The Thief Comes …

Posted on May 1, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Marlon Alves: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-people-art-dark-16521710/

When we left Judges chapter 9 we saw the false judge Abimelech (the concubine son of Gideon or Jerubbaal) ruled (not judged, but ruled) over Israel for three years. God allowed Abimelech to slaughter all but one of the other sons of Gideon (Jotham) to set up his kingdom. After three years, everything fell apart. The men of Shechem who conspired with Abimelech to do evil were utterly destroyed, and Abimelech himself died when a woman dropped a millstone on his head (Judges 9:53; 2 Samuel 11:21). This reminded me of what Jesus said:

Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

Something interesting happens between chapters 9 and 10. The general pattern of the Book of Judges that we have seen so far is…

Israel rebels against God
God disciplines Israel with an unbelieving nation
Israel repents
God raises up a Judge to restore Israel

Failure To Repent And Pursuit Of Sin
Brings Hardening Of The Conscience

This pattern is disrupted in chapter 10. As we enter this chapter 10, we see two judges in the first FIVE verses of chapter 10:

Judges 10:1-2 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

This is already different. Up to this point only Shamgar was so little spoken of (Judges 3:31) – and Shamgar is shown to have killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad (a pointy stick). Every judge that God raised up, the Lord did so when Israel repented of their sin.

Judges 2:16 … “the Lord raised UP Judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them”

What is missing with the next two judges – Tola and Jair – is that Israel never repents.
Israel is suffering hardness of the heart.

The Bible repeatedly warns us of the dangers of sin. The Bible tells us that …

1 John 1:9 (ESV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.God is always faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9). He will forgive. The problem with sin is that – every time we sin – we scar our souls. The Bible calls this a “seared conscience” (1 Timothy 4:2). The conscience of a person can become desensitized to sin, and to the call and reality of God. Israel did not repent after Abimelech, yet God in His Grace allowed Tola to become a partial judge of Israel. The Keil & Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary notes:

“Tola arose after Abimelech’s death to deliver Israel, and judged Israel twenty-three years until his death, though certainly not all the Israelites of the twelve tribes, but only the northern and possibly also the eastern tribes, to the exclusion of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, as these southern tribes neither took part in Gideon’s war of freedom nor stood under Abimelech’s rule.”

Tola’s reign was provisional, and did not effect all of Israel, only part of the nation. Tola was from the Tribe of Issachar (see Genesis 46:13; Numbers 26:23). We do not know much about Tola, other than his name means “scarlet worm” (tola’ath). The crimson or scarlet worm (scientific name: coccus ilicis or kermes ilicis) was used in Biblical times when the red dye the worm excretes is extracted, and used to stain the High Priest’s robe and the covering of the tabernacle. The Crimson Worm is seen in Psalms 22:6 as a Prophecy of the first coming of Jesus Christ. Like the Crimson Worm, Jesus was crushed to dye our robes crimson and white before God. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us(Romans 5:8). Though Israel did not repent, God sent a Savior for His people. Because they were so hardened by sin, God could do little for them. So this judge did little – but it was not his fault. Under Tola, Israel had peace “twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir”. Normally after the death of a judge, we would see Israel returning to sin. But we do not see this because Israel never left sin. For 23 years they lived in their sins apart from God.

How horrible when we drift from God! Jesus said:

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

I have heard various preachers talk about the “thief” as Satan. I don’t think Satan is the thief. Satan steals nothing without our permission. The “THIEF” Jesus spoke of and personalized is unconquered SIN.

Tola is symbolic of the undeserved Grace of God. Tola lived in and died in Shamir, which means “a thornbush”. Jesus came to this sinful world – lived and died here – to save us from our sins.

Because Israel would not repent, only portions of Israel were saved. Because Israel loved her sin more than her Savior, confusion abounded. I believe this is the state of America today. God in Grace is offering this nation salvation, but we love our sin and have hardened our hearts. We need to turn to our Tola, our Jesus in repentance.

The Hardened Hearts Of Israel Lead To Jair,
The Compromising Judge

Judges 10:3-5 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. 4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

The name “Jair” (yā’îr) means “He Enlightens”. Jair was the “Progressive Judge”. Again we don’t see much mentioned about him, but we know “he had thirty sons”. Jair or “He Who Enlightens” was probably polygamous, a man who had many wives. He compromised with the fallen world around him. God tells His people:

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 … And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

God’s people are to live for God, not for themselves. Jair succumbed to the spirit of his age, the characteristic sexual sinfulness of his people. We also read that “he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts”. The words “ass colts” is the Hebrew ʿayir, which means “a male donkey”. At this time in history the average Israelite had no horses or donkeys. The Keil and Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary notes that “Only the wealthy and prominent in Israel rode on donkeys at that time”. Jair and his family were very wealthy. They literally owned cities. We are told:

they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair

Their cities were called “Havothjair”, literally “cities of enlightenment”. The Soniclight Commentary notes:

“We see, in this brief record of Jair’s life, continuing tendencies in Israel toward the lifestyle of the surrounding pagan nations, and away from fidelity to Yahweh and His Law. “In Jair’s story I can see three things: (1) prosperity without purpose; (2) affluence without influence; (3) prestige without power” (J. Vernon McGee).”

Neither Tola nor Jair corrected any of the problems that Israel was having. Only one Judge can fix the human heart, and this Judge is God. God blessed Israel for a total of 45 years while He waited on His people to genuinely repent. What did Jair’s leadership do for Israel?

Judges 10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him.

Israel entered into a seven-fold apostasy. They served seven types of false gods and goddesses.

Why did Israel turn from the Living God to serve these false gods? Because of compromise. The compromise of faith is a very subtle thing. If the devil cannot keep you from Jesus, he will do what he can to blend your faith in Jesus with the world. I’ve seen young people wearing t-shirts that say:

Jesus is Dope, and
God is Dope

“Dope” is an illicit, habit forming or narcotic drug. The young people say that the slang “Dope” means “cool, awesome, or great”. So they are saying “Jesus is great”. But “Dope” is not great. “Dope” destroys lives. “Dope” addicts and drags downward. Opium addicts were first called “Dopes” because they ingested the syrupy drug. Race horses that are “doped” win or lose races based on the type of drug given them. When you call someone a “Dope”, it means they are “foolish or stupid”. Jesus is NOT Dope. Jesus is Lord. God is NOT Dope. God is the King of Kings. God is our Creator, and calls us to salvation so that He might be our Father.

When the faith of God is blended with the world, what comes out is not Christianity but some evil counterfeit.

God tells us to make a choice. We can follow Him, or follow the world. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

God was not please with Israel’s sevenfold apostasy. We read:

Judges 10:7-9 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and {God} sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

“anger of the Lord was hot”. The word translated “hot” is the Hebrew chârâh, which means “to flame up, to be incensed, to be kindled”. Israel threw seven logs on the fire of God’s glory – and God consumed them! We are told that “{God} sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon”. That phrase “{God} sold them” emphasizes to us that – if God has saved you, God owns you. Let me say that again:

If God Has SAVED You, God OWNS You,
And You’d Better Follow Him!

The Scripture declares:

Psalm 24:1–2 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

The Bible tells us “in GOD’S HAND IS THE SOUL OF EVERY LIVING THING, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10). It tells us that “our BODIES are the TEMPLE OF GOD’S SPIRIT Who is in us … and WE DO NOT BELONG TO OURSELVES” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The wonder author C.S. Lewis wrote:

“Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God.”

Because Israel rejected God, God “sold them” (for they belong to Him) into the hands of the Ammonites and the Philistines. This is what has happened in America today. The devil has taught us to “you do you”, and so God has stepped back and allowed us to be “sold” into misery and foolishness. We as a nation are like Israel was – we are “sore distressed”, that is “greatly distressed and suffering”.

Judges 10:10-13 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. 11 And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. 13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.

After the 7th Judge (Jair) Israel entered 7 forms of apostasy against God. As they are suffering under Philistia and Ammon they cry out to God for relief. But here’s the thing. God sees our hearts. Israel has not genuinely repented of their sin, but are asking God to take away the suffering. In all the other instances when Israel repented, God was not angry with them … but now He is. They are playing God like He’s a patsy – a Divine Patsy – and He is not pleased. We can see Israel’s false confession and repentance in what they say:

Judges 10:10 We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.

Israel confessed that they “served the Baals” (see verse 6. BAALIM is the plural of Baal). They served MORE than the BAALIM. They served ASHTEROTH, as well as the gods of Syria (Astarte or Athtart) the gods of Sidon (Melquat), the gods of Moab (Chemosh and Milcom), the gods of the sons of Ammon (Molech), the gods of the Philistines (Dagon the fish god). Israel confessed ONE god, but were following seven abominations.

God delivered Israel out of the hands of the seven nations that created these false gods – and Israel was worshiping them and would not repent!

This is why God told Israel “ye have forsaken Me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.” They were not serving just Baalim – and they had not repented. God will not forgive an excuse nor a lie. God told His people:

Judges 10:14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

God allowed Israel to experience the sickness of their sin. He told them, “go and cry out to the gods that you have chosen over Me – call on them to save you”. The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

“One technique used to help people stop smoking is to put them in a small, unventilated room and make them smoke for hours on end, until they can hardly bear it. It makes them sick of smoking and makes them truly want to stop. In the same way, sometimes God will allow the natural consequences of our sin to crash upon us in concentrated form, so we can become sick of our sin.”

God did not hate Israel, no more than a moral parent who punishes their child hates the child. God hated punishing Israel, but knew that failure to punish would cause them to follow ever darker paths. Israel suffered under the hands of the Ammonites and Philistines until they sincerely repented.

Judges 10:15-16 And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

What does genuine repentance look like? First, there is confession of sin. Israel said, “We have sinned”. The Bible says:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The word “confess” is a Greek compound metanoeo, which means “to say the same thing about”. When we come to God and say, “Yes Lord, what I did WAS A SIN”, then God is free to forgive us our sin. Israel did not qualify their remark, nor did they maker an excuse. They just said, “Lord, We’ve SINNED”.

Secondly, Israel submitted to the goodness of God. They said, “do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee”. Lord, I deserve a whipping. I’ll take whatever punishment You want me to have. I just want to be back in fellowship with You! The Bible promises:

Isaiah 55:6-7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Repentance is to stop walking YOUR way, and walking WITH God in HIS way. Ty Gooch, the Senior Pastor of Fellowship Life Bible Church (Greater Chicago) notes:

“Christians who have genuinely repented seek to live in the light (1 John 1:5–7) and to avoid ungodliness because repentance requires not only forsaking sin but also putting on Christ (Romans 13:14). It demands that we turn away from debauchery and turning toward God by putting on Christ (Colossians 3:1–17). Practically, putting on Christ involves serving the Lord and others, and studying God’s Word. Putting in Christ means increasing fellowship, singing, praying, and setting our mind on the things above—primarily through fellowship in our local church. This process will take time, and we’ll continue to make missteps. But when God brings someone to repentance, the fruit will be evident over time (Luke 6:43–45).”

When Israel falsely repented God said “I will deliver you no more” (Judges 10:13). But once Israel “put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord”, what did God do? The Bible says:

Judges 10:16 his soul was grieved for
the misery of Israel

The Keil & Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary notes:

“Jehovah could no longer look down upon the misery of Israel; He was obliged to help. The change in the purpose of God does not imply any changeableness in the divine nature; it simply concerns the attitude of God towards His people, or the manifestation of the divine love to man. In order to bend the sinner at all, the love of God must withdraw its helping hand and make men feel the consequences of their sin and rebelliousness, that they may forsake their evil ways and turn to the Lord their God. When this end has been attained, the same divine love manifests itself as pitying and helping grace. Punishments and benefits flow from the love of God, and have for their object the happiness and well-being of men.”

Israel turned away from the thief of their sin nature, and put away their false gods to serve the Living God. The love of God will NEVER bless sin – EVER. What He has said is evil, will always be evil. What God has declared is GOOD will always be GOOD. You cannot blend evil into Christianity and still call it Christianity. What does the Scripture say?

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

God did not save us so we can walk with the thief of sin. He saved us from our sins so that we can walk in the Light with Him, both now and forever more. As Israel has repented and begun to serve God, they come together to do battle with the Ammonites.

Judges 10:17-18 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. 18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

Upon their repentance (Then) God acted, and “gathered together”. The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

“God’s pattern for doing great works among His people is to raise up a man. He could do the work all by Himself; He could send angels to do the work for Him; He could use a leaderless mob or a committee. Yet God’s normal means of operating is to raise up a man, and through that man to do a great work. God uses leaders.”

God will raise up a judge called Jephthah to deliver Israel from their enemies. We’ll study him next week. May God bless you all as you grow in Him. Amen and Amen.

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Knowing You Have Eternal Life

Posted on May 1, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Anugrah Lohiya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/candle-with-light-667500/

1 John 5:13-15 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

The power that a Christian has in this life is the certain knowledge that you have eternal life. Of all the Apostles, at 88 years old John was the longest lived. The other Apostles were stoned to death, beheaded, fed to wild beasts in the coliseum, set on fire, crucified, pierced through with spears, or stabbed to death. The world and its fallen leaders tried their best to kill John. They boiled him in oil. When that didn’t kill him, they exiled him to the desert Isle of Patmos, expecting him to starve to death. In Patmos Jesus met him, and took John to Heaven to see the glories of the coming ages.

John and the other Apostles had something that every Christian should have. They had a certain knowledge of eternal life. John said:

vs 13 These things have I written unto you that
believe on the name of the Son of God

If you have BELIEVED on the NAME (the Authority of) the SON OF GOD (Jesus) John is addressing you. What does this mean? It means to believe, as John MacArthur notes:

There is only One God (1 Corinthians 8:6)
There is only One Savior (Acts 4:12)
There is only One True Religion (Ephesians 4:4-6)
There is only One Holy Book (John 17:17)
There is only One Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
There is only One Way of Salvation (John 14:6)

The first century Christian who “believed on the Name – the singular Authority of Jesus” were persecuted, just as Christians in America today are coming under increasing persecution. Just a few weeks ago a sin sick woman posing as a man murdered several in a school in Nashville. In response to this, the mainstream media outlets and social networks branded the killer the victim, and the victims the cause. An NBC News headline “Fear pervades Tennessee’s trans community amid focus on Nashville shooter’s gender identity”. The New York Post notes, “One day after the massacre of three little kids in Nashville, Amazon sent a message to “LGBTQIA+ employees and allies” expressing “support and solidarity during this period of apprehension and uncertainty.”

That should be no surprise to any who are Christ’s. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 3:20 (NLT) All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

Those who are God’s Children by faith in Christ have eternal life. We do not walk in darkness, but “walk in the light as Jesus is in the light” (1 John 1:7). John wrote what he wrote – under God’s direction – for two reasons:

1 John 5:13 that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Word Study: The word translated “know” is the Greek eidō, which means “to visibly SEE, to PERCEIVE, to EXPERIENCE a state or condition”.

John does not want you to have a hope so salvation,
but a know so salvation.

If you are a Christian, you should have some visible evidence of this. When the wise men came to see the baby Jesus, they told those in Jerusalem:

Matthew 2:2 … Where is He that is born King of the Jews? We have SEEN (eidō)His star in the East, and are come to worship Him.

There was evidence before these wise men that they followed to Jesus. If you are a Child of God, the Scripture tells you that you will SEE or PERCEIVE a change in your life, evidence that you are indeed a Christian. This evidence will support the reality that “you may BELIEVE ON THE NAME of the Son of God”.

Christianity is not a hope so religion, nor is it fire insurance. Christianity is a KNOW SO religion that proves itself by the PRESENCE OF GOD in your life.

The Christian Knows That God Is WITH Us Always

1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Word Study: What is the proof – the visible evidence that I can experience, see, and touch – that I am a Christian? It is that God hears my prayers. The word translated “ask” is the Greek aiteō. The word translated “petitions” is NOUN of the verb aiteō, the Greek aitēma. And then the word translated “desired” is once more the Greek aiteō. This word is frequently used throughout the Scriptures in describing prayer. Do you know what it means? It means just as it says – to ASK, to REQUEST, to VERBALLY SEEK SOMETHING from the Father Who loves you. To ask in NOT TO PESTER, as a spoiled child would pester a parent. “Mommy can I have that? Mommy can I have that? Mommy! Waa. Waa. WAAAAAAA!” That’s not ASKING, that’s DEMANDING. You cannot demand from God. God is your FATHER, and He knows what is best (see Matthew 6:8). So you ASK, not DEMAND.

If you are a child of God, the proof that you are a child of God is that you LOVE TO ASK God for things. If you rarely speak to God, you’re probably not saved!

The Christian is commanded to pray. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, (aiteō) and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh, (aiteō) receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

We are not told “every one who DEMANDETH, RECEIVETH”. It is not prayer to demand things from God. Yet as believers in God through Christ we can have this CONFIDENCE – our Heavenly Father hears our prayers. But there is a condition to His hearing:

1 John 5:14 … if we ask any thing
according to his will, He heareth us

How do we know God’s will? We can only know His Will through His Only Holy Book, the Bible. Juan Sanchez wrote:

“To understand God’s will, we must first have a biblical view of God. To truly help our people, then, remind them God has an eternal plan for His glory and our joy. And because God is sovereign, He’ll accomplish all His holy will (Isaiah 48:8-11).

But God isn’t only sovereign; God is also good. For this reason, we don’t have to fear what God wills for us. And thankfully, God has revealed His plan and purposes—His will—by His Word (Deuteronomy 29:29). We’re not in the dark about what God desires.”

The million dollar question is :
“What does the Bible say about what I want?”

This cuts out a lot of foolishness in prayer. For instance, if your lifestyle is walking in darkness rather than light, do not expect God to bless that. He will not violate His will. You have eternal life. You are to walk in the Spirit of God. What does the Scripture say?

Galatians 5:24-26 And they that are Christ’s have crucified {not AMPLIFIED but CRUCIFIED} the flesh with the affections and lusts {we put the bad desires on the Cross with Jesus}. 25 If {do we? If?} we live in the Spirit, let us also {in addition to} walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. {let us live to glorify God}

We pray according to the Word of God. But we also pray, asking ourselves first “Is what I am praying for to the glory of the God I love?”. God does not hear prayers outside of His good and perfect will. But you as a Christian should NOT be praying anything outside of God’s will. Listen to me, Beloved.

If you are Biblically illiterate, you cannot pray!

The Christian Knows That God Watches Us Always

This is one of the hardest, harshest, and most misunderstood Scriptures in all of the Bible. It speaks to both DEATH and LOVE. Read with me.

1 John 5:16-17 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ASK, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. {17} All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

God answers prayers that are within His will. What is one of the prayers that God will answer? It is that a fellow Christian NOT remain in sin, until that sin becomes a “sin unto death”. Before we saw the Greek word aiteō (ASK) used to describe prayer. John tells us that one of the prayers we should be praying for our fellow Christians is that they not commit sin unto death. In the above text we are told that there is (vs 16) “sin not unto death” but in the very next breath we are told “There is a sin unto death”. Then the Apostle says, “I do not say that he shall pray for it”. What is the Apostle telling us?

If sin does not bother you, you’re not saved!

The Bible tells us that “All unrighteousness is sin”. Unrighteousness is anything that is against God’s standard, as reflected in the Scripture. Unrighteousness or acting unrighteously, or sinfulness, brings sickness and death. The Nashville shooter was a mentally and spiritually unstable young woman who should have been told the truth instead of catered to. The homosexual is a mentally and spiritually unstable person that needs to be told the truth rather than celebrated (see Romans 1:24-32). The transsexual is a mentally and spiritually unstable person that needs to be told the truth rather than being catered to. Did you know that there are people today that that are asking doctors to surgically mutilate themselves because they want to be crippled? This is spiritually and mentally unstable! The Scripture says:

James 1:14-16 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. {15} Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. {16} Do not err, my beloved brethren.

The desires of the old sin nature will whisper, “Just try it. What’s the harm?” So lust CONCEIVES and “BRINGS FORTH SIN, which BRINGS FORTH DEATH”. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 15:56 … the STING OF DEATH is SIN …

What is SIN and NOT SIN is defined by God’s Word, the Bible. It is not defined by our opinion, but by God’s opinion. “Sin worketh death in me” (Romans 7:13). Sin is an awful employer. The Scripture says:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death …

There is a sin unto death – though not all sin leads to death. What sin leads to death? Repeated, unrepented of sin. We who are Christians are to care for one another, and to pray for one another that we stay away from the darkness, and continue to walk with Jesus.

The Churches that have compromised the Word of God in order to satisfy the dictates of the world are not proper Churches, but imitations of God’s kingdom.

1 John 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ASK (aiteo)

If you see a fellow Christian moving into sin (a sin NOT unto death), then you are to ASK (aiteo) God to convict them. You are to pray for them. But you are also to ASK that believer. You are to encourage one another to come together in the unity of THE Faith, as the Scripture says:

Ephesians 4:13-15 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

It is not love to allow someone to wander into sin. Thomas Constable notes:

“Many Christians have failed to realize that sinning always leads to dying, even among Christians (Romans 6:23). While it is true that no Christian will ever experience spiritual death (eternal separation from God), we do normally experience the physical consequences of our sinning. The fact that we all die physically is the proof of this.”

When a believer commits sin, he puts his foot on a road that will eventually lead to death if not corrected. But if the believer confesses his or her sin, then the curse is turned to blessing. We turn away from the sin unto death by turning back to Christ. How do we turn back to Christ? We confess our sin unto God BEFORE it becomes a “sin unto death”. The Bible says:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

To “CONFESS” our sins is the Greek metanoeo, which means “to say the same thing about”. To sin before God without care is to bring death into our midst. The Apostle chastised the Church at Corinth because they condoned sin in their midst. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 11:30-32 {because of your sins} many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep {a Christian euphemism for physical death}. {31} For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. {32} But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

God punishes His children when they move into sin. Though He is gracious and merciful, God owns us and can take us where ever He wants.

Sin which is NOT discontinued will
eventually snowball into death!

The Christian way of life is incompatible with what God defines as sin. We are exhorted:

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

God our Father is very clear when He says:

Ezekiel 18:21-32 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. {22} All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. {23} Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: [and] not that he should return from his ways, and live? {24} But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

God will never justify sin – nor should we. It is unloving to do so. God says,

Ezekiel 18:31-32 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? {32} For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn [yourselves], and live ye.

Pray! If you are a Christian, seek God’s face. Read His Word, and pray with understanding. Pray the will of God. And if there are those of whom you know who are in clear Biblical sin, pray that God will draw them away from it. Lovingly approach them in private, and share the Word of God with them.

Christians WALK With God In The LIGHT,
Not With The Devil In The DARKNESS.

1 John 5:18-19 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

Those who are “born again” keep themselves under control. The King James says, “whosoever is born of God sinneth not”. The word translated “SINNETH” is a Perfect Passive Participle in the Greek. The Enduring Word Commentary notes that:

“The grammar in the original language makes it plain John is speaking of a settled, continued lifestyle of sin. John is not teaching here the possibility of sinless perfection. As Stott says, ‘The present tense in the Greek verb implied habit, continuity, unbroken sequence.’”

John previously said this in:

1 John 3:5-8 And ye know that {Jesus} was manifested to TAKE AWAY OUR SINS; and in Him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in Him SINNETH NOT: whoso SINNETH {habitually, in CONTINUITY, without BREAKING SEQUENCE} HATH NOT SEEN HIM; neither knoweth Him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as {Jesus} is righteous. 8 He that COMMITTETH SIN IS OF THE DEVIL …

If you belong to Jesus, you cannot willingly and knowingly sin and stay in it. The Soniclight Commentary notes, “As in {John} 3:9, John affirmed that the basic nature of one who has God for his spiritual Parent is not to sin.” Pastor Voddie Baucham in quoting Romans 1:24-26 stated,

“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions … DISHONORABLE PASSIONS. The DESIRES THEMSELVES are DISHONORABLE. Enough already with this Gay Christian stuff. And I don’t just say “enough already”, I don’t mean this in a sense of, you know, they’re over there and I’m over here. I mean this in the pastoral sense. How cruel is that? If a man comes to me talking about a desire for a woman who is not his wife, I’m not going to tell him to just go ahead and embrace the desire, because the desire in and of itself is okay. It’s not!

Sin is sin, and sin kills. Jesus died on the Cross for your sins. He rose again to conquer your sins. You, dear Christian, may sin – but sin will NOT be your practice, your common mode of existence. No Christian indwelt of the Spirit, born again of the Blood of the Lamb, the purchased and adopted Child of God will long remain in sin. If you do, God can and will take your life. God will purify His Church by removing those who shame Him and taint His will on earth. There is a sin that leads unto death, and a sin that leads not unto death. The difference is found in repentance, and returning to the will of God.

As I conclude, let me say this. In the early Church Ananias and Sapphira met an early death for lying to God (Acts 5:1-10). The Corinthian Christians were meeting premature deaths for mishandling the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 11:30,31). In the Old Testament King Saul died the sin unto death for disobeying God (1 Chronicles 10:13-14; 1 Samuel 13:9-14). The Apostle Paul delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan (1 Timothy 1:19-20) for destruction because they were guilty of blasphemy. He also surrendered the unnamed young man of 1 Corinthians 5 to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. These are ample testimonies to the fact that there is a sin unto death. Do not believe that you, as God’s Children, can get away from the Lord and sin without consequence. Our God is a Faithful Father to His Children.

Do you know Him? It may be possible that you think you are a Christian, that you hope you are a Christian, but you are not a Christian. These things are written THAT YOU MIGHT KNOW YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. Do you know? If you do not, today would be a good day to call upon the Name of the Lord. The Gospel has never changed.

Romans 10:9-11, 13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

If Jesus is your Lord, sin will not rule over you. Give yourselves to Him this very day. Amen and Amen!

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Being Equal To God

Posted on April 29, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by JJ Jordan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-holding-balance-scale-3145477/

John 5:1-4 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

We start with the words “After this”. In John chapter four Jesus presented Himself as Messiah to a Samaritan woman of Sychar. The woman went to Sychar and told others that she met the Messiah. This in turn led the populace of Sychar to invite Jesus to come and stay with them. Revival broke out. Jesus left Sychar, and entering Cana of Galilee our Lord met a nobleman whose son was sick unto death.

Faith follows God. True faith does what God says do. Faith does not add to or take away from God’s Word, but glorifies God by obediently following Him.

We have seen what faith looks like. Now we see the faith of Jesus. We read:

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Though Jesus Christ is “God with us, Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14), when He entered humanity He became subject to the same God that we are subject to. God told Moses to tell Israel,

Leviticus 23:1-2 … speak to the Israelites and say to them, “these are My appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies …

Though Israel had a weekly Sabbaths (on Saturday), there were seven Feasts also called High or Special Sabbaths. These were:

Passover (Exodus 12:1-4; Leviticus 23:5)
Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20, 39; Leviticus 23:6-8)
Firstfruits (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 23:9-14)
Weeks or Pentecost (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:15-21)
Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25)
Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:26-32)
Tabernacles or Booths (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:33-38; 39-43)

The Feasts Reminded Israel Of God’s Grace

Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate one of these Feasts. As the Son of God, He honored the Father by obediently going to Jerusalem for the Feast. As Jesus Christ, the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36) enters Jerusalem heading toward the Temple, He goes by the sheep market to the pool of “Bethesda”. The name bēthesda means “house of mercy or house of kindness”. During the Biblical Feasts the children of Israel are supposed to be celebrating the goodness of God. The Feasts normally start with special Sabbaths so that people do not need to work, but instead take that time to remember the goodness of God. This should be a happy time.

Word Study: As Jesus comes to Bethesda we read that there are “five porches”. This is significant. In the Scripture, FIVE is the number of Grace. There are FIVE PORCHES or flat areas around this pool that people are laying on. These people are called “a great multitude of impotent folk”. The word “impotent” is the Greek astheneō, which means “weak, diseased, without strength, powerless”. This great multitude of people were absolutely helpless. They could do nothing to change the situation they were in. These people were not looking upward to God. They Bible says that they were:

John 5:3-4 … waiting for the MOVING OF THE WATER, 4 for an ANGEL went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was MADE WHOLE OF WHATSOEVER DISEASE he had …

These people were looking for the stirring of the waters to heal themselves. The Bible says that it was an Angel that stirred the water. I just want you to remember that not all angels are from God, and one of the greatest angels ever created is the most evil being there ever was. Lucifer, the angel we call Satan, caused an uprising in Heaven, and led a third of the angels there to rebel against God. I don’t have a problem believing that an angel stirred that water, because I believe it was one of Satan’s fallen who enticed people to stare at that pool. I don’t have a problem believing that the devil or one of his demons was the agent who stirred this water.

The devil’s desire is to kill, steal, and destroy anything that brings God glory. The devil did this in the Garden of Eden with a fruit, and is distracting God’s people into looking at the water in Bethesda.

God tells us in Isaiah 45:22-24 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

As humans we want to look unto other things to be saved, to be cured of what ails us. There is nothing else! When these people were without strength, they should have been looking upward to God. The Grace of God says:

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

John 5:5-6 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

Though there was a “MULTITUDE” of people laying on these five porches of Bethesda, Jesus singles out one person to approach. Why did Jesus come to this man, and not the others? The Bible malkes it a point to tell us that this man had been without strength “thirty and eight years”. Thirty eight is a significant number in the Bible. Two years after leaving Egypt, following God by Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud, Israel sent ten spies into the Promised Land . Their task was to bring back an encouraging word to Israel that our God is True to His Promises (Numbers 13:17-20). What did the spies do? They searched the land for 40 days (Numbers 13:25), and though they returned with a report that the land was indeed bountiful, they said:

Numbers 13:31-32 We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. … And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel …

Their evil report robbed God of His glory! The people of Israel, instead of trusting God and entering the Promised Land, murmured against God and mocked Him, saying,

Numbers 14:3 … wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

Because of Israel’s faithlessness and failure to honor God, the Lord causes Israel to wander in the wilderness an additional 38 years (Deuteronomy 2:14).

All of the men of war died out. The second generation of Israel that went into the Promised Land were in effect without strength, and totally dependent on God. This man that Jesus went to is a mini parable of Israel. Israel kept their eyes on THINGS instead of GOD, and lost the blessing of God. This man is absolutely and totally without hope, without strength. There is no way he is going to get in that water! Jesus asks:

John 5:6 Wilt thou be made whole?

Do you really want to be made whole? Do you really want to enter the Promised Land? The man replies:

John 5:7 The impotent (astheneō, without strength) man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

The man is without hope. No one will help him get into the water. The water cannot save him. How can he be saved? He must choose to listen to Jesus and Jesus only. He cannot listen to the world, for the world tells him that his hope is in the water. He cannot listen to his neighbor, for his neighbor is focused on his own needs. Jesus speaks:

John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

What is interesting in this command is that Jesus tells the man to do three things that he cannot possibly do. He says,

Rise
Take up your bed
Walk

This is not the only time Jesus will do this. When Jesus goes to Nazareth to minister the Bible tells us:

Matthew 9:2-7 … behold, they brought to {Jesus} a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house.

The man who was paralyzed was in that state because he had sinned against God. When Jesus told the man “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN YOU”, He put Himself in the place of God. The only One Who can forgive sin is God. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy (dishonoring God), Jesus told the man, “Arise, take up thy bed, AND WALK”. The same thing is happening at Bethesda. This man is sick, totally unable to walk or get about for 38 years. Why? Because he failed to walk with God. Now God the Son comes to Him and says:

John 5:8 Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

Your sins have been forgiven you. That which crippled you is gone. Get up, and cross the Jordan. Walk with God. As Jesus said these words, the man is immediately healed. We read:

John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

Those Who Are Saved Follow
And Heed The Lord Jesus

This man has been made whole by God the Son. The Pharisees should have rejoiced that he was healed. Were they? No! We read:

John 5:10-13 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

Anytime you see the phrase “The Jews” in John’s writings, it is always a reference to the Pharisees. The Pharisees took the clearly written Law of God and added their own traditions to it. There is nothing in Scripture that says that bedding cannot be carried on the Sabbath day (and this was a special Sabbath). The intent of the Sabbath was to restrict labor, so that people would take time to remember the goodness and Grace of God. Jesus told us:

Matthew 5:17 (ESV) Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Jesus would not have told this man to “Take up thy bed” if it was a violation of the Sabbath. It was only human customs and add-ons that were being broken. When the man related that it was “a Man” who told him to pick up his bed and walk, the Pharisees wanted to know which “man” told him to do this. He couldn’t tell them, because,

for Jesus had conveyed himself away

Had the people around Bethesda seen and processed that Jesus healed this man, our Lord would have been overwhelmed by people demanding healing. In this particular instance during this particular miracle Jesus is illustrating the nature of sin.

Sin leads us into misery, then cripples us.
Jesus can fix sin’s destruction – but you must hear Jesus.
Sin even invades and twists the Law of God.

God calls us out of sin not by our own hand, but by the hand of Christ. Jesus will save whosoever will hear Him. But you must look to Jesus, not to the water or the Pharisees. You must call upon the Name of the Lord.

John 5:14-15 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

Jesus Christ is the “Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). But Jesus is also the “the Savior, Christ THE LORD” (Luke 2:11). Jesus was called “JESUS” because “He SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS”. Saving this man from whatever sin had debilitated him, Jesus told the man,

sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee

What can be worst than 38 years of paralysis? I don’t know. But whatever it is, I don’t want it. The Bible tells us that

John 5:16-18 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

The Pharisees added to the Law of God their own traditions – then threatened to kill anyone who did not measure up to their standards. Those who are lost often use the “Law” to justify their actions. God calls the Christian to follow Him, to be like Christ in all that we say and do. Jesus told the Pharisees:

My Father worketh hitherto, and I work

We are called to glorify God daily in all that we say and do. The Child of God works for God. Are you working for God? Are you living your life to bring glory to Him Who saved you? May God the Holy Spirit draw you close to Jesus today. Live for the smile of God. Amen and Amen.

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The Golden Calf.

Posted on April 25, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Excellent study!

Ticha Masai's avatarfreedomlive832

EXODUS 32:4

There’s always a loneliness, an emptiness in the heart of man that can only be filled by a divine power. A higher power. Every religion, cult and spiritual organisation seeks to fill this void by introducing something supernatural.

In the bible, when Moses went for forty days and forty nights on the mountain, the emptiness descended upon the people and they lost faith in an ‘Invisible God’, the “UNKNOWN POWER” . They had waited upon this same God for more than four centuries yet this emptiness wont allow them to wait for forty days!!!! They desired a visible power and a familiar expression of faith. This might have been as a result of their stay in Egypt. Slavery had subconsciously taught them a “way” .

SLAVERY AND MONUMENTS

Slavery has a way of rubbing on us its filth. Man has been a slave…

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Your Sin Will Find You Out, Abimelech

Posted on April 24, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Adonyi Gábor: https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-and-orange-fire-1558916/

Judges 9:1-3 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. 3 And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

The great Prophet Moses warned us all a long time ago:

Numbers 32:23 … be sure your sin will find you out.

Sin is nothing to wink at. When Cain sinned against God by offering the wrong sacrifice, God told Cain:

Genesis 4:7 (ESV) … sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it

Because Cain would not rule over his sin by repenting, and doing as God said, he ended up murdering his brother Abel. The stepbrother of Jesus said:

James 1:14-15 (ESV) … each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

The Bible describes sin as if it is a living thing. And it is. The Apostle Paul spoke of sin inside his own life, saying “it is no longer I who do it, but IT IS SIN LIVING IN ME THAT DOES IT”.

Sin unaddressed and unconfessed
Leads to terrible distress

Word Study: In Judges Chapter 9 we come to the story of a false judge named Abimelech. The title Abimelech (Hebrew ăḇîmeleḵ) is found 67 times in the Bible. The name means “Moloch is my father”, Moloch being a false god of the Canaanites. The name is NOT one you would expect to find among the children of God. The first time Abimelech is found in the Scripture is when Abraham told Abimelech the King of Gerar that Sarah was his sister (Genesis 20:2) because he feared for his life. When there was famine in the land, Isaac went to Abimelech King of the Philistines (Genesis 26:1) for aid, also claiming his wife Rebekah was his sister in fear for his life. When David ran from Saul, he changed his behavior before Abimelech (Psalm 34:1) and acted as a madman out of fear.

Abimelech is Gideon’s unconfessed sin come to life!

Gideon did a wonderful job in leading Israel to victory over the Midianite forces. At the end of the battles, the people came to Gideon and said:

Judges 8:22 … Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

They wanted Gideon to be their King, claiming he was the source of the victory over the Midianites. But Gideon refused, and rightly so. It was God Who gave the victory. In refusing to share glory with God, Gideon honored the Lord. But then Gideon let sin come into his life. He asked for all the earrings collected from the dead Midianites, and had them made into an Ephod, a Trophy that the people began to worship.

Judges 8:27 … all Israel went thither a whoring after {the Ephod}: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

If you worship ANYTHING above God, this horrible sin will become a SNARE that will entrap you. Gideon – also known as Jerubbaal {killer of Baal} – set and baited his own trap. The people began to worship and serve the Ephod instead of God. Gideon then began to sexually wander from God. God designed marriage to be a covenant between man and woman. We read:

Judges 8:30-31 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

Gideon not only had “many wives” (which gave him 70 children), Gideon had a girlfriend on the side, a “concubine that was in Shechem”. This is where “Abimelech” came from. In other places in the Scripture, Abimelech is a TITLE. But here we see Gideon NAMING this illegitimate child “Abimelech”. When Abimelech came of age he started a conspiracy. Again,

Judges 9:1-3 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal {Gideon’s child by a concubine} went to SHECHEM unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. 3 And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

When Gideon sinned sexually, he did so in SHECHEM. Shechem is a very important place in the Scripture. It was at Shechem that God promised Abraham the land of Canaan. Shechem is where a Levitical city of refuge was given to the Kohathites (Joshua 21:20-21). It was in Shechem that Joseph’s bones were buried (Joshua 24:32). It was at Shechem that Abraham and his grandson Jacob built an altar to God (Genesis 12:7; 33:18-20). Gideon’s son Abimelech was from Shechem. Abimelech goes to his uncles, his mother’s brothers, and asks them to start a campaign to make him king of Israel. He did not do this because God raised him up. God raised up JUDGES once Israel repented, and the JUDGES led Israel to victory over those who had afflicted them.

Abimelech wanted what his father Gideon himself had turned down. He wanted to be king.

Abimelech did not believe in God, but in himself. His platform in gaining office was:

Judges 9:2 … Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you?

What he suggested was that – if he were NOT made king – then the 70 sons of Gideon {Jerubbaal} would become kings. Abimelech hated his half brothers because he was the “non-inheritance” son of a concubine. One commentary notes:

“Among the early Arabians, a concubine or secondary ‘wife’ stayed with her own clan and was visited by her ‘husband’ from time to time. The children of the union belonged to the wife’s clan. Abimelech, the son of a concubine, had close relations with the family of his mother. He sought their help in supporting his claims to the throne.”

Judges 9:4 And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.

Word Study: Abimelech had “threescore and ten” half brothers. He rejected them, and was given “threescore and ten” pieces of silver to “hire vain and light persons” that would follow him around and support him. The words “vain and light” is the Hebrew rêq pāḥaz, which means “worthless and wanton, absolutely useless”. The only purpose these people had was to follow Abimelech around like “yes” men and make him look good. This is the absolute opposite of what God ordered of those He chose for leadership. When Moses was overwhelmed with the leadership he had to give to the people, God told him:

Numbers 11:16-17 (ESV) … the LORD said to Moses, Gather for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.

The Council of 70 that God had Moses gather would later be known as the “Sanhedrin”. The Great Sanhedrin was a type of Supreme Court in Israel, led by the High Priest. The Got Questions site notes,

“The Sanhedrin as a body claimed powers that lesser Jewish courts did not have. As such, they were the only ones who could try the king or extend the boundaries of the Temple and Jerusalem, and were the ones to whom all questions of law were finally put.”

The 70 assistants were not there to prop up a false king, but to guide God’s leadership in doing God’s work. Abimelech was not interested in God. This is shown in his murderous acts.

Judges 9:5-6 And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. 6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.

All but “Jotham the youngest son” of Gideon was murdered by Abimelech. Before Jotham went into hiding, under the inspiration of God he prophesied the eventual disaster that would come about because those of Shechem chose to make Abimelech King. This is known as …

The First Parable In The Bible:
Leadership Matters!

Word Study: The name “Jotham” (Hebrew yôṯām) means “Jehovah is perfect”. Jehovah – our God – is perfect. When we choose Him to be our King, we can only expect blessing. But when we choose people divorced from God to be our leaders, we get the leadership we deserve. As “Jehovah is perfect” recites what is called the first parable in the Bible, he stands “in the top of mount Gerizim”:

Judges 9:7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

“mount Gerizim” sits directly opposite Mount Ebal, with Shechem in their valleys. Mount Gerizim is about 30 miles from Jerusalem. When Israel entered the Promised Land, God had the Israelis build an altar to God on Mount Ebal. God had the tribes divide up:

Deuteronomy 27:12 (ESV) … these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

Deuteronomy 27:13 (ESV) … these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

Gideon’s tribe was of Manasseh. It was Manasseh and Ephraim together which formed the Tribe of Joseph. So Jotham stood on Mount Gerizim where his ancestors stood, pronouncing the blessings of God on the obedience of His people.

As Jotham stood on Mount Gerizim, he cried out:

Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you

He is calling for the REPENTANCE of the men of Shechem. They have made a bad decision in calling for Abimelech, and their bad decision will end up hurting them badly. In the parable, the olives, fig trees, and grape vines represent GOOD leadership, the leaders that they should have chosen. The brambles represent Abimelech.

Judges 9:8-9 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

The “trees” decided that they wanted a King. So they went to the “olive tree”, and asked him to leave his God given assignment to become their King. But the “olive tree” was too wise. He said, “Should I leave my fatness” – for the tree was richly blessed. Why? Because when you do what God calls you to do with ALL your strength, God will bless you with FATNESS. You honor God when you live for Him.

Proverbs 3:9-10 (NLT) Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

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

Psalm 37:4 (ESV) Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The Olive Tree had better sense than to leave his God given calling to be elevated above the other trees. Then the trees went to the Fig Tree:

Judges 9:10-11 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

The TREES were emphatic. They wanted a King but did not want that King to be God. But the “fig tree” was equally smart. Why leave his God given calling to be “promoted over the trees”? The missionary Elisabeth Elliot said:

“I have one desire now – to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.”

Abimelech passionately hated his brothers, a hate they did not deserve. The fig tree loved its sweetness and its good fruit. No good leader ever hates God, nor is indifferent about God’s love. Solomon was such a great King because he said:

Song of Solomon 3:4 (ESV) … I found Him whom my soul loves. I held Him, and would not let Him go …

Oh, the joy of finding and serving the Lord! The Fig Tree would not give up one moment of that bliss for the fame of fallen man!

Judges 9:12-13 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. 13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Again the trees sought a King outside of God. Though rebuffed by two great leaders, they turned to the “vine”. The fruit of the vine blesses both God and man. Why would the vine leave its calling to puff up itself with pride?

Proverbs 16:18 (CSB) Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.

None of the productive leaders would take the place of God as King. So finally the trees go to the “bramble”.

Judges 9:14-18 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. 15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. 16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands; 17 (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: 18 And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)

My commentary notes:

“Brambles bore no fruit and offered no shelter or protection. They only injured those who got too close to them. Moreover, brambles sometimes spontaneously burst into flames in hot weather, and consequently caused much damage (v. 15). …

Even today when a good ruler comes into office, many folk say, ‘God raised him up.’ What about the wicked ruler? God permits him to come to the throne also [cf. Daniel 4:17]. Do you know why? Because the principle is ‘like priest, like people.’ That is, people get the ruler they deserve. The people of Israel wanted this boy Abimelech to rule over them; and they got the caliber of man they deserved. Friend, when we look around our world today, we find this principle is still true.”

God allows the wicked rulers to rise up to punish us when we reject Him as King. That “BRAMBLE” Abimelech would not only murder 69 of his brothers and shame the legacy of his father Gideon, but he would end up destroying those who so faithfully supported him. Jotham now pronounces:

Judges 9:19-21 If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: 20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

Though Jotham went into hiding, it wasn’t long before the Parable came to pass. God allowed Abimelech to come to power and reign three years before problems came.

Vengeance Is Mine Saith The Lord

Judges 9:22-25 When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, 23 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: 24 That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. 25 And the men of Shechem set liers {sat in wait – ambushed} in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.

We are told that after three years “God sent an evil spirit” between Abimelech and his family. God is the ultimate Source of all things. Just as God would later send a harmful spirit to afflict King Saul (1 Samuel 16:14; 18:10; 19:9) and to entice King Ahab that he would be defeated at Ramoth Gilead (1 Kings 22:19-23), God sends an evil spirit on Abimelech and his family. His family begins to rob travelers, humiliating the King. It is on thing when strangers are lawless, and quite another when your family is lawless.

Judges 9:26-29 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. 27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? 29 And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

“Gaal” was a Canaanite who hated Abimelech because he was Gideon’s son. So he conspires with the men of Shechem to go to war against Abimelech and his army. What happens next is a bloodbath! In Judges 9:30-45 Zebul the ruler of the city of Shechem tells Abimelech about the insurrection in the city, so Abimelech surrounds the city with four companies of soldiers. As Gaal and his men were defeated, we are told:

Judges 9:41 … Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.

As Gaal and his men were thrust out, Abimelech led three companies of men against them (Judges 9:43), and utterly destroyed the opposition. Abimelech then led his men to cruelly burn to death (Judges 9:48-52) a thousand men and women. Yet, as Abimelech ordered the burning of these people, a woman who was high up in the tower …

Judges 9:53-57 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull. 54 Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A women slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. 56 Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: 57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

Be sure your sin will find you out! You can no more tame sin than you can a rabid dog. Turn away from evil, and follow God. REPENT! Choose Godly leadership while you can. May God touch your hearts with his Word! Amen and Amen.

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Three Bear Record In Heaven

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

1 John 5:6-7 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record ….

One of my favorite Christmas programs is “Miracle on 34th Street”. Not the modern “remakes” of the movie, but the original 1947 classic that won three Academy Awards. It starred Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood (when she was but 8 years old), and Edmund Gwenn (as Kris Kringle). If you remember the show, Kris Kringle was put on trial because he claimed to be the one and only Santa Claus. The movie climaxed when Kris’ lawyer (Payne) has about 18 sacks of mail brought in from the Post Office, all delivered to the Courthouse by the Post Office. Based on this final “witness” the Judge declared Kris to be sane – and the only Santa Claus.

It’s a cute story – and a fantasy. But it bears what our text is covering today.

Word Study: When our Lord Jesus walked the earth, the name “Jesus” (the Greek iēsous or the Hebrew yᵊhôšûaʿ) was a fairly common name. The name “Jesus” literally means “Jehovah is salvation”, which is also what the Hebrew Joshua means. There were many named “Jesus” who walked the earth at the same time our Jesus did. The well known successor of Moses, Joshua (Hebrew name) was called “Jesus” in the language of the New Testament (see Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8). The Apostle Paul ministered with a Jewish Christian named “Jesus, also called Justus” (Colossians 4:11). When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked the people if they would release Jesus or Barabbas. Some ancient manuscripts tells us that Barabbas was actually named Jesus Barabbas. If so, Pilate was asking the people in effect “Which “Jesus” do you want to release?” They executed our Lord.

Our Jesus told us:

Matthew 24:5, 24 (ESV) For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. … 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

How do we KNOW that OUR Jesus Christ – the One found in the New Testament – is the ONLY WAY to God? The Bible itself establishes the means by how we make this determination. God told His people:

Deuteronomy 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

Had Jesus alone declared Himself to be the Messiah – the Christ – this alone would not be proof that He is Who He says He is. There must be “At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses”, that is, two or three people must declare that they saw and know that Jesus is the Messiah. They must verbally declare Him as Messiah. They must be authoritative. So now Scripture calls its Witnesses:

Jesus Christ Came By WATER And BLOOD

1 John 5:6 This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood.

Word Study: What does it mean that Jesus “CAME by WATER and BLOOD”? Let’s deal with the word “CAME”, the Greek erchomai. This word means “to come from one place to another”. When the Wise men searched for Jesus “born King of the Jews” they told Jerusalem “we have seen His star in the east, and are COME to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). The Wise Men came from the east – probably from Babylon – hundreds of miles to see Jesus. But Jesus came from much farther away than that. Jesus Christ came to us from Eternity. Jesus “CAME by WATER”, a phrase used in John 3 by Jesus to represent normal human birth. Jesus said:

John 3:5-6 … Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

To be “BORN OF WATER” is to be born of the flesh, of a human mother. Jesus was “BORN OF WATER” of a normal human female – but His birth is unique in that He is born of a virgin. It was prophesied that the Messiah – “God with us” – would be born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Only Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophesy. The Angel of God told Joseph, the husband of Mary:

Matthew 1:21 And {Mary} shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name JESUS {God our Savior}: for HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS 22 All this was done, THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLED which was spoken of the Lord {in Isaiah 7:14}, BEHOLD, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall BRING FORTH A SON, and they shall call His Name EMMANUEL which being interpreted, GOD WITH US.

Only Jesus Christ is virgin born. Only Jesus Christ is “GOD WITH US”. Jesus was normally born of water, of woman. But Jesus Christ was conceived of God. The Angel told Mary His mother:

Luke 1:35 … The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

As Eternal God, Jesus was with God the Father and God the Spirit in eternity past. But Jesus “was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us” (John 1:14). Jesus did not COME INTO BEING through Mary, but CAME INTO HUMANITY through Mary. Jesus came of water.

Jesus coming of water not only refers to His supernatural and unique BIRTH, but He CAME INTO HIS MINISTRY through the witness of water baptism.

Jesus was sent by the Father to be the Savior of the world. As Eternal God the Son, Jesus had a Herald that went before Him, that Herald being John the Baptist. John’s ministry was prophesied through Isaiah, just as the virgin birth of Jesus was prophesied (see Isaiah 40:3). The Pharisees and Scribes asked John in he was the Messiah because of his following, and John told them “I am NOT the Messiah” (John 1:19). John was the Herald of the Messiah. Our Lord Jesus came to John, and commanded that he baptize Him in water. Though John initially refused (Matthew 3:14), he soon did so. As Jesus came up out of the water the Bible says:

Matthew 3:16-17 when {Jesus} was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

At Jesus’ baptism both God the Father as well as God the Spirit witnessed that He and He alone is the Messiah. Our Lord Jesus came by water. He was sent of God from glory to become flesh on this earth. He came by the water of baptism, receiving the witness of both Father and Spirit.

1 John 5:6 … not by water only, but by water and blood.

Jesus was uniquely born into this world to be our Savior. But Jesus did not come by WATER only, but “by water and blood”. Why is “BLOOD” important? Because when Adam sinned, God covered Adam’s sin with the blood of the innocent (Genesis 3:21). It is the blood of humans that contains our life force. The Bible says:

Leviticus 17:14 (NLT) … the life of every creature is in the BLOOD …

When Adam sinned, he brought the penalty of death on himself and his progeny. God told Adam “in the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die”. Adam was due death because of his sin, but God gave him an escape by the spilling of blood of the innocent.

God established animal sacrifices that would temporarily cover the sins of humans. These sacrifices were repeated over and over because they were only temporary. A Once and for All Innocent had to come to make payment for our sins. God told Israel under the Old Covenant:

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life …

It is the BLOOD that covers sin – “makes atonement for one’s life”. The Blood of the guiltless substitute made payment for the sins and shortcomings of the people. Yet these were only temporary. The Bible says:

Hebrews 10:1 (NLT) The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship …

God sent His Son Jesus into the world to once and for all fulfill the Law of sacrifice. When Jesus was sent into the world, He told the Father:

Hebrews 10:5 (NLT) … You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer …

God the Father was never satisfied with the animal sacrifices, but winked at them until the Lord Jesus Christ came. The Bible says:

Hebrews 1010 (ESV) … we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

It is the Blood of Jesus Christ that “purified our consciences from sinful deeds so we can worship the Living God. Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins” (Hebrews 9:14, my paraphrase). Jesus came by water so He could enter this life as the unique Messiah. Jesus came by BLOOD to die on Calvary for our sins. We who are saved have …

Revelation 7:14 … washed their robes and made them white in the BLOOD of the Lamb.

One commentary notes:

“Believers are cleansed, forgiven, and made right with God by the blood of the Lamb, God’s guiltless substitute. The life that Christ emptied of its blood now pumps everlasting life into our veins. Oh, how astounding it is that God would shed His own blood to pay the penalty for our sins!”

The Three Witnesses In Heaven Lead
To The Indwelling Witness In You

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record ….

There are “THREE THAT BEAR RECORD IN HEAVEN”. We spoke of these THREE before. The first Witness in Heaven is God the Father. God spoke from Heaven, saying not just at the Baptism of Christ, but also at the Mount of Transfiguration:

Matthew 17:5 … THIS is My BELOVED SON, in Whom I am well pleased; HEAR YE HIM

The Apostle Peter, the leader of the Apostles, declared that “{Jesus} received from God the Father honor and glory {when He spoke from the glory of Heaven, saying} THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, in Whom I am well pleased.” The Apostles Peter, Mark, and Matthew all heard and testified of this Voice from glory. But not only did the Father speak from Heaven to earth, The Scripture says that the Father said before the Angels:

Hebrews 1:8 … unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.

Jesus was declared both the Son of God as well as equal to God by God the Father. The Holy Spirit declared Jesus to be the one and only Messiah. Before Jesus went to the Cross for our sins, He told His disciples:

John 16:7-15 (ESV) Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Holy Spirit witnesses of Christ in Heaven, and on the earth. It is the Holy Spirit that leads people to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

1 John 5:8-10 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

John now brings out an interesting point. Jesus came by “WATER and BLOOD”. He was uniquely born of the virgin into this life. Both the Father and the Spirit witnessed that Jesus is the Christ. Once you believe on Jesus, follow this,

1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself

What is John talking about? Once you receive Christ’s birth and death as true, and receive Jesus as the ONE AND ONLY MESSIAH, then YOU HAVE THE WITNESS OF GOD WITHIN YOURSELF. God the Holy Spirit moves into the framework of your life.

The lost do not have the indwelling Spirit, nor do the lost care about the Word of God. Only those “Born Again” of Christ have the Spirit of God!

The world in its lostness follows after darkness and evil. People ask, “Why the Nashville shootings? Why all these shootings that we are seeing around America today?” The simple answer that liberals and progressives will give you is “let’s blame the guns and the bullets”. It’s not that the lost have guns and bullets that we have problems. It is that the lost have NOT the Spirit of God indwelling in them”. They are indwelt by darkness, by selfishness, by greed. The Christian proper, however, has the Witness of God within them. What does the Bible say?

Romans 8:13-16 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

It is not the DENOMINATION that makes the Christian, but that the DIVINE lives within you. The Spirit of God leads the Child of God, just as the Pillar of Fire led Israel from Egypt. “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live”. The person who claims to be a Christian who continually “LIVES AFTER THE FLESH” is not a Christian. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 7:16 … Ye shall know them BY THEIR FRUITS …

If you are constantly and apologetically living in darkness, then the Holy Spirit of God does not live in you. The Holy Spirit is not a Visitor to your life. Jesus said, “He lives WITH you and WILL BE IN YOU” (John 14:17). Even clearer and more applicable to the “American” Christian today is the warning from God about sexual sin:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Glorify God in YOUR BODY. Do not live selfishly and niggardly as the lost do. Because the Witness of the Spirit lives in you, Christ Jesus also lives in you (Colossians 1:27). Because the Holy Spirit lives within you, God the Father is also in you (1 John 4:15).

You Will Not Live Forever HERE –
But Christian, You WILL Live Forever!

Who indwells you? The Spirit of God, or the spirit of darkness? Jesus said “if your focus is bad, your whole body will be filled with darkness (Matthew 6:23). Christians are NOT in darkness – but the lost are. In the last few years, a biological MALE …

has been named “Woman of the year” on several magazine covers
is referenced as a “Top Ranking Female” in the White House
is named the NCAA Women’s Swimmer of the year
is making millions being the face of women for Nike, Tampax, and Bud
took home the “Best Actress” award at the Golden Globes

This is no more than a mental health crisis brought on by the Antichrist and the spirit of darkness. The Christian does NOT walk in evil, but walks with GOD daily. We finish with this:

1 John 5:11-12 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Word Study: The word translated “record” is the Greek martyria, from which we get our word “Martyr”. The Witness or Martyr’s Testimony given to us at great cost is that “God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son”. If you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have “eternal life”. That doesn’t mean you will live on this earth forever. These old bodies are breaking down daily. But Beloved, as Jesus is, so you shall be. You will one day pass from this place to glory because you have the Son – and having the Sn, you have LIFE. May God lead you to eternal life this very day! In Christ’s name I pray, and through His Spirit I ask. Amen and Amen.

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Noble Faith Matters

Posted on April 21, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Rodolfo Clix: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhouette-image-of-person-praying-1615776/

What Is “Faith”?

Please turn with me in your Bibles to John 4:43. The Bible has quite a bit to say about “Faith”. In fact, the world has quite a bit to say about “Faith”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “Faith” as:

“Allegiance to duty or to a person. Belief and trust in and loyalty to God. Firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Something believed especially with strong conviction, especially a system of religious beliefs.”

Everyone has faith. The …

– Atheist has faith there is no God, and the
– Humanist believes that people are gods. The
– Evolutionist has faith in Darwinism and so called evolutionary science. The
– Diseased often place their faith in medicines and medical science. The
– Politician believes their party is perfect, whereas the
– Progressive SJW has faith in one’s ability to reimagine oneself. The
– Christian is called to have faith in Christ and His Word, the Bible.

Those who are not Christians put their faith in various pagan gods and goddesses, various processes, types of people or political parties. Everyone has faith. When you drove to Church tonight, you had faith that your fellow motorists do not want to forfeit their lives. When you pass a car on the highway, you are about 24” from death. Yet you continue to drive. Why? It’s FAITH. You have faith that the person hurling toward you at speed is not texting, or that the driver is not suicidal.

Faith in people and things can be misplaced. Faith in Jesus is NEVER wrong. Because the Samaritan woman had faith in Jesus, she went to Sychar and told her friends about Him. Because others expressed faith in Christ, He went to Sychar and stayed two more days.

God will come to you if you believe in His Word! God went to Sychar because they believed in His Word.

John 4:41-42 And many more believed because of Jesus’ own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.

Faith is something that YOU must have. We are saved by FAITH in Jesus. As I’ve often quoted:

Ephesians 2:8 For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH and that not of yourselves …

Because you placed FAITH in your CAR, you got here tonight. If you had no faith in your car, you would still be at home. Faith proves itself by action. Faith goes, and does. Faith in God draws God to us. We read:

John 4:43-44 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. 44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honor in His own country.

Faith In God’s Word Brings God To Us, Whereas
NO Faith In God’s Word Pushes Him Away

Jesus went to Nazareth to minister, but the people had no faith in the Son of God. The Scripture says:

Mark 6:2-6 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. 4 But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

When Jesus grew up in Nazareth, He grew up waiting on God the Father, waiting to reveal Himself as the Christ. Other than one brief time when Jesus taught the priests in the Temple the Law of God (Luke 2:42-49), Jesus grew up and worked with His stepfather Joseph as a carpenter. Because those in Nazareth grew up around Jesus and saw nothing particularly special in Him and His earthly family, they discounted Him when He revealed Himself as the Messiah. Because His hometown had no faith in Him “he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them”. Faithlessness binds the blessings of God away from us. Jesus left Nazareth, and went to Samaria and Galilee to do His work as Messiah. Why? Because there was NO FAITH in Him in His hometown. “a prophet hath no honor in His own country”.

John 4:45 THEN when He was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received Him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.

Word Study: When Jesus came into Galilee the “Galilaeans received Him”. The word translated “received” is the Greek dechomai (pronounced dekh’-om-ahee), which means “to take hold of, to take up, to receive or grant access to as a VIP, to receive into intimate relationship with”. The Bible says:

John 1:11-12 {Jesus} came unto His own, and His own RECEIVED {paralambanō} Him not. 12 But as many as RECEIVED {lambanō} HIM, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name.

The word RECEIVED – which in the Greek can be dechomai, paralambanō or lambanō, are words that illustrate FAITH. FAITH receives. FAITH does. FAITH moves toward.

It matter what or who you have faith in. The Samaritans had faith in Jesus because they heard His Words. They said:

John 4:42 … we have HEARD HIM OURSELVES

They BELIEVED JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH “BECAUSE OF HIS OWN WORD” (John 4:41). They believed the Word of God. They believed the SCRIPTURE Jesus quoted as His own. They believed that Jesus is the LIVING BIBLE, the WORD OF GOD COME TO LIFE. But what of the Galileans, the Jews of Galilee? What did they believe in? We read:

John 4:45 …. the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast …

The Galileans did not focus on the Word of Christ, but the Works of Christ. They believed Him a Prophet because of what He DID, not because of what he SAID.

They were at Jerusalem, and saw the Lord overturn the tables of the moneychangers and chase away the buyers and sellers. The Bible tells us that “when {Jesus} was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did” (John 2:23). Yet the Bible tells us that “Jesus would not commit Himself to them” (John 2:24), because they believed the WORKS, but not the WORD. The Galileans believed Jesus to be a Great Prophet, or a Great Magi. But they believed based on the miracles He did, not based on the Word of God that He spoke. Their faith was a false faith. Henry Morris wrote in his commentary:

“The enthusiasm of the Galileans was not soundly based. It was dependent on the WONDERS arising from their sight of the signs, not on a realization that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. Their very acceptance of Him was thus in its way a rejection. They gave Him honor of a sort, but it was not the honor that was due to Him.”

Saving faith believes that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Word, and a fulfillment of the promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Saving faith believes that Jesus is the Christ because the Bible says so, not just because Jesus did miracles.

Satan can make himself appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14. The Magi of Egypt were able to imitate Moses when his rod turned into a snake. During the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist will “by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10) deceive the people into following him. Jesus told us that “false prophets would come and perform great signs and wonders, deceiving many” (Matthew 24:24). There were many people who believed on Jesus, but NOT unto salvation.

We Are To Believe Jesus’ WORD

The Bible talked about different types of faith (faith in the WORD or faith in the WORKS), and now gives us a example of what Christ would have of us. We read:

John 4:46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

Jesus comes into “Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine”. This was His first miracle ever performed. As soon as Jesus enters Cana, a “certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum” comes to Jesus. Who was this nobleman? The word “NOBLEMAN” is the Greek basilikos, which means”a royal official”. He was a man who served the puppet King Herod Antipas (Mark 6:14) in a civil or military capacity. The “NOBLEMAN” had a son sick at Capernaum, some 20 miles from Cana.

John 4:47-49 When {the Nobleman} heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

The Nobleman wanted Jesus to travel from Cana to Capernaum to heal his son. A Jew, the Jews often rejected Jesus as Messiah, demanding that Jesus show them “SIGNS AND WONDERS”. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day – the Pharisees and Sadducees – constantly asked Jesus for “signs from Heaven” (Matthew 16:1). Jesus told them:

Matthew 16:4 (NIV) A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

A person is not saved because of signs and wonders, but is saved by believing the Word of God.

Illustrate: Israel saw incredible signs at Sinai under Moses, and even heard the Voice of God (Exodus 19:16-20:1), but in just 40 days they forgot the signs and demanded Aaron create a golden calf for them to worship (Exodus 32:1-6). Faith in signs and wonders will never save. What saves is trust in God’s Word through God’s Messiah. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 1:18-24 … the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

When the Pharisees often demanded signs from Jesus (Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; Matthew 12:38-41), He told them “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” The proof that He is Messiah was given from the Word of God and through the resurrection and the empty tomb. God will fulfill His Word.

You Are Not Saved Unless You Believe Jesus.
Believing Is To ACT On What He Commands.

Jesus tells the nobleman:

John 4:50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

The nobleman is at a crossroad. He was demanding that Jesus come to Capernaum and heal his son. But Jesus tells him to “GO THY WAY – go home”. The Christ has spoken. The son is not dying, but has been made whole. What will the man do? Will he continue to demand Jesus come with him? No, the Bible says “THE MAN BELIEVED THE WORD THAT JESUS HAD SPOKEN”. He believed the Word of God. The man quit pleading with Jesus, and headed home. We now he believed for he did what Jesus said do.

Jesus Christ is more than a miracle Man, more than a great Teacher. Jesus Christ is the Messiah. So many today are – as the Scripture says –

2 Timothy 3:7 (NASB) always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

– Some have a NAZARETHFAITH. They are so FAMILIAR with Jesus, that they can’t believe He is the Christ.
– Some have a GALILEAN FAITH. They will believe Jesus, but only when they see a SIGN.
– The saved, however, have a SAMARITAN SYCHAR FAITH. They believe the Word of Jesus, and act on what they believe.

The nobleman believed the Word of Jesus, and headed home to his son. We are told that “the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him”, and based on the Word of God headed home. He obeyed the Word of the Lord. What was the result?

John 4:51-53 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

If you are merely trusting in Jesus Christ as a good teacher (the Nazareth faith), or if your trust is based on the good things He can give you, then you have traded the best things for the merely good things. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to adopt many children into God’s Kingdom. He came to destroy the power of death, and to redeem those who lived under the shadow of death. Sooner of later every one of us will stand before the Creator and give Him a reason as to why you should be allowed to enter into Glory with Him. The only answer that matters is that you know Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior. I pray that you have made that choice. Your eternity depends on it! Amen and Amen!

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Whosoever Is Whatsoever Is All

Posted on April 19, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
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1 John 5:1-5 KJV Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. (2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (4) For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. (5) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We’re always hearing bad news in the news, and many of us long for the time when there was less sexual perversion and more common sense in America. But surprisingly, a recent Barna Survey reported:

“Recent data show that Americans are trending toward spiritual openness. As of October 2022, Barna data show three out of four U.S. adults (74%) say they want to grow spiritually. Additionally, the same proportion (77%) say they believe in a higher power. Nearly half (44%) say they are more open to God today than before the pandemic.”

The door is open to the growth of God’s Kingdom. How will God’s people respond. Sheldon Vanauken, the author of “A Severe Mercy” (a beautiful book) wrote:

“The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians—when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.”

Christians have always been attacked. People call us names. “Homophobic. Transphobic. Misogynistic.” Let them call us names. Regardless as to what the world feels, let us stand firm on God’s Word. The world called Jesus “Drunkard. Sinner. Illegitimate Son. Insane.” Jesus stuck with God’s Word. Over and over He declares,

“It is written.”

Let the world call you anything – but beware of the title “hypocrite”.

Jesus called the religious right of His day “hypocrites” because they departed from the Word of God in favor of human traditions.

Christianity is indelibly tied t the clear Word of God. And …

True Christianity Has “Strings” Attached To It

1 John 5:1 KJV Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him

Look at those first words.

1 John 5:1 KJV Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God

Salvation is a free gift from God. However, that free gift comes with consequences or strings attached. It is only in America that people believe that Christianity comes with no strings attached. I hear this nonsense all the time. Deceived people and deceiving preachers say,

“Christianity is a free gift from God. Just believe on Jesus, and you’ll go to Heaven. God expects nothing from you. He’ll accept you just the way you are – and you don’t need to change. He loves you as you are. It’s just a free gift.”

There’s a “church” down the street from us that has on their sign,

“Come as you are. Change if you will.”

That’s hogwash! That’s secular religion. That has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity. Christianity is a free gift from God. It is necessarily free, because there is NOTHING you can do to earn or deserve it. One of my favorite Scriptures on salvation is not John 3:16 (which is a beautiful but often abused and misinterpreted text) but instead,

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES, it is the GIFT OF GOD, NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast. Here we pause before I quote VERSE 10. Salvation is a FREE GIFT not earned OF OURSELVES. The Scripture is clear on this. However, you need to now read VERSE 10. For WE ARE HIS {GOD’S} WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus UNTO {to DO} GOOD WORKS, which God hath BEFORE ORDAINED {ORDERED/ COMMANDED} that we should walk in them.

If you are SAVED, you are God’s WORKMANSHIP. God will work on you. God will change you. Entering the system is free – but once in the system God will begin to form Christ in your life. God has expectations of those whom He saves. Once you freely enter into the family of God by the Blood of Christ, you are

(1) subject to the Fatherhood of God,
(2) indwelt by the Spirit of God, and
(3) commanded to live according to the Word of God.

Illustrate: God gave us an illustration of this in His nation Israel. Saving them from enslavement to Egypt, God demanded they obey His rules. When Israel refused to do so, God punished them. This has not changed from Old to New Testament. We are told in

Hebrews 12:6-8 (ESV) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

You cannot get away with sin! The giant string attached to Christianity is the loving Fatherhood of God. If you are saved, you are changed, and are being changed. Christians will behave differently. You will willingly obey His Word.

You Will Love Your Brother And Sister In Christ

1 John 5:1 KJV Whosoever (PAS) believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one (PAS) that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him

Word Study: The words translated “Whosoever” and “every one” is the same Greek word pas, which simply means “ALL”. Salvation is offered to ALL. ALL who believe that “Jesus is the Christ”, the One and Only Messiah, they are “born of God”. When you are “born of God” your being changes. Your state changes. Your position changes. You become a Child of God, and you love God. Now as I’ve said before, the LOVE that God speaks of is not emotional, but it is to do the thing that God said do. So if you love God:

every one that loveth Him that begat (made you born again)

ALL who love Him that gave us life, that made us born again, we will

loveth him also that is begotten of him

Word Study: “loveth” is the Greek agapaō, which does not refer to emotional love, but to doing what God said the way God said it. If you love God, if you are born again, you will love others who are born again. You don’t have to like them – but you WILL LOVE them. You will do the right thing, the Godly thing, the thing that Jesus would have you do.

If you are begotten of God – born again – you will love and do the right thing toward others who are begotten of God, those born again and in His family.

But our love for those in the Family will not supersede the love we have for God our Father and His Word. We only KNOW that we love the Children of God WHEN WE LOVINGLY KEEP GOD’S COMMANDMENTS. Read it!

1 John 5:2-3 KJV By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Word Study: The word translated “know” is the Greek ginōskō, which means “to perceive, to be aware that I am actually loving my brother or sister in Christ. To intimately or personally know”. How can I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am loving my brother or sister in Christ? Because I

love God, and keep his commandments

Illustrate: Let’s go back to God’s Israel. When God saved Israel from Egypt, He brought them through the Red Sea, gave them fresh water at Marah, and gave Israel manna from Heaven. God led Israel to the base of Mount Sinai, and told them to wait while Moses came up into the mountain to talk with God. Moses went up into the mountain, and for 40 days talked with God. We read:

Exodus 24:12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to Me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

God showed His love to Israel by giving Moses His Commandments. Moses was to show his love for Israel by “teaching them”. As the 40 days ended, something extraordinarily evil happened. The Bible says:

Exodus 32:1 (ESV) … the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

This has happened in Churches all across America. The people have said,

“Pastors make us gods that shall go before us.” And the Pastors have said, “Give us your jewelry – your treasures – and we’ll cook them in the fire of desire. And out comes the golden calves!

If the Pastors, like Aaron, had loved God, they would have refused to do this. They would have reminded God’s people that God sets the standard. Even if ALL of Israel gathers together and demands that an idol be made, the Pastor is to show his love by KEEPING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS. We love God by doing what He says, regardless as to what others may like. Aaron complied, making a golden calf (Exodus 32:4). Too many Pastors today comply with the desires of the people. Is God pleased No, for He told Moses:

Exodus 32:8-10 (ESV) They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them …

Moses interceded for Israel, and God did not destroy that nation. That was a good thing. Moses came down the mountain bearing the tablets,

Exodus 32:16 (ESV) The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

The tablets belonged to God. The commandments were God’s commandments. If Moses loved Israel, he would cherish the commandments of God, for:

God’s Commandments Are Not Grievous

1 John 5:3 KJV For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Word Study: God’s Commandments are “not grievous”, the Greek barýs which means “burdensome, heavy, overly stern”. The Pharisees were accused of Jesus of …

Matthew 23:4 … binding barýs, grievously heavy burdensome traditions on people’s shoulders … (my paraphrase)

Humans do that. People do that. They put their made up, unScriptural rules founded on tradition or customs on people. We as Christians are not to do that.

The Apostle Paul warned us all that,

Acts 20:29 … after my departing shall grievous {barýs} wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

What happened? The Pharisees came into the Churches and told Christians they must be circumcised and keep the feast days. They told Christians they must continue in the blood sacrifices – though Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, fulfilled the ceremonial laws. Christians are to keep God’s commandments, not man’s traditions.

God’s commands are not weighty, not overwhelming. God’s commands are for our good. Had Aaron loved Israel, he would have refused to compromise with their worldly mental attitude, and refused to make an idol. Had Moses loved God, he would not have cast down the tablets of stone, God’s commandments, breaking them in his anger (Exodus 32:19).

We keep God’s Commandments regardless as to what the world thinks.

1 John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Word Study: In verse 1 we saw that the words translated “Whosoever” and “every one” were the same Greek word pas, which simply means “ALL”. Now in verse 4 we read:

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh

Word Study: Again, “whatsoever” is the Greek pas, which means “ALL”. ALL who are born of God – born again believers – overcomes the world. The word “overcometh” is the Greek nikaō, which means “to conquer, to prevail, to get the victory or come away victorious”. When you are saved, and love God by keeping His commandments, you will NOT compromise with what the world says. There is no peace in living in worldliness. The Apostle said in

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Those who are saved will not become ONE with the world, but will become ONE with Jesus.

We who are saved are Children of the New Covenant. We are God’s Workmanship. We are predestined to Heaven, not hell We will follow our God! He has promised:

Hebrews 8:10-12 … I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Saved from sin and the world, we do not go back into the world. Saved from Egypt, we keep our eyes not on Egypt, but on the Promised Land. The Christian, saved for Heaven, behaves saved on the earth. If we err, we correct, we repent, we return to the Blood of Christ and to our Great High Priest. We do not bind ourselves to the world.

This same John who – under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit – wrote the text we are reading today, wrote to the Churches in the Book of Revelation. He writes to us in this Book:

1 John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Five times in the Book of Revelation John
speaks of OVERCOMING

Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh {nikaō} will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

OVERCOMERS go to Heaven.

Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh {nikaō} shall not be hurt of the second death.

OVERCOMERS will not go to the Lake of Fire, and burn eternally.

Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh {nikaō} will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

OVERCOMERS will be forever in God’s family.

Revelation 2:26 And he that overcometh {nikaō} and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

OVERCOMERS will rule and reign with Jesus.

Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh {nikaō} will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

OVERCOMERS will be possessed of God for all eternity.

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh {nikaō} will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcometh {nikaō} and am set down with my Father in his throne.

OVERCOMERS shall abide with Jesus forever.

As Christians in America, we are at a crossroad. We can choose to go the way of the world – which is certain destruction of both Church and country – or we can cling to God. I beg you, cling to God and His Word! Amen and Amen!

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VIDEO God’s Goodness and Grace on Good Friday

Posted on April 18, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

good teaching!

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Rev Bruce

A Difficult Day

According tolearnreligions.com: “Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Christ’s journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to his death.” Other blogs reference theVia Dolorosa, translated as “the sorrowful way.” Also,Debra Pedrowoffers an insightful and inspirational obituary of Christ. You can also see A.M. Watson’s analysis of the traditional celebration of this day as either truth or myth in light of the Scriptures. Yet, the day of Holy Week where most focus upon Christ’s death and burial is referred to as Good Friday.

See our video on Christ criminalized in court

On this same day:

  • Judas, overcome with grief and remorse for his part in betraying Christ, hung himself

  • Christ enduredmultiple hearings for blasphemy and sedition, and then received His death sentence

  • Christ was forced to carry His cross and…

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Drifting Away From Jesus

Posted on April 14, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Andrew Neel: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-shorts-sitting-on-white-boat-7400140/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 4.

Last week we saw that Jesus “must needs go through Samaria” (vs 4). Jesus had a divine appointment to share the Gospel with a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. As Jesus shared the Gospel with this woman, we read a parenthetical statement – John 4:8 – which said:

John 4:8 (For His disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat).

What CITY had they gone to? It’s the city of Sychar. Now this Bible is written by God, through Holy Men who love the Lord. There are no coincidences in this Bible. Every word is important. So when it tells us that the “disciples were gone away unto the city”, we need to look at the city of Sychar. This city is only mentioned one time in the Scripture, in this chapter. The name “Sychar” has an interesting meaning. The Greek meaning is “to be drunken – a place of drunkenness”. Jesus is on a mission to save the soul of a woman a a well, but His disciples – Christians – are off doing what they think is more important. They are buying “MEAT”.

Are ALL the disciples off somewhere else buying meat? No. The Apostle John, who loves Jesus, is still with the Lord. We know this because John wrote down what happened with the woman at the well.

John stayed with Jesus – but the other disciples thought it was more important to go to Sychar – a place called “Drunken” – and buy “MEAT”.

It is so easy to drift away from God in your faith. The drifting is very subtle. You have important things to do. You want to spend some time with your family. There’s something you want to see on television. You need to go to the store. So you leave Jesus sitting beside a well with a Samaritan woman while you go and do something much more important.

When we follow these patterns – when we are distracted by the less important over the much more important (Jesus) – it isn’t long before we are no better than the lost world around us. If the devil can not keep us in our state of lostness from God, he will do the next best thing for hell – he will entice us to be no better than a lost person.

Illustrate: We often see the behavior of “professing” Christians in public – and are shamed by what they do. I pulled into my bank’s drive through yesterday to purchase a roll of quarters. Pulling in behind a lady who was at the teller’s window, I could hear this woman talking with the teller about opening a charge account with the bank. I thought such things should be done inside. As she asks about the “rewards” program, and the teller dutifully answers her questions, what should have taken me just a minute is running into time. I looked to back up and go around, but I was blocked by others behind me. Trapped, I had to wait. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes pass. She and the teller are still having a leisurely discussion. I practiced praying, because I was tempted to lean on the horn. At 22 minutes she finally pulled away. When I got to the teller, she asked “How’s your day going?” I said, “a whole lot better 15 minutes ago”. As the rude woman pulled away I noticed she had a large CROSS hanging from her rear view mirror. More than likely she professed to be a Christian.

Too many who profess Christianity put the temporal and the silly above what is the most important. Our Lord Jesus traveled the distance between Judea and Sychar (a city of Samaria), some 24.85 miles. We are not told, but He was most likely on foot. This journey would have taken Him several hours, an exhausting trek, and Jesus went because the most important thing in the world to Him was that woman’s soul.

Christians, are the souls of those around you important? Or are you drifting from God, more impressed with “MEAT” than you are with the Kingdom of God? Let’s look at that word “MEAT”, what was so important to the other Disciples.

Word Study: The word translated “MEAT” in John 4:8 is an interesting Greek word. It is the word trophē (pronounced trof-ay’), and it does mean “meat, food, or nourishment”. The Disciples left Jesus to get nourishment. When they come back we read:

John 4:30-34 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31 In the mean while his disciples prayed (erōtáō, [pronounced er-o-tah’-o]}, literally BEGGED) Him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

They went to Sychar to get trophē or “nourishment”, and literally beg Jesus to eat. But here Jesus uses a different word for “meat”. This time He uses the Greek word brōsis, {pronounced bro’-sis}. The word brōsis doesn’t refer to “MEAT”, but to the act of eating. What Jesus is saying is,

“I have eaten food that you have not eaten”

This puzzled the Disciples. We read:

John 4:33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

When they left Jesus at the well, the Lord had not eaten all day. But Jesus says that He is satisfied – that He is nourished. So they wonder if perhaps someone brought Him food. Perhaps John stepped away, or the woman of Samaria fed Jesus something. But Jesus tells them:

John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

What sustained Jesus? It was that He followed the will of God the Father. The Father sent the Son on a mission. We are told in:

1 John 4:14 (ESV) … the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

Jesus came to save “whosoever will” receive Him as Messiah. Jesus came to be the payment for our sins. Jesus came to invite the lost to follow Him. Jesus was not sent by rabbis. He was not sent by the Sanhedrin, the ruling elders of Israel. Jesus was not sent by Himself. There was no inner hunger or need for power that sent Him. Jesus – Himself God – is sent by God for the most important mission ever devised. He was sent by God to save the lost.

It is God’s Word that brings life. It is God’s Word that sustains life. Jesus told the Devil when he tempted the Lord to “make stones into bread”, that …

Matthew 4:4 … Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The Disciples thought that the food they found was so very important. But Jesus told them …

John 4:34 … My {brōsis FOOD} is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish His work.

God sent Jesus to build the Kingdom of God on this earth. God sent Jesus to grow a Church, a collection of broken people redeemed by the Blood of the lamb. When Jesus preached His only sermon in His home town of Nazareth, He read from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2:

Luke 4:18-19 (ESV) …“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

When Jesus finished reading this scroll, He said

Luke 4:21 Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

God the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus “to proclaim good news to the poor … to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed”. This was the mission that He came on, a mission He has left for us to do.

Jesus Wants Us To Not Wander Off To Sychar For Food, But To Look For Opportunities
To Spread His Kingdom

John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

The devil is very busy sowing seed, spreading misinformation and confusion, and drawing people away from God. The Soniclight Commentary notes:

“Jesus’ reference to four months was probably proverbial. That was the approximate time between the last sowing and the earliest harvest reaping. His point was that between the spiritual task of sowing the gospel and reaping belief, the intervening time may be very brief.

The disciples needed spiritual vision. They could obtain it by lifting their eyes and looking on the fields of lost people, which are white for harvest, rather than being completely absorbed in their physical needs. As with physical grain, the opportunity for harvesting spiritually is relatively brief. If left unreached, like unreaped grain, people die in their sins.”

The devil does not pause in his sowing. This is why transgenderism, transhumanism, and the LGBTQ+ movement has taken such hold. Those who follow Christ need to stay with Christ, to stay true to Him. If we drift away, and start to put other things above the Father’s calling, then Satan will triumph in America.

John 4:36-38 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.

The conversion of Samaria was thousands of years in the making. The prophets sowed the seed f the Gospel in the Old Testament era. In sowing and reaping, there is often a long period of time between the two. There are crops I love to grow that take months to sprout, so I often sow in trays, and use heat lamps to try and coax the seed out of the soil. Hopefully I will have a sprout I can transplant, and get an early harvest.

But human souls are different. With human souls, “One soweth, and another reapeth”. We plant the seed of the Gospel, but we may never see the fruit bear. But every one of us must be as faithful as we can be to stay with Jesus, and keep doing what He has called us to do. The Bible tells us in another place:

2 Corinthians 9:6 … He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

What others have sowed, you can reap. What you sow, you can sometimes reap. If you sow much, you can reap much. But if you sow nothing, you reap nothing. The Apostle wrote:

Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

You ask the question, “What harm am I doing if I do nothing for my Lord?” The answer is simple. If you are not sowing, nor serving, Satan is. And there will be a harvest! There will be a harvest!

Who Can Tell What One Seed Will Do?

The Disciples saw Sychar as a SUPPLY depot for their needs, and a SAMARITAN problem without a solution. God saw Sychar as a valuable area. Jesus took the time to sow ONE SEED at a well. What happened? We read:

John 4:39-42 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them: and He abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.

The ONE SEED that Jesus planted at Jacob’s well sprouted, and went out sowing throughout Sychar or “the drunken place”. Many Samaritans came to receive Jesus as Messiah, and “besought Him that He would tarry with them”. They wanted to walk with and talk with Jesus. They were able to profess, “this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world”.

My question to each and every one of you is, what are YOU sowing? Are you as professing Christians living your lives to glorify God your Savior? Or are you only following Jesus when it is convenient? God expects those whom He has saved to live in love with Jesus. The work of God is to believe on Jesus. To share Jesus with others. To share the great love of God with this present world. What filled Jesus’ so that He was not hungry was doing the will of God. He said:

John 6:38-40 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

We desperately need Christians walking WITH Christ, not apart from Him, in America today. John Stonestreet noted in a recent Breakpoint article:

“In his book, The Way Of The Modern World, author and theologian Craig Gay wrote … The most common thing we encounter (in America today) is ‘practical atheism’. In other words, what shapes our world is not so much a proliferation of people who believe that God does not exist; rather, it is that so many people live as if God does not exist, as if God is irrelevant to most of life.”

We as Christians cannot afford to be “practical atheists”. We must live as if Christ matters to us and to those around us. We must walk through our lives following Jesus. We cannot afford to be off to Sychar, looking to feed our own bellies. Oh, that God would set our souls on fire, to share Christ and His love as we are given opportunity to do so! May God the Holy Spirit and this precious Scripture move on all our hearts, and bring us back to Him, our Hope and our Lord, this very day. Amen and Amen.

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