd. The Apostle wrote:

1 Timothy 6:14-15 … our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

Jesus is the “Potentate” or autocratic Ruler of His Sheep. He is AUTOCRATIC, not DEMOCRATIC. The Sheep have no voting power. What Jesus says is true and right, regardless as to what the world or the majority might say. Jesus is the ultimate “King of kings, and Lord of lords”, and He expects us as His Sheep to obey Him. He said:

Luke 6:46-49 …. why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

There are far too many deluded professors of the faith who will not follow the Shepherd.

Do you know what a sheep is called who will not follow the Shepherd? Lamb Chops!

As Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, they interrupted Him and demanded:

John 10:24 …. How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Jesus replied,

John 10:25-27 …. I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know {ginōskō} them, and they follow {akolouthéō} me:

The mark of the genuine Christian is that they (1) intimately know the Lord, and (2) follow (akolouthéō) or “walk in the same way with, to join as a disciple”. The concept that salvation and discipleship are two phases of the Christian life is a product of heretical easy believism. Pastor John MacArthur notes:

“Faith obeys. Unbelief rebels. The fruit of one’s life reveals whether a person is a believer or an unbeliever.”

Jesus is not just a passing fad for the Sheep – He is everything to us. His Word guides us. We live our lives loving Him. We hear His voice, and follow Him. And because we are His and He is ours He has promised:

John 10:28-30 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.

The saved are God’s Sheep. God’s Sheep follow the Shepherd. The Shepherd is Christ. We walk in the way with Him, believing and loving Him until we pass over into eternity. In eternity we will see Him face to face.

But let me be blunt.

If you have no love for Jesus now, and do not care to follow Him in this life, do not expect to be in glory with Him in the next life. John MacArthur put it this way:

“Christians believe in a holy law which provides complete freedom, a joyous freedom which is slavery to righteousness. Christians believe in a kingdom on earth with a capital in heaven. Christians believe in a little flock of innumerable saints. Christians believe they are wretched outcasts who became saints. They are enemies who became sons. They are slaves who became kings. They are poor who became wealthy. They are bankrupt souls who are given eternal riches. They are rebels who became friends. They are haters who became lovers and even lovers of those who hate them. .. Christians believe they are victims who became victors. They are strong who rejoice in their weakness. They are the despised who receive honor. They are souls who die once but live twice. They are mortals who become immortal. They are corrupt who become incorruptible. They are the sorrowful who have eternal joy. And all of these realities have come to us because the giver of life gave up His life so that those dead in sin would live forever. .. We’re in the world, we’re not of the world. We have a King and a Lord, and His name is Jesus Christ. And Scripture is crystal clear as to how we are to submit to our Lord. In Romans chapter 10, familiar words: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Salvation comes to those who confess Jesus as Lord.”

If He is not your Lord now, He is not your Savior in eternity. Salvation is by faith alone unto works. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of His Sheep – and His Sheep follow Him. Amen? Amen!

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The Fruit Of Your Faith

Posted on September 17, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by aditya bhatia: https://www.pexels.com/photo/grapes-in-a-bowl-18200328/

1 Peter 3:8-12 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Is Your Foundation FLESH or SPIRIT?

One of our Evangelists this week reminded us that the fruit that your life produces shows everyone what type of tree you are. False prophets abound in this world, trying to deceive people into following the flesh and satan. The Christian, saved by submitting to the Lordship of Christ, is born into the Kingdom of God through the operation of the Spirit. Once saved by faith and through the operation of the Holy Spirit, we as believers follow a pathway of submission:

1 Peter 3:7 The husband, the leader in the marriage, submits honor and love to the wife.

1 Peter 3:1 The wife, of equal value to her husband, submits to hisgodly leadership.

1 Peter 2:25 Every Christian submits to the Leadership of the Word of God and the Spirit of God. We follow Christ, and help others follow Christ.

1 Peter 2:24 Our Lord Jesus submitted to the Will of the Father by going to the Cross, becoming the Lamb of God to take away our sins.

The difference between the world and the Kingdom of God is that the world submits to the flesh and feelings, but those in God’s Kingdom submit to the Word and Spirit of God.

The Christian Mind Submits To Spirit And Word

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind …

We all have opinions, feelings, desires, and they are all somewhat different. The Christian does not walk according to the feelings of the flesh, but we submit to the Word of God. You were saved by submitting to the Word of God. You heard that Christ is the Messiah, that He died for your sins, and you came to Him with open and empty hands. You received Him as He is, both Lord and Savior. You were born again.

Jesus said in John 3:6-7, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit… you MUST be BORN AGAIN”. When you hear the Gospel, and believe that Christ died for you, and rose again for you, and you BELIEVE this Gospel is FOR YOU, then God the Holy Spirit changes you. Jesus said in

John 6:63 (AP) It is the HOLY SPIRIT that gives life; the FLESH PROFITS NOTHING: The Words that I SPEAK UNTO YOU, these Words are SPIRIT, and these Words are LIFE ..

The entrance into the Christian way of life is to understand WHO Jesus ACTUALLY IS. One day Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do PEOPLE say that I am?” (Mark 8:27). The disciples began to list the different theories as to Who Jesus is. Some thought Jesus was John the Baptist. That couldn’t be true, for John had been imprisoned by Herod, and was beheaded for his faith (Matthew 14:10). Others thought Jesus to be Elijah, returning from Heaven. Yet others thought Jesus to be a great Prophet. Hearing all these statements, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do YOU think I am?”. Peter spoke up and said:

Matthew 16:16 (AP) YOU are THE Christ, THE Son of the Living God!

Jesus tells Peter:

Matthew 16:17-19 (ESV) “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter (petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The Catholics took these verses and said that Peter became the first Pope, that God gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. But that’s not true. Jesus said “You are petros, and on petra I will build My Church”. Had Jesus meant that He was building His Church on Peter, He would have used the same Greek word each time.

God did not give Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, but He gives ALL Christians the keys. What are the KEYS? The Spirit and the Word of God.

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind

We are not told that just SOME are to be of ONE MIND, but ALL are to be of ONE MIND. We are not to be carnally or fleshly minded. The Apostle said:

Romans 8:6-9 (ESV) For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

When we are told to have “one mind”, that mind is to be “the MIND OF CHRIST” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

To have ONE MIND is to have singleness of purpose. The Bible says “the DOUBLE MINDED PERSON is UNSTABLE in all their ways” (James 1:8, AP). As one evangelist reminded us, our duty as Christians is to take others by the hand and help them follow Christ. We are to be single minded in doing what Jesus said.

I have heard Christians say, “I don’t like so and so, so I won’t go near them”. This is NOT the Christian way. Though Jesus hated what the Pharisees and Sadducees said and did, He was constantly addressing them, trying to draw them back to God. People are broken, and often do not see their brokenness. I can see another person’s sin so much easier than I can see my own. God’s will for this Church is expressed in:

Romans 15:5-6 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we are obedient to God, and love those who do not love us, we have the promise that God will accompany us on the journey. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 13:11 … be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

The devil loves it when Christians oppose one another. We are Children of the Most High. It is beneath the place of a royal to despise another member of the royal family. We are to …

Philippians 1:27 (ESV) Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, … with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel,

It is a blessing to your Pastor when you work together in unity to advance the Gospel of Christ. The Apostle said:

Philippians 2:2 Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

And again,

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another….

The Fruit Of The Spirit Looks Like This

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Word Study: The word rendered “compassion” is the Greek sympathēs (pronounced soom-path-ace’), which means “to have a fellow-feeling with, to be sympathetic with”. Though this word is used only here in Scripture, it’s sentiment is echoed in:

1 Corinthians 12:24-26 … God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

The Body of Christ, the Church, is composed by God. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:18 (ESV), “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose”. Just as the members of the human body has sympathy with the pain experienced by other members, so should the Body of Christ function when it is Spirit led.

We are God’s Team!

1 Peter 3:8 love as brethren,

Word Study: “love as brethren” is actually one word in the Greek, philadelphos. We are to treat one another like family.

We are God’s Family!

1 Peter 3:8 BE PITIFUL

Word Study: This is the Greek eusplagchnos, which means “to be tender hearted toward”. We are to give others the benefit of the doubt. We are told in:

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Being “tenderhearted” means to respond to a sleight or an offense with KINDNESSand FORGIVENESS. I was raised to respect others. If someone is talking, I let them finish talking before I put in my two cents worth. Not all people are raised like I was. I have been talking to someone when another person comes up and, ignoring me, starts a conversation with the person I’m talking to. I can feel my hackles rise up (that’s the hair on the back of my neck) – but I must not respond in an ugly way. The Spirit says to give that person the benefit of the doubt. Be kind and forgiving. I’ve put my hand out to shake another’s hand, only to be ignored. Be kind and forgiving. I’ve had people say ugly things to me, both to my face and behind my back. Be kind and forgiving – just as Christ gave us.

We are all broken!

1 Peter 3:8 be courteous

Word Study: This is the Greek compound philophrōn, which means “friendly minded”. Do not assume the worst of others, but be friendly and open to them as people. Do not be friendly minded toward sin. Many in modern Christian music seek to blend Christianity with that which God has forbidden in order to be “seeker sensitive”. For instance, the Christian artist known as Lecrae was selling t-shirts on his website that said “I can quote Cardi B and Corinthians”. Cardi B is a rap artist that uses blasphemous language in her songs, and many times sings sexually explicit or racist lyrics. Lecrae states “I’m righteous and ratchet”, a catch phrase that means you can speak righteously or unrighteously. I guess they get that from a “ratchet” as a tool can turn “right” or “left”. Beloved, the Bible says:

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Christians do not “ratchet”. We serve a Living God Who is righteous and hates sin. He hates sin so much His Son had to die to cover our sins. As someone once said:

“You Christians will stand before God as if you are Christ, because Christ stood before God as if He were YOU! He paid for our sins.”

We are friendly-minded toward people – but NOT toward their broken ways. We are loving toward those in sin – but NOT toward their sin.

Christians Do Not Fight Fire With Fire

1 Peter 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Social Media has done more to ruin the cause of Christ than anything else in human history. People who profess to be Christian get on Social Media and post some of the most horrid items, thinking that they are somehow leading people to Christ.

Beloved, we as Christians do not get down in the mud
and wrestle with the unbeliever.

We as Christians do not enter the mental health facility
with the idea of arguing with its patients.

Often believers quote these Scriptures out of context:

Leviticus 24:19-20 (ESV) If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. (also see Deuteronomy 19:21)

This Law was given to a specific people – Israel – during a specific time – when a Judge pronounced sentence. This was not meant to be the Christian way of life. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 5:38-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are not to avenge ourselves, but to do as Christ commanded. As He hung on the Cross of Calvary in undeserved and unimaginable pain, our Lord cried out:

Luke 23:34 (ESV) … “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

We are to allow our God to take care of vengeance. The Father has promised, “Vengeance is MINE, I will repay, says the LORD” (Romans 12:19). God will balance the scales in the end of days, and you who are saved will be more than satisfied with the results. Do not allow the sons of Adam to pull you down to their level. No soul has ever been won to Christ in an evil for evil battle.

You Bring A Blessing Or A Cursing On Yourself Based On The Fruit You Allow In Your Life

1 Peter 3:9-12 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and {pursue} it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

The Christian is called to bring LIGHT to this earth, not darkness. “You are the LIGHT of the world” (Matthew 5:14). “Let your LIGHT shine before people, so they can SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS” (Matthew 5:16). Jesus said, “Be careful that the LIGHT that is in you is not darkness” (Luke 11:35). Jesus said, “I came into this world as LIGHT, that whoever believes on me WILL NOT ABIDE IN DARKNESS” (John 12:46).

If you “love life, and {want to} see good days”, then the Lord tells you to control your tongue. Do not let your tongue speak evil things. Do not let hypocrisy come from your lips. We are to:

1 Peter 3:11 … eschew evil, and do good

Word Study: That Old English word “eschew” is the Greek ekklinō, which means “to go out of the way to avoid”. If evil is in your path, “take the long way home”. Shun it. Refuse to entertain it. Celebrate the goodness of God, and shine for Him – even if the world doesn’t understand.

Illustrate: On Saturday (Sept. 9, 2023), 19-year-old Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open women’s tennis single finals, becoming the youngest American to claim the title since Serena Williams won in 1999 at the age of 17. Coco went off to the side after her victory, knelt, and praised God in a moment of silent prayer. She would later tell ESPN, “God [puts] you through tribulations and trials and that makes this moment even sweeter than I could have imagined”.

We who are Christ’s do not just go out of our way to avoid evil, but we “DO GOOD”. What “GOOD” have you done for the Lord this week? Social media doesn’t count. Social media takes no effort. Kneeling and praying to God on the sidelines after a victory takes courage, especially in our day in America. What you post on X (Twitter), Facebook or Linked-In takes no courage. You can ‘block’ whoever doesn’t agree with you, or ‘unfriend’ them, or make the post private. What “GOOD” have you done for the Lord this week in the marketplace, in Church, in your business, in your family or school? We are told to “SEEK PEACE and PURSUE it”. This does not mean to compromise what God has said is true. What this means is,

We are to live our lives so as to lead others to Christ (Ephesians 2:14).

We end with these words:

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Do you feel that your prayers are largely unanswered? Do you feel that you are praying and praying, but God is not hearing? Then check your life. Are you walking with Christ? Are you living your life in accordance with the Word of God and the Spirit of God? Or are you imitating the lost? What you do as a believer will effect whether God blesses you or not.

May God touch your hearts, leading you to follow Him. Regardless as to where He leads. Jesus has promised that the gates of hell cannot defeat His Church. Let us follow Him into glory. If we believe, let us follow the lead of His Spirit and His Word – not the flesh. Amen and Amen.

I believe there is one salvation

One doorway that leads to life

One redemption, one confession

I believe in the name of Jesus Christ!

I believe in the crucifixion

By His blood I have been set free

I believe in the resurrection

Hallelujah, His life is death’s defeat

All praise to God the Father, all praise to Christ the Son

All praise to the Holy Spirit, our God has overcomе

The King who was and is and evermore will be

In Jesus’ mighty name, I believe!

(Phil Wickham)

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Likewise …

Posted on September 12, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Asad Photo Maldives: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-woman-walking-of-body-of-water-1024993/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 3:

1 Peter 3:1-7 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. 7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

It seems as if America is in the deepest period of “confusion” I have ever seen. Those who should know better, college professors and medical professionals are now saying “sex is something assigned at birth”. This is not true. As John Stonestreet notes from the Colson Center:

“A person’s sex is acknowledged, not assigned. There are many things that doctors learn about a baby when it’s born, like height, weight, and blood type. Those things aren’t assigned. They’re acknowledged. … Sex is determined by our reproductive system. In most cases, humans are born with two sex chromosomes, either x/x {female} or x/y {male}. … For human reproduction to happen, contributions from both kinds of reproductive systems are required. The differences between males and females go beyond our reproductive systems. Men and women differ in how their brains operate, how they solve problems, what diseases they are susceptible to, and so much more. … disorders of sexual development don’t create new categories of sex. … The disorder that occurs when a person’s reproductive system doesn’t develop neatly along a male or female path is called “intersex.” If a person is intersex that does not mean that he or she is not male or female. Nor does it mean that there are additional categories of sex other than male and female. Some people are born without limbs. Others are born blind. Disorders of sexual development are not evidence of a new category of sex any more than disorders of the cardiac or respiratory systems are evidence of new kinds of hearts or lungs.”

This is what we used to call common sense. We don’t have common sense anymore, but confusion. This is not from God. The Bible is very clear that:

1 Corinthians 14:33 … God is not the author of confusion, but of peace ..

Where does confusion come from if not from God? It comes from the lost. When a person rejects the God Who wrote our Bible for a god of their own making, they enter into confusion. The Bible says (Isaiah 41:29) “their molten images are wind and CONFUSION”, and “they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols” (Isaiah 45:16). The Prophet said:

Jeremiah 3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.

Illustrate The Foundation Matters: When you depart from God you move into madness. I find it interesting that today, Sunday September 10, 2023 is “World Suicide Prevention Day”. Suicide, often called “Deaths Of Despair” have been rising. In 2000 there were around 23 deaths of despair per 100,000 people. In 2022 there was a record high 49,369 suicide deaths, and since 2011 nearly 540,000 people have been lost to suicide. In 2021 there were 43,340 residents in Columbia, TN, and 104,760 residents in Maury County. Nationwide there are more suicides than there are residents in Columbia, five times more than in our Maury County.

What in the world is happening? CONFUSION.

We need to get back to God. We need to get back to the Bible! If the foundation of our truth is rotted, our lives will be confusion and rot. We need to get back to Jesus.

A Good Foundation Begins With A Good Marriage

God instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden. It is through marriage that God designed our species to replicate. Man was FIRST created, made from the dust of the ground:

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God {Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm} formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

If you’ve ever walked through your house and saw DUST on an object, guess what? THAT’S YOU. We shed skin cells, which are DUST. God made us of DUST. Then after God made MAN – a MALE – He made the FEMALE. How did He make the female?

Genesis 2:21-22 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Now why didn’t God make woman – a FEMALE – out of dust as He did the man? Because God was showing an order in the family. God could have just as easily made the woman of dust as He made the man of dust. But He made the woman from a RIB taken from MAN who was made from DUST. Now, did this make the woman any less valuable than the man? Absolutely not! If you look in:

Genesis 1:27-30 (ESV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you {you BOTH} every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You {you BOTH} shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

God made both MALE and FEMALE in His image and in His likeness. God “BLESSED THEM”. Not just HIM, but THEM. God told THEM – the male and female – to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion”. Man cannot “Be fruitful” without the woman. Woman cannot “multiply and fill the earth” without the man. Together as a family they were to “subdue” and “have dominion” over the earth, which means that the male and female in marriage were to rule the earth as representatives and stewards of God the Creator.

Jesus said of marriage,

Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV) … “Have you not read that He {Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm} who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Now, within this “one flesh” arrangement where each person is equally valuable, which leads the unit? Both are important. But the Bible makes it clear that the male leads the marriage. This is why God made man of DUST, but woman from Adam’s RIB. The woman is to be cherished, loved, and protected. The woman is to have input. She is NOT second class, no more than the man’s right arm is second class. The woman is valuable.

This Is Why Peter Addresses The Woman First

1 Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives

When we read these words, modern American philosophy has taught us to read:

ye wives, be in subjection
to your own husbands

and be offended at it. What do you mean the “WIFE” is to “BE IN SUBJECTION TO HER OWN HUSBAND”? That word “SUBJECTION” is a dirty word, highly politically incorrect in American society today. We don’t want to hear about “SUBJECTION”. We don’t want to have “SUBJECTION” in our religion, “SUBJECTION” in our politics, “SUBJECTION” in our relationships, “SUBJECTION” in our workplace. Everybody wants to be the BOSS. Heck with “SUBJECTION”. That’s archaic thought!

But rather than read “ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands”, let’s read that word we so easily skipped over.

“Likewise”

Word Study: This is the Greek homoiōs which means “in the same way”. In the “same way” as what? You have to go back to the previous chapter.

1 Peter 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

There was a time when “all we like SHEEP have GONE ASTRAY – we all turned TO OUR OWN WAY” (Isaiah 53:6). We departed from God, doing our own thing. We would NOT SUBMIT to Him Who loved us. And yet, “the LORD laid on Jesus the INIQUITY of us all”.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We who are Christians “were as sheep going astray”. We were going our own way. But one day we heard the Gospel of salvation. The Gospel of salvation requires that WE SUBMIT TO GOD. What is the Gospel that was preached in the early Church?

Matthew 3:2 (AP) … REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand ..

Matthew 4:17 (AP) … Jesus preached, REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand …

Matthew 9:13 (AP) … I did not come to call the righteous, but SINNERS TO REPENT .

Mark 1:15 (AP) … The Kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT and believe the Gospel …

Mark 6:12 … (AP) The Disciples of Christ went out and preached that ALL SHOULD REPENT …

Acts 2:38 (AP) … Peter said to the crowd, REPENT, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit …

2 Corinthians 7:10 (AP) For godly sorrow brings about REPENTANCE to salvation …

Word Study: Salvation will not come to a person who does not REPENT (the Greek metanoeō, which means “to change one’s mind for the better”) and come to Jesus as the “Shepherd and Bishop of your souls”. The “SHEPHERD” is the boss of the sheep. The “BISHOP” (Greek episkopos) is the “OVERSEER” or “SUPERINTENDENT” of your soul.

To be saved, you must SUBMIT to Jesus. When you SUBMIT to Jesus, your sins are covered by His work for you on the Cross. When you SUBMIT to Jesus you become a son of God and a child of God. Positionally, you become the property of God.

If you have not submitted to God, surrendering
your soul to Him, you are not saved.

But the “LIKEWISE” (homoiōs, “in the same way”) does not just refer to the Christian, but also to the Christ. Listen Beloved:

1 Peter 2:21-24 Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

We are saved by submitting ourselves to Jesus.
Jesus saved us by submitting Himself to the Cross.

Women Have A Massive Amount Of Control
Over Their Own Husbands

1 Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

Word Study: The words translated “be in subjection” is the Greek hypotassō, which means “to be subject to, submit ones self to, to follow the leadership of or be under the direction of”. The woman should follow the leadership of her husband insofar as his leadership does not violate her covenant with God. The Bible commands our allegiance to be first and foremost to our Lord Jesus. We are commanded to “not walk as unbelievers walk, in the emptiness of their own minds” (Ephesians 4:17, AP). No Christian is to give themselves over to sexual sin, uncleanness, or greed (Ephesians 4:19). As Christians we are to be like Jesus is, “created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24, AP). We as Christians are told:

Ephesians 5:1-4 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

Wives are not to submit to sinful suggestions by their lost husbands, but are to model Christ while walking in loving submission to “their own husbands”. I have talked with several female believers in this Church who had unbelieving husbands. One lady told me she lived for the Lord, and every Sunday asked if her husband would come with her to Church. Week after week he would say no. But then one day he surprised her. He said, “Yes”, and went to Church with her. His life turned to Jesus not long after that. We are told:

if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives

Word Study: “conversation” is the Greek anastrophē, which means “manner of life, conduct, behavior, deportment”. If the wife was won to the Gospel by the preaching of the Word of God, but the husband will not hear that Word, he MAY see the lifestyle of the wife and be led to the Lord by that lifestyle.

1 Peter 3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

Word Study: “chaste conversation” is the Greek hagnos anastrophē, which means “pure or clean manner of life, the way you live for Jesus”. When you were saved God the Holy Spirit came to indwell you (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Titus 3:5). You are “partakers of the Divine Nature” (2 Peter 1:4), just as men are who are saved. The Apostle goes on to say:

1 Peter 3:3-4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

There’s a commercial on television that says, “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline”. The saved wife who loves her husband may use Maybelline, makeup, or some other outward adornment. There’s nothing wrong with that. But your outward adornment should not just be cosmetic. What should always be there – visible outwardly whether you are male or female – is “the hidden man of the heart” shining outward in all that you do. That inner Spirit is “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit”. That’s the opposite of a nag. The Bible says:

Proverbs 25:24 (AMP) It is better to live in a corner of the housetop [on the flat roof, exposed to the weather] Than in a house shared with a quarrelsome (contentious) woman.

Nagging a man does no good. Living for Jesus does great good. Peter himself had a wife, contrary to what the Catholics believe. When Jesus went to Simon Peter’s home we read:

Luke 4:38-39 (ESV) {Jesus} arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they {Simon and his wife} appealed to {Jesus} on her behalf. 39 And {Jesus} stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them..

In this text you see SUBMISSION all around. Simon’s Mother-in-law was sick. Simon and his wife asked Jesus to heal her, and our Lord SUBMITTED to their request. He healed the Mother-in-law. After that, she rose up and “began to serve them”. Submission. It is not a bad word!

1 Peter 3:5-6 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement {ptoēsis, to be terrified}.

The Bible encourages the wives to “do good, and do not fear anything that is frightening”. If wives with unsaved husbands will keep their eyes on Jesus, living submitted to Christ as all Christians should do, they will have a positive impact on their husbands.

But what about the husbands? Is there a word of God to saved husbands?

Don’t Miss The “Likewise” Again!

1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Word Study: Once more we see the word “LIKEWISE”, the Greek homoiōs, which means“in the same way”). We’ve been talking about SUBMISSION throughout this study. Now the husband is to submit to the wife. What is the husband to submit? The Apostle said in another place:

Ephesians 5:25-28 (ESV) Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Husbands are to “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”. We are to emulate Christ. We are to lay our lives down for our wives to protect and save them. We are to be their buffer against the evils of this world. The Bible tells us, “husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself”.

A man who abuses or neglects his wife has no respect for his own life, much less hers.

give honor unto the wife, as unto
the weaker vessel

The woman IS the weaker vessel. The woman has neither the bulk of bone nor of muscle that the man has – not naturally, anyway. God did this because the man was made to protect the Rib, the weaker vessel. We are called of God to “givE honor unto the wife”. Though the vessel may be weaker, it is not cheap nor useless.

The Chinese Qianlong vase is made of porcelain. It is small – just 16 inches tall. This fragile easily broken vase was recently sold at auction for $53 MILLION.

Only the woman, the female, has the ability to bring forth life. Men do not have that ability. The husband and wife are “heirs together of the grace of life”. We are both headed toward glory, toward eternity with Jesus. That woman you married is precious in the eyes of Christ, and should be precious in your eyes as well. My commentary notes:

“… what proclaims God’s grace is our conduct (2:19-20). The Christian’s conduct in trying and difficult circumstances manifests God’s grace in a human life. The submissive conduct of servants whose masters are persecuting them manifests God’s grace. The submissive conduct of wives … manifests grace. The submissive conduct of husbands … manifests grace. The husband demonstrates his submission to God by treating his wife as a fellow heir of God’s grace (3:7).”

Beloved, if we would fix America, we must get back to the Bible. We must stop listening to woke philosophy and silliness. We must heed the Lord our God, submitting our lives to Him.

There will come a day when we will all stand before our God, to be judged and determined where our final destination will be. Will yours be with Jesus in Heaven, or in hell with Satan? The choice is going to be settled in this life, based on how you submitted to the authority of Christ and God’s Word. May God the Holy Spirit lead you to salvation through faith in Christ this very day.

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