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Why Are You Here?

Posted on November 11, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Philippians 1:1-6 (KJV) Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

I want to start out this sermon by asking a simple question:

Why are you here today?

Some of you may be thinking, “Because I don’t want to go to that place called HELL”. Well, that’s a good reason. But we don’t come to a Church building in order to win frequent flier miles to Heaven. Salvation is entirely a work of Grace. When you:

Romans 10:9-11 (LSB) CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH Jesus [as] Lord, and BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART that God raised Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED; 10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”

The Bible is very clear that salvation is not a man-made work. It is a SUPERNATURAL WORK.

Titus 3:5-7 (LSB) {God} saved us, NOT BY WORKS WHICH WE DID IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that having been justified by His grace, we would become HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE.

So if you’re here today because you don’t want to die and go to HELL, that’s a good reason. But the day Jesus saved you, God could have taken you to Heaven right then. So if you’re saved, yes, you should be in Church because you are a part of the Church.

The Christian is not to “go to” Church, but to “be” the Church. Christians are members of Christ’s Body.

There are many “believers” who feel that they are perfectly fine watching the sermon from home. A lot of those who profess to be “Christian” never set foot in a Church building. They will watch Charles Stanley, Adrian Rogers, or even this Church broadcast on Facebook and the Internet. I have heard people say,

“I love Jesus, but can’t stand the Church. There’s too many hypocrites and pretenders there. But if you’re saved by Grace, you are a member of Christ’s Church. You are part of His Bride.”

Illustrate: I’m sure there are hypocrites here. Occasionally a little hypocrisy shows itself in me. There’s a lot of broken people here – yourself included. But think about this: What if someone came up to you and said, “I love you, brother, BUT I CAN’T STAND YOUR WIFE. I’ll come see you, but only when your wife isn’t around. And if you come see me, come alone. Leave that wife at home!” The Church is the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 21:1, 9). When speaking to the Church the Apostle said:

2 Corinthians 11:2 (LSB) For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I BETROTHED YOU TO ONE HUSBAND, so that I might present you as a pure virgin TO CHRIST.

The Church is Jesus’ Bride. There is power in the gathered Church. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 16:18-19 (NKJV) …. ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, and the GATES OF HADES SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. 19 And I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Jesus is the One Who “HAS THE KEYS OF HADES AND DEATH”. Jesus gave power to His Church. “Why am I here today?” The proper answer to that question is “So that I might GROW in my faith, and SERVE the Lord Who saved me”.

Jesus Saves Us, And Calls Us Together
So That We Might Serve God

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the SERVANTS of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

The city of Philippi is in the Roman Province of Macedonia. Philippi is a military colony – a Gentile city that was so well respected in Rome that it was given total autonomy in government, and full immunity from taxation.

Note this: When Paul first went to Philippi be was accompanied by Silas, Timothy, and the Gentile Physician Luke (see Acts 16). The first sermon that Paul preached in Philippi got him – along with Silas – tossed into jail. While in jail we are told that:

Acts 16:25-26 (NKJV) at midnight Paul and Silas were PRAYING AND SINGING HYMNS TO GOD, and the PRISONERS WERE LISTENING TO THEM. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

Paul and Silas knew why they were in prison – they were there because God caused them to be there. He had a purpose for their jailing – and when the opportunity arose, they DID NOT try to escape!

This led to the salvation of the Philippian jailer and his household. The “Charter Members” of the Church of Philippi were the Philippian Jailer and a Gentile business woman named Lydia. The Church first met in Lydia’s home, and then began to spread out as God led others to salvation. Why did the Church at Philippi grow – even though this was a military city packed with Gentile pagans?

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the SERVANTS of Jesus Christ,

Because Paul and Timothy knew why the Lord left them on this earth after salvation. It was so they could serve Him and reach others. As the Apostle begins this letter, the beginning is VERY DIFFERENT. Paul usually opened his letters with:

Romans 1:1 (NKJV) Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE, separated to the gospel of God

1 Corinthians 1:1 (NKJV) Paul, CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE THROUGH THE WILL OF GOD, and Sosthenes [our] brother,

Galatians 1:1 (NKJV) PAUL AN APOSTLE (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),

Word Study: In most of the other Pauline letters he is addressing Churches that have forgotten why they are Churches. But the Philippian Church understood why they were there. So Paul doesn’t pull out his “APOSTLE” title at the beginning, but he equates himself and Timothy equally as “the SERVANTS of Jesus Christ”. The word “SERVANTS” is the Greek douloi, which is the plural of doulos. In the ancient world there were two types of slaves. There were slaves who were captured in battle, and forced into slavery. This was a very harsh form of slavery, and such people were often treated like objects rather than humans. Then there was bond slavery. When someone was struggling in life, they could willingly sell themselves to a rich or powerful individual as a bond servant. This is a picture of salvation in Christ. The person who is saved by Grace has given themselves to the Lord, just as He has given Himself to us. The Bible says of the Christian:

Romans 6:22 (KJV) But now being made free from sin, and BECOME SERVANTS {douloō, Aorist Passive Participle “having been enslaved”} to God, ye have YOUR FRUIT unto holiness, and the end EVERLASTING LIFE.

Ephesians 6:5-8 (LSB) Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the integrity of your heart, AS TO CHRIST; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but AS SLAVES OF CHRIST, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 SERVING WITH GOOD WILL AS TO THE LORD, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this HE WILL RECEIVE BACK FROM THE LORD, whether slave or free.

I could go on and on. We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that, as Christians, we belong not to ourselves but to God. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 4:5; James 1:1; 1 Peter 2:16 to name a few passages that those who are saved belong to the One Who saved them. This is not a new concept.

God did not save us and leave us here to serve ourselves. He saved us so that, as HIS people, we can do HIS will, and show others the way to Christ while we are here.

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the SERVANTS of Jesus Christ, to all the SAINTS IN CHRIST JESUS which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Word Study: The letter is written to “all the SAINTS IN CHRIST JESUS”. Let’s talk about that word “SAINTS”. It may surprise you to know that the word “SAINT” (hagios, Accusative Singular Masculine noun) is only found ONE PLACE in the Bible, and it’s at the end of this letter:

Philippians 4:21 (KJV) Salute every SAINT in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.

The word “SAINTS” is ALWAYS found as more than one. The word “SAINTS” is found 96 times in the Bible. The Church is where the “SAINTS” are.

It is God Who “calls us to be SAINTS” (Romans 1:7).
It is God the Holy Spirit Who
“makes intercession for the SAINTS” (Romans 8:27).
When you are saved you are
“fellow citizens with the SAINTS” (Ephesians 2:19).
When Jesus returns to this earth for His Millennial Kingdom,
“Jesus will come with all His SAINTS” (1 Thessalonians 3:13)

A Christian is a “SAINT” because he is bound to the Church. We are “SAINTS” together. We are not “SAINTS” because we are perfect. We are “SAINTS” because we are “in Christ Jesus”. We have received Jesus as Lord and Savior. Our hope is in Him and Him alone. Among the Saints are “Bishops and Deacons”, those Pastors and Deacons that oversee the health of the Church. The “Bishops” (Greek episkopos, spiritual overseer) are the Pastors of the local Churches who focus on ministry of the Word of God and prayer, and the Deacons (Greek diakonos) are servants to the servants. They focus on overseeing the physical needs of the Body of Christ. The Church is a Body of Servants – we serve the Lord Jesus!

Grace And Peace To Those Who Serve The Lord

Philippians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul often began his letters with “Grace and Peace”. Grace is what God gives to His Saints in Christ Jesus. Grace is undeserved blessing from God. When we come to the Lord Jesus, we have:

Romans 5:1-6 (LSB) Therefore, HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into THIS GRACE IN WHICH WE STAND; and we boast in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Though the Church at Philippi – in the midst of a Pagan Roman stronghold was persecuted – they kept assembling and kept serving the Lord Jesus Christ. They knew that, though they were going through affliction, that the affliction would only prove their faith. Beloved,

An untried faith is a insecure faith.

If you’re only “saved” or “in Christ” when the sun is shining and all things are going your way, YOU NEED TO CHECK YOURSELF. Are you really saved? Again I ask, “Why are YOU HERE today?” If you are saved, you are saved by Grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. You are not saved because you are perfect. If you were perfect, you would need no salvation. You are saved because you came to Jesus, and gave your life to Him. You are saved not because you are worthy, but because, unworthy, you came to Him Who can heal you. The Bible tells us that:

Mark 2:15-17 (NKJV) Now it happened, as JESUS was dining in [Levi’s] house, that MANY TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS also SAT TOGETHER WITH JESUS and His disciples; for there were many, and THEY FOLLOWED HIM. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How [is it] that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard [it], He said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I DID NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT SINNERS TO REPENTANCE.

God sent Jesus to this earth to make a Church, a Kingdom of broken people. He called whosoever will to “REPENTANCE” {metanoia}, to a change of mind. We talked about this last week.

God did not become Perfect Man on this earth to make a perfect Church. God became Perfect Man to pay for our sins on Calvary. To those who REPENT and come to Him wholly, He makes them HOLY, He makes them SAINTS TOGETHER. Listen to me – search the Book of Philippians. The word “SIN”, “SINNER”, nor “SINNERS” DO NOT appear even once!

Is it because the Church at Philippi was perfect? Absolutely not! It’s because this Church, persecuted and in a tough environment – well, they GOT IT. They understood the value of a united Church. They understood that God made them saints together who served Him to reach out to a lost and dying world.

If You Are Saved By Grace, You Are Here To Work Together For The Glory Of The Gospel

Philippians 1:3-5 (KJV) I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 FOR YOUR FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL from the first day until now;

Word Study: “Why are you here?” Paul thanked God daily for the Church at Corinth. When you look at the other Churches that Paul established, this body of believers was like a breath of fresh air. The people were together for a reason. What was it? For the “FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL”. The word “FELLOWSHIP” is the Greek koinōnia, which means a united closeness in a common mission. It means to be on the same page as God. It means to walk together – albeit imperfectly – but to the glory of Him Who saved us by Grace. The Apostle John – the longest lived Apostle (he died of natural causes) used koinōnia to describe the reason we are all still here:

1 John 1:3-7 (KJV) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that YE ALSO MAY HAVE FELLOWSHIP {koinōnia} WITH US: and truly OUR FELLOWSHIP {koinōnia} IS WITH THE FATHER, AND WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL. 6 If we say that WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP {koinōnia} WITH HIM, and WALK IN DARKNESS, WE LIE, and do not the truth: 7 But if WE WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP {koinōnia} ONE WITH ANOTHER, and THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN.

Why did so many Churches dissolve during the Covid Pandemic? Because they didn’t know why they were there. They had no mission. They were all about themselves. We’re not here for ourselves. We’re here for Jesus. I close with this (and I will be back to it next week):

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that HE WHICH HATH BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL PERFORM IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST…

If you have repented, if you have changed your mind and have stopped being your own god, and have given yourself to Jesus, then God the Holy Spirit began a work in you. He’s not done until the day you get to glory. Why are you here? You are here to serve Jesus. You are here to be light. You are here to work together with the Church, your fellow believers, in sharing the Gospel. You are here to learn and teach others. You are here to reach the lost. You are here to defeat sin and Satan. You are here for a purpose, for God’s purpose!

So, why are you here?

Posted in Philippians, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, christianity, Church on Mission, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, Jesus, Jesus Christ, salvation, Why Am I Here | Leave a comment

Crucified With Christ, A New Creature

Posted on November 4, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Jake Weirick on Unsplash

Galatians 6:14-15 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is CRUCIFIED unto me, and I unto the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but A NEW CREATURE.

When Paul – guided by the Holy Spirit – started his letter to the Galatians – he was shocked that the Galatians had departed from the Gospel of salvation in Christ (Galatians 1:6-10). Pharisees – many saved by Grace – came into the Church that Jesus died for, and had begun to teach that unless you are circumcised, you cannot be saved.

Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians around 48 AD while in Antioch, Syria, following his first missionary journey. Paul would travel to Jerusalem in 49 AD and meet with the first Church to discuss circumcision and the Gentiles.

Paul and Barnabas came to the Apostles at the first Church in Jerusalem, and the Church on that day had the most important Business Meeting it would ever have. The Bible says:

Acts 15:5 (ESV) But some BELIEVERS WHO BELONGED TO THE PARTY OF THE PHARISEES rose up and said, “It is necessary to CIRCUMCISE {THE GENTILES} and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

Now these Pharisees were sincere believers in Christ. They were not hostile Pharisees, trying to destroy the Gospel. But sincere believers can be in error. This is why God calls us TOGETHER to be His Church.

These Pharisees had received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. As Jewish citizens of Israel, they had been circumcised – most of them on the eighth day following birth. These people were SINCERE. They were not trying to cause divisions in the Church, but were trying to honor God the Son in all that they did. The Apostle Peter stood up and said,

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.”

James, the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem, stood up and agreed. He said:

Acts 15:19-20 (ESV) Therefore my judgment is that we should NOT TROUBLE THOSE OF THE GENTILES WHO TURN TO GOD, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

It was agreed in this first Church Meeting that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised. They were to avoid idolatry, sexual immorality, and from eating blood. Pagan warriors and hunters would often drink blood from their kills, or even from defeated enemies. God forbade drinking of blood because life is sacred (see Leviticus 17:10-14; Genesis 9:4; Hebrews 9:22). It is the shedding of Christ’s blood that brings remission of sins.

[By the way, this doesn’t mean you can’t eat a rare steak. The red liquid in a rare steak is called myoglobin, a protein found in muscle tissue. An animal properly butchered has all it’s blood removed. Animals that were strangled did not have their blood drained, and so were not to be eaten. See the site American Torah and The Steak School by Stanbroke, or delish.com. I quote the latter site:

“Most consumers don’t think about it, but by the time a piece of beef, pork, or chicken reaches the store—let alone your kitchen—all the blood has been removed from that meat. When any animal is slaughtered, it undergoes a specific blood-draining process called exsanguination. The blood is removed to help keep the meat safe for consumption (blood can be a breeding ground for bacteria), and also to make the product more appealing for consumers. This step is not optional: it’s a key part of meat processing. ”]

God directed – through the early Church – that circumcision was not binding on a Gentile, but only on a Jew. God established it specifically on the children of Abraham (Genesis 17:10-11), saying:

“This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which YOU {Abraham} are to keep: Every MALE AMONG YOU MUST BE CIRCUMCISED. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

God Doesn’t Order We Be Circumcised.
God Orders Us To Be Crucified!

As I preached this morning (and I will not preach it again tonight), repentance is the first command that must be met in salvation. If you want to be saved, you MUST repent. Repentance doesn’t mean to feel sorry for your sin, but to change your mind about who is God, and who is not. When you repent and believe on Jesus Christ, you go to Him as BOTH LORD AND SAVIOR. You give your life to Him, broken as it is, and begin to follow Him daily. God causes the believer to be born again, indwelt by His very Presence, sealed for Heaven, and adopted into the Family of God.

A Christian becomes – by the Grace of God – a NEW CREATURE. You are bound to Jesus eternally.

Galatians 2:20-21 (KJV) I am CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; yet not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is CRUCIFIED unto me, and I unto the world.

The true Christian is CRUCIFIED with Jesus. The day we were saved, we gave God our broken lives, and surrendered to the Cross. The world is crucified unto us. Before we met Jesus, the Bible says:

Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV) For you were ONCE DARKNESS, but NOW [you are] light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

The believer, though imperfect, wants to walk with Jesus in His light. The God Who turned a dark and confused universe into order and light, reaches into the willing soul to change them from darkness and into light.

2 Corinthians 4:2-7 (NKJV) But WE HAVE RENOUNCED the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even IF OUR GOSPEL IS VEILED, IT IS VEILED TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING, 4 whose MINDS THE GOD OF THIS AGE HAS BLINDED, who do not believe, LEST THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the GOD WHO COMMANDED LIGHT TO SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS, WHO HAS SHONE IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE THE LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

A lost person walks in the darkness, at peace with the darkness of this world. A lost person – like they did Christ on Calvary – stands off mocking Him.

Luke 23:35, 37 … (NKJV) The rulers SNEERED, He saved others; LET HIM SAVE HIMSELF IF HE IS THE CHRIST, the chosen of God. … The soldiers MOCKED, If You are the King of the Jews, SAVE YOURSELF

The world loves its sin. The world loves the darkness. The world wants to be gods and goddesses, to rule itself and mock the Maker. The world has its preachers with its self help little “g” gospel message. “Save yourselves! Send us money. Work harder. Get crucified. Be good enough, as the world defines good. If anyone deserves Heaven, you do. Tell God that you’re god, and He’s your servant. Only call on God when you need a genie, a good luck piece, a tool, a spare tire.”

The Christian is crucified with Christ. We are on display, mocked by the world. Jesus went to the Cross because the Father bade Him do so. The Christian willingly goes to the Cross. Our hands are nailed to His Cross.

Colossians 1:13-18 (ESV) {God the Holy Spirit} has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

What is the mark of the Christian? The Christian does not walk in darkness. Yes, there may be times when we may slip – but the Spirit bids us return. The Christian will not stay in sin, but follows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Jesus is our Oxygen. Jesus is our Blood. Jesus is our Light. Jesus is our Food. Jesus is our Drink. Jesus is our Hope. Jesus is our Partner. Jesus is our Sustainer. Jesus is our Life Preserver. Jesus is our Parachute. Jesus is our Elder Brother. Jesus is our Rock. As His hands and feet were bound to the Cross, the Christian’s hands and feet are bound to the Cross.

1 Thessalonians 5:5-10 (NKJV) You are all SONS OF LIGHT and SONS OF THE DAY. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others [do], but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But LET US WHO ARE OF THE DAY BE SOBER, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and [as] a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, WE SHOULD LIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM.

We cannot save ourselves. We surrender our broken lives to Jesus, believing in Him, and begin the journey of faith that will only end with eternal life with Him in glory.

God Don’t Care About Your Religion.
He Alone Can Make You A New Creature.

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but A NEW CREATURE.

The early Church was often plagued by sincere but misunderstanding Pharisees. These people – born into the line of Abraham – were sincere in bringing Judaism to Christianity. The problem was that the old Covenant and the New Covenant do not mix. The Old Covenant was focused on animal sacrifice, human religious acts, and the blood of circumcision. But the New Covenant is focused on the completed work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. It is focused on CRUCIFIXION, not on CIRCUMCISION.

Are you a new creature in Christ – or the same old you?

When a person comes to Christ, God changes that person from the inside out. The Scripture says:

Romans 6:6-12 (KJV) Knowing this, that OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now IF WE BE DEAD WITH CHRIST, we believe that WE SHALL ALSO LIVE WITH HIM: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise RECKON YE ALSO YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED TO SIN, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

The early Church dealt with people trying to ADD THINGS to the Gospel and salvation. The modern Church has to deal with people SUBTRACTING THINGS FROM THE GOSPEL and salvation.

This is where we are in America. People profess to be “Christian”, but do not love Jesus, nor even think of Jesus unless they are in a valley. Many today say “I’m a member of such and such a church”, but live just like the lost world. God says to these people:

“I don’t care if you’re circumcised or not. I care that I have made you into a NEW CREATURE that loves Me, and obeys Me. I care that I have made you into a NEW CREATURE that treats others as I have commanded. I don’t care that you’re on some generic, man made church roster. I care that your names are written in Heaven, and that you are a Holy People living wholly for Me. I don’t care that you’re part of a mega-Church or a mini-Church. I just care that you care about your brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Have you been born again?
Does CHRIST LIVETH IN ME?

If Christ lives in you, if you are a Child of God by faith in Him, then you will love Jesus MORE than you love your own flesh. We were told in the previous chapter:

Galatians 5:24-25 (KJV) And THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

If you belong to Jesus, you will follow Jesus. So let’s talk about repentance once more. And let’s do it using the ONE CLEAR ILLUSTRATION that God gave us about being crucified with Christ. Let’s go back to Calvary. There is Jesus, hanging on the Cross of Calvary.

The people mocked Him.
The Rulers mocked Him.
The Soldiers mocked Him.
Above His Head, a sign mocked Him.
“THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”

As Jesus hung, bleeding, dying, struggling to breath, the thief to His left said:

Luke 23:39 (KJV) If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

This man is crucified – but he’s NOT with Christ. He’s like so many in American Christianity today. He wants Jesus to take away his temporary, and deserved, suffering. Jesus is a spare tire. Jesus is a rabbit’s foot. But on Jesus’ right there is another thief:

Luke 23:40-42 (KJV) But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And WE INDEED JUSTLY; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but THIS MAN HAS DONE NOTHING AMISS. 42 And he said unto Jesus, LORD, REMEMBER ME when thou comest into Thy kingdom.

This man came to Jesus late in the day. But he called Jesus LORD, though he was in terrible suffering. He didn’t ask to go to Heaven, but believed that Jesus was the King of Heaven. He said, “REMEMBER ME when thou comest into Thy kingdom”. Jesus wasn’t just dying and then going to cease. This man believed Jesus was the resurrection and the life.

This man was not, to our knowledge, circumcised or had he been baptized. But I do believe this: if he were able, he would have been baptized because Jesus commanded it. The new creature obeys Jesus. The old, world creature does not. The genuine Christian “walks in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, born again, born of the Spirit, Faith, Following Christ, God saves us, gospel, Holy Spirit works in us, Jesus, repent, repentance, repentant, salvation, salvation by faith, salvation supernatural | Leave a comment

We The Prisoners

Posted on November 2, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Tim Hüfner on Unsplash

Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the PRISONER OF JESUS CHRIST for you Gentiles…

Without Repentance, There Is No Salvation.
So What Is Repentance?

The beginning of a person’s salvation is when that person REPENTS. I’ve heard people talk about REPENTANCE as “feeling sorry for or grieving over sin”. That’s not what true REPENTANCE is. The word “REPENT” means “to change the mind”. The first time the word “REPENT” is in the Scripture, it is applied to God Himself. We are told in:

Numbers 23:19 (KJV) God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that He should REPENT {nāḥam}: hath He said, and shall He not do [it]? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?

Word Study nāḥam: The Hebrew nāḥam properly means “to sigh, to breathe heavily”. God does not plan a thing, then “sigh” because that thing didn’t happen the way He wanted. People often plan things, but because of circumstances that are unforeseen they can’t make it happen. So then they “sigh” and wish they were better able. “Sigh. I wish I hadn’t done that.” God is not like that. Let me tell you a secret:

What God has planned WILL come to pass, and there is nothing that you or I can do to stop God’s plans!

The nature of God is that He is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and at all places at all times. What God has decreed will come to pass, even though we as humans do our best to stop Him. God is God, and we are not. Which brings us to the word “REPENT” in the New Testament. This was the first word used when preaching the Gospel. John the Baptist preached:

Matthew 3:2 (NKJV) “REPENT {metanoeō}, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”

Our Lord Jesus Christ came preaching:

Matthew 4:17 (KJV) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, REPENT {metanoeō}: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Jesus sent His disciples out preaching:

Mark 6:12 (KJV) And they went out, and preached that men should REPENT {metanoeō}.

And on the Day of Pentecost, when God added 3000 to the Church in Jerusalem, Peter preached:

Acts 2:38 (KJV) Then Peter said unto them, REPENT {metanoeō}, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Word Study “REPENT”: The word “REPENT” is a compound Greek word. “META” means “to change”, and “NOEO” means “the mind”. The word doesn’t mean to be sorry for your sins (though that may come). The word means “to change your MIND”.

What are we “changing our minds” about when we “get saved”? We are changing our minds about WHO is GOD.

God is God, and we are not. But it is in our very DNA that we want to be gods. This is what caused mankind to fall from Paradise into this veil of sin laden tears. Satan (in the guise of a serpent) came to Adam and Eve and said, (and I paraphrase Genesis 3:4-5):

“That fruit that God forbade you to eat – if you eat it, it won’t kill you. Oh no! God is just trying to keep you from the ultimate good. He knows that – if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – your eyes will be opened. You’ll be gods just like Him!”

Every human is born wanting to be a god. But we’re NOT god. We’re not even close. We have fantastic knowledge and abilities that the animals don’t have. We have created nuclear weapons, the internet, social media, cordless tools, cars that burn fossil fuels. We have fantastic resources, and great knowledge.

The reason we have been able to do great things is because a Great God – in His Grace – made us in HIS image and in HIS likeness (Genesis 1:27).

God made us “MALE AND FEMALE” and put us in paradise. God made us through Christ. The Bible says:

Colossians 1:15-17 (NKJV) {Jesus Christ} is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. ALL THINGS WERE CREATED THROUGH HIM, AND FOR HIM. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

The Father is God. The Holy Spirit is God. Jesus is God. But …

We want to be gods.

That’s what’s going on in our world today. This is why people are adopting outlandish ideas. Lost people are trying to remake themselves in their own image, after their own likeness. Lost people lower themselves and become furries. They surgically destroy themselves trying to change their genders. They redefine marriage, as if they are gods.

We want to be gods.

To “REPENT” is to change the mind. It is to look upward, to look around this God designed world, and to realize “I cannot be a god”. To “REPENT” is to stop being a god, and to turn to Him Who is God, and to let Him have your life. There are a lot of people who think they have repented and been saved, but they haven’t. The Apostle wrote the the Church at Corinth:

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 (KJV) For though I made you sorry with a letter {He’s talking about 1 Corinthians}, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though [it were] but for a season. 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that YOU SORROWED TO REPENTANCE: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For GODLY SORROW WORKETH REPENTANCE TO SALVATION NOT TO BE REPENTED OF: but the SORROW OF THE WORLD WORKETH DEATH.

When Paul wrote the Corinthians the first time, they were gripped by “GODLY SORROW”. God worked in their hearts. They then “REPENTED”, they stopped trying to be gods, and submitted to the will of God. God given sorrow brings us back to God. But “SORROW OF THE WORLD WORKETH DEATH”. Too many professing “Christians” today do not have Godly sorrow nor Biblical repentance. What did Jesus say about repentance?

Luke 13:2-5 (NKJV) … Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all [other] Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all [other] men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

You cannot be saved if you do not repent, change your mind, stop being gods and let God be God.

We Are Saved By Changing Our Mind,
By Giving ALL Of Ourselves To Jesus!

Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the PRISONER of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles

One of the things I often hear as a Pastor is, “If God loves me, why am I going through this valley? If God is good, why do I find myself in a bad situation?” I believe God allows the tough situations to test us, whether we are saved or lost.

Let’s consider the Apostle Paul. God knocked Paul down on the Damascus Road. God caused a Jewish Pharisee named “Saul” to be changed. Before He met Jesus, the Bible says:

Acts 9:1 (KJV) Saul, yet breathing out THREATENING AND SLAUGHTER against the disciples of the Lord

Oh, if there was ever a “god” among men, it was Saul of Tarsus. He had the authority to chase down and kill those pesky Christ followers. Saul hated Jesus’ followers!

The Jewish leadership, the Sanhedrin, hated Christians. After all, Israel was God’s chosen people. And the Pharisees were the best of the Jews! These Christ followers claimed that Jesus took the place of the Temple Priests, that Jesus took the place of the Temple sacrifices. Disciples of Christ claimed that Jesus brought in a New Covenant, and all manner of people were coming to Him and being “saved”. The Pharisees couldn’t stand it. So they sent their best man, Saul the Pharisee, out to kill and imprison Christians.

When Jesus knocked Saul down on the Damascus Road, Saul didn’t say “I’m sorry for killing Christians”. Saul didn’t say “I’m sorry I offended you, Jesus”. He didn’t mention his sins. What did Saul say?

Acts 9:6 (KJV) {Saul} trembling and astonished said, LORD, WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO? And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and IT SHALL BE TOLD THEE WHAT THOU MUST DO.

Salvation is a free gift because you cannot possibly earn or deserve it. But you cannot be saved without first REPENTING. The proof of salvation is not Church attendance, tithing, or doing good. The proof of salvation is when you stop debating God, look up from yourself, and say “LORD, WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO?”

Repentance is a change of the mind. Jesus is the Boss, not YOU. God is God, and we are not. Saul got his orders – and he went. Saul of Tarsus goes to the street called Straight, to the home of Judas (Acts 9:11). Jesus then sends – He doesn’t request but ORDERS – Ananias to Saul to lay his hand on him so that he could receive his sight.

Jesus didn’t ask Ananias to go see Saul of Tarsus. He TOLD him. When Ananias (a common name among the Jews – Acts 22:12) told Jesus he was concerned about going to that murderous Saul, Jesus told him:

Acts 9:15 (KJV) But the Lord said unto him, GO THY WAY: for HE IS A CHOSEN VESSEL UNTO ME, to bear My name BEFORE THE GENTILES, and kings, and the children of Israel

Jesus doesn’t beg Ananias to go. He tells him. Jesus doesn’t beg or wheedle Saul to go. He tells him. Jesus is God. We’re not God. Jesus said, “SAUL IS A CHOSEN VESSEL UNTO ME”. Literally what Jesus said was:

“ this man is my chosen instrument ”

God is in control! Jesus is in control. I often hear about “Christians” who have been “saved”, but they don’t want to be “baptized”. Jesus did not make baptism optional. It is a command. If you are saved, you will obey the command. Too many so called “Christians” think that God waits on us. No, we wait on God. He’s the boss. We’re not. If you think YOU’RE the boss, and that GOD waits on you, dear friend, YOU NEED TO GENUINELY REPENT. For God will get His way.

Paul Is A PRISONER Of Jesus.

Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the PRISONER {desmios} of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles

God called Saul of Tarsus to become Paul the Apostle FOR THE GENTILES. He didn’t call Paul for Paul. He called Paul so that God’s mission and God’s will could be complete.

Word Study: As Paul writes to the Church at Ephesus, He Is a prisoner. The Greek desmios means “someone bound or in bondage, a captive”. When Paul returned from his third missionary journey, preaching the Gospel, he felt a burning desire to go to Jerusalem to preach to the Jews there. Further, Paul had funds that the Church of Macedonia and other Gentile believers had sent to the impoverished Christians of Jerusalem. So Paul wanted to carry this money, and the Word of the Gospel, to Jerusalem.

His heart led him, rather than his head. Paul was a Jew, and he loved his people. Paul described his past life as:

Philippians 3:5-7 (KJV) Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Knocked down on the Damascus Road, Paul loved and served the Lord Jesus. His primary focus was to reach out to the Gentiles. But Paul wanted to see his own people saved. Paul traveled to Caesarea, to the home of Philip the Evangelist, and intended to go from there to Jerusalem. While in Caesarea, God sent a Prophet named Agabus to see Paul. The Prophet told Paul:

Acts 21:11-14 (NKJV) When {Agabus} had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his [own] hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver [him] into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” 12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

If I were Paul, I would not have gone to Jerusalem. He was supposed to go to the Gentiles first, then the Jews. But Paul went to Jerusalem and – just as God said – he was bound over to the Gentiles.

As Paul wrote Ephesians he was in prison in Rome, around 61-62 AD. Before arriving in Rome he was two years in prison in Caesarea. Paul was imprisoned because he went to Jerusalem when God warned him away. He was imprisoned because the Jews he went to see hated the Gospel.

But Paul is not imprisoned because of Rome. He is not imprisoned because the Jews in Jerusalem were upset with him. Paul says:

Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the PRISONER {desmios} of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles…

He was imprisoned because the Lord let him be imprisoned. He was imprisoned because God ordained Paul to go to the Gentiles first. But …

God’s Plan Will Always Be Fulfilled

Ephesians 3:2-4 If ye have heard of the DISPENSATION of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that BY REVELATION {on the Damascus Road} he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Word Study mystērion: Paul is imprisoned because God called him to go and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Now Paul starts talking about something he calls “THE MYSTERY”. This is the Greek mystērion, which means “the secret will of God, things hidden from ungodly and wicked men but that are clearly revealed to the child of God”. The ungodly, religious Pharisees and Sadducees believed that the Messiah would only come for the Jew, NOT for the Gentiles. When Jesus Christ reached out to the woman at the well in Samaria, the Bible said:

John 4:4 {Jesus} HAD to pass through Samaria.

The Jews went around Samaria. It was considered an unclean place filled with undesirable Gentiles. But Jesus did not avoid Samaria. Jesus HAD TO PASS THROUGH SAMARIA. The Pharisees and Sadducees would not sit near sinners. But Jesus HAD TO SIT WITH SINNERS.

Israel did what many Churches do today. They began to make THEMSELVES the center of God’s will. When Jesus came, they thought, “He cannot be the Messiah” because Jesus reached out to those that the religious crowd had no time for. Beloved, Jesus came for the Gentiles. He came for you. He came for me. When God called Abraham, He told that dear believer:

Genesis 12:3 (ESV) … in you ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH shall be blessed.

God’s Plan was to bring the Messiah through Israel. Jesus was a Jew from Israel. But His Plan – a mystery to the lost and the religious pretender – was known only in part in the Old Testament.

Ephesians 3:6-8 (KJV) That the Gentiles should be FELLOW HEIRS, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ BY THE GOSPEL: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am LESS THAN THE LEAST of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

God is calling whosoever to Him through Jesus Christ. What does the Gospel offer to the believer? “The Gentiles should be fellow heirs”. God invites those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior to be “FELLOW HEIRS”. The Scripture says:

Romans 8:16-18 (KJV) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; HEIRS OF GOD, and JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Being heirs with Christ means that there will be suffering. Paul said that we are “heirs of God and Joint Heirs with Christ”. But look what he says next: “if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together”. IF you are saved, God has a plan for you. That plan is to reach others with the Gospel of Christ. Where ever you find yourself, no matter what place you are in, no matter what valley, as “FELLOW HEIRS” with Christ we have a calling.

We must follow Jesus. We must work with God …

Ephesians 3:9-11 (KJV) … to make all [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

It’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus. If your Church will not learn this great truth, your Church will fail. Just as God put aside Israel for the time being while He uses the Church, God will put aside the body of believers that will not follow Him. God’s will must be fulfilled. As believers,

2 Corinthians 5:9 (KJV) Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him.

God will not support anything that does not advance the cause of the Gospel. Where ever you are, dear Christ follower, God has placed you to share Jesus and the glorious Gospel.

Posted in Ephesians, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, change of mind, Does He know you?, Faith, follow Jesus, God, God is God, I'm not god, Jesus, repent, repentance | Leave a comment

Treating Others

Posted on October 31, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

How We Should Treat The Poor

Proverbs 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

Those who are born of God (quickened by the Spirit) are born of GRACE. People born of GRACE are GRACIOUS. God’s people are not stingy nor greedy. The eighth commandment, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15) and the tenth commandment “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17) address greed and stinginess. God equated stinginess to theft. He told Israel,

Malachi 3:8-10 (NKJV) “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, [Even] this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, THAT THERE MAY BE FOOD IN MY HOUSE, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you [such] blessing That [there will] not [be room] enough [to receive it].

When a people like Israel – born of the Grace of God – becomes greedy and will not give, then it brings a curse on that people. God wanted His people to give “THAT THERE MAY BE FOOD IN MY HOUSE”. Was God Himself hungry? No. But giving to God’s house gives to those in need. The money that comes into this Church supports missionaries, who carry the Gospel where we cannot go. Our Operation Christmas Child boxes that we fill each year go to poor and needy children who otherwise would not have a Christmas. Through Samaritan’s Purse the Gospel is shared with these children. The food we carry out to the homeless feeds them, and as we distribute food we pray with them.

If God has blessed you, then you should bless others!

Proverbs 22:9 He that hath a BOUNTIFUL EYE {ṭôḇ ʿayin} shall be blessed…

Word Study: The words “BOUNTIFUL EYE” is the Hebrew ṭôḇ ʿayin, which means “a good, pleasant, or agreeable eye”. What we do, that is, what drives our hands, enters in through the eye. The Bible says before Adam and Eve sinned, that “the woman SAW that the tree was good for food” (Genesis 3:6). When Adam SAW Eve eat the fruit without effect, then He ate. What does the Bible say next? “The EYES of them both were opened” (Genesis 3:7). The devil works through the EYES first, then he leads us into disobedience.

When we LOOK at someone in need, we are to have “GOOD EYES”. Some people do not give to those in need because they LOOK at them and make judgments. Thank God that Jesus didn’t look at what messes we were and make judgments. Thank God that “WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, Christ DIED FOR US” (Romans 5:8). God looked at us, and saw our impoverished states, and yet gave an infinite price for us. Let us LOOK at the poor with good eyes, with eyes toward grace, not worth.

Proverbs 22:9 for he GIVETH OF HIS BREAD to the poor.

When Jesus preached about the Rich man and Lazarus, WHY DID THE RICH MAN GO TO HELL? Because his heart was not filled with grace toward the poor.

Jesus preached, in Luke 16:19-21 (ESV) There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who DESIRED TO BE FED with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Word Study: The rich man had bread a plenty. Yet what of Lazarus? He “DESIRED TO BE FED”. The word “DESIRED” is the Greek epithymeō, which means “he LONGED TO BE FED”. Lazarus was hungry, and the rich man would not even give him the crumbs from his table. He let the dogs eat, but not Lazarus. The Christ follower, the person who is “quickened” or made alive by the Word of God (Psalm 119:50; 119:93; Ephesians 2:1) and by the Spirit of God looks on the poor with a generous eye. Consider this:

God didn’t even care to know the name of the rich man
– but He knew Lazarus!

Proverbs 22:16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, SHALL SURELY COME TO WANT.

Some who are rich only give to the rich, to those who may benefit them, but not to those in need. God promises that they “SHALL SURELY COME TO WANT”. The stepbrother of Christ wrote:

James 5:1-6 (NKJV) Come now, [you] rich, weep and howl for YOUR MISERIES THAT ARE COMING UPON YOU! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed THE WAGES OF THE LABORERS WHO MOWED YOUR FIELD, WHICH YOU KEPT BACK BY FRAUD, CRY OUT; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

The rich hoard wealth while others suffer in poverty. The rich often cheat workers of their right wages, while living in luxury. Several years ago I worked for a man who paid slave wages, but gave his children lavish gifts for their birthdays and on Christmas. God watched. God says that not the workers, but “THE WAGES OF THE LABORERS WHO MOWED YOUR FIELD, WHICH YOU KEPT BACK BY FRAUD, CRY OUT”. The wages that were hoard cry out to God. God will judge. God did judge this man. He died of pancreatic cancer, and his business is no more. A payday comes someday. Who knows if this man’s life was shortened by his greed? His estate still owes me two week’s wages, which I forgave – but those wages cried out! I often wonder if, when this man died, if he were like the rich man of Luke 16. If so, it was brought on himself!

Proverbs 22:22-23 Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted IN THE GATE: 23 For the Lord will plead their cause, and SPOIL THE SOUL OF THOSE THAT SPOILED THEM.

Word Study: “THE GATE”. In the ancient world there was widespread lawlessness. Traveling bands of thieves and mercenaries would come on unprotected cities, and rob inhabitants. Because of this the larger cities would be walled around, protected. The gates of the city were only opened during daylight hours, and here people would enter the city to do business.Parents would take their rebellious children to the gate to be judged:

Deuteronomy 21:18-19 (ESV) If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city AT THE GATE OF THE PLACE WHERE HE LIVES

At the “GATE” was where justice and fair business was to be transacted. If the “GATE” was corrupted, the city was usually corrupted. The poor and disadvantaged were to be treated with respect at the “GATE”.

The Bible warns that “God will SPOIL THE SOUL OF THOSE THAT SPOILED THEM”. What does it mean to “SPOIL THE SOUL”? The greedy have no peace within. God will rob the rich who do so, and they will find no pleasure in what the took wrongly.

How We Should Treat Troublemakers

Proverbs 22:10 CAST OUT THE SCORNER, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

Word Study: The Bible does not tell us to put up with troublemakers. It tells us to “CAST OUT THE SCORNER”. The sentence “CAST OUT THE SCORNER” is but two words in the Hebrew, gāraš lûṣ. Gāraš literally means “to drive away or drive out” (Piel Imperative, this is a COMMAND). Lûṣ means “the mocker or one who belittles others”. God places a premium on unity within a family, a community, a Church, or a country. God tells us to “love our enemies” by “doing good toward them who do bad toward us” …

Matthew 5:44 (NKJV) But I say to you, love your enemies, BLESS those who curse you, DO GOOD to those who hate you, and PRAY for those who spitefully use you and persecute you …

However, in our midst we are to have zero tolerance for troublemakers. Troublemakers are magnets for other troublemakers. For instance, let’s consider the recent “No Kings Marches”. The BBC tells us that “Millions turned out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protests across US”. They estimate that 7 million people turned out for the event. The media has blown this up, inflating it. But let’s put it in perspective:

Population of U.S. = 342,034,432 million
No Kings marchers = 7 million
Percent of U.S. = 2% marched

Let me say a few BIBLICAL things about the “No Kings Marches”. First of all, they are foolish. If President Trump – regardless as to what you think of him – was a King, you wouldn’t be allowed to march and protest. If we were under an authoritarian leadership, like Kings used to be, then it would be like the movie “Braveheart”. Kings had absolute authority, and could ruin your family, or kill you with impunity. Oh, how I wanted to like the movie Braveheart, but I hated it! It portrayed the 13^th Century wars of Scottish Independence, led by Scottish Noble William Wallace. Wallace fought against the English occupiers under King Edward I. I didn’t like the movie because William Wallace (portrayed by Mel Gibson) died horribly at the end.

If President Trump were a King, there would have been no protest. 2% of America would not have pranced around and danced like fools, instead of doing something CONSTRUCTIVE. What should they have been doing? Well, if you are a CHRISTIAN, you are told:

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NKJV) Therefore I exhort first of all that SUPPLICATIONS, PRAYERS, INTERCESSIONS, AND GIVING OF THANKS BE MADE FOR ALL MEN, 2 FOR KINGS AND ALL WHO ARE IN AUTHORITY, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For THIS IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD OUR SAVIOR, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if 2% of our population had come out to PRAY FOR the President? But no, they came out to dance and show off silly signs. I had the same problem during the Obama and Biden administrations. Professing Christians were going around saying “That’s not MY President”. Though you might not have agreed with their policies, the Bible says:

Romans 13:1-3 (NKJV) Let EVERY SOUL BE SUBJECT TO THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES. For there is NO AUTHORITY EXCEPT FROM GOD, and the AUTHORITIES THAT EXIST ARE APPOINTED BY GOD. 2 Therefore WHOEVER RESISTS THE AUTHORITY RESISTS THE ORDINANCE OF GOD, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

We may not agree with whoever is President, but God has established our government with checks and balances. Troublemakers do nothing to help anyone. No one! When the Apostle wrote Romans 13 under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, he was imprisoned by Rome. Paul would eventually be beheaded as a traitor to Rome. Yet he encouraged the believer in Christ to obey the authorities as God ordained – insofar as they do not blatantly go against the clearly revealed Word of God.

What is revealing about troublemakers and the “No Kings” movement is that they have no real idea why they are doing what they do.

I saw numerous reporters go out into the crowds of the 2% of marchers, and ask “Why do you say the President is acting like a King? Why do you say, specifically, that he and his administration is ‘fascist’?” No one could say. Most responded with “He’s acting like a King”, but when asked specifics they could not answer. Troublemakers do not know WHY they are doing what they are doing.

Proverbs 22:10 CAST OUT THE SCORNER, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

God’s solution is this: We are to DO GOOD toward our enemies, toward people we do not agree with. We are to PRAY FOR our leadership. And we are to DRIVE OUT those who are troublemakers. Beloved, I say this with all my heart and love …. especially troublemakers in the Church. God’s Word tells us:

Ephesians 4:1-4 (NKJV) I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to WALK WORTHY OF THE CALLING with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE, 3 endeavoring to KEEP THE UNITY of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 [There is] one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling

Avoid The Lazy (And Don’t Be Lazy)

Proverbs 22:13 The slothful man saith, THERE IS A LION WITHOUT, I shall be slain in the streets.

This is very humorous, but well put (of course, for God wrote it). A lazy person is useless. What good comes of saying, “THERE IS A LION WITHOUT”? This is what the network news does today. It reports things that are frightening, or so they think, but offers no solutions. Listen to me, Beloved. If “THERE IS A LION WITHOUT”, what good does hand wringing do? What do we DO to fix the lion situation? Cry about it? If you believe “I shall be slain in the streets”, then the least you can do is stay inside. The lion can’t reach you inside. But after a while, you need to come out to get food and water. So here’s the question:

What do YOU DO?
What can YOU DO to fix the lion situation?

When I was in the military I was taught by my commanders to not bring them a problem without bringing a suggested solution.

What do we DO about the lion? What do I DO about the lion? I have to do better than hide in my house. Here’s a few solutions. (1) Only go outside during the daylight hours, as lions are ambush predators. If you can see it coming, you can avoid it. (2) Once outside, head to a gun store, and get the biggest most powerful gun I can afford. Get plenty of ammo in case I miss the first time. Then shoot the lion when I see it. (3) If guns are illegal in my city, move to a city that is run by people with common sense. Leave California and New York City. Get to Tennessee where it is legal to carry. “Tennessee law allows for permitless handgun carry (openly or concealed) for eligible individuals 21 and older as of July 1, 2021, though there are still restrictions on where firearms can be carried. The state prohibits carrying firearms in certain locations like schools, courthouses, and polling places.” (4) Learn to shoot your gun, or make friends with someone who knows how to shoot a gun and carries one. (5) Buy extra food so you can feed the lion daily. Well fed lions don’t eat humans. (6) If you feel that it is immoral to kill a wandering and murderous lion, make friends with some you can outrun. Lions usually get the slower prey. Do you get the point?

Quit complaining, and ask yourself, “what can I DO about the lion situation to make the lion situation go away”

Proverbs 22:29 Seest thou a man DILIGENT {māhîr} in his business? he shall stand before KINGS; he shall not stand before MEAN {ḥāšōḵ} men.

Word Study: Interesting that we are coming back to “KINGS” once more. The word rendered “DILIGENT” is the Hebrew māhîr, which means “skilled, ready, prompt, quick”. When 2% of America marched in the middle of the day the thought came to my mind, “Don’t they have jobs?” I have a job. I have something I do every day. I stay busy at what my job is. You stay out of trouble if you stay busy. The word translated “MEAN” is the Hebrew ḥāšōḵ, which means “obscure, insignificant, low or trashy people”.

God has made you with a talent. He has gifted you with abilities. You need to keep honing your abilities, and keep seeking what God has made you for. When you stay diligent in doing and minding YOUR OWN BUSINESS and YOUR OWN LIFE rather than run about trying to please others who cannot be pleased, then God will help you reach your potential. Lazy people never fix anything, but make everything worse. Lazy people never reach their God given life. Lazy people settle, like garbage, into the bottom of the pot. But those who focus on EXCELLENCE, who focus on BEING LIKE GOD CALLED US TO BE, these people never find themselves in a crowd of obscure, insignificant people.

Treat Loose People Like A Dangerous Pit

Proverbs 22:14 The MOUTH OF A STRANGE WOMAN IS A DEEP PIT: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.

I received a text (not the first time) where someone sent, “Who is this?” Though I don’t usually text, I sent back “This is David B”. Here’s what I got back:

“Hi David (smiley face), nice to meet you! I’m Elena – I’m from Lithuania but I live in New York now. How about you? Where are you from? Maybe I’ve been to your city before”.

I did NOT reply except with one word, “STOP”. Be careful who you make friends with. Be careful on Facebook, X, or one of the Social Media outlets. The devil is trolling. The devil disguises some of his finest demons with lipstick and short dresses, with muscular arms and a he man outlook. Be careful. The “MOUTH OF A STRANGE WOMAN IS A DEEP PIT”. The ancient Mariners warned of a Siren, a dangerous half bird half woman who would lure sailors to their deaths with enchanted songs. Open up your Bibles and listen to God’s Word. Solomon learned that the prettiest women can contain, like a snake, the most venom. The best advise is what I end with:

Proverbs 22:17-21 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, 21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

Avoid the pits. Follow the Lord Jesus and His Word. Amen!

Posted in General, Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, golden rule, gospel, Jesus, lazy people, love God, no kings, silly protests, troublemakers | Leave a comment

Be Careful

Posted on October 31, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Josh Frenette on Unsplash

Be Careful When Among The Powerful

Proverbs 23:1-3 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: 2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. 3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

Jesus often used exaggeration (also called hyperbole or overstatement) to shock or wake up His listeners to a Biblical truth. For instance, in:

Matthew 5:29-30 (ESV) If your RIGHT EYE CAUSES YOU TO SIN, TEAR IT OUT and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into HELL. 30 And if your RIGHT HAND CAUSES YOU TO SIN, CUT IT OFF and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into HELL.

Does Jesus actually expect you to rip out your eye, or cut off your hand? No. But Jesus was imparting to the crowd the horror that is sin, and the horror that unconfessed and unrepented sin can bring us to. Sin is not a small thing, but a big barrier. The “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). It would be horrible to rip out an eye, or cut off a hand. As horrendous as the pain is – or even the thought of doing it – the ripped out eye or cut off hand is but temporary pain. You can get over it. BUT HELL IS FOREVER TORMENT, forever separation from God. My commentary notes:

“Jesus uses vivid imagery to convey the gravity of sin, urging His followers to take drastic measures to avoid temptation and sin. The disciples hang on his every word, grappling with the radical nature of his teachings and the call to live a life of holiness and purity. The scene is a powerful reminder of the transformative impact of Jesus’ words and the profound depth of His love and grace.”

In another case Jesus told His followers:

John 6:53-58 (HCSB) Jesus said to them, I assure you: UNLESS YOU EAT THE FLESH OF THE SON OF MAN AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, YOU DO NOT HAVE LIFE IN YOURSELVES. 54 Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, 55 because My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your fathers ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.

Did Jesus expect His disciples to cannibalize Him? No. But what He was saying was being saved is more than mere acknowledgment of Jesus – He must be an intimate part of your life.

As Israel ate manna, and the manna became part of their daily lives, we have in intimate daily relationship with Jesus. We cannot go without Him even ONE DAY without hungering for Him – IF we are saved.

It is hyperbole. Solomon uses hyperbole in this verse.

Proverbs 23:1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently WHAT is before thee

Word Study: How do people get to be “RULERS”? They watch those around them, and figure out ways that they can manipulate people in order to gain power or riches. The word translated “WHAT” is the Hebrew ăšer (pro. ash-er’), which is a primitive relative pronoun. Though it can mean “WHAT”, the primary use of the word is “WHO”. Consider who invited you to eat. The fact that great delicacies are set before you may not be because the ruler likes you, but he may be trying to sway you or bribe you away from the right path.

When Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah (Daniel 1:6) were taken into Babylonian captivity, the first thing the rulers did was give them new names:

Daniel 1:7 (ESV) And the chief of the eunuchs GAVE THEM NAMES: Daniel he called BELTESHAZZAR, Hananiah he called SHADRACH, Mishael he called MESHACH, and Azariah he called ABEDNEGO.

To manipulate someone, change their identities. They were given names at birth, by loving and godly parents. “DANIEL” means “God is my Judge”. He was renamed “BELTESAZZAR”, which means “Lord of the exiles treasures”. Those riches that were taken from those who were in Babylonian exile were put in a treasury, and Daniel was the watcher of that treasury. “Hananiah” which means “God has favored” was renamed “SHADRACH” which means “A Great Scribe”. “Mishael” which means “who is what God is” was renamed “MESHACH”, meaning “Guest of the King”. And “Azariah” which means “Yahweh has helped me” was renamed “ABEDNEGO”, which means “The Servant of Nebo” who was a Babylonian god. Their names or identities were all changed from Godly to ungodly, from Heavenly to worldly. But we read:

Daniel 1:8-9 (ESV) But Daniel resolved that he would NOT DEFILE HIMSELF WITH THE KING’S FOOD, OR WITH THE WINE THAT HE DRANK. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs

Daniel and his friends could not control the change of their names, but they could control what they ate. They requested that they not be given the rich foods that the King offered them, but they stayed with the simple food and drink. Daniel and his friends realized that they were not being honored, but manipulated, and that their captors were trying to subvert their faith in God.

Proverbs 23:1-3 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently WHO is before thee: 2 And PUT A KNIFE TO THY THROAT, if thou be a man given to appetite. 3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for THEY ARE DECEITFUL MEAT.

The rich rulers became rich by manipulation and coercion. Do not fall into their trap. What they offer, and what they have, is fleeting.

Riches Are Fleeting

Proverbs 23:4-5 Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

Riches and fame come and go. Sherry and I have been watching the old show “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”, which ran 14 seasons from 1952-1966. It began on the radio first, and is considered one of the longest running family sitcoms in U.S. television history. Though immensely popular, every member of the cast has passed away. Ozzie died of liver cancer (1975), Harriet of heart failure (1994). David from colon cancer (2011), and Ricky in a plane crash (1985). The riches and fame are gone. They “fly away as an eagle toward heaven”. I noticed on their show – unlike the Andy Griffith Show – they never discussed God, Church, nor prayed over meals. I often wonder if any of those on the show – which I love to watch – are today in Heaven or hell.

The best life is the one that follows Jesus. Rather than labor for temporary wealth – which is fleeting – labor for the Lord. The Bible says:

Hebrews 13:5-6 (ESV) Keep your life FREE FROM LOVE OF MONEY, and BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, for He {our Lord Jesus} has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

That is the greatest of riches, that the “Lord is my Helper; I will not fear”. God puts a hedge around those who love Him. We should not be concerned about the riches of this world, but rather “the riches of God’s Grace!”

Ephesians 1:7 (KJV) In {Jesus} we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the RICHES OF HIS GRACE

I love preaching what Paul called …

Ephesians 3:8 (KJV) …. the UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST

The riches of this world come and go. But the riches we have through faith in Jesus never pass away!

Beware Of The Evil Eye

Proverbs 23:6-7 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an EVIL EYE, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For AS HE THINKETH IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but HIS HEART IS NOT WITH THEE.

Word Study: The words rendered “EVIL EYE” is the Hebrew raʿ ʿayin, which means what it says. “EVIL EYE”. What in the world is an evil eye? In the previous chapter we read:

Proverbs 22:9 (KJV) He that hath a BOUNTIFUL EYE shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

The “BOUNTIFUL EYE” is the person who is generous to others, who cares more for people than for riches and money. The person with the “EVIL EYE” is someone who loves money and is covetous, seeking to grab all that they can. The King James uses the phrase “EVIL EYE” in two other places:

Proverbs 28:2 (NKJV) A man with an EVIL EYE hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.

This person will do anything he can do to get his riches – even if it hurts others. If a covetous person, a person who loves money, invites you to eat at his table, it is not because he likes you, but because he is looking for a handle that he can use you by.

You’ve probably met people like this. I have.

1. The person with the evil eye doesn’t want to hang out with you, or even come to your Church. They only come around when they need something.

2. The person with the evil eye never considers that you might need something. The covetous covet – they build their own kingdoms, and don’t care if they step on you as they climb the ladder.

3. The person with the evil eye is self centered and selfish. Life rotates around them, or their organization, and no one else.

4. The person with the evil eye will make promises that they will not keep, and concessions that they will not follow through on. When Ray Kroc convinced the McDonald brothers to sell their name along with their business, Kroc and the brothers made a handshake deal that they would be given future royalty payments. Kroc gave the brothers 2.7 million dollars in 1961, but later refused to pay the royalty payments, as it was not in writing. This cost the brothers and their families over $100 million per year.

5. The person with the evil eye will be back, if you ever give them anything. They do not care about draining your resources, or ruining your life. They will not compromise in their coveting.

RUN FROM THESE PEOPLE!

These are people with defiled hearts. Jesus said:

Mark 7:20-23 (KJV) … That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an EVIL EYE, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

As Solomon said, “HIS HEART IS NOT WITH THEE”. They don’t care about you. Run, run away! If you do not, then the warning is:

Proverbs 23:8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

If you eat with the person that has the evil eye, if you sit at his table, that little bit you get will come back up on you. John Gill wrote in his commentary:

“It shall turn in thy stomach, thou shall not be able to keep it, when thou understandest thou art not welcome; or thou wilt wish thou hadst never eaten a bit, or that thou couldest vomit up what thou hast; so disagreeable is the thought of being unwelcome, or when this appears to be the case; and lose thy sweet words; expressed in thankfulness to the master of the feast, in praise of his food, in pleasantry with him, and the other guests at table; all which are repented of when a man finds he is not welcome.”

Or as my mama used to say, “You will rue the day!”

Proverbs 23:9 Speak not in the ears of a FOOL: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

I believe in sharing the Gospel with everyone. I love to broadcast the truth of Christ’s glorious Gospel. Yet some people, when you share Bible truth with them, are clearly godless. Jesus told His disciples:

Matthew 7:6 (ESV) Do not give DOGS what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before PIGS, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

The Bible uses the words “DOG” and “PIG” or swine metaphorically. Jesus is not talking about literal dogs or pigs, but people who are lost and are determined to stay lost. We should share the Gospel with whosoever will, because Jesus Christ died for the world (John 3:16). I never miss a chance to speak to or pray for others in the name of Jesus. Jesus told His disciples:

Matthew 10:14 (ESV) And if anyone will not receive you OR LISTEN TO YOUR WORDS, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. (see also Luke 9:5; Mark 6:11)

My commentary notes:

“There was a spiritual significance to a disciple of Jesus shaking the dust off his feet. It was a statement of finality about people who had been given the truth and who had rejected it. On their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas put Jesus’ words into practice. They had been preaching in Pisidian Antioch, but some of the Jewish leaders of that city stirred up persecution against the missionaries and had them expelled from the region. “So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium” (Acts 13:51). Antioch may not have welcomed the gospel as they should have, but that didn’t keep the message from spreading to other areas. Paul and Barnabas had done all they were sent to do, and the responsibility was now on the shoulders of those in Antioch. The apostles had proclaimed truth boldly. Some had accepted it eagerly; some had rejected it with violence. The apostles were not responsible for the Antiochians’ level of acceptance, only for their own obedience to God.”

We are to tell others about Jesus, to share His truth with them – and if they will not hear, it’s on them, not on us. We are responsible to be obedient to God, but we are not responsible for making others believe, or for taking the punishment for what they themselves choose to do. God told the Prophet:

Ezekiel 3:16-19 (ESV) … the word of the LORD came to me: 17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, YOU SHALL GIVE THEM WARNING FROM ME. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and YOU GIVE HIM NO WARNING, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but HIS BLOOD I WILL REQUIRE AT YOUR HAND. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and HE DOES NOT TURN from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

Our responsibility is to tell others. But we are not to chase the fool who will not listen. That’s not our calling. We are to give God’s Word as HE presented it. Yet some people will mock at or sneer at the Biblical truth.

Proverbs 29:9 (ESV) If a wise man has an argument with a fool,the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

Trying to teach someone divine wisdom while they reject divine wisdom is a waste of time. Only God can change the heart of a person. We need not wear ourselves out trying to be God.

Posted in General, Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, christianity, coveteousness, God, greed, Jesus, misers, people to avoid, rich, rulers, users | Leave a comment

The Author, The Achiever, The Architect

Posted on October 28, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Bradley Lembach on Unsplash

Ephesians 2:18-22 (KJV)For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone; 21 In Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an Holy Temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

I was at my doctor’s office this past Wednesday, and while I was waiting (and waiting) I was “redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:15-16) by reading a good book. The book I’m currently reading is Thomas Watson’s “The Doctrine of Repentance”. Watson was a Puritan Pastor (1620-1686) who rejected the teachings of the Church of England, a spin off of the Catholic Church. He was persecuted as a “non-conformist” because he would not follow the state endorsed churches. Watson died at 66 years old, suddenly, while in his prayer closet with the Lord. The man loved Jesus! In talking about repentance, Watson wrote:

“Before a man can come to Christ, he must first come to himself. … where we cannot see our own sin, there can be no repentance. … Would it not be strange if two people lived together, and ate and drank together, yet did not know each other? But this is how it is with a sinner; his body and soul live together and work together, but still he does not know himself. He does not know his own heart, nor what a hell he carries within him. {Listen to this} People are veiled over with ignorance and self love; they do not see what deformed souls they have. The devil does with them what the falconer does with the hawk. He blindfolds them so they cannot see he is carrying them to hell…”

I like that statement about the sinner, whose “body and soul live together and work together, but still he does not know himself”. I really believe that the reason for the confusion in our country today (transgenderism, choose your pronouns, people trying to be animals or furries, boys in girls sports) is because people are desperately seeking identity, seeking who they are. Beloved,

You will never discover WHO you are until you discover the ONE WHO created you.

It is my prayer today that God give as many as are under the sound of my voice the gift of repentance. When the Apostle Peter was telling the Jewish Church how the Gentiles were being saved through the Gospel of Christ, the Church leaders praised God, saying,

Acts 11:18 (ESV) Then to the Gentiles also GOD HAS GRANTED REPENTANCE that leads to life.

It is God Who gives REPENTANCE, Who must open the eyes of the lost. When Peter and the Apostles were told to NOT preach Christ, they said:

Acts 5:29-32 (NKJV) We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up JESUS whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 31 Him God has exalted to His right hand [to be] Prince and Savior, TO GIVE REPENTANCE TO ISRAEL and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and [so] also [is] the Holy Spirit WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN TO THOSE WHO OBEY HIM.

As we can see from our Acts passage, the TRINITY OF GOD is involved in salvation. God the Father raised up the Lord Jesus from the grave. The Father exalted Jesus to be both PRINCE AND SAVIOR – Jesus is LORD and Jesus is SAVIOR. God gives REPENTANCE, and then FORGIVENESS OF SINS, along with THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD … but only to “THOSE WHO OBEY HIM”.

Beloved, you are given a choice once God grants repentance to either call on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved and to live in Him … or NOT. You do not save yourself, but you must answer the call.

Ephesians 2:18 (KJV)For THROUGH HIM we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Jesus Christ Is The AUTHOR and
Finisher Of Salvation

You cannot write your name in God’s Book, in the Book of Life. You need to understand that – apart from the Lord Jesus Christ – you are absolutely and resolutely condemned before God. Your so called “Good Works” count for nothing without Jesus. The Bible is very clear and concise on this. We are told in:

Romans 3:10, 23 (NKJV) As it is written: “There is NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE; … 23 for ALL have sinned and FALL SHORT of the glory of God,

The Bible speaks of a Great White Throne, a terrifying time when those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ will stand before God. John the Revelator said:

Revelation 20:12, 15 (NKJV) And I saw THE DEAD, small and great, STANDING BEFORE GOD, and BOOKS were opened. And ANOTHER BOOK was opened, which is THE BOOK OF LIFE. And THE DEAD WERE JUDGED ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS, by the things which were written in the books. … 15 And ANYONE NOT FOUND WRITTEN in the BOOK OF LIFE was cast into the lake of fire.

The person who stands before God in the coming judgment is relying on their “good” works, the religious things they did in this life. But their works are no good. They may have been sincere. They may have tried with all their might. But these people without Christ are “THE DEAD”. Dead things are standing before the Living God (Deuteronomy 5:26; 1 Samuel 17:26; Psalm 42:2; 84:2; Romans 9:26). They should have come to God. What does our text tell us?

Ephesians 2:18 (KJV) For THROUGH HIM we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

“THROUGH HIM”, through Christ Jesus we have access to the Father. The Bible says that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. The Bible says that Christ’s primary mission was to save sinners. Jesus clearly said, “the Son of Man has come to SEEK AND SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST” (Luke 19:10). Jesus clearly said “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The Bible says that “we look UNTO JESUS, the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). And yet people hear the Gospel is to believe on, to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and yet persist in believing “oh, I’m as good as anyone. If I die, surely I’ll go to Heaven”. No, this is a lie from Satan, a lie from your pride.

At the Great White Throne “THE DEAD” will have their works judged, and they are all insufficient. We are told “ANYONE NOT FOUND WRITTEN in the BOOK OF LIFE was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

We are not the Authors of our salvation. Jesus Christ is THE AUTHOR and FINISHER of our salvation. You must repent, and come to Him with empty hands and willing hearts.

Pastor and Author Warren Wiersbe said it so clearly. He said:

“The unbeliever is not sick; he is dead! He does not need resuscitation; he needs resurrection. All lost sinners are dead, and the only difference between one sinner and another is the state of decay. The lost derelict on skid row may be more decayed outwardly than the unsaved society leader, but both are dead in sin—and one corpse cannot be more dead than another! This means that our world is one vast graveyard, filled with people who are dead while they live.”

Dr. Robert Lightner of Dallas Theological Seminary wrote:

“God is the only one who could solve the problem which man’s sin presented to Him. After man’s fall God the Father began in time the plan of salvation which He devised before time began. This divine plan centered in his divine Son: “He gave His only begotten Son” because He “so loved the world” (John 3:16). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).”

Jesus Christ is the Author of salvation. The Father sent Him from glory to this earth to open the door of Heaven for us. A favorite text of many is:

John 3:16-17 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

God wants no one wandering through this life confused. He made you on purpose. You are not an accident, and not inconsequential. You are made in His image to do more than just exist and then die. It is “THROUGH JESUS we have access by one Spirit UNTO THE FATHER”. The Father cannot do anything about your life if you do not receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Do you want to please God? Do you want to have a wonderful life, the life God wants for you? Then DO the work of God!

John 6:29 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Jesus is not just the AUTHOR of salvation, but He is the FINISHER. He gave everything He had to save you. What does He want from you? REPENT. Give Him YOUR LIFE. He gave His life for you, for me, for everyone. The Scripture says:

Romans 5:6-10 (NKJV) For when we were still without strength, in due time CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY. … 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, WE SHALL BE SAVED FROM WRATH THROUGH HIM. 10 For if when we were enemies we were RECONCILED TO GOD {THE FATHER} THROUGH THE DEATH OF HIS SON, much more, having been reconciled, WE SHALL BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE.

It is only “THROUGH CHRIST” that we have access to the Father. It is not through your “good” works, nor your sincerity – but only through Jesus.

Christ Is The Author, The Holy Spirit
The ACHIEVER Of Salvation

Ephesians 2:18 (KJV)For through Him we both have access BY ONE SPIRIT unto the Father.

Those who stand before the Great White Throne are called “THE DEAD”. They are, one and all, spiritually dead. They are people in whom the Holy Spirit has not worked.

Ephesians 2:4-7 (KJV) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath QUICKENED US TOGETHER with Christ, (BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED;) 6 And HATH RAISED US UP TOGETHER, and made US sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit changes the status of those who come to Christ. Without the Spirit, you are “THE DEAD”. You are destined to end up at a Great White Throne, and will be cast into a LAKE OF FIRE where you will NEVER ESCAPE. Dead things go into that terrible lake. But once you REPENT and RECEIVE the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, the Father sends the Holy Spirit to your life.

Ephesians 2:18-19 (KJV)For through Christ we both have access BY ONE SPIRIT unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are NO MORE STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS, but FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS, and OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD;

Before salvation you are a “STRANGER” to God. God knows you, but as a dead thing. You are alive in His world, but do not know Him nor consider Him as a matter of fact. You are “FOREIGNERS”. You do not speak the language of God, nor seek to understand His ways. You are a stranger in a strange land, and God seems far from you. Here’s a mark that you’re lost:

If you think life is “all about me”, and you think nothing of God in your daily lives, you are “DEAD”, strangers and foreigners to God.

Psalm 10:4 (ESV) In the PRIDE of his face the wicked does not seek {God}; all his thoughts are, “THERE IS NO GOD”.

Those without Christ may seem religious and sincere, but they care nothing for God. Their faith is surface, much like the Pharisees of whom Jesus said:

Matthew 23:27-28 (LSB) … For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are FULL OF DEAD MEN’S BONES and all uncleanness. 28 In this way, you also OUTWARDLY appear righteous to men, but INWARDLY you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Hell will be filled with religious people. Hell will be filled with sincere people. Hell will be filled with “good” people. Hell will be filled with those without Christ, without the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. When you receive the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit changes you to be …

FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS

That word “CITIZEN” should be easy enough to understand. A citizen to God is someone who LIVES IN CHRIST’S KINGDOM not just THEN, but NOW. The Bible says:

Colossians 1:13 (LSB) {God} rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us TO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON of His love

We do not belong to this present fallen world, but to His Kingdom. We are citizens first and foremost to the Kingdom of Christ. When the Apostle Paul was going to be beaten by the Romans, he appealed to his Roman citizenship (Acts 16:37; 21:39). The Roman authorities immediately back away from whipping him – citizens have rights! We who have believed on Jesus are a part of His Kingdom, and HE IS OUR LORD. We follow Him. Jesus said,

John 14:15 (ESV) If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 15:10 (ESV) If you keep my commandments, YOU WILL ABIDE IN MY LOVE, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

The Holy Spirit brings you into the Kingdom of Christ. But the Holy Spirit also does something else. When you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Spirit brings you into …

THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD

You are adopted by God the Spirit, brought into God’s family. You are not just citizens, but God makes you more than His creation. He makes you HIS CHILDREN. The Bible tells the believer in Christ:

Romans 8:14-17 (ESV) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION AS SONS, by {the Holy Spirit} WE CRY, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD, 17 and if children, then heirs—HEIRS OF GOD and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Galatians 4:4-7 (LSB) But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION AS SONS. 6 And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore YOU ARE NO LONGER A SLAVE, BUT A SON; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Before you received Jesus as Lord and Savior, you were slaves to sin, servants of the darkness. But now, because of Jesus, because of the Holy Spirit, your salvation has been achieved and will keep on being achieved. If you are saved, you are a product of God’s hand. If that is true then I can say with the Apostle:

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that HE WHO HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL COMPLETE IT until the day of Jesus Christ;

The God Who made all things will finish what He has started in the Christ follower.

God The Father Is The ARCHITECT Of Our Faith

Ephesians 2:20-22 (KJV)And are BUILT upon the FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone; 21 In Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an Holy Temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

What is God the Father doing? Were we who are saved just saved so we can go to Heaven? Were we saved just so that God can keep us out of the Lake of Fire? No!

If you are saved, you are saved into His Kingdom. If you are saved, you are saved together with others to be a HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD.

God the Father is the Architect, the Planner of our salvation. He did not save us without purpose. Before there was an Israel, man worshiped God at singular, man made altars. After God called Abraham to salvation, ABRAHAM BUILT an altar and worshiped God (Genesis 12:7-8). When Abraham’s son Isaac gave himself to Jesus, ISAAC BUILT an altar (Genesis 26:25) and worshiped God. When Isaac’s son JACOB went into the land of Promise, JACOB BUILT an altar (Genesis 35:7) in the place where he saw the Lord. When Jacob’s family grew into Israel the nation, God had ISRAEL BUILD a Tabernacle, a Tent to worship Him in (Exodus 25:9). It was planned out by God the Father, but built by man. Much later King David’s son King Solomon was allowed TO BUILD A TEMPLE to worship God in (1 Kings 5:17). So follow this, dear ones.

Man began by worshiping God ALONE, at man made altars.
Then God designed a Tabernacle, but His people built it.
Then God designed a Temple, but once more humans built it.

These things were all temporary. God slowly introduced us to what He would do through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament altar was man made, and its foundation was dirt or stone. The Old Testament Tabernacle was built on dirt. The Old Temple was built on stone. These things were all EARTHLY, all OF THIS WORLD. These were all but “COPY and SHADOWS of the Heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5). These were but “SHADOWS of the GOOD THINGS TO COME” (Hebrews 10:1).

The Father planned the Church. The Son died for the Church. The Holy Spirit is building the Church. The Master’s Plan is the Church.

Ephesians 2:20 (KJV) And are BUILT upon the FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone;

The Church is not built on dirt like an altar or the Tabernacle. The Church’s foundation is not stone like the Temple. Those things are temporary, and faded with time. The Church is built on “the FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS”, the eternal writings that we call the Holy Bible. When God’s people come together in love, we are the Church. Hear me!

We don’t “go to Church”. We ARE the Church!

That which holds the Church together is Jesus Christ. He is the “Chief Corner Stone”. My commentary notes:

“Since ancient times, builders have used cornerstones in their construction projects. A cornerstone was the principal stone, usually placed at the corner of an edifice, to guide the workers in their course. The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, the most solid, and the most carefully constructed of any in the edifice. The Bible describes Jesus as the cornerstone that His church would be built upon. He is foundational. Once the cornerstone was set, it became the basis for determining every measurement in the remaining construction; everything was aligned to it. As the cornerstone of the building of the church, Jesus is our standard of measure and alignment.”

The Prophet said of Christ in Isaiah 28:16-17 (ESV) thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am the One who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a Stone, a Tested Stone, a Precious Cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.

The Church belongs to Jesus. The Church glorifies the Lord Who made us. Jesus promised, “I will build MY CHURCH, and the GATES OF HELL will NOT prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The Church is not temporary. It is permanent. The Church is not built on earth or stone, but on Scripture and Jesus. The Church is a body of believers – the Kingdom of Christ – gathered together to worship Him.

Ephesians 2:21(KJV) In Whom {in Jesus Christ, in God} all the building fitly framed together GROWETH INTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD:

The Church is God’s Temple. Not this building, but the people who gather together to worship the Lord Jesus. The Church – that body of believers – who loves Jesus will grow spiritually and numerically. It will grow brighter and brighter to the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:22 In Whom {In God} ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

God lives in His Church. He lives in the midst of His people. We cling to Jesus Christ our Lord. We stand on what the Word of God teaches. We love one another, as Christ has loved us. Amen.

Posted in Ephesians, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, christianity, Church, Church growth, Ephesians, Every Word Holy, Faith, Following Christ, God Is Faithful, God the Holy Spirit, Holy Bible, Holy Spirit, Jesus, salvation, Scripture, Scripture is True, Scripture truth, tabernacle, Temple, Treasure Scripture, Trinity | 1 Comment

Repent, Restore, Reap

Posted on October 28, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by jose alfonso sierra on Unsplash

Galatians 6:1-4 BRETHREN, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

The great Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said before he went to be with Jesus:

“I don’t ask people if they’re ‘saved’ anymore. Who isn’t ‘saved’, from the White House to the jail house? I look a person in the eye and say, ‘Does Christ live in you?’ ‘I was saved in…’ ‘I didn’t ask you that. I’m asking you does Christ live in you?’ Christianity is the only religion in the world where a man’s God comes and lives inside of him. A Chinese scholar was given a copy of the New Testament. He’s read the Quran, he’s read the Vedas (the Hindi writings), and all the (other) sacred books. (He was asked) ‘What’s the most amazing thing you read?’ He said ‘The most awesome thing is in Ephesians chapter 2. It says ‘I times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. At the end of that chapter it says, ‘You are the habitation of God’. Does your God live inside of you? That’s the most awesome thing I’ve ever read! I’ve never read where a man’s God comes and makes that man the habitation of God.”

God lives in the Christian. Paul starts out this section with the word “BRETHREN”. He’s not talking to Jews (as Paul was a Jew), but but to fellow believers in Christ. The Christian is a person who has been “born again” or “quickened” by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23). The Christian is “indwelt by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 8:9). The Christian, as we saw in the last chapter, is called of God to:

Galatians 5:16, 18 (KJV) WALK IN THE SPIRIT… 18 if ye be LED OF THE SPIRIT, ye are not under the law.

The Child of God, the Christ follower, is not to follow after the flesh and after sin, but to follow after the Spirit of God. The Christian is not to be a sinner, but a saint, a disciple of Christ. Saved by Grace, the Bible says to the children of God:

Romans 6:14-18 (NKJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, YOU ARE THAT ONE’S SLAVES TO WHOM YOU OBEY, whether of sin [leading] to death, or of obedience [leading] to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that [though] you WERE SLAVES OF SIN, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been SET FREE FROM SIN, you became slaves of righteousness.

The Christian is set free from the dominion of sin. God lives inside of us. We are to “walk in the Spirit”, that is, walk yielded to God’s leading. But here’s the question:

What if a Christian sins?
How should we as family handle this?

Galatians 6:1 BRETHREN, if a man be OVERTAKEN {prolambanō} in a FAULT {paraptōma}, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Word Study: The word translated “OVERTAKEN” is interesting, because it means “to be grabbed, to seize”. The word translated “FAULT” means “something that trespasses against or deviates from truth and righteousness”. When we as believers do something that God within us tells us not to do, do something which God has clearly forbade in the Scripture, then we can become seized by it. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin is a trap. Sin is offensive to God. Sin is counterproductive to the mission of the Church, a stain on the gown of Christ’s Bride. Sin is not to be winked at, but repented of, and left alone.

Sin is spiritual poison ivy – handle it, and it spreads and devastates not just you, but others around you!

Word Study: In the event that a believer in the Church falls away, and begins to walk in the flesh rather than walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-21), then the Apostle calls on “those who are SPIRITUAL” to do something with that believer. The Spiritual, God led believers are to “RESTORE” (katartizō, “to render sound or complete, to repair”). This word is first used in the New Testament when Jesus began to call His Apostles:

Matthew 4:21 (KJV) And going on from thence, {Jesus} saw other two brethren, James [the son] of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, MENDING {katartizō} their nets; and He called them.

The fishermen James and John were not making new nets. Their nets had been torn because they had been catching fish, and pulling them into their lives. Sometimes believers, like nets, cast themselves in the direction of something that God has forbidden. It tears their souls. Like nets, the fallen brother in Christ needs repair. Let’s use the imagery of the fishermen and the net being restored, and apply this to our text.

1 The net cannot be restored while it is filled with fish. The net must be emptied before the breach can be closed. Even so, no believer can be “restored” or mended while they are actively in their sin. In the Church of Corinth, The Apostle Paul was aghast! He wrote:

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 (ESV) It is actually reported that THERE IS SEXUAL IMMORALITY AMONG YOU, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for A MAN HAS HIS FATHER’S WIFE. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be REMOVED FROM AMONG YOU.

Restoration does not mean to look the other way. When someone in the active membership of the local Church – someone who is supposed to be a believer in Christ – gets into sexual sin, they are to be “REMOVED FROM AMONG YOU”. We are not to wink at the heterosexual or homosexual sinner in “tolerance”. God does not tolerate it, and neither should we. Before anyone can be RESTORED, they must first REPENT. The net must be emptied of sin. Paul told the Church at Corinth:

1 Corinthians 5:4-7 (ESV)When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to DELIVER THIS MAN TO SATAN FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

The Church is a Body of Believers walking in the Spirit, walking with the Lord Jesus Christ. If someone begins to walk in the flesh and will not repent, we are to lovingly withdraw fellowship from them. Paul goes on to say:

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 (ESV) But now I am writing to you NOT TO ASSOCIATE WITH ANYONE WHO BEARS THE NAME OF BROTHER if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler–not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “PURGE THE EVIL PERSON FROM AMONG YOU.”

The unrepentant and flesh walking “brother in Christ” – we are not to embrace him, but to remove fellowship from them. Can that person still come to the Church? Certainly! We want the sinner to come to Church. But we do not commiserate with that person, nor justify that person.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little sin spreads and infuses the whole Church. We love them, but do not condone their action.

At a Church I pastored a certain man began to live in sexual sin with his girlfriend. When he came to Church, it was reported to me that several members approached them, and encouraged them to get married. He professed to be a Christian. She professed to be a Christian. I myself talked to them, but they made excuses and refused to repent. They stopped coming to Church, mad at the Church for saying anything about the situation.

Good! Beloved, the wages of sin is death. If we love our fellow believers, we will encourage them to get away from sin.

2 Once the net is emptied, the person has repented, they are to be repaired. The net is not repaired with non-net material. It is repaired with the same material that was broken. We repair the net by loving the person, and sharing the Word of God with them. We pray with them, and care for them. If we were offended, we forgive them. Jesus said:

Luke 17:3-4 (KJV) Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, REBUKE HIM; and IF HE REPENT, FORGIVE HIM. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Word Study: Restoration of the fallen brother or sister is done “IN THE SPIRIT OF MEEKNESS; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted”. We are to be very careful not to fall into self righteousness. Restoration is done “IN THE SPIRIT OF MEEKNESS”. The word “MEEKNESS” is the Greek πρ ότης praiótēs, {pronounced ᾳ prah-ot’-ace}, which means “gentleness, mildness, in a humble way”. Meekness or humility is one of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)But the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 MEEKNESS {praiótēs}, temperance: against such there is no law.

Meekness or humility does not add to nor take away from the Word of God, but submits to it. We are to be humble with the returning fallen, for Beloved, we ourselves may fall! The Scripture says in

Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and MEEKNESS (PRAIÓTĒS), with long suffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, MEEKNESS (PRAIÓTĒS), long suffering”.

We pray for one another. We share Scripture with one another. We need one another.

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s BURDENS (Báros), and so fulfill THE LAW OF CHRIST.

If a brother or sister in Christ fall, but repent and return, we are to receive them as the Father received the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-31). We are not to be like the fault finding elder brother, puffed up and angry.

Those who are spiritual are the ones who seek to fulfill “THE LAW OF CHRIST”.

The Law of Christ is God’s Law of Love. Romans 13:8, 10 tells us, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love [is] the fulfillment of the law.” We fulfill the Law of Christ when we encourage our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We point the fallen to Christ. We do not condemn them, but love them as wounded members of the body.

Galatians 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

We are all broken creatures, and could all be overtaken by sin. Let us rest in Christ, and love one another. We are all broken creatures who could be snared on any day.

Our strength is to be not in ourselves, but “In Christ”.

I was reading a book this morning called “Lessons From The Upper Room” by Sinclair B Ferguson. In that book Pastor Ferguson noted that the word “Christian” is only found three times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). The believer in Jesus is called “in Christ” over two hundred times. When a brother or sister in Christ falls from Christ, we are to show them how to get back “in Christ” through repentance and obedience. We are not superior to them because we have not fallen. We have not fallen because we are “In Christ”. Beware of pride! 1 Corinthians 8:2 warns us that “if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth NOTHING yet as he ought to know”.

God Will Hold YOU Accountable – No One Can Live The Christian Life For Anyone Else

Galatians 6:4-5 But let every man PROVE HIS OWN WORK, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For EVERY MAN SHALL BEAR HIS OWN BURDEN.

I might not have fallen into trespasses, but one thing that can sneak up on us all is complacency and laziness. When God calls us to salvation, He does not just call us to HEAVEN, but to LIVING FOR HIM. He calls us to WORK. Though Adam was created perfect, God placed him in a perfect garden to “dress and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Salvation is entirely by Grace. Retention of salvation is entirely by Grace. But once saved, we are called to DO GOOD for GOD.

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand that WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM.

The Christ follower is to “WALK in GOOD WORKS”. God expects His Children by faith in Christ to work for Him. We are to “let our light shine before others, so that the world may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Salvation is not just a moment in time, but it is a continuing event, a work in progress. Believers are to live our lives bringing glory to our God.

Our works are the proof of the genuineness of our faith.

Christians are to live for Jesus, to glorify Him. Jesus said “I am the Vine, and you are the Branches” (John 15:5). We are called together as Christ’s Church to do good and to glorify our Lord. Pastor Voddie Baucham preached before going to be with Jesus:

“Be careful about how you talk about Christ’s Bride (the Church). He is her Head. He loves her. He’s perfecting her. And He is One with her. We do not hold the Church in the kind of esteem that we ought to if we truly love the Lord Jesus Christ. There are those who say, no, no, no, I love Jesus, just not the Church. It’s like coming up to me and saying, I love you, I believe we just should be friends. But I just need you to keep your wife away from me because I don’t like her. I love you, and want to have a close, intimate relationship with you, but I hate the one that you have united yourself to in a one flesh covenant that we call marriage. Can that be okay? And the answer is absolutely not! Yet that’s exactly what we do with Christ and His bride, the Church.”

Voddie went on to say, “I have been asked why is it that these charlatans have churches with thousands and thousands of people. My answer is that those are not churches – they’re goat farms, filled with people with itching ears!”

Beloved, ever believer in Christ is saved to a Church, and within that Church every believer is saved to walk in good works. There is coming a judgment day for the lost, and what a terrible day that will be. But there is coming a judgment day for the believer. The Bible says:

Romans 2:6-11 (ESV) {God} will render to each one ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS: 7 to those who by patience in WELL-DOING seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who DOES EVIL, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who DOES GOOD, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality …

Works and salvation are tied together. You do not work to BE saved, but once saved by faith you do good BECAUSE YOU ARE SAVED. You do good within a Church Family. You do good within the Kingdom of God.

God said:

Romans 14:10-12 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the SOUL of the Christian is not in question, but the VALUE OF THE WORKS that Christian did for God while on the earth. You and I will “bear our own burden”. We will not be allowed to blame others for what we did. We won’t be able to find ways to deflect our guilt, nor ways to manufacture innocence. God the Son, using God the Holy Spirit, will examine the deeds that we have done while in this body, whether good or bad. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 (ESV) … each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation {of Jesus Christ} survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s WORK IS BURNED UP, HE WILL SUFFER LOSS, THOUGH HE HIMSELF WILL BE SAVED, but only as through fire.

We were left on this earth to be “laborers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:9). The Apostle continues:

Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

The lost person may walk an aisle, be baptized, join a Church – then walk away, believing themselves to be saved when they think nothing of Christ and His Kingdom. Listen Beloved:

The proof of new birth, of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, is in your works. If you walked the aisle years ago but perpetually live sowing to the flesh, then, dear friend, YOU ARE NOT SAVED. If you are saved you love Jesus, you love His Word, you love His people, and you love the lost person. There is no such thing as a fruitless Christian!

So for you who are true believers, born again of the Spirit, indwelt by God, heed these words:

Galatians 6:9-10 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Do Good, for Jesus and for His glory. Amen!

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged christianity, disciples, discipleship, Faith, fallen followers, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, Jesus, salvation | Leave a comment

The Nature of Christ

Posted on October 19, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

Galatians 5:16-18 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Have You Received The Nature Of Christ?

When the early Church began to grow, and Peter along with the other Apostles went out with the glorious Gospel of Christ, the Church reached out to the Jews, but spent little reaching to the Gentiles. All preaching was on Solomon’s Porch in Jerusalem. All of the Gospel was shared where it was comfortable. We all have that problem within us. We like to stay with the familiar.

It is true that on the Day of Pentecost that God gave Peter and the Apostles the ability to speak in other languages so as to share the Gospel. But the Bible tells us that these people that heard the Gospel on Pentecost were jews:

Acts 2:5 (ESV) Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem JEWS, DEVOUT MEN FROM EVERY NATION under heaven.

These were Jews, not Gentiles. These were Jews who had been living in other countries so long that they had adopted the language of those countries. God gave the 120 from the upper room the ability to share the Gospel in the language these Jews were speaking:

Acts 2:6-8 (ESV) And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that WE HEAR, EACH OF US IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE?

The Holy Spirit empowered the 120 to preach the Gospel. The barriers that God erected at the Tower of Babel were removed – temporarily – so the Gospel could go forth. But listen – the Gospel was being preached to the Jews, not the Gentiles. The languages that they were preaching the Gospel in was the language of “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, Cretans and Arabians” (Acts 2:9-11). Could Gentiles have been hearing the Gospel? Certainly, but the target was the Jews. Though Phillip did witness to the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:27-39), the target audience of the Gospel was the Jews, not the Gentiles.

Then God sent Peter to Cornelius, a Centurion of the Italian Cohort. Cornelius was a man saved by Grace. Though a Gentile, he feared God, gave generously, and prayed continually to God (Acts 10:2). God sent Peter to Cornelius. Peter said,

Acts 10:28 (ESV) And {Peter} said to {Cornelius, and those Gentiles with him}, You yourselves know how UNLAWFUL IT IS FOR A JEW TO ASSOCIATE WITH OR TO VISIT ANYONE OF ANOTHER NATION, but GOD HAS SHOWN ME that I should not call any person common or unclean.

Peter and the Jewish Church did not reach out to the Gentiles, because the Pharisees had so twisted the Law of God that he had been taught that it was UNLAWFUL to reach out to the Gentiles.

It was never UNLAWFUL to reach out to the Gentiles. God told Israel:

Isaiah 60:3 (NKJV) The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Yet Israel had allowed religion to twist the Law. They were NOT the Light of the World. But God corrected this. He sent Peter to Cornelius, and Peter shared the Gospel of salvation with Cornelius and his household:

Acts 10:34-36 (ESV) So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALITY, 35 but in EVERY NATION anyone who FEARS HIM and DOES WHAT IS RIGHT IS ACCEPTABLE TO HIM. 36 As for the Word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).

Peter shared the Whole Gospel with Cornelius and his household, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah sent from God. The Bible says that as Peter ended with his presentation,

Acts 10:44-47 (ESV) While Peter was still saying these things, THE HOLY SPIRIT FELL ON ALL WHO HEARD THE WORD. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS POURED OUT even on the Gentiles. 46 For THEY WERE HEARING THEM SPEAK IN TONGUES AND EXTOL GOD. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT just as we have?

On the Day of Pentecost, the 120 were enabled by God to speak the Gospel and glorify God in other earth languages. In order to teach Peter, the Lord enabled the Gentiles to speak probably Aramaic or Hebrew, languages that Peter and the other Jews would understand. It was not gibberish, because they were “SPEAKING IN TONGUES AND EXTOLLING OR GLORIFYING GOD”. It was evident that the Holy Spirit did this. He was present, and had imparted the same God given ability to the Gentiles in the home of Cornelius that He gave to the 120 on the Day of Pentecost. The Bible tells us that:

“The Holy Spirit fell on them”
“The gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on them”
“They received the Holy Spirit”

Beloved, the Holy Spirit MUST come to you, and MUST work in your life if you are indeed saved. I’m not talking about the Gift of Tongues. When the Holy Spirit comes to you,

You are INDWELT of the Spirit (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
You are BORN AGAIN of the Spirit (John 3:3-7)
You are SEALED of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
You are ASSISTED IN PRAYER by the Spirit (Jude 20)
You are EMPOWERED by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
You are GIFTED by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4)
You become the WORKMANSHIP of the Spirit (Ephesians 2:10)

Being the WORKMANSHIP of the Spirit means to WALK in the Spirit. A non-believer cannot walk in the Spirit.

I was talking to a fellow today who stopped by my office, and told me how he went to a Church that relied heavily on symbology – lighting of candles, etc. This fellow was impressed by all the pageantry that he saw. Many “churches” practice smoke and mirrors, chants and incantation, worship of leaders (Popes, Cardinals, etc), but this is not walking in the Spirit. Other “churches” practice “speaking in tongues”, something not tied to the proclamation of the Gospel nor earthly languages. That is not walking in the Spirit.

To walk in the Spirit is the normal way of life for the born again believer. Walking in the Spirit is the fulfillment of what God promised Israel as the New Covenant. God told His people:

Ezekiel 11:19-21 (NKJV) Then I will give them one heart, and I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN THEM, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and GIVE THEM A HEART OF FLESH, 20 that they may WALK IN MY STATUTES, AND KEEP MY JUDGMENTS, AND DO THEM; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But [as for those] whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.

And again,

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NKJV) I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART, AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH. 27 I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU, AND CAUSE YOU TO WALK IN MY STATUTES, and you will keep My judgments and do [them].

God called this “the NEW COVENANT” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It is Jesus Christ Who brought us the New Covenant. At the Lord’s Table Jesus took the Cup and said:

Matthew 26:28 (NKJV) For this is MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:24 (NKJV) And He said to them, This is MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT, which is shed for many.

Those who are born again are:

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NKJV) who also made us sufficient as MINISTERS OF THE NEW COVENANT, NOT OF THE LETTER BUT OF THE SPIRIT; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

We share the Gospel of Christ, the fact that Christ suffered and died for all. We share what Jesus shared, “REPENT, for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus preached:

Mark 1:15 (NKJV) … The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL.

Faith in Jesus Christ leads us out of Egypt, and into the Christian way of life.

If You Have Not Walked OUT Of Egypt,
You Cannot Walk IN The Spirit

Galatians 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

To “Walk in the Spirit” has nothing to do with
speaking in tongues.

It has to do with WHO you are walking with. The world walks in darkness. The world walks in the flesh. The world walks with a heart of stone to God, satisfying itself. It walks with an eye to satisfying SELF without regard to God. The Bible says:

Proverbs 4:19 (NKJV) THE WAY OF THE WICKED IS LIKE DARKNESS; They do not know what makes them stumble.

The lost think their way is right. They “LEAVE THE PATHS OF UPRIGHTNESS to WALK IN THE WAYS OF DARKNESS” (Proverbs 2:13). When Jesus came into the world, how did He come? Herod sought to kill Him, and killed many babies in Bethlehem. The Pharisees plotted to kill Him. The Chief Priests and religious crowd hated Him. Why? Jesus said:

John 3:19-21 (ESV) … Light has come into the world, and PEOPLE LOVED THE DARKNESS rather than the light because THEIR WORKS WERE EVIL. 20 For EVERYONE WHO DOES WICKED THINGS HATES THE LIGHT and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But WHOEVER DOES WHAT IS TRUE comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Illustrate: Those who are Christ’s have received the nature of Christ. I’ve seen junk yards, and in those junk yards people have cast off all manner of things to be recycled. In junkyards they have these large electromagnets that pass over scraps. If it is metal like iron or steel, the magnet will draw it up, and that which is unsuitable will fall to the earth. That which has the same nature as the magnet will RISE UP and be SEPARATE. This is a picture of the believer in Christ. The believer in Christ is well acquainted with the Holy Spirit. The believer is INDWELT, BORN AGAIN, SEALED, ASSISTED IN PRAYER, EMPOWERED and GIFTED by the Spirit. The believer is the WORKMANSHIP of the Spirit. God passes over the believer’s life each day. Though we may stumble, though we may fail at times, falling under the flesh, the Holy Spirit like a magnet will draw us back to God.

I know, because I’ve fallen many times. Yet even when fallen, the Spirit like a magnet draws me back toward God.

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, WALK IN THE SPIRIT, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

When you are BORN AGAIN, your nature changes. You are not as you were. This is the intent of what Jesus did on the Cross.

Romans 8:1-9 (ESV) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the Law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the Law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

When you come to Christ repenting and receiving Him, the Holy Spirit sets you free from the Law of Moses, and Indwells you. Now the Law of God is written in your hearts. The Christ follower does not live according to the flesh, according to what WE want, but according to the Holy Spirit of God. The Bible tells us that “THOSE WHO ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT PLEASE GOD”. But we who believe are not in the flesh. We are “IN THE SPIRIT, IF IN FACT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU”. If the Spirit of God does not indwell you, then you are NOT SAVED.

The Bible is clear, though. We are under the Law of God, or we are under the Spirit of God. The word “LAW” appears 498 times in the Scripture. The LAW of Moses cannot make us right with God. That was not the Law’s intent. The Bible says:

Romans 3:28 (ESV) For we hold that ONE IS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH APART FROM WORKS OF THE LAW.

The animal sacrifices, the Levitical Priesthood, the Holy of Holies in the Temple could not justify you, make you right with God. The sacrifices had to be done over and over and over again because they were but shadows, temporary, until Christ came. “WE UPHOLD THE LAW” (Romans 3:31) as Christ followers, not following the letter, but the Spirit of God. Because salvation is a supernatural event, the saved die to their old man, and are given the nature of Christ. Paul wrote:

Romans 7:4-6 (ESV) Likewise, my brothers, YOU ALSO HAVE DIED TO THE LAW THROUGH THE BODY OF CHRIST, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may BEAR FRUIT FOR GOD. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now WE ARE RELEASED FROM THE LAW, having died to that which held us captive, so that WE SERVE IN THE NEW WAY OF THE SPIRIT and not in the old way of the written code.

God changes us when we are saved. God the Holy Spirit effects us, moves us, works in us. We are in partnership with the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. So, IS THE LAW GONE?

Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

If you are saved by Grace, God has sent
His Spirit to live in your heart.

Galatians 4:6 (ESV) And because you are sons, GOD HAS SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS, crying, “Abba! Father!”

We know Whose we are. We belong to the family of God, and the Holy Spirit works in our hearts. Though we still have sinful desires and selfishness, the Holy Spirit guides us to love the Father and love others. While we are walking selflessly, in the Spirit, we are not under the Law. But if we become lawless, the Bible says:

1 Timothy 1:9-11 (NKJV) knowing this: that THE LAW IS NOT MADE FOR A RIGHTEOUS PERSON, BUT FOR THE LAWLESS and insubordinate, for [the] ungodly and for sinners, for [the] unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

If you claim to be a “Christian Homosexual” or a “Christian” who lives in sexual sin, then the Law is still for you. You live by the Spirit, or you live by the Law.

The Law is not eradicated by any means. It is the Law – written by God Himself – that will be read out before the Great White Throne. The Cross of Calvary did not apply whiteout to the Old Testament Law. On the contrary. Every person on planet earth is EITHER UNDER THE LAW – OR UNDER THE SPIRIT.

If that which leads you through this life is the “WORKS OF THE FLESH”, then the Bible is very clear “YOU WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD”. Let’s look at that Scripture:

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the WORKS OF THE FLESH ARE MANIFEST {phaneros, easily recognized}, which are these; Adultery {violation of one man one woman marriage}, fornication {porneia, illicit sexual intercourse}, uncleanness {akatharsia, vile sexuality, Romans 1:24}, lasciviousness {aselgeia, wanton behavior}, 20 Idolatry {eidōlolatria}, witchcraft {pharmakeia, drug use, sorcery}, hatred {echthra, hostility}, variance {eris, contentiousness, trouble making}, emulations {zēlos, envy, covetousness}, wrath {thymos}, strife {eritheia, power seeking}, seditions {dichostasia, little clique or factions}, heresies {hairesis, those who follow their own doctrine}, 21 Envyings {phthonos}, murders {phonos, to slaughter}, drunkenness {methē}, revellings {kōmos, rioting}, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that THEY WHICH DO SUCH THINGS SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

It is very clear that those who desire to follow the “WORKS OF THE FLESH” are not believers in Christ, and have not been born again of the Spirit. Believers may fall into these things, and desire these things. But if you are indwelt of the Spirit, you cannot comfortably stay in the works of the flesh. Pastor John MacArthur said:

“The only legitimate evidence of real salvation is a transformed life. That’s it. That’s the only evidence. If it’s not there, then there’s no salvation. … You would expect an unregenerate, unredeemed, unbelieving sinner to behave that way … and that’s because it’s consistent with his nature. But if you have a new nature, if you have been begotten by the Spirit of God, you are a new creation. … that is manifestly evidenced because of your new creation. Transformation is the only test of true salvation. It’s not perfect. I sometimes say it’s not perfection, but it is direction. It’s the way your life goes toward obedience. … that’s what Jesus said in John 8. Whoever continues in My Word is My true disciple, the real thing.”

The Christian is not perfect, and will, at times, fall into the flesh. But we will not stay there. I had to break down the works of the flesh into their composite Greek words – a very tedious and hard chore. Why? Because the works of the flesh are all SELF driven, SELF focused, SELF exalting. There are very many works of the flesh. But compare this with the works of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Those words practically define themselves. They are outside of selfishness. They are outside of pettiness. These words are seen in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. In short, if you are saved, you will have the nature of Christ. Not the world, but Christ.

We end with:

Galatians 5:24-26 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Salvation begins with self denial, a willing crucifixion of the flesh with its affections and lusts. We daily deny ourselves, pick up the Cross, and follow our Lord. One day we will follow Him into glory. I can hardly wait. I sure hope I see you all there. And I will, if you are saved by Grace, born again of the Spirit – if you have the nature of Christ.

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Christ Is Our Peace

Posted on October 19, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Ingmar on Unsplash

Ephesians 2:14-15 For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace …

God Calls ALL The Broken And Hopeless By Grace

When God called Israel to be His people, He called them by Grace. It was by Grace Adam was given Paradise, and by Grace Adam was not destroyed when he disobeyed the Lord. It was by Grace Noah and his family was spared, and by Grace the world was destroyed by flood but mankind continued on. It was by Grace Abraham was called to follow God, and by Grace Isaac was born, though Abraham sinned with Hagar. It was by Grace Jacob, the younger son, was given the blessing of God, and by Grace Jacob became Israel. It was by Grace God established Israel in Egypt, and by Grace Israel was led out of Egypt. It was by Grace God gave Israel the Promised Land. When you go through the Bible you will see Grace upon Grace. We previously read in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:7 (KJV) In Whom {Jesus} we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Ephesians 2:7 (KJV) That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

The problem with people is that we are fickle creatures. Israel was fickle, we are fickle.

When I say that word (and the Holy Spirit brought it to my mind), it is an adjective that means,

“Characterized by erratic changeableness or instability, especially with regard to affections or attachments; impulsive, unpredictable; not fixed or firm, unstable, not firm in opinion or purpose; of a changeable mind.”

God gave Grace upon Grace upon Grace to Israel. Why did God do this? Because God made a promise to Abraham:

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

God promised (and God is not fickle) to make a GREAT NATION (Israel) out of nothing, for Abraham had no children. But God also promised (and God is not fickle) that He would “BLESS ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH”. Not just what would one day become Israel, but EVERYONE. The Bible says that Israel was supposed to be the Light of the world when Jesus came through her. The Prophet wrote:

Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

When Christ came He would be “a LIGHT for revelation TO THE GENTILES and for GLORY to ISRAEL” (Luke 2:32). When Israel kept wandering away from God, God kept bringing them back. It was like herding cats! But God chose Israel. It was through Israel God was going to bring the Messiah! Let me be honest right now.

Israel repeated turned from God to false gods.
From following Christ, to trying to be Christ.
And yet God did not destroy her.

God did not give up on Israel. The prophets nearly gave up on Israel, but God did not! When Isaiah despaired because the people would not listen, When Isaiah cried out to God, saying,

Isaiah 49:4 (ESV) … I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.

God told Isaiah,

Isaiah 49:6-7 (ESV) … It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. 7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.

God does not give up! What He has planned will always come forth. When Jesus came into the world, He came to save whosoever will believe in Him. Why? Because

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

Jesus is an Israelite, but He came to save the world. Not just Jews, but ALL NATIONS. He came as a fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham, “In you shall ALL THE NATIONS be blessed”. The Bible says that Jesus Christ came …

Romans 1:16 (ESV) … to the Jew first and ALSO to the Greek.

Not just to the Jews – but to the Gentiles as well. When Christ came to this world through Israel, Gentiles were segregated from the Jews. Unbelief and fickleness crept into the Israel that God saved by Grace, and Israel was no longer the “light to lighten the Gentiles”. The Gentiles were shunned by the Jews, for the Gentiles were not circumcised.

Ephesians 2:11-12 (KJV) Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world

There was a sad time in our nation’s history when there were “Whites Only” laundromats, “Whites Only” drinking fountains, “Whites Only” restaurants, “Whites Only” schools and businesses. Those who were black were expected to ride in the back of the bus if they rode at all. Imagine how you would feel as a black person in this atmosphere.

This is what the Jews did to the Gentiles.
Not for water, or clothing, or eating, or transportation.
They were told GOD DON’T WANT YOU!

The Gentiles were identified as “Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision”. We were not worthy to go and make sacrifices to God in the Temple. We were not worthy – according to the Pharisees – for us to approach God through a priest. The Outer Court was called the Court of the Gentiles, but even the Jews had taken over this “Blacks only” place. Imagine this.

Listen To This: You walk toward the Temple and into the “Court of the Gentiles”. It’s the only place you are allowed to go because you are the “UNCIRCUMCISION”. There are signs all over the place. “Gentiles NOT WELCOME beyond this point”. You are unworthy, so Israel said. So you approach that Court that you are allowed to go into, and what do you find? People selling sacrifices, making money off of Jews who have come to the Temple to make offerings and atonement to God. Do you understand what the Gentiles saw?

The Jews were selling sacrifices in YOUR space, sacrifices that YOU could not even make to God. YOU WERE TRASH!

Paul was, at one time, one of the Pharisees that did not offer the Gentiles even a glimpse of God. As the Apostle writes these words, he knows how far the Gentiles were from salvation. He says, “at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel”. Since you were not circumcised, were not a Jew, God was not for you. God gave grace to Israel, but there was no Grace for you.

Man’s religion equated circumcision with worth, and race with worthiness to be saved. Since you were neither Jew nor circumcised by a Jewish priest, God did not want you.

Paul goes on to say, that you were “strangers from the covenants of promise”. Not because God didn’t promise this in Abraham, but because unbelieving circumcised people parading as religious experts said God had nothing to do with you! God didn’t say this. We read earlier that God told Abraham, “In You shall ALL THE NATIONS BE BLESSED”. God came for everybody. God saved a useless nation called Israel, and made it useful. God wanted to use Israel to being His Son into the world, and so save all the world. But the PHARISEES – on my Lord, those people are still around today, even in this Church – the PHARISEES discounted the Gentiles as unworthy of salvation, and rejected from the promises of Grace. The Gentiles, “having no hope, and without God in the world”.

Then Jesus came into the world.

Jesus walked into the Court of the Gentiles, where the Jews had hijacked it to sell sacrifices to all BUT THE GENTILES. What did Jesus do? At the beginning of His ministry, we read:

John 2:14-16 (NKJV) {Jesus} found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”

Jesus called the Court of the Gentiles “My Father’s house”. The Gentiles mattered. Every person matters. YOU matter to God. At the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, just before He went to the Cross, we read that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, as multitudes praised God for Him. Jesus got off that donkey, and we read:

Matthew 21:12-13 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’

The first time Jesus chased the money changers and sellers out of the Court of the Gentiles, He said they were making God’s House a “House of Profit”. But the second time He did so, He said they had made God’s House into a “Den of Thieves”. It’s supposed to be a House of Prayer, a place where ANYONE can come to God.

God Is Calling You

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who SOMETIMES were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Word Study: See the word “SOMETIMES”. This is no pun – SOMETIMES the King James translates a word not quite correctly. This is the Greek pote (pro. pot-eh’), which means “in time past”. The Apostle has been telling us that there was a time before Jesus when we who are Gentiles “WERE FAR OFF” (makran, a long way away). Israel who was supposed to be “a LIGHT FOR THE NATIONS” (Isaiah 42:6-7) turned from her job. Rather than reach out to Gentiles, she developed religious ways to shun the people that God promised to Abraham.

“BUT NOW IN CHRIST JESUS”. The Church of Christ, His Bride, does not shun anyone. We carry His wonderful Gospel to the world. What is that Gospel. “are made nigh {near to God} by the blood of Christ”. It is the BLOOD of Jesus Christ that saves us from our sins. When the Gentiles went toward the Temple, they could not go past the Court of the Gentiles by reason of death. The Gentiles had no access to God, no Atonement, no Grace. But because of Jesus,

Hebrews 10:19-25 (NKJV) Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and [having] a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of [our] hope without wavering, for He who promised [is] faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as [is] the manner of some, but exhorting [one another], and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Whereas before, under the Old Covenant, we could not bring sacrifices to the High Priest at the entrance of the Holy of Holies, NOW we can enter INTO THE HEAVENLY HOLY OF HOLIES, into the very Presence of God. The High Priest Who represents us is Christ, and it is HIS BLOOD that is the Atonement, the covering for our sins.

We were far off, but if we believe in Him, in Jesus Christ, we are set apart, we are SANCTIFIED by the Blood of the Lamb (Hebrews 13:12). When you call out to God in your brokenness, when you cry out to Him Who “loved you, and gave Himself up for you” (Ephesians 5:2), God the Father sends His Holy Holy Spirit to quicken you, to cause you to be born again into the family of God. Whereas there was a barrier of sin between you and God, through the Blood of Christ we are brought near to God.

We are brought into His family!

Ephesians 2:14-15 For He {Jesus} is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in His flesh the ENMITY, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Word Study: The word translated “ENMITY” is the Greek echthra, which means “hatred between enemies”. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins “IN HIS FLESH”. The Law of God is good in that it is diagnostic, it shows that we are all at heart sinners. The Law was weaponized by the Pharisees, twisted by the Sadducees, and ignored by the Herodians. But God gave the Law as a Teacher, as we have previously studied:

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

The Jews and the Gentiles were divided, separated by the Law. But now, IN CHRIST, He takes away the divisions. If a person receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then there is no caste distinction. The Bible says:

Galatians 3:28 (KJV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11 (KJV) Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond [nor] free: but Christ [is] all, and in all.

There are no second class citizens in the Kingdom of God. There are no lesser thans. Those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Who have believed that His Blood paid it all, they are brothers and sisters in Christ, and priests before God.

When John the Revelator was caused to look into Heaven, He saw the Saints of God, the believers in Christ gathered around His Throne. The Bible says:

Revelation 5:9-10 (NKJV) {the Saints} sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll {O Jesus}, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

There is only one way to come to God, to have peace with God, and that is through the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died on that Cross for whosoever will. His Blood is the unifier. He brings us to God. He defeats racism, and brings us together. He reminds us that all are broken, and all need His Cross. The Christian, given the nature of Christ by the Holy Spirit, loves his fellow believer, and respects his fellow man as the creation of God. Jesus is the RECONCILER. We read:

Ephesians 2:16-18 And that He might reconcile both {Jews and Gentiles} unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both {Jews and Gentiles} have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Oh Beloved, do you have peace with God? Oh Loved ones, are you victims or victors? Are you enjoying the Presence of God daily – or are you still far off? Dear friends, we are reconciled to God by the Blood of the Lamb. We are at peace with God because of Jesus. God has not given up on you, not yet. If you are far off from God, it is not because of Jesus. He calls you today. Will you come? In a moment we’ll be singing our invitation, a song about the Blood of Jesus. Don’t just sing it. LISTEN TO IT. As Jerry comes forward, listen:

1. Jesus, keep me near the Cross,
There a precious Fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
In the cross, In the cross,
Be my glory ever.
Till my ransomed soul shall find,
Rest beyond the river.

4. Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me,
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadow o’er me.
In the cross, In the cross,
Be my glory ever.
Till my ransomed soul shall find,
Rest beyond the river.

May God touch your hearts. Amen.

Posted in Ephesians | Tagged Blood, Blood of Christ, Brokenness, Calvary, Christ our High Priest, Following Christ, God Is Faithful, High Priest, love God, priests, salvation, We Are Broken | Leave a comment

The Rapture

Posted on October 17, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by PJH on Unsplash

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

On October 10, 2025 there was an explosion at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant in Hickman County, Tennessee. Sixteen people died in that catastrophic explosion. The explosion was so powerful it registered as an 1.6 magnitude earthquake with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) – it was felt as far away as 155 miles. The sixteen people are presumed dead, and no bodies are recovered at this time. The question is,

What of those who were believers in Christ (assuming there were) among the sixteen? Are they with Jesus now, or do they somehow wait on the earth for the resurrection?

This past Sunday in Sunday School we studied and discussed the verses we opened with. Well, not all of the verses. It caused a problem in some of the Sunday School Classes, so I wanted to quickly address this tonight. One of my problems with Lifeway Studies is that it often leaves out significant Scripture in the Sunday School Lessons. The lesson did explain that verses 16-18 were about the Rapture of the Church. And they are. But the confusion I have heard from our members is, “I thought that Christians, when they pass from this life, immediately go to Heaven. So why do these verses seem to teach that Jesus is resurrecting people who are sleeping on the earth? The answer is simple. The Lifeway material DID NOT SHOW VERSES 13-15, which give us CONTEXT.

Omitted From The Sunday School Material

1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 (KJV) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

So let’s break it down tonight, because proper understanding of where you go when you leave this life is necessary to a proper understanding as to what happened to those 16 poor souls in Hickman County. It also explains what happens to those believers in Christ:

Who died (and die) at sea, and were eaten by fish;
Who died in nuclear blasts (like Hiroshima or Nagasaki);
Who died (and die) in house fires, and cannot be found;
Who died (and die) in forests, and were eaten by animals

I could go on and on, but I don’t want to be morbid. What happens when we die – and WHY IS THE CONTEXT OF SCRIPTURE SO VERY IMPORTANT?

Why Did God Direct Paul To Write
This Section Of Scripture?

The devil will do everything he can to stall or disrupt the function of the Church of Christ. If he cannot get someone to reject the Gospel, he will push confusion into the membership of the Church. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV) For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

When confusion is evident, God is not in it. It is the devil who tries to throw a wrench into God’s Work. In the case of the Church at Thessalonica, people were told that “The Day of the Lord” was passed, and that those who died before Jesus came would miss His coming. Christians began to fret and worry that their loved ones would miss out on the glory of Jesus’ coming. So let’s read the Scripture in context. The Apostle writes:

1 Thessalonians 4:13 (KJV) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, CONCERNING THEM THAT ARE ASLEEP, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

Who is Paul talking about “THEM THAT ARE ASLEEP”? When a believer in Christ dies, the Bible says “they fall asleep”. For instance, when Stephen was stoned to death for preaching Christ, the Bible says:

Acts 7:59-60 (ESV) as they {the Pharisees} were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, HE FELL ASLEEP.

Two things happened in this text. Stephen cried out “LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT”. His soul went to be with Jesus. But then “HE FELL ASLEEP”. His body “slept”. When you see a person in a casket, it appears as if they “sleep”. Their body does “sleep”. Sleep is a temporary state. The body sleeps, but the soul is elsewhere. When Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, our Lord said:

John 11:11 (ESV) Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I GO TO AWAKEN HIM.

Lazarus was “dead”, passed from this life. But Jesus was going to awaken him, just as He did with Jairus’ daughter in Luke 8:52.

Sleep is a metaphor for the physical death of the body.

The Prophet Daniel wrote:

Daniel 12:2 (ESV) And many of those who SLEEP IN THE DUST OF THE EARTH shall awake, SOME TO EVERLASTING LIFE, and SOME TO SHAME AND EVERLASTING CONTEMPT.

When you die, your earthly body “sleeps” in the dust of the earth. The wicked will be resurrected one day and cast into a lake of fire. The righteous, however, will be re-created, and given glorified bodies. This is what we call “The Rapture”.

What about the Soul?

The Soul does not sleep, only the body. The Bible says:

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Upon death, the soul leaves the body and returns to God Who made it. If you are a Christ follower, your soul returns to where Jesus presently is – PRAISE HIM! The Apostle wrote in:

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NKJV) So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be ABSENT FROM THE BODY AND TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD.

Though God is everywhere, and God hears our prayers (for He has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” – Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5; Matthew 28:20; John 14:18; Psalm 94:14), we are not literally in Heave with Him until we leave this life. When we leave this body, our souls go to be with Jesus. What did Jesus tell the repentant thief next to Him on the Cross?

Luke 23:43 (ESV) Truly, I say to you, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep are ALWAYS TOGETHER, in life or in death.

Your body sleeps in the dust of the earth – but your SOUL goes to be with Jesus. There are some who believe that, upon death, you are in unconscious sleep until the resurrection. Our Lord Jesus didn’t believe this. In the story He told of The Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus said:

Luke 16:22-23 (NKJV) {Lazarus died} was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And BEING IN TORMENTS in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

When the Rich Man died, he was “IN TORMENTS”, awake and suffering in hell. But Jesus said that “Lazarus was COMFORTED” (Luke 16:25). Both Lazarus and the Rich man were AWARE of where they were. They were not sleeping, that is, their souls were awake. Their BODIES were sleeping in the dust of the earth.

Our souls do not sleep after passing from this life. At the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah stood talking with Jesus (Matthew 17:3). What were they talking with Jesus about? The Bible says:

Luke 9:31 (ESV) {Moses and Elijah} appeared in glory and SPOKE OF HIS DEPARTURE {the crucifixion}, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

When the Apostle John was allowed to look into Heaven, what did he see? The Bible says:

Revelation 6:9-10 (KJV) I saw under the altar THE SOULS of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

SOULS – not bodies but SOULS – are gathered around the Throne of God. They are crying out for vengeance on those who martyred them. God gives them rest, and encourages them that judgment is coming!

The Rapture Is The Uniting Of The Believer’s Soul
With A Glorified Body

Jesus told Martha:

John 11:25 (NKJV) I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, HE SHALL LIVE. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me SHALL NEVER DIE.

The body dies – it sleeps in the dust of the earth. But the soul goes to be with Jesus. This is why CONTEXT matters, Lifeway!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (KJV) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning THEM WHICH ARE ASLEEP, {those whose bodies sleep in the dust of the earth} that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which SLEEP in Jesus WILL GOD BRING WITH HIM.

When Jesus returns to Rapture His Church, those which “SLEEP IN JESUS”, that is, those whose bodies sleep in the earth, “WILL GOD BRING WITH HIM”. Those who departed this life prior to the Rapture, we are told, Jesus will bring them with Him. The Bridgeway Bible Commentary notes:

“Among the Thessalonians, some were worried that those in their church who had died would not share in the return of Christ and the final triumph of his kingdom. Paul assures them that they will share in his return just as they share in his death and resurrection. (13-14). Believers who have died, far from being at a disadvantage, will be raised to life first. Believers still alive will join them, and together they will meet Christ and be with him for ever (15-17). Christian faith should give people hope and encouragement. They should see death not as a tragic end but as a glorious entrance into something new (18; cf. v. 13b).”

In the previous chapter Paul wrote:

1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NKJV) so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

When He comes, He comes “with ALL HIS SAINTS”. When Jesus returns with the Saints who have departed this earth:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST:

This is a reference to the making of the glorified body. The body of the saint will be recreated from the dust of the earth. Those who were destroyed physically, who were eaten by animals, who were burned up in fire or cremated, whose bodies cannot be found, God doesn’t care. What is impossible for man is possible with God. God will, at Rapture, give those believers whose souls have been in Heaven their glorified bodies first. We are told:

THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST

Rise from where? The grave? The sea? The woods? The dust of the ground? It doesn’t say, nor should we care. The point is, our God is faithful! What He has promised, He will do.

When God made Adam, He made him from the dust of the earth. He will make our bodies PERFECT from the dust of the earth.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE CLOUDS, TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR: and so shall WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD.

The Good Shepherd shall have all His sheep. We will be reunited forever with Him in glory. Following the Rapture, there will be a Great Tribulation. And that is a lesson for another day.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Let’s pray!

Posted in 1 Thessalonians | Tagged Bible, christianity, death, Death Defeated, Following Christ, God, Good Shepherd, Great Tribulation, Jesus, Rapture, salvation, Second Coming, Tribulation | 1 Comment

Today The Day of Salvation
January 2026

M T W T F S S

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« Dec

“I love Jesus, but can’t stand the Church. There’s too many hypocrites and pretenders there. But if you’re saved by Grace, you are a member of Christ’s Church. You are part of His Bride.”

Jesus Saves Us, And Calls Us TogetherSo That We Might Serve God

God did not save us and leave us here to serve ourselves. He saved us so that, as HIS people, we can do HIS will, and show others the way to Christ while we are here.

Grace And Peace To Those Who Serve The Lord

An untried faith is a insecure faith.

If You Are Saved By Grace, You Are Here To Work Together For The Glory Of The Gospel

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Now these Pharisees were sincere believers in Christ. They were not hostile Pharisees, trying to destroy the Gospel. But sincere believers can be in error. This is why God calls us TOGETHER to be His Church.

God Doesn’t Order We Be Circumcised.God Orders Us To Be Crucified!

A Christian becomes – by the Grace of God – a NEW CREATURE. You are bound to Jesus eternally.

God Don’t Care About Your Religion.He Alone Can Make You A New Creature.

Are you a new creature in Christ – or the same old you?

The early Church dealt with people trying to ADD THINGS to the Gospel and salvation. The modern Church has to deal with people SUBTRACTING THINGS FROM THE GOSPEL and salvation.

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Without Repentance, There Is No Salvation.So What Is Repentance?

What God has planned WILL come to pass, and there is nothing that you or I can do to stop God’s plans!

What are we “changing our minds” about when we “get saved”? We are changing our minds about WHO is GOD.

The reason we have been able to do great things is because a Great God – in His Grace – made us in HIS image and in HIS likeness (Genesis 1:27).

We Are Saved By Changing Our Mind,By Giving ALL Of Ourselves To Jesus!

Oh, if there was ever a “god” among men, it was Saul of Tarsus. He had the authority to chase down and kill those pesky Christ followers. Saul hated Jesus’ followers!

Paul Is A PRISONER Of Jesus.

God’s Plan Will Always Be Fulfilled

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How We Should Treat The Poor

God didn’t even care to know the name of the rich man– but He knew Lazarus!

How We Should Treat Troublemakers

What is revealing about troublemakers and the “No Kings” movement is that they have no real idea why they are doing what they do.

Avoid The Lazy (And Don’t Be Lazy)

Quit complaining, and ask yourself, “what can I DO about the lion situation to make the lion situation go away”

Treat Loose People Like A Dangerous Pit

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Be Careful When Among The Powerful

Riches Are Fleeting

Beware Of The Evil Eye

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You will never discover WHO you are until you discover the ONE WHO created you.

Jesus Christ Is The AUTHOR andFinisher Of Salvation

We are not the Authors of our salvation. Jesus Christ is THE AUTHOR and FINISHER of our salvation. You must repent, and come to Him with empty hands and willing hearts.

Do you want to please God? Do you want to have a wonderful life, the life God wants for you? Then DO the work of God!

Christ Is The Author, The Holy SpiritThe ACHIEVER Of Salvation

If you think life is “all about me”, and you think nothing of God in your daily lives, you are “DEAD”, strangers and foreigners to God.

God The Father Is The ARCHITECT Of Our Faith

If you are saved, you are saved into His Kingdom. If you are saved, you are saved together with others to be a HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD.

The Father planned the Church. The Son died for the Church. The Holy Spirit is building the Church. The Master’s Plan is the Church.

We don’t “go to Church”. We ARE the Church!

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What if a Christian sins?How should we as family handle this?

Sin is spiritual poison ivy – handle it, and it spreads and devastates not just you, but others around you!

God Will Hold YOU Accountable – No One Can Live The Christian Life For Anyone Else

Our works are the proof of the genuineness of our faith.

Works and salvation are tied together. You do not work to BE saved, but once saved by faith you do good BECAUSE YOU ARE SAVED. You do good within a Church Family. You do good within the Kingdom of God.

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Have You Received The Nature Of Christ?

Peter and the Jewish Church did not reach out to the Gentiles, because the Pharisees had so twisted the Law of God that he had been taught that it was UNLAWFUL to reach out to the Gentiles.

Being the WORKMANSHIP of the Spirit means to WALK in the Spirit. A non-believer cannot walk in the Spirit.

If You Have Not Walked OUT Of Egypt,You Cannot Walk IN The Spirit

To “Walk in the Spirit” has nothing to do withspeaking in tongues.

When you are BORN AGAIN, your nature changes. You are not as you were. This is the intent of what Jesus did on the Cross.

If you are saved by Grace, God has sentHis Spirit to live in your heart.

If you claim to be a “Christian Homosexual” or a “Christian” who lives in sexual sin, then the Law is still for you. You live by the Spirit, or you live by the Law.

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God Calls ALL The Broken And Hopeless By Grace

Man’s religion equated circumcision with worth, and race with worthiness to be saved. Since you were neither Jew nor circumcised by a Jewish priest, God did not want you.

God Is Calling You

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What of those who were believers in Christ (assuming there were) among the sixteen? Are they with Jesus now, or do they somehow wait on the earth for the resurrection?

Why Did God Direct Paul To WriteThis Section Of Scripture?

Sleep is a metaphor for the physical death of the body.

What about the Soul?

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep are ALWAYS TOGETHER, in life or in death.

The Rapture Is The Uniting Of The Believer’s Soul With A Glorified Body

When God made Adam, He made him from the dust of the earth. He will make our bodies PERFECT from the dust of the earth.

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David Buffaloe

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Today The Day of Salvation

Jesus Saves Us, And Calls Us Together
So That We Might Serve God

God Doesn’t Order We Be Circumcised.
God Orders Us To Be Crucified!

God Don’t Care About Your Religion.
He Alone Can Make You A New Creature.

Without Repentance, There Is No Salvation.
So What Is Repentance?

We Are Saved By Changing Our Mind,
By Giving ALL Of Ourselves To Jesus!

God didn’t even care to know the name of the rich man
– but He knew Lazarus!

Jesus Christ Is The AUTHOR and
Finisher Of Salvation

Christ Is The Author, The Holy Spirit
The ACHIEVER Of Salvation

What if a Christian sins?
How should we as family handle this?

If You Have Not Walked OUT Of Egypt,
You Cannot Walk IN The Spirit

To “Walk in the Spirit” has nothing to do with
speaking in tongues.

If you are saved by Grace, God has sent
His Spirit to live in your heart.

Why Did God Direct Paul To Write
This Section Of Scripture?

The Rapture Is The Uniting Of The Believer’s Soul
With A Glorified Body