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

Posted on June 5, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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

Slide One Picture of my 1611 KJV

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

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

Slide 2

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

Slide 3

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

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

2 God gave BIBLE TRANSLATIONS to His people.

I Love The King James Bible

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

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

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

Slide 4 The Great Bible (1539)

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

Slide 5 Matthew’s Bible 1537

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

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

Slide 6 Bishop’s Bible & Geneva Bible

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

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

Slide 7 KJV 1611 Preface

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

Slide 8 Moon Chart and Prescribed Prayers

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

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

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

Slide 11 The Apocrypha

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

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

Slide 12

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

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

Slide 13

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

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

Slide 14

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

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

Slide 15 The Changing English Language

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

Slide 16 Prouerbes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People Change, And All Languages Change

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

Slide 17 Hebrew Language Bible

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

Slide 18 The Septuagint

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

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

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

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

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

Slide 19 Lexicons and Greek New Testament

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

Slide 20

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

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

Slide 21

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

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

Slide 22

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

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

Slide 23

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Slide 24

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

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

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

God as a Spirit is immense. The Prophet wrote:

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

As one commentary notes:

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

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

What Bible Translation Should I Use?

Slide 25 Types Of Bibles Available

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

There are three types of Bibles available in English:

1 Word for Word Translations (Literal)

2 Thought for Thought Translations (Dynamic)

3 Idea for Idea PARAPHRASES

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

Slide 26 Paraphrases

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

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

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

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

Slide 27 Word For Word

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

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

Slide 28 Thought For Thought

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

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

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

Slide 29 Where The Versions Rate

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

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To Serve The Living God

Posted on June 5, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We read:

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

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

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

Jesus told us:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The New Covenant Saves The Believer
So We Can Serve God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bible says:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

obtained eternal redemption for us

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Are You Ready For Your Appointment?

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

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

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

Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seven Sins God Hates

Posted on May 31, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Have You Heard Of “The Seven Deadly Sins”?

I’m sure many of you have heard of “The Seven Deadly Sins”. As I studied our text tonight, I thought about what people call “The Seven Deadly Sins”. Where did the concept come from?

This is a concept that crept into Christianity
by way of the Catholic Church.

Illustrate: The concept of “Seven Deadly Sins” has been pushed as Biblical through television and the movies. Do you remember the show Gilligan’s Island? Not many young people today know this show, but I grew up watching it. The show’s creator Sherwood Schwartz (the head writer for The Red Skelton Show and producer of The Brady Bunch) wrote a book called “Inside Gilligan’s Island” where he stated that each of the characters on the show represented one of the so called “deadly sins”.

The Professor – Pride
Thurston Howell III – Greed
Ginger – Lust
Mary Ann – Envy (of Ginger’s looks)
Mrs. Lovey Howell – Gluttony
The Skipper – Anger or wrath
Gilligan – Sloth

The concept of “The Seven Deadly Sins” came from the writings of a Catholic Monk named Evagrius Ponticus, who called it “The Eight Evil Thoughts” (addingsadness as a sin). In the Sixth Century Pope Gregory I wrote a Commentary on Job, rearranged the list from Ponticus, and gave it the name “The Seven Deadly Sins”. A later Catholic Leader named Thomas Aquinas created the list of Seven Deadly Sins we have today.

The Catholic Church today teaches that these “Deadly Sins”, also called “Capital Vices” or “Cardinal Sins” are mortal or deadly because they lead to the death of the soul. Professor of English at Arizona State University Richard G. Newhauser stated:

“Committing one of these mortal sins and not confessing {to your priest}, not doing penance and so on, will result in the death of the soul. And then you’ll be in hell for eternity, or your soul will be in hell for eternity”.

Does the Bible just list “Seven Deadly Sins”?

No, it does not. In fact, the Bible teaches that ALL sin is “Deadly”. I have often quoted:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin Defined: Sin is – properly defined – “a work of the flesh and of self satisfaction, separated from the glory of God”. The Apostle Paul told us that when we walked apart from God that we would default to “the works of the flesh” or sin:

Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

This list contains 15 types of sin, “works of the flesh” that destroy the Kingdom of God. This list is not extensive. We are told in …

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (ESV) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

In this list Paul addresses 9 sins – and clarifies the sexual sins of adultery and homosexuality. In the text the Apostle sent to his student Timothy, he wrote:

1 Timothy 1:9-10 (ESV) … the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine

Again getting more specific into sins like striking your parents, homosexuality, the sin of enslaving others (chattel slavery is a sin to God), lying, and so on. There are much more than “Seven Deadly Sins” – much more.

Any work of the flesh where you put yourself above God or above respect of others is a deadly sin. If unrepentant, it will lead to some form of death in your world.

The Sins Of Proverbs 6 Are Sins God HATES

Read the text again:

Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him:

Word Study: This is not about “The Seven Deadly Sins”, but it is about “The Seven Sins God in Particular Hates”. We are told that these “seven are an abomination” to God. The word “abomination” is the Hebrew tôʿēḇâ (pronounced to-ay-baw’), which means “disgusting, unclean, idolatrous”. To get an idea of how God views these sins in Proverbs 6, we can see how the Lord uses the word tôʿēḇâ in other contexts. On sexual perversion God decreed:

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination [tôʿēḇâ (pronounced to-ay-baw’)]

Concerning idolatry God said:

Deuteronomy 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination [tôʿēḇâ (pronounced to-ay-baw’)] to the LORD thy God.

And on giving God less than your best, He said:

Deuteronomy 17:1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination [tôʿēḇâ (pronounced to-ay-baw’)] unto the LORD thy God.

God also despises cheating your neighbor:

Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination [tôʿēḇâ (pronounced to-ay-baw’)] to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

That which God considers an ABOMINATION makes little of Him, and little of those around us. Our Lord Jesus said that the entire Law could be boiled down into two points:

Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV) … “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

What are the sins that God HATES? It is the sins that destroy love for God and love for others. We are to “love the Lord your God with all” that we have, above all else – and “love your neighbor as yourself”. Love for God must be FIRST. But since mankind is created in the image of God, we are also to love other humans (Genesis 1:27).

Down the street there is a church with a sign out front that says “Open minds, open doors, open hearts”. What’s wrong with that? We are to have the MIND OF CHRIST (1 Corinthians 2:16), not a worldly mindset. We love God FIRST.

Defining The Sins God Hates

The Bible says “Hate what is evil; cling to that which is good” (Romans 12:9). As believers in Christ we are to hate what God hates, and love what God loves.

The “Hateful Seven” sins are all tied to the misuse of what God has given you. He has given you life. He has given you a body. You did nothing to earn nor deserve that body, but it is a grace gift. Thus, God wants you to use your body in a way that glorifies Him and blesses others. When you do not, then God HATES what you are doing.

Proverbs 6:17 … A proud look (rûm ʿayin)

God starts with our EYES. This is literally “PRIDEFUL EYES”. A departure from the ways of God always comes when we reject His clearly taught Word and begin to examine the sinful with our eyes. This is what happened in the Garden of Eden. The Serpent (the devil, see Revelation 12:9; 20:2) tempted Eve, saying “If you eat of the forbidden fruit, you will not die. God knows that in the day you eat of it, you’ll be just like Him, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5). What happened next? The Bible says:

Genesis 3:6 … the woman SAW that the tree was good for food, and THAT IT WAS PLEASANT TO THE EYES …

This is the way that sin always entraps us. It starts with the eyes. You reject the Word of God, and then the devil parades out a good looking LAND MINE. Look in our context:

Proverbs 6:23-26 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. 25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.

God hates it when we ignore His Word, and look longingly at something He has forbidden. That is an ABOMINATION to God.

Proverbs 6:17 … a lying tongue

We go from the eyes, next to the MOUTH as we see that God hates lying. Our Lord Jesus told the Pharisees who told lies about Him and His ministry:

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The Devil – a.k.a. Satan – is the inventor of lies. He lied in the Garden of Eden when he told Adam and Eve “You will not die!”. The devil uses lies and trickery to get the righteous to fall, and to keep the unrighteous hell-bound. Lying is foreign to God. The Bible says “God NEVER LIES” (Titus 1:2). Believers in Christ are to be “speaking the TRUTH in LOVE” (Ephesians 4:15).

It was the lie of Satan that destroyed Paradise, and lies in the so called Churches that are leading the lost to greater lostness. God says:

Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight

We are to cling to His Word and faithfully speak His Word – for His Word is TRUTH (John 17:17).

Proverbs 6:17 … hands that shed innocent blood

Eyes, mouth, and now to the hands. God established the death penalty for shedding the blood of someone who did not deserve to die. He first established this when Noah left the Ark:

Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

Life is sacred because God made us in His image. In fact, God states that “we are gods” (Psalm 82:6; John 10:34) – not in the sense that God is God, but we are little “g” gods because we are made in His image. God gave man dominion over the earth and all that is in it. Animals are animals but humans are NOT animals – we are in God’s image. That makes human life supremely sacred, and this is why God demands “life for life” (Exodus 21:23) if innocent life is taken.

Not too long ago Comedian Bill Maher stated “abortion is murder, and I’m okay with that because there’s 8 billion people in the world. We don’t need you.” God hates the shedding of innocent blood (which is what abortion is) and finds it abominable.

Proverbs 6:18 … An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations

The heart is next. The heart of a person is the control center of the soul. God hates the heart that focuses not on His Word, but on “wicked imaginations” because of the evil it introduces into the world. It was the heart focused on evil that caused God to flood the entire world with water in the days of Noah:

Genesis 6:5-7 … (ESV) The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land

The reason there is rampant crime and pain on this earth is because of the wicked imagination of the heart. Jesus said:

Matthew 15:19-20 (ESV) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person.

Proverbs 6:18 … feet that be swift in running to mischief

God calls His people to be “Light” and “Salt”. Jesus 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.”

Where we go, we are to bring the LIGHT OF CHRIST with us, not the darkness of sin. God hates when people run to an area to tear down rather than build up. It is contrary to the Christian way of life.

Proverbs 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies …

God despises the “lying Tongue” (verse 16), that is, the Tongue that speaks against His Word. But God also hates the tongue that bears FALSE WITNESS. The Ninth Commandment of the Law is:

Exodus 20:16 (ESV) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Numerous times in the Book of Proverbs the Lord speaks out against the False Witness. We are told:

Proverbs 19:5 (ESV) A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.

Proverbs 19:9 (ESV) A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

It was the lies of the False Witnesses that brought Jesus to the judgment seat of Pilate (Matthew 26:59), and the lies of False Witnesses that caused the unlawful execution of the Evangelist Stephen (Acts 6:13). God condemned the False Witness under the Law, warning “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.” (Exodus 23:1). Under U.S. Law perjury is punishable by imprisonment of 5-7 years. Under the Mosaic Law, the false witness would receive the punishment he intended to bring on the falsely accused, up to and including capital punishment.

The Worst Sin Is Sowing Discord

In the first part of this text, we read:

Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

All of the sins mentioned are hated by God – but the SEVENTH sin puts the cap on it. God particularly hates DISUNITY. The Seventh HATED sin is:

Proverbs 6:19 … he that soweth discord among brethren

God particularly hates those who run around behind the scenes stirring up trouble among His people. Previously God spoke of the worthless man in:

Proverbs 6:12-14 A NAUGHTY {bᵊlîyaʿal, son of Belial, worthless} person, a wicked man, walketh with a FROWARD {ʿiqqᵊšûṯ, perverse} mouth. 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 FROWARDNESS {ʿiqqᵊšûṯ, perversity} is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

A worthless person tears down the work of God. Jesus said “where two or three are gathered TOGETHER IN MY NAME, I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). It pleases God when His Church is in one accord, glorifying Him. God HATES it when a member of the body, like a cancer, goes rogue and begins to destroy the unity that Christ purchased with His own blood.

Shame on you!

The Apostle told the Church at Corinth to handle the young man spreading discord in the harshest of ways. Paul said:

1 Corinthians 5:5 … deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Turn that person out. “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, for Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Our Lord Jesus said:

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

Division destroys the Work of God, and hinders the growth of the Kingdom of God. May God teach us to stand together, loving God with our all, and loving one another the way we want to be loved. Pastor Scott L. Harris of Grace Bible Church, NY writes:

“God’s desire is for brothers to dwell in unity (Psalm 133:1). Such unity is even more important for those who are spiritual brothers. It is our love for one another that demonstrates we are disciples of Jesus (John 13:35). There is not to be divisions among us (1 Cor. 1:10) for we are to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 3:6). That is done by having the humility to regard others more important than yourself and look out for their interests and not just your own (Philippians 2:3-4).”

For Christ’s glory. For the advancement of His Kingdom. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, christianity, Faith, Following Christ, Jesus, made alive, Nominal Christian Is Lost, sin, sin is death, sin kills, sin not my master | Leave a comment

How We Got Our Bible #2: Do We Have All Of The Scripture?

Posted on May 27, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by John Spalding: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-lighthouse-on-a-coast-5425672/

Isn’t There Bible Texts That Are “Lost”?

When we talk about “How We Got Our Bible”, one of the questions that I’ve been asked is:

“I’ve heard there are books that should have been included in the Bible, but were excluded. How do we know we have ALL of the Bible available to us – that portions weren’t taken away or hidden.”

God gave us the Scripture through the Prophets and the Apostles. The “Prophets” were specifically chosen by God to carry His Word to the people. God said of the Prophets:

Numbers 12:6-8 … Hear now my words: If there be a prophet (Hebrew nāḇî’, pronunciation naw-bee’) among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

Moses was a prophet of God, a Premier Prophet. God spoke to Moses not in dreams, but in an audible voice. God spoke to the Prophets through dreams and visions, but Moses directly. The Prophets wrote the Old Testament as God gave them direction – and Moses wrote the Pentateuch, also called the Torah or the Books of the Law. These first five Books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy give the history of the founding of creation and the founding of Israel. These Books also set out the ceremonial, civil, and sacrificial laws that are unique to Israel, as well as the moral laws that apply to all people.

The office of the Prophet elevated and glorified God. The Prophet did not exist to make people feel good about themselves, but to point them to God as Savior and Lord.

God told His people:

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

If a Prophet rises up who tries to draw God’s people away from God, that Prophet is to be ignored. The Prophet existed to glorify God, not man. God went on to say:

Deuteronomy 13:5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

God raised up a number of Prophets to write Scripture, the Old Testament that we have in our Bible. But Moses was a special Prophet of God. As Moses life came toward it’s end on this earth, he prophesied:

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken;

God would raise up another Prophet like Moses. This Prophet would hear God audibly – not in visions and dreams, but directly. Moses went on to prophesy:

Deuteronomy 18:18-19 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Who was this unique Prophet Who was like Moses in how God approached Him? It is none other than Jesus Christ. We are told in:

Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV) God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…

Jesus is the Prophet Who spoke to God face to face. Jesus told us:

John 8:28 … (ESV) I do nothing on My own authority, but SPEAK JUST AS THE FATHER TAUGHT ME.

John 12:49-50 (ESV) … I have not spoken on My own authority, BUT THE FATHER WHO SENT ME has Himself given Me a commandment – WHAT TO SAY AND WHAT TO SPEAK … What I say, therefore, I SAY AS THE FATHER HAS TOLD ME

When Jesus began His ministry, He hand picked men whom He called “Apostles” (Matthew 10:2). Apostles (the Greek apostolos, pronunciation

ap-os’-tol-os) were delegates or messengers specifically chosen by Christ, commissioners of Heaven. Apostles were “called or appointed by God, just as Old Testament Prophets were called of God” (Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 9:1).

Apostles And Prophets Wrote Scripture. False Apostles And Prophets Wrote Pseudepigrapha, or false scripture.

When early Christians were gathering the Scriptures – the Old Testament writings and the New Testament letters that the Apostles had written to the Churches – the devil tried to flood the Word of God with the word of man. He did this in the Garden of Eden when he questioned God’s Word to Eve. “Has God really said”? The devil asked (Genesis 3:1). The devil tried flooding both Old and New Testament Scriptures with false scripture, technically called Pseudepigrapha (meaning “false writings”). Some people have said that these are “lost books of the Bible”. That’s untrue. These books were rejected because they taught false doctrines rejected by the Biblical text. Some of these books are:

3 Maccabees
4 Maccabees
Assumption of Moses
Ethiopic Book of Enoch (1 Enoch)
Slavonic Second Book of Enoch
Book of Jubilees
3 Baruch

and so on. There are many more false writings that were rejected from the Canon of Scripture. One false writing called The Gospel of Thomas contains statements like:

Saying 114: Simon Peter said to him, “Let Mary go forth from us, for women are not worthy of life.” Jesus said, “Look, I myself will lead her in order to make her male, so that she too might become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

That is absolute nonsense, and not something that the Jesus represented in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John would have said. Another false writing called …

“The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a narrative account of periods in Jesus’ childhood, including legendary episodes in which Jesus strikes dead another boy who bumps into him, miraculously lengthens a wooden beam to help his stepfather, Joseph, with his carpentry, raises from the dead his friend who falls off a roof on which they were playing, and makes live sparrows out of clay. ”

Another false scripture called “Acts of John” tell the reader that Jesus is only a spirit who left no footprints when He walked, could not be touched, and did not really die on the Cross but just appeared to die. The Acts of John taught the false doctrine called Docetism, which claims that Jesus’ earthly form was just an illusion.

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Churches, he had to deal with forgeries that were going out in his name. One false writing that went out, a forgery with Paul’s name on it, claimed that the Rapture had already occurred:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 (ESV) Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

The devil has actively sought to twist, dilute, or counterfeit the Word of God from the beginning of human history. To counter the evil, Paul would write:

2 Thessalonians 3:17 (ESV) I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.

Though Paul had a secretary that wrote for him as he dictated, he always closed the letters with his own signature (see 1 Corinthians 16:21; Galatians 6:11; & Colossians 4:18).

Determining “Canon” Or The Rule Of Scripture

The false writings or Pseudepigrapha were rejected by the early Church as Scripture because they did not fit the “canon” or “rule” of Scripture. My commentary notes:

“The term pseudepigrapha comes from the Greek pseudo, meaning “false,” and epigraphein, meaning “to inscribe,” thus, “to write falsely.” The pseudepigraphical books were written anywhere from 200 BC to AD 300. They are spurious works written by unknown authors who attempted to gain a readership by tacking on the name of a famous biblical character. Obviously, a book called the “Testament of Abraham” has a better chance of being read than the “Counterfeit Testament of an Unknown Author.”

Rules Of Canon

There are three basic rules that determine the Canon or Rule of Genuine Scripture:

1 Scripture is clearly INSPIRED OF GOD. It is not the opinion of man, but a direct Word from the Creator. For instance, in

Exodus 24:3-4 (NKJV) So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

2 Once a clear Word of God was received through the Prophet, that Word is recognized by other men of God.

Deuteronomy 31:24-26 (NKJV) So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you …

Joshua 1:7-9 (NKJV) Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God’s people are led by God our Savior. God leads His people to affirm His Word.

2 Kings 23:3 (NKJV) Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.

God’s people knows what is right and wrong, for God stays with His people. “The LORD is My Shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). The Shepherd makes sure His sheep hear His Voice. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). God makes sure that His people can hear His Word, and not a false word.

3 The Word of God was collected and preserved by the people of God. Every Book included in the Canon of Scripture was carefully scrutinized. Was the Book written by a Prophet of God? Did that Prophet do acts that only God could have done? Did the Book speak truthfully about God, and have through its text the power of God? What the unbelieving world has called “The Lost Books Of The Bible” were routinely rejected by the early Church.

The Canon of Scripture the Church accepts as Biblical, the Word of God, is:

Books of the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Historical Books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther)
Poetic Books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon)
Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel)
Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi). These are called “Minor” because the books are comparatively short, though just as important as the “Major” prophets.

These all comprise our OLD Testament, or books written under the Old Covenant that God gave to Israel. The last Old Testament Book was written about 400 BC, 400 years before Christ became incarnate, perfect Man.

The NEW Testament, books written when the Prophet Who would succeed Moses came – our Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament Canon that the Church agreed on is:

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
The History (Acts)
The Church Letters (Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, I & II Peter, I, II, & III John, Jude
The Future (Revelation)

The Devil Wants To Deny The Church God’s Word

The early Church was heavily persecuted by both religious Jews as well as Roman Emperors. The Church flourished under persecution. However, in 325 AD Roman Emperor Constantine called together the Council of Nicaea (the modern Turkish city of Iznik). The purpose of the Council was to establish a state religion – Roman Catholicism. As with anything that is politicized, it wasn’t long until corruption crept into the Catholic Church. As the priests began to drift away from the Scripture, they began to hide the drift by forbidding the masses access to the Scripture.

This was absolutely foreign to the teaching of the Bible. Moses organized public reading of the Scripture:

Exodus 24:6-8 (NKJV) Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

In Deuteronomy 31 God commands the Israelites to read the entire Law every seven years:

Deuteronomy 31:10-12 (NKJV) Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law

When Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land, the Bible says:

Joshua 8:34-35 (ESV) {Joshua} read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

When King Josiah was reigning in Israel the Word of God – thought to be lost – was found in the Temple. As soon as it was found Josiah …

2 Kings 23:2 … (ESV) read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord

When Jesus started His public ministry, He went to the Synagogue in Nazareth and read Scripture:

Luke 4:16 (ESV) as was His custom, {Jesus} went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read.

God has always wanted His Word to be shared with His people. He specifically commanded this in Deuteronomy 6:1-9 when He told His Israel “these Words I command you shall be in your heart. You shall teach them to your children, talk of them while at home whether at rest or at work. You shall even put these Words on the doorposts of your homes.” God wants His Word to be given to His people. He wants His people to know what He has said, and to DO what he says.

As the Catholic Church became corrupted, it began to hide the Scripture from the people. Services were held, and preachers read scripture in Latin, a language the people did not know. People were not allowed to have Bibles. The Decree of the Council of Toulouse (1229 AD) stated:

“We prohibit also that the laity {those that are not priests}should be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books.”

The Ruling of the Council of Tarragona (1234 AD) decreed:

“No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after promulgation of this decree, so that they may be burned”

In 1380 AD Oxford Professor and Theologian John Wycliffe translated the New Testament into English. He wrote that this would “helpeth Christian men to study the Gospel in that tongue in which they know best Christ’s sentence.” Though Wycliffe was deceased when they met, the Ecumenical Council of Constance (1415 AD) said that he was a heretic. His bones were dug up and publicly burned, and the ashes were thrown into the river!

English Bible Scholar and Linguist William Tyndale translated most of the Bible into English, though forbidden to do so by the Catholic Church. Tyndale was burned at the stake in 1536 AD for the sin of making the Scripture available to the people in their own language.

The devil tried twisting the Word of God. Then he tried counterfeiting the Word of God. Then the devil got religious leaders to forbid the Word of God to the people. They hid the Word of God in languages the people could not understand, so they could control the people and have power over the so called Church.

The Protestant believers rose up against Catholicism, and stood strong against the false teachings of that Church. Martin Luther, one of the first Protestants, was a Catholic Monk that was troubled over the Catholic Priests selling of “Indulgences”. An “Indulgence” is when you gave the Priest money to “forgive” the sins of a loved one, so they could go to Heaven. No one has the power to forgive sin but God, and there is no forgiveness of sin outside of faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Once believers separated from the then false church, people began to translate the Bible into the language of the people.

Though today we have the whole Bible translated in 736 languages, and the whole New Testament is available in 1658 languages. There are portions of Scripture in 1264 languages. This means that there are 3658 languages with at least some access to the Bible – about 49.5% of all languages. Many still have no access to the Bible, as there are7394 living languages in the world. In America, most people have more than one Bible. They are not restricted from the Scripture. But the devil encourages people to ignore the Word of God and the Biblical Church.

That is very sad, as the only way to grow as a Christian is through study and reading of the Word of God. God has – in His love – provided us with various translations of the Scripture in our language in North America. May God lead us to cherish the Word He has given us. Next session we shall discuss Bible Translations. May God touch your hearts with His Word!

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

Three Great Truths

Posted on May 25, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

As we come to Proverbs chapter 6, Solomon introduces us to several truths that a Wise King led by God wants us to know. John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible notes:

“In this chapter the wise man dissuades from rash suretyship; exposes the sin of idleness; describes a wicked man; makes mention of seven things hateful to God; exhorts to attend to parental instructions and precepts, and cautions against adultery.”

We’ll look at the first three of these truths tonight. We’ll start with:

The Dangers Of Rash Suretyship: Verses 1-5

Proverbs 6:1-3 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared (yāqōš [pronounced yaw-koshe’], caught in a trap) with the words of thy mouth, thou art TAKEN (lāḵaḏ [pronounced law-kad’], captured) with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

I’m sure Jerry our Lawyer knows what “Suretyship” is, but for the rest of us I’m going to give you the Merriam-Webster Legal Definition:

“the contractual relationship in which a surety engages to answer for the debt or default of a principal to a third party”

To put that in simpler terms, you have a person come to you in financial trouble. Say that person is your “friend”, someone you have known for a long time. This “friend” says, “I need your help. I’m in trouble, and I desperately need a loan, but I can’t get one on my own. Will you co-sign my loan?” Since he’s your friend, and you’ve known him for a long time, you go ahead and co-sign.

Six months later you’re on the hook for a pile of money!

The Bible places a high value on something the world cares little about, and that is keeping your word. As believers in Christ we represent the Kingdom of Heaven. Our word should be our bond. The writer of Proverbs writes in another place:

Proverbs 5:2-5 (NKJV) Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

God holds us accountable for how we live our lives. We need to be very careful about what we say we will do. We read:

Proverbs 6:2 Thou art snared (yāqōš [pronounced yaw-koshe’], caught in a trap) with the words of thy mouth, thou art TAKEN (lāḵaḏ [pronounced law-kad’], captured) with the words of thy mouth

When you have promised to do something – become surety for another – God expects you to follow through on that promise. If it is a matter of Law, then the Law expects you to follow through on that promise. Your word is to be your bond.

Word Study: There are many times when people approach me about someone else. “Will you help them – I understand they need help”. My response is always the same. “I need to talk to that person first, and insure that what I’m promising I can do – and I want to do”. To immediately say “yes” because a friend asks me is foolish. You may find yourself like a wild animal, caught in a cage that you can’t get out of. That’s the sense of the two words used in verse 2, yāqōš [pronounced yaw-koshe’] and lāḵaḏ [pronounced law-kad’]. Because you were hasty in becoming surety for another, you are now on the hook. You are stuck in a trap of your own making. What does God tells us to do before giving our word?

Proverbs 6:3 Do this now, my son, and deliver (nāṣal, [pronounced naw-tsal’], rescue) thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure (rāhaḇ, to strengthen or ensure, to press) thy friend.

To protect yourself from entrapment, do not allow a friend or a loved one to coerce you into suretyship. Go and talk with them plainly. Ask direct questions. The New American Standard states “be urgent with your neighbor”, the English Standard to “plead urgently with your neighbor”. Ask questions. You may have others around you pleading that you help this “poor unfortunate”, and who will malign you when you hesitate to do so. The text says,

“Humble yourself!” Make sure you know what you’re saying yes to – because God expects you to keep your word. Don’t worry about pleasing others. Focus on pleasing GOD!

The last two verses of this Proverb read:

Proverbs 6:4-5 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Do not procrastinate in sitting down with your neighbor or “friend” before you give your word or sign the contract. Not too long ago someone came to me for something – I forget what – but I remember saying, “I’m not saying no – but I want you to explain to me carefully what it is you want me to do. Until I fully understand your request, my answer has to be emphatically “no”!” Don’t beat around the bush – communicate. If you can’t get a good answer from the “friend”, then,

Do what the “ROE” or deer does with the hunter: RUN!
Do what the “BIRD” does when it spots the gun: FLY AWAY!

Some may claim you’re stingy, or mean, or hard hearted. Tough! Do not let anyone lead you into a quicksand pit!

The Danger Of Laziness – Verses 6-11

Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

God speaks to us through His Bible, but He also has given us teachings in His nature. God designed nature. He made every creature as He wants it to be. God made the tiny ant – and teaches us the value of preparedness and work. Every ant colony has one or more Queens. As God speaks of the worker ant, He calls that ant a “her”(consider her ways). Harvard University has a 4000 acre laboratory & classroom they call Harvard Forest. They note about the ants:

“Every ant colony has one or more queens. Even though the worker ants are female, the queen is the only ant that can lay eggs. … They have highly evolved social systems with three different castes ~ queens, males, and workers. The workers are female, but cannot reproduce. Most of the eggs the queen lays hatch into workers. Workers are specialized. Some spend their lives tending the eggs and larvae. Other workers forage for food. ”

The worker ants are “she” ants, and they leave the nest to gather food. The “Queen” does not direct them, but they work diligently and TOGETHER to get the job done. Ants know that winter is coming when there will be little food, so they gather and store what they can when food is available.

God wants us to be like the ant. We should not wait until we are in a desperate situation, then try and fix the problem. We are to look for opportunities to serve God and bless the Church and the Community. The ants have “no guide, overseer, or ruler”. They don’t have anyone chasing them around, telling them what to do.

There are many people today – and even some in this Church – that are sluggards. They know what they need to do, but would rather be entertained by television and social media, on the golf course or at the park. God has many things that He wants His people to do, to help facilitate the spread of the Gospel. Sluggards do nothing but drag their feet and complain. The Bible speaks of these people:

Philippians 3:17-20 (NASB) Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ …

The sluggard cares nothing for the Colony – the Church. The ant works together with other worker ants, doing what they are called to do, to expand the Kingdom. The sluggard sits at home in a darkened room watching television, never thinking of the coming winter, just satisfying himself for “his GOD is his BELLY”.

If you’ve ever noticed the common American field ant, it can carry up to 350 times its body weight. Why? Because God designed it to do so. An ant will work – in unison with others of its colony – within its design.

What God calls us to, He will equip us to do. You have probably seen ants carrying leaves or dead bugs many times their size. They can do so because God makes them do so. When we are serving God and doing that which pleases Him, He will enable us to do.

Psalm 147:5-6 (ESV) Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked to the ground.

The ant is HUMBLE, not arrogant. It is willing to be nameless, to simply do the job that God has made it to do. King David said:

Psalm 84:10-12 (NKJV) I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.

The ant knows that it cannot do the entire job of the colony, just its part. So the ant labors on, trusting in God’s calling, doing what it is designed to do. Ants will not fight within their colony, but will battle other colonies if they invade their nest. Ants seem to understand that any disharmony in the colony can lead to its death.

Would that local Churches understand this concept!

God calls us to unity, to work together for the glory of Christ and the salvation of mankind. We are not to allow false teachers to invade our colony, nor are we to compromise with the godless and their ideologies. The Bible says:

Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV) … walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

And again,

Philippians 2:2-5 (NKJV) … fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus …

There is another reason not to be a sluggard. If you fail to serve the Lord like the ant serves the colony, if you lay about and do little – what you fail to sow, you will reap. We read:

Proverbs 6:9-11 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth {hālaḵ, [pronounced haw-lak’], sense wanders away from the colony}, and thy want as an armed man.

The above slide shows a sloth traveling from his normal habitat. When sloths travel, they are often run over on the highways. The sluggard traveling will often end up dead. Even so, the ant that wanders away from the colony and its calling will find itself in a threatening situation. Other ant colonies are antagonistic toward any ant outside that colony. An ant that wanders away invites quick death or worse, slow death by starvation.

I often meet with homeless people who have decided to be sluggards, to rely on others for their sustenance. I can feed them, but never really help them.

Their failure to prepare and laziness has put them in a situation that may eventually kill them. I try to help those I can, but unless they repent and turn to a better lifestyle, they will find themselves in an early grave. The average lifespan of a homeless person is 17.5 years shorter than that of the general population.

Laziness kills. Just as an armed man will kill you, laziness kills.

The Danger Of Wickedness – Verses 12-15

Proverbs 6:12-15 A NAUGHTY person, a wicked man, walketh with a FROWARD mouth. 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 FROWARDNESS {perversity} is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

Word Study: The word “NAUGHTY” is the Hebrew bᵊlîyaʿal, which means “One like Belial, someone who is worthless or good for nothing”. Good for nothing people will drag you down to their level. Where ever they go, they have a “FROWARD” (Hebrew ʿiqqᵊšûṯ (pronounced ik-kesh-ooth’), that is a “crooked or perverse” mouth. The Bible says that they do three things:

winketh with his EYES,
speaketh with his FEET,
teacheth with his FINGERS

They make suggestions to see what you’ll say, then do the old wink wink at you. Where they take themselves speaks volumes about their lives. What they do teaches you whether they are light or dark. Their hearts are devoted to perversity. They are constantly planning mischief, sowing discord where ever they go.

People like this think they will never be hurt – but they will. Those who sow discord will find themselves – in time – without friends. Some people call this “karma”. The Bible calls it “reaping what you sow”. As believers in Christ we are commanded to not allow the worthless person to drag you down to their level. They will, in time, meet their doom. Our calling is to do good, even to the evil.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:44-48 … Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Keep doing good. Keep being the light. Do the right thing even if all the world attack you. God will one day level the field – and your reward will come. May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, God, God Is Faithful, Jesus, love God, Proverbs, Truth for Life, Truths from Scripture, wisdom | Leave a comment

What Is A Pastor? What Is a Church?

Posted on May 22, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

It is a honor and a privilege to be here tonight, recognizing the ordination of a man into the Gospel Ministry. I remember when I was ordained into the Gospel Ministry, August 22, 1999 at Greenwood Baptist in Valdosta, Georgia. It is a blessing to have God call a Pastor to a Church. It is my prayer that both Mission Chapel Baptist as well as Brother Ronnie Burns grow spiritually and physically, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ by spreading His Gospel.

Jesus said “Upon this Rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). It seems that today the gates of hell IS prevailing against the church, but I don’t believe it is prevailing against Jesus’ Church. As long as the Church belongs to Jesus it has power. As long as the Church and it’s Pastors believe that “Jesus is THE Christ, THE Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16), that Church will stand strong though all the world stand against it.

My prayer for Mission Chapel Baptist and Ronnie Burns is that you grow together over the coming years to celebrate and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and the written Word of God, the Bible.

The Pastor Is A Shepherd Of God’s People

God loves His Church, and calls men out to serve His Church. God first called Apostles and Prophets. These men wrote the Scripture – the Word of God – that our Churches are built on. Once the Scripture was given, God gave the Church Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers (Ephesians 4:11).

The title Pastor (Greek poimēn) means “A Shepherd”.

God often uses Shepherds in His Work. God Himself is our Great Shepherd:

Psalm 100:3 (ESV) Know that the LORD, he is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Those who have believed on Christ for salvation are God’s Sheep. In the Old Testament, the people chose Saul to be the first King of Israel. The Bible says of Saul:

1 Samuel 9:2 (AP) There was not a more HANDSOME PERSON than Saul among the children of Israel …

He was a movie star – a celebrity – someone that, if he ran for President of the United States, he’d be a “shoo-in”. There was only one problem. As talented and beautiful as Saul was, Saul cared little for the glory of God, the Word of God, or for His people. Saul wanted to do things his own way. Finally God told Saul through the Prophet Samuel:

1 Samuel 15:23 (ESV) … rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.

God chose another man, a lowly shepherd boy named David to be the next King of Israel. David was a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) because, God said, “he will do everything I want him to do”.

David heeded God’s Word. Though he failed God at times as all humans do, he loved the Lord and His Word. God promised that through David, God would send another to Shepherd His people. On the night that Jesus came into the world, faithful shepherds were watching their sheep at night. The Angel of God came and told them,

Luke 2:10-12 (ESV) … Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord.

God used a Shepherd called David to lead His people under the Old Covenant. Now God sent another Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, to lead His people under the New Covenant. And God announced the coming of the Chief Shepherd through lowly but faithful Shepherds, watching their flock by night.

Our Chief Shepherd or Pastor is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said:

John 10:11, 14-15 (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, 15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

Jesus loves His Church. He suffered, bled and died for His Church. He rose from the grave, and sits on the right hand of the Father making intercession for His Church.

Just as God called David from the fields,
And God announced the Chief Shepherd to those faithful unnamed men.
Just as Christ was called to lay down His life for the sheep,
God calls unnamed and unknown men to watch over His Church.
The Pastor is a Shepherd. His primary calling is to share God’s Word.

The Bible says that the Pastor is to …

Ephesians 4:12-16 equip the Saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ… making the Body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Pastors are to work with the Word of God and in the power of His Spirit to equip the Saints, to help each believer grow to be more Christlike in their walk of faith. Every believer in the Church Age is a PRIEST. Your Pastor is a priest, but he is not YOUR priest. In the Church every believer is a priest with direct access to God. The Preamble to the Baptist Faith and Message states:

“We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.”

Each local Church is a kingdom of priests, and each person – whether male or female – has direct access to God. The Scripture says:

Revelation 1:5-6 (ESV) {Jesus} … loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. And made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The function of the Pastor – the Shepherd is to feed and equip every believer in his charge so that they will grow into Christian maturity, to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is not the Pastor’s opinion that matters, but what the Word of God has said. When Jesus prayed for His Church prior to going to the Cross, Jesus prayed for the UNITY OF THE FLOCK, saying “Father, let My Church be ONE, even as WE ARE ONE” (John 17:11). Jesus went on to say, “Sanctify them in the TRUTH – YOUR WORD IS TRUTH” (John 17:17).

The Pastor has oversight of the Church, leads the Church through preaching and teaching the Word of God. He is not LORD of the Church, but the under-shepherd of the Lord. The Chief Apostle said:

1 Peter 5:2-4 (ESV) … shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The Pastor is an “overseer”, that is, you “exercise oversight” on the Church. The Church belongs to Jesus – you all belong to Jesus. The Pastor is to “LABOR IN PREACHING AND TEACHING”, as the Scripture says:

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Pastors are called to “Oversee” the flock, to insure it adheres to the Word of God. When the Apostle Paul got ready to leave Ephesus, he warned the Pastors in that city, saying:

Acts 20:27-30 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

You are called of God to lead the Church, to feed the Church, but always to remember to not be “domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock”. Live out your faith. Be patient with the Church. Love it, and lead it toward Christian unity. Glorify God in all that you do. Remember, this is Christ’s Church. When you serve the Church, you serve Jesus.

The Church Is Christ’s Prize Possession

Just as the Pastor has a calling, the Church has a calling. Your Pastor is human, and as all humans do, he will make mistakes. Church, if you want a better Pastor, help him. The Bible says:

Hebrews 13:7 (ESV) Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

As your Pastor leads you, follow him. Imitate his faith. Pay attention to the Word of God that he shares with you, and do Christ’s Word. The Bible says:

Hebrews 13:17 (ESV) Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Love the Pastor that God has given you, and lift him and his family up in prayer daily. Realize this, too …

Your Pastor and his wife are human.
They, like you, will make mistakes.

The devil will do his best to bring disharmony to the flock, to scatter it if he can. Do not allow him to do so. As a Pastor, I have made many mistakes in my lifetime. When your Pastor makes a mistake, do as Jesus said in:

Matthew 18:15-17 (ESV) If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

Try and handle any division in the Church at the lowest and most private level. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 13:34-35 (ESV) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

As Christians we are to love the Lord Jesus with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. We are also to love one another. My prayer is that you will grow in love, both for God and for one another.

As we prepare to lay hands on Brother Ronnie, praying for Him, let me pray for Mission Chapel Baptist as well as for its new Pastor.

Posted in Ordination, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, christianity, Church, Jesus, leadership, Ordination, pastor | Leave a comment

Jesus The Bondsman Of A Better Covenant

Posted on May 22, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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

Does God Speak To People?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God Not Only Speaks To People,
But Appeared To People

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus Christ Came From Judah, Not Levi

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the point of the text:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guard Your Heart

Posted on May 16, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

Humans Are Three Parted

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

Body,
Soul,
and spirit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Heart Is The Control Center Of The Soul

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

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

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

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

But God told Samuel:

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy HEART with all diligence

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

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

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

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

Defensively guard your heart

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

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

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

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

Enter not into the path of the wicked

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Offensively guard your heart

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

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

We are told:

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It is WRITTEN”

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

“It is WRITTEN”

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

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

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

God Is Faithful, So Keep Walking

Posted on May 15, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

Then I come to passages like this.

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

Never Stop Being What God Wants You To Be

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

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

same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end

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

be not slothful

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are to be, as verse 12 tells us,

followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises

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

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

Believers Imitate Abraham, The Father of Faith

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abraham was not ready yet.

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

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

God tells Abraham:

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

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

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

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

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

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

And

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

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

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

Jesus Christ Is The Sure Hope Of Every Believer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on May 6, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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

The Bible Testifies About Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It is WRITTEN”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Timothy 3:14-16 (ESV) But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The LAW = The TORAH = The PENTATEUCH = MOSES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Uniqueness Of The Bible

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

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

We are told in:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today The Day of Salvation
October 2026

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I Love The King James Bible

People Change, And All Languages Change

What Bible Translation Should I Use?

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

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

The New Covenant Saves The BelieverSo We Can Serve God

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

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

Are You Ready For Your Appointment?

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Have You Heard Of “The Seven Deadly Sins”?

Does the Bible just list “Seven Deadly Sins”?

The Sins Of Proverbs 6 Are Sins God HATES

Defining The Sins God Hates

The Worst Sin Is Sowing Discord

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Isn’t There Bible Texts That Are “Lost”?

Apostles And Prophets Wrote Scripture. False Apostles And Prophets Wrote Pseudepigrapha, or false scripture.

Determining “Canon” Or The Rule Of Scripture

Rules Of Canon

The Devil Wants To Deny The Church God’s Word

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The Dangers Of Rash Suretyship: Verses 1-5

“Humble yourself!” Make sure you know what you’re saying yes to – because God expects you to keep your word. Don’t worry about pleasing others. Focus on pleasing GOD!

The Danger Of Laziness – Verses 6-11

Would that local Churches understand this concept!

The Danger Of Wickedness – Verses 12-15

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The Pastor Is A Shepherd Of God’s People

The title Pastor (Greek poimēn) means “A Shepherd”.

The Church Is Christ’s Prize Possession

Your Pastor and his wife are human.They, like you, will make mistakes.

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

Does God Speak To People?

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

God Not Only Speaks To People,But Appeared To People

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

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

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

Jesus Christ Came From Judah, Not Levi

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

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

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Humans Are Three Parted

The Heart Is The Control Center Of The Soul

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

Defensively guard your heart

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

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

Offensively guard your heart

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Never Stop Being What God Wants You To Be

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

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

Believers Imitate Abraham, The Father of Faith

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus Christ Is The Sure Hope Of Every Believer

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

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The Bible Testifies About Christ

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

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

The LAW = The TORAH = The PENTATEUCH = MOSES

The Uniqueness Of The Bible

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

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

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David Buffaloe

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

The New Covenant Saves The Believer
So We Can Serve God

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

Your Pastor and his wife are human.
They, like you, will make mistakes.

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

God Not Only Speaks To People,
But Appeared To People

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