Sermon From A Chariot

Posted on January 30, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
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I want to look at a little piece of a story we find in Acts Chapter 8. We’ll read it first, then apply the Scripture to our lives.

Acts 8:26-35 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

God Works With His Redeemed To Grow His Kingdom

When we read through the Book of Acts, we see how the early Church – even in the midst of great persecution in pagan Rome – was caused to grow by God. The Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, just as Jesus promised (Acts 1:8; John 14:26). God’s people were willing to obey the voice of the Lord.

The Kingdom of God grows when members of that Kingdom – Christians who are “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26) walk in partnership with God, following His direction.

The Bible commands Christians to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). We are to “yield ourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead” (Romans 6:13). We are to “bring forth fruit unto God” (Romans 7:4). We do this by telling others about Jesus and the great Grace we enjoy.

In every instance where the Kingdom of God grew in the Book of Acts, it grew because believers shared what Jesus Christ did for us. God saves us by faith in Jesus. Once a person is saved, they are changed to live their lives for Jesus. An old song we often sing, Amazing Grace, says:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but NOW am FOUND,
Was blind but NOW I SEE.

Those who experience the Amazing Grace of God become workers together for God’s Kingdom (2 Corinthians 6:1). The stepbrother of Jesus named James did not come to believe on Jesus until after our Lord resurrected from the dead. James emphasized that once a person became saved by faith in Christ, then that person desired to love God and desired to love his neighbor.

A proposed salvation that expresses neither love for God nor love for one’s neighbor is a dead faith.

The loveless faith, or the faith that only loves the professor, is a false faith. James noted:

James 2:17-26 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Abraham’s faith was proven genuine when he loved God enough to obey God, laying his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice. Rahab’s faith was proven genuine when she laid her life on the line, loving God more than even herself so as to save the Israeli spies. Genuine saving faith always proves itself by outward expressions of love, first toward God, then toward others. The Scripture shows this relationship in:

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is NOT of works, but of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, once you are saved, verse 10 comes into play … For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The believer once saved does loving good works. We love God, we love our neighbor. As we love, we obey God and do good so that the Kingdom can grow.

A salvation that no more than secures Heaven for the professing believer is a selfish, a false salvation.

As we have been loved, we love.
As we have been lifted up, we lift others up.

God Turns Desert Into Gardens Of Life

Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

Let’s Talk About The Angel of the Lord: Who is “The angel of the Lord”? I have read commentaries and heard preachers who said that the Angel of the Lord is Jesus. That’s a possibility. The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament professed to have powers that only God could have. In Genesis 16 the Angel of the Lord went to a frightened Hagar, the slave of Abram and Sarai. The Angel of the Lord told Hagar:

Genesis 16:9-10 … Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. … I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

An angel proper has no power to give life, to “multiply {Hagar’s} seed exceedingly”. This is what God does. In another place, when Abraham was told to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah, the Angel of the Lord stopped him from killing his son. The Angel of the Lord said:

Genesis 22:12 Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

It was GOD Who told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1-3). Here the Angel of the Lord is speaking as if He is God. So yes, I do believe that the Angel of the Lord is a manifestation of God. The Angel of the Lord spoke to Moses out of a burning bush, and the Scripture says it was GOD in that bush (Exodus 3:1-5). So the Angel of the Lord is a manifestation of God. I have come to believe the Angel of the Lord is actually the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit was sent “to testify of Jesus” (John 15:26). The Angel of the Lord is sending Philip out to, we will find out, “testify of Jesus”.

Now Let’s Talk About Philip: As the Church began to grow, one of the things the Church did was to lovingly care for the widows and orphans. As this ministry grew, problems cropped up that caused murmuring in the Church. Murmuring is a sign that the Church is off track. We are called to do “good works”, not murmur and complain.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16,Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Good works are loving works. We are created in Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). We are not called to murmur and complain. “When the people complained, it displeased the Lord: the Lord heard it, and His anger was kindled” (Numbers 11:1). God wants us to love others, not murmur.

So the Church called out seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom to oversee the widow’s table. Philip was the second man called to serve.

Philip loved the Lord. The Lord called Philip to go to Samaria, and there he went, sharing the love of Jesus to whosoever would hear. Then the Lord sends Philip from Samaria to another place.

Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

Word Study: God sends Philip to a “desert”. Now Philip has had a blessed ministry in Samaria among those people, so it seems counterproductive to send Philip to a “desert”. The word “desert” is the Greek ἔρημος érēmos, {pronounced er’-ay-mos}, which means “solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited wilderness”. To us, this makes no sense. Yet beloved, the ways of God are often beyond our comprehension.

God promised childless Abraham a nation and a world
God told a weaponless David to fight a giant
God sent John the Baptist into the wilderness to preach
God offers salvation to the world through a Virgin birth

Illustrate: God works in the places we least expect. “God can turn a barren wilderness into an oasis with water. He can make springs flow into desert lands.” (Psalm 107:35).I was at Harbor Freight this past Friday, standing in line, waiting to check out. Suddenly the man in front of me turned around and asked if I would take him to Shephards Lumber. “I’ll pay you if you’ll take me”. I told him, no, I wanted no pay, but yes, I would take him to Shephards once we checked out. Though I sat with him in the car only a few moments, I prayed for him and shared Jesus the best way I knew how.

God told Philip to move – and Philip moved. We read:

Acts 8:27-28 And {Philip} arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read {Isaiah} the prophet.

Philip is led to “a man of Ethiopia”, someone who had been seeking God in Jerusalem. He had been to the Temple to worship God, and was on a return journey home. Along the way this highly regarded Treasurer was stopped on the side of the road, reading from the Book of Isaiah. In those days Bibles were handwritten scrolls, often secured at only great cost. This man was powerful, wealthy – and he was seeking God. God said:

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.

God loves the whole world, and wants everyone to be saved if they would. “Blessed are those who seek the Lord with their whole heart” (Psalm 119:2). This Ethiopian has been to the Temple, and perhaps has heard text read from Isaiah. Yet his heart is not blessed.

Religion itself will not bless. This man needs the Lord.

Acts 8:29-30 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet {Isaiah}, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

Philip met this Ethiopian at his time of spiritual need, and asked to help. This man is under conviction.

Philip yielded to the Spirit of God, Whom Jesus sent
to save souls and seal saints.

John 16:8-11 … when {the Holy Spirit} is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

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

The Ethiopian is ready! He replies:

Acts 8:31 … How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Philip now shares a …

Sermon From A Chariot

Acts 8:32-33 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

The text that the Ethiopian is reading is Isaiah 53:7-8. He questions Philip:

Acts 8:34 … I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

The Bible tells us that “Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus”. Philip “began” at Isaiah 53:7-8, but he did not stop there. I believe Philip shared all of Isaiah 53 with the Ethiopian Eunuch. Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of the Coming Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God told Adam in the Garden of Eden that “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Adam’s failure to obey God brought universal sin upon all of his children.

Adam’s arm brought sin on us all – and only God’s “Arm”
could take this sin away.

Isaiah 53 focuses on the “arm of God”, the means by which God would save the world. The Bible tells us that God is One, but in Three Persons – Father, Son, and Spirit. Man brought sin and death into the world, something that only God could correct. God decided to correct our fallen state. He did this through Jesus Christ His Only Begotten Son.

Jesus is Only Begotten because He is the only Member of the Godhead to enter His own creation. Jesus Christ is Eternal God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Jesus Christ was with the Father from eternity. He prayed before He went to the Cross for our sins:

John 17:1-5 … Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Jesus Christ was with the Father “before the world was”. Jesus Christ was with the Father, creating the Heavens and the Earth. Jesus Christ, the Bible says, “by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:16-17).

Jesus Christ is the Arm of the Lord that brings salvation. How did He do this? Jesus humbled Himself, made Himself the lowest of the low, so He could save all.

As Philip read Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:1-2 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

When Jesus grew up in Nazareth, He did not look like the “Arm of the Lord”. If anything, Jesus looked common, “a root out of a dry ground”. His own earthly family – His stepbrothers and stepsisters – and even His friends disbelieved Jesus.

Mark 3:21 … when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself …

John 7:5 … For neither did his brethren believe in him.

The Arm of the Lord, Jesus Christ our Savior, had “no beauty that we should desire him”. He was attacked constantly as He walked this earth. Jesus was and is the Son of God, but He was not well received. Isaiah said:

Isaiah 53:3-4 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Jesus was betrayed by man. He was “smitten of God, and afflicted”. Betrayed by both the creation He made, and the Father that He co-created with, what did Jesus do to deserve this? Absolutely nothing. Jesus’ suffering and death on Calvary was not about any sin that He committed. Jesus’ suffering and death on Calvary was about our sin, our failures with God.

Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Our healing, the fact that we can be made right with God, comes through the fact that Jesus took our penalty for sin on Himself. All of us have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Though Adam caused our fall, we willingly and often delightedly pursued darkness. Jesus Christ came to pay for our sins. “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.

We stand before God, dear beloved, a redeemed people because of what Jesus did. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace …

Colossians 1:12-15 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Jesus Christ suffered horribly for us. He was “brought as a Lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7), “for the transgression of God’s people Jesus was stricken” (Isaiah 53:8). When Jesus died, He died between two thieves. “He made His grave with the wicked .. though He had done no violence nor deceived anyone” (Isaiah 53:9).

Jesus took a debt that He did not owe, paying a debt
that neither you nor I could pay.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

It is strange to hear that “it pleased the Lord to bruise him”. I do not think that God enjoyed causing His Son to suffer for our sin. But I believe that it pleases God that His Son would go to such lengths to save us. God the Father is pleased in us when we give ourselves to His Son. The Blood of Jesus Christ brings the believer close to God. We are told in:

Ephesians 2:13-16 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

When Jesus went to that Cross, innocent Incarnate God took the penalty for fallen mankind. When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, your sins and debt are erased before God. The Scripture says:

Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

We are saved to serve our Risen Savior.

The Saved Willingly Serve The Savior

As Philip shares the Gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch, he gives his life to Jesus. We read:

Acts 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

When a person gives their life to Jesus, they then OBEY Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15), and “If you keep My Commandments, you shall abide in My love” (John 15:10). Jesus gave up the glory of Heaven for the hell of the Cross. He did this for you and I. Will we withhold anything from our Savior and Lord? Absolutely not! The Eunuch was ready to serve Jesus in any way He asked. Philip told him:

Acts 8:37-39 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

The Ethiopian’s confession was simply, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”. He believed Jesus to be the only Way unto God the Father. Professing Christ to be as He is, the Eunuch was baptized in water, obedient to the command of Christ. Though Philip went on his way, the Ethiopian went “on his way rejoicing”. Why? Because he could sing:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free,
My God, my Savior has ransomed me.
And like a flood, His mercy rains,
Unending love, Amazing grace.

The Earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine.
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
Jesus is ever mine!

May God the Holy Spirit call you to His side this very day. Here is joy – only in Jesus. Amen and Amen.

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Baptist Distinctives 4: The Holy Spirit Makes Salvation Real

Posted on January 27, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

We’re going to start in Galatians chapter three tonight as we continue our Baptist Distinctives study. Tonight we’ll be talking about the Holy Spirit of God. The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message states:

“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to under- stand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.”

When we speak of the Holy Spirit, we are not talking about a POWER but a PERSON.

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity of God. The Father is the Leader of the Trinity, the Head of the Family of God. The Son is the Mediator and the Covering for sin, the One Who made a way whereby we can come to the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Enabler, the Member of the Godhead that most personally comes to the believer. The Holy Spirit makes every Christian the workmanship of God (Ephesians 2:10). The Spirit partners with us in life, helping us to live and be more like Jesus every day.

Sadly, many in the Christian Church do not understand the Holy Spirit. Though many Pentecostal believers emphasize the Holy Spirit in their services, in many cases their services become states of confusion marked by ecstatic behavior. Our God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). Among non-Pentecostal brethren, many church members act as if the Holy Spirit is Someone to be either ignored or feared. When Paul came to Ephesus he asked the disciples he found there, “Have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed?” (Acts 19:2). These disciples told Paul, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit.” These were followers of John the Baptist who never knew that that Jesus, the Messiah, had come. Once they were told of Jesus, and were obediently baptized in water as Jesus commanded, the Holy Spirit came to these people. When these people were saved, they gave evidence that the Holy Spirit lived inside them (Acts 19:6).

A person who receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior receives, along with salvation, the Holy Spirit of God. Obedience to Christ is key! The Holy Spirit is available & active in the healthy Christian walk.

Salvation Is Meant To Be Real Life Change

The Church at Galatia was largely Gentile believers, with a few Jewish believers in attendance. The Jewish believers had come from a background where they had grown up making animal sacrifices at the Temple every year. The Jewish males had also been circumcised on the eighth day of their birth. These were laws that God gave Israel to keep. The Jewish male had to be circumcised, or else he was “cut off” from the children of Israel, exiled from his family. And every good Jew took animals “without spot or blemish” (Numbers 28:9, 11, et.al) to the Temple at least once a year to make payment for their sins. The Gentiles never did these things. The Jews had done these things their whole life. So the Jewish believers began to tell the Gentile believers that they were disobeying God by not submitting to male circumcision and animal sacrifices.

Christians are not to impose their extra-biblical cultures on others. God never gave circumcision nor animal sacrifice to the Gentiles,
but to Israel.

Though God had ordered male circumcision and animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant of the Law, these were but temporary actions. The purpose of the animal sacrifices was to simply teach the Jewish believer that the wages of sin is death – and someone had to pay the piper (Romans 6:23). Before Jesus Christ came, the animals that were sacrificed in faith, believing that a better Savior would one day come. Paul brings this out in:

Galatians 3:19-20 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

Why did God give the Law? “It was added because of transgressions”. God wanted people to know that HE IS THE ONE WHO SETS STANDARDS OF RIGHT AND WRONG, and that to SIN is to OFFEND THE ETERNAL GOD. Every act of sin brings a breach, a division between God and His created people. Sin must be covered if the relationship is to be restored between God and man. When God gave the Law, He promised Abraham that a “seed should come”. In the King James, the word “seed” is in the lower case. But it should be in the upper case, “Seed”. God promised Abraham that, through his lineage, a “Seed” would come Who would bring blessing to the whole world. This upper case “Seed” is Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16). This “Seed” will be the Mediator between God and man. The animals sacrificed were but temporary.

Galatians 3:21-25 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The Law could not bring REAL RIGHTEOUSNESS to a person.
Real righteousness starts in the heart, not in the hand.

An animal killed was just an animal killed. We as humans are broken. We are born broken. We need more than an object lesson. We need real change. We cannot change ourselves. But God can. The Jews all sacrificed animals because every Jew – from High Priest to the lowest tent peg carrier – was a sinner. “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith”.

The Law taught the Jew – and us – that by the works of our hands we cannot make ourselves right with God. We need God to make us right.

When a person is saved, God wants that person to walk with Him daily. He wants the saved person to have more than a “Temple” or a “Sunday go to meeting” salvation. When the Jew went to the Temple and sacrificed a critter, the Jew was the same afterward as he was beforehand. There was no real change. The Jew had an animal killed, but it had no real effect on him or his family. There was no genuine, God ordained salvation. The Old Covenant taught us the need of salvation, but did not actually DO anything to the believer.

Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

When Jesus came, the “Seed” that God promised to Abraham, Jesus provided a real working, God walking salvation. The Bible says,

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Jesus Christ, God become Man, offered but “one offering” for sin – His own flawless life. Where an animal could not make perfect and complete restitution for sin, a flawless God-Man could. Whereas an animal killed and a human and fallible High Priest could not be a perfect mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36) could. Jesus effects a genuine salvation. The Law is but a shadow of the Genuine. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, our status changes. We become “children of God”. We are “children of God” not just by name only, but by spiritual reality. Read the next sentence carefully:

Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

When you receive Jesus as He is, He has promised “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth … he … shall be in you.” (John 14:16-17). The Holy Spirit comes on the new believer in Christ. The Holy Spirit “baptizes” the believer into Christ. Verse 27 is not speaking of water baptism, but Spirit Baptism. This is a baptism into Christ, not into water. This Spirit Baptism identifies the believer as Christ’s possession. The Spirit of God marks our souls, and effects a real change in our lives.

A person sacrificing an animal leaves the event spiritually and practically the same as he was before it. A person receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior is Baptized by the Spirit of God, marked as a changed person. The Baptism of the Spirit actually kills the old you, and brings about a changed you.

Romans 6:3-4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The New Covenant believer goes through a marked and miraculous change. Our hearts are changed for God. We want to be new creatures, for we are new creatures. “Buried with {Jesus} in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with {Jesus} through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:12). Those who are saved have equal footing with God:

Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The Apostle is not saying that you cease being Jew or Gentile, bond or free, but that all are with equal power received into the Family of God, and become the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We are all equally children of the kingdom of God. Why? Because of the Holy Spirit Who changes us. We are told in another place:

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Jesus Christ as Mediator paid for our sins, and represents us to God. God the Holy Spirit comes to the believer, spiritually baptizes that believer, and then stays with us to mark us as Children of God.

Jesus Paid For Real Salvation &
The Holy Spirit Makes Real Salvation

The Apostle now begins a different illustration to explain how salvation in Christ brings about real change.

Galatians 4:1-3 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

As children, we were sent to school, made to learn things that we were told would one day be useful. Before Jesus came, the animal sacrifices and feasts of the Old Covenant, as well as the practice of male circumcision were “tutors”. But once Jesus came, class was dismissed.

Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

God did something through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that He had never done. He brought about the “adoption of sons”. We who are saved are no longer sons of Adam – we are sons and daughters of God. As actual children of God we are expected by God to walk with God. The Scripture says:

Romans 8:9-11 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Since Christ brought about a real and lasting salvation from sin, the Holy Spirit is freed to enter your lives, to guide you as Children of God are to be guided. The reason we know that we will live forever is because the Spirit of Christ abides with us forever. Since we are no longer under the Law of animal sacrifice and circumcision and feasts, but are under the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we are expected to walk with God daily.

Romans 8:12-13 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 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.

We are not to walk in sin. If we, like children of Adam, “live after the flesh, ye shall die”. The “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), even for the Christian. Sin is poison. But if we partner with the Holy Spirit Who indwells us, and work with Him to kill anything that is not Christlike, then WE SHALL LIVE! That is what God wants for us – to walk with Him every day, every moment of the day, in an intentional, Christ following manner.

Romans 8:14-16 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:

The Christian indeed is the one who is “led by the Spirit of God”.

The person who says they are saved, but who have no real exterior change, are no different than the person who made the animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant.

Just as God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam, God walks with the believer in Christ each and every day. This is the normal Christian reality. Are we perfect? No, but our God is perfect. Our salvation is perfect. God the Holy Spirit is perfect and faithful. He will never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Why? Because we are His children, adopted into his family, by the Blood of his Son, and by the power of His Spirit.

Galatians 4:6-7 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

We serve God our Father and honor Jesus our Savior, but we are not “servants, but sons”. We are “heirs of God through Christ”. The Apostle says in another place, “all things are yours” (1 Corinthians 3:21). We as Christians are inheritors of both the Heavens and the earth. We are uniquely children of God.

There is a big difference between a servant and a Son. The Apostle now illustrates this through the life of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. We read:

Galatians 4:22-26 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar {should be HAGAR}. 25 For this Agar {should be HAGAR} is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

The father of Faith Abraham had two sons. If you remember the story of Abraham, God called to him in Genesis 12:1-3, and told him “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation”. With those words God promised Abraham that, though he was childless, that he would one day have a son, and a progeny that would lead to both a nation as well as to blessings for the whole world. Abraham started following God at 75 years old, but did not have a child named Isaac until he was 100 years old. For 25 years Abraham followed God, waiting year after year for a child. As he aged, and no child was born, Sarah decided to help Abraham and God out. She had an Egyptian slave named Hagar, and had Abraham sleep with that slave so as to have a child. Hagar had a child named Ishmael (see Genesis 16).

Ishmael was the child of human works. It was not the child that God promised Abraham, but the child Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah cooked up. Ishmael, though blessed, was not the heir of Abraham’s promises.

This is what Paul is talking about in this section. God promised Abraham an heir, and the only heir that Abraham would have would be by faith. When Ishmael was born, he was a child of Abraham’s works but not of God’s promise. The promised son would be a miracle, and would be born through Sarah, not Hagar.

Galatians 4:28-31 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Those who are “saved” by keeping the law of sacrifice, circumcision, and festivals, are not actually saved. They are Ishmaels, children born of Hagar. But those who are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, who have put their trust and hope in Him, are children of God. God moves on them. God changes them. God adopts them. God seals them for Heaven. God indwells them. And God stays with them forever. Salvation, genuine salvation, is Christ purchased and Spirit effected. This is why the Scripture says:

Titus 3:5-8 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy {Spirit}; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

The saved are not saved by their own works. They are not Ishmaels. The saved are Isaacs, children born of promise. Saved by faith in Christ Jesus, the Spirit moves on us, and changes us to living Isaacs. We then see this change reflected in our lives, not just on the day of conversion, but from that time onward. We live and walk with God daily. “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16, 25).

The Christian is free – not to sin, but to serve and glorify God. As we will one day do in Heaven, we are to do now on the earth. We are Children of the Most High (Psalm 82:6). We are Kings and Priests before God (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). We belong to God our Father. We are purchased by the Blood of Christ Jesus His Son. We are indwelt with the precious Spirit of God. Let us live daily for Him!

May the Holy Spirit of God take these texts, and move them deeply into your daily walk with Him. Let us live for Jesus. Maranatha, Lord Jesus, Come quickly. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Baptist Distinctives, Galatians | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

And Stephen

Posted on January 24, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Deniz Altindas on Unsplash

Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

The Church Is To Give And To Love

Up to now in the Book of Acts, we’ve seen how God has used the Apostles (in particular, Peter and John) in a powerful way. As we come to this chapter, we see God using not just the Apostles, but believers in general. As the Church grows, and takes on more responsibility, problems come into the house.

One of the first internal problems the Church dealt with was how to take care of the helpless.

As we learned this morning, our God is a good and faithful Father to His creation. God cares for those who are in helpless places. The Scripture says:

Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

God fathers those who are orphaned, or without fathers. God judges widows in the sense that, if they are widows indeed, then they are to be cared for by His people. In the Age of Israel under the Old Covenant God had half of Israel stand on Mount Ebal to hear what God required of His people. One of the things the Levites were to say was, “Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen” (Deuteronomy 27:19).

If you a Child of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26) God expects you to care for the fatherless, the widows, and the stranger. When the Church began, it was filled with Jewish Christians who knew these requirements. The stepbrother of Jesus Christ wrote:

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

There is a special blessing God places on the giver in Christ. Jesus specifically taught that it is MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE (Acts 20:35). Though many have relegated care of widows and orphans to the state, originally it was God’s people who were supposed to do this. The early Church fed widows and orphans. This was a good thing. But as humans we are often terribly imperfect. The second problem the Church encountered was preferential treatment.

Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

The Church is still primarily reaching out to the Jewish population. Among the Jews,

There were “Hebrews” who spoke Aramaic and came from Palestine. But there were also “Grecians”, or Jews that spoke Greek, because they had at one time been exiled from their homeland.

Word Study on MURMURING: The hometown Jewish widows were given preferential treatment over their out of town relatives. This led to the “Grecian” or out of town Jews to begin “murmuring” (γογγυσμός gongysmós, [pronounced gong-goos-mos’]), grumbling and muttering. Murmuring is a very dangerous thing to occur among the children of God. The site BibleReasons.com notes:

“Why is it so dangerous to murmur? It does nothing but cause unneeded stress. You forget all the {good} things God has done for you. The {Old Covenant} Israelites were killed because of it. It deteriorates your faith. It gives Satan an opportunity to sneak in {to the family of God}. It opens us up to {Satan’s} many lies. It gives a poor testimony.”

The stepbrother of Jesus, James (5:9) said, “Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door (James 5:9, ESV)”. Murmuring is like a cancer that, once it invades the local Body of Christ, it can grow until it kills the fellowship entirely. The Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 10:10, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer”.

We are to love one another as Christ loved us, and gave Himself for us (John 13:34). When murmuring starts we need Godly men to rise up and, as the beloved Barney Fife of the Andy Griffith Show used to say, “Nip it in the bud!”

That’s what the Apostles did. They asked that the CHURCH call out Godly Men to oversee the ministry of the weak. Note:

Acts 6:2-4 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

The preachers called the Church together, and asked the Church to choose “seven men of honest report”. Why did they choose 7? Because they thought that number would be sufficient to tend to the ministration of widows and orphans.

Word Study on The QUALITIES Sought: These were to be men “of honest report”. They needed to have the reputation among their peers of being honest, incorruptible men. These men also were to be “full of the Holy {Spirit} and wisdom”. These men were not FULL of THEMSELVES, but FULL of God. They were surrendered to Christ, willing to serve as Jesus served. They followed the example of Christ in washing the feet of those in need.

John 13:15 … I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

The men chosen were GIVERS not TAKERS. They were surrendered to Christ and to the Kingdom of God. They lived their lives not to please themselves, but to please God. These were men who cherished the Word of God. They were wise because they loved God’s Word. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 19:7 (ESV) The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

And Paul told Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:15 (ESV) … from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

By putting these men in charge of ministering to the widows and orphans, the preachers were freed to focus on “prayer, and … the ministry of the Word”. The Church agreed to this, and chose seven men who met these qualifications.

Stephen Was A Standout Among The Seven

The very first man the Church chose was called Stephen (vs 5). Stephen and these other six men did what they were supposed to do. As they MINISTERED, the MURMURING ceased. Rather than the cancer of murmuring killing the Body, we are told:

Acts 6:7 … The number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith”

The Church began to reach even the hardest to reach. “A great company of the priests were obedient to the faith”. The priests were part of the group that called for Christ’s crucifixion. Now, through love, these “enemies of the Cross” became “children of Christ”.

At this point the narrative in Acts focuses on the standout named simply Stephen. A lot of time is taken with Stephen, because Stephen would have the privilege of being the first martyr of the Church. We saw earlier that Stephen was “full of the Holy {Spirit} and wisdom”, and now read:

Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

Stephen refused to allow anything in his spiritual walk that was negative or degrading. Stephen would not allow himself to be filled with FEAR, nor CONFUSION. Stephen refused to entertain notions of darkness. Stephen did this by staying busy in Christ, giving to others as Christ gave to him. The Apostle said:

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Where the mind goes, so goes the body. Stephen rejected the darkness, and embraced the light of Christ. Stephen did not seek a comfortable faith, but like Jesus and Daniel, willingly walked into the lion’s den.

Acts 6:9-10 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. 10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake.

Word Study on The Synagogue: A Synagogue is like a local Church, a place where the Scripture is read and studied. Though Jews went to the Temple to make sacrifices and perform certain rituals (like circumcision), they needed a local area where they could gather and worship. This could be one Synagogue with a variety of Greek speaking Jews, or it could be 5 Synagogues. It is impossible to know for certain based on the text. We do know that Stephen was known to them all, as he visited the Synagogues, and shared Christ as resurrected Lord and Savior with them all. We read:

Acts 6:10 … they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake

The Christian Is To Walk FILLED With God’s Spirit

In the King James the word translated “spirit” is in a lower case, but I believe this is incorrect. I believe the word should be upper case “Spirit”, a reference to the Holy Spirit of God. When you return to Acts 6:3 you see that Stephen was “full of the Holy {Spirit} and wisdom”. The Bible says:

Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

It is Jesus Christ Who paid for our sins by His death on the Cross, and Jesus Christ Who represents us before the Father as our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 8:1). It is also Jesus Who said, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17). When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He sends God the Holy Spirit into your life. It is the Holy Spirit that causes the believer:

To be REGENERATED or BORN AGAIN: John 3:3-8
To be ADOPTED into the Family of God: Romans 8:9-16
To be SEALED or preserved for Heaven: Ephesians 4:30
To be BAPTIZED spiritually: 1 Corinthians 12:13
To be INDWELT forever: 2 Timothy 1:13-14
To be FILLED with the Spirit’s empowerment: Ephesians 5:18
So that we WALK in the Spirit: Galatians 5:16, 25

Stephen was not standing up to these unbelieving men in his own power. He was standing in the power of God. The Holy Spirit of God was in full and willing control of Stephen. Stephen knew the Word of God, and surrendered to God daily. These unbelievers could not stand against the power of God the Holy Spirit, so they:

Acts 6:11-15 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. 12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, 13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: 14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. 15 And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

Word Study on The Evil Of Unbelieving Religion: We are told that these unbelievers “suborned men”. The word translated “suborned” is the Greek ὑποβάλλω hupŏballō, [pronounced hoop-ob-al’-lo], which means “to bribe others so that they will be stealthy with you, commit conspiracy”. The unbelievers could not win an argument with a Spirit filled Stephen, so they paid liars to say what they wanted them to say. Evil men did the same thing at Jesus’ trial. We read:

Matthew 26:59-61 the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

They did the same thing with Stephen. Their accusations against Stephen are very similar to the accusations made against our Lord Jesus. But Stephen did not try and defend himself. He kept his eyes on Jesus, so much so that the enemy “saw his face as it had been the face of an angel”. In the Old Testament when Moses came down Sinai after speaking with God, his face glowed (Exodus 34:29-35; 2 Corinthians 3:7). On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ face glowed (Matthew 17:2; Luke 9:29). Stephen’s face was glowing because he was not focused on the liars and the friends of Satan – He was focused on serving God with all his heart!

Christians, Let God’s Spirit and God’s Word Guide You

Acts 7:1 Then said the high priest {Caiphas}, Are these things so?

The devil will always give you an opportunity to cut your own throat with your tongue. After these lies were told about Stephen, the High Priest demands that Stephen speak in his own defense. At this point, Stephen could have went on the defensive, saying “I never did that!” Under the control of God’s Holy Spirit, Stephen does NOT address the accusations leveled against himself. Instead, Stephen relies on the teaching of Scripture.

The Holy Spirit empowers the believer, but Scripture is the Spirit’s weapon against evil.

Ephesians 6:17-18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance …

If you do not read and study your Bible on a regular basis, the Spirit has no weapon to yield in battle for you. The Holy Spirit came to GUIDE US INTO ALL TRUTH (John 16:13). God’s Word is TRUTH (John 17:17). Stephen had studied the Word of God while in Synagogue and while outside Synagogue. Being attacked, he allows the Spirit of God to yield the Word of God by telling the story of salvation. Stephen started with how God graciously called Abraham to salvation:

Acts 7:2-8 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. 4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. 5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet {God} promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. 6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should {wander} in a strange land {Egypt}; and that they {the Egyptians} should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. 7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. 8 And {God} gave {Abraham} the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day;

Stephen continues with the beginning of Israel in Jacob, and the story of Joseph, Jacob’s son who began co-regent in Egypt:

Acts 7:8-19 … and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. 9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, 10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and {God} made {Joseph} governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. 14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. 15 So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, 16 And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulcher that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. 17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, 18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. 19 The same dealt subtly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.

The Stephen continues with the rise of Moses, and how God blessed Israel through Moses.

Acts 7:20-38 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months: 21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. 23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: 25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. 26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? 27 But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? 29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. 30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, 32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. 33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. 34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. 35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. 38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount {Sinai}, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

I am running out of time! As Stephen tells the story of Israel, from it’s founding in Abraham to the building of the Temple under King Solomon, he is teaching them a pattern.

Over and over again God was gracious to Israel. But over and over again, Israel rejected the Grace and Mercy of God our Savior!

The Holy Spirit through a willing Stephen gives a very detailed history of Israel. Then abruptly, Stephen drives the main point home:

Acts 7:51-53 Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy {Spirit}: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

Stephen, under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, tells these religious unbelievers that they have always – from Israel’s founding until this day – stood in opposition to the Holy Spirit of God. They resisted God in the wilderness when they murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Exodus 16:2), and murmured against God Who promised:

Numbers 14:29 Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me.

These leaders of Israel were not Spirit led, but led by their flesh and by Satan. As Stephen levels charges against them, we read:

Acts 7:54-58 … When they {of the Synagogues} heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy {Spirit}, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him

Evil stood up to kill an honest and Spirit filled believer. But Jesus stood up and applauded Stephen as his life was beaten from him. As they stoned Stephen with stones, Stephen cried out to God:

Acts 7:59-60 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen loved God His Father and Jesus Christ his Lord to the very end. As we read this, we might be tempted to say, “What a waste of a wonderful life!” But it was no waste. There is a small snippet of text in verse 58 that notes, “the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul”. Because Stephen kept his eyes on God, God would plant a seed in Saul’s heart that would cause him to run into the arms of Jesus on the Damascus Road.

Saul would become Paul, the Apostle to us who are Gentiles!

Beloved, live your lives for the Lord. Walk in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, and feed daily on the Sacred Scriptures, the Sword of the Spirit. Your lives have great meaning, and can do great things for Christ, if you but stay the course. God help us all to follow our Lord surrendered. In Christ’s precious Name I pray. Amen and Amen!

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Baptist Distinctives: God Is Our Father

Posted on January 23, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Liane Metzler on Unsplash

When our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, He told us to pray to the Father. Not to Him, nor to the Holy Spirit, but to the Father.

Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Many Have A Poor View Of God As Father
Because Of Sin And Disobedience

God is the Creator of the Family. It was God Who made Adam and Eve, and ordered that they “be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Man was the lead the family, with the wife supporting his leadership. The first family collapsed because Adam did not do as he was commanded, and sin entered the world.

When God chose to save Israel, as King and Father He enacted a series of moral laws that His people were to follow. In the moral law we call The Ten Commandments the fifth commandment was:

Exodus 20:12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Word Study: The word translated “Honor“ is the Hebrew kâbad, {pronounced kaw-bad’}, which means “to bring honor to, to enrich or bring glory to“. Parents were to honor God, and treat their children as valuable and precious. Children learn their concepts of “father” and “mother” from their parents.

Sadly, many children today grow up without an understanding of what the word “father” means.

Many kids grow up in single parent homes where absent fathers are the standard. That is so very sad. Pastor Francis Chan wrote in his spot on book Crazy Love:

“The concept of being wanted by a father was foreign to me. Growing up, I felt unwanted by my dad. My mother died giving birth to me, so maybe he saw me as the cause of her death; I’m not sure.

I never carried on a meaningful conversation with my dad. In fact, the only affection I remember came when I was nine years old: He put his arm around me for about 30 seconds while we were on our way to my stepmother’s funeral. Besides that, the only other physical touch I experienced were the beatings I received when I disobeyed or bothered him.

My goal in our relationship was not to annoy my father. I would walk around the house trying not to upset him.

He died when I was 12. I cried but also felt relief.

The impact of this relationship affected me for years, and I think a lot of those emotions transferred to my relationship with God. For example, I tried hard not to annoy God with my sin or upset Him with my little problems. I had no aspiration of being wanted by God; I was just happy not being hated or hurt by Him.”

Being raised with NO view of a father, or a LOW view of a father, will impact how you view The “Father”

Baptists Believe God As Our Father Is Loving, Gracious, Merciful, And Kind – As Well As KING

The Southern Baptist Faith and Message (2000) states:

“God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.”

God desires to be Father to all who will
come to Him through Christ.

The Bible tells us that God the Father is the Head of the Family of God, and the Leader within the Trinity of God. Though the Scripture says that

Galatians 3:26 we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus“

And that we are ADOPTED into God’s Family by the Holy Spirit of God:

Romans 8:15 … ye have received the SPIRIT OF ADOPTION, whereby we cry, Abba, Father …

Romans 9:24-26 … Even us, whom {God} hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As he saith also in {Hosea}, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

Even within the Trinity, God the Father is the Leader. God the Father sent His Son to be our Lord and Savior (John 3:16), and God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to those who love Jesus (John 14:16).

The ancient Jews somewhat knew God as Father. When God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand Israel’s release, God told Moses:

Exodus 4:22-23 … thou {O Moses} shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

Israel was God’s Child, and God Israel’s Father. When God led Israel out of bondage, Moses tells Israel:

Deuteronomy 1:31 … in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

There are a few places in the Old Testament where God is clearly called “Father” to Israel. In Jeremiah 31:9 God says, “for I am a Father to Israel“, and in Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O LORD, Thou art our Father …“. In Isaiah 63:16 the Prophet says, “Doubtless Thou art our Father … Thou, O LORD, art our Father, our Redeemer; Thy name is from everlasting“. In Malachi 2:10 we read, “Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us?“.

Jesus Portrayed God As “Father” To Both Groups
(like Israel) As Well As To Individuals

Though God is referred to as “Father” in the Old Testament and under the Old Covenant, in the New Testament our Lord Jesus expands the Fatherhood of God. Among Israel God was “Father” only to the nation. Jesus defined the Fatherhood of God as personal.

John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill {Jesus}, because {Jesus} not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus portrayed God as Father over not just a group, but over individual believers. Jonathan T. Pennington in Outreach Magazine notes:

“… understanding God as Father and addressing him in this way was more frequent and characteristic of Jesus and Christianity from its earliest days.

The Gospels refer to God as Father (patēr) over 170 times, most of them coming from the Gospel of John (109x). Second to John is Matthew, which refers to God as Father 44 times, much more frequently than the other Synoptics (Mark 4x; Luke 17x). This shows that for the first and fourth Gospels (which prove to be the most influential on the church), God as Father is an important theme. God’s fatherhood becomes a foundational idea for Christianity …”

Turn to Matthew Chapter 23: Our Lord Jesus told us that the Fatherhood of God and the Family of God are to supersede all other relationships that you might have. God is our Perfect Father.

Matthew 23:8-10 But be not ye called Rabbi {ῥαββί rhabbí, [pronounced hrab-bee’], “Master”}: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters {καθηγητής kathēgētḗs, [pronounced kath-ayg-ay-tace’], “Guides, Directors”}: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Jesus demanded that the Family of God and the Christian’s relationship in that family be greater than that of our earthly families. He said:

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Our earthly relationships are to pale in comparison to our Heavenly relationships. If I am to “love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my might” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37), then my God and not my family are to take the preeminence in my life. However, I have found that,

If I love God my Father, God my Elder Brother, and God the Spirit more than those around me, my love for those around me will increase.

I forgive and care for my enemies because I love God most. I love and care for my wife because I love God most. I love and care for my children and grandchildren because I love God most. It is God Who has given these great gifts to me, and so I care for my other relationships – though God remain number ONE in my life. A high view of God as Father will give you a high view of all else that goes on around you.

The Fatherhood Of God Brings Us Into Union
With The Triune Godhead

The Bible is clear that God the Father loves God the Son. When Jesus prayed, He prayed to the Father.

Matthew 11:25-30 Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The Lord Jesus made it clear that “the Father loves the Son, and shows the Son all that He does” (John 5:20). The Father, Son, and Spirit are eternally and equally bound together in love one toward another. To love Jesus is to be loved of the Father. All power

Since the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are bound together in an eternal triad of love, when we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are drawn into this chain of perfect love. Jesus said “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus did not take power from the Father, but loves the Father, the Head of the Trinity. The Father loves the Son with an infinite love, and has given all power to His Son. This is why Jesus said:

John 14:21-24 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

When we love Jesus, we are loved of the Father. It is through Jesus that we enter into the Family of God. Because God the Father loves His creation – though we have fallen – He sent Jesus Christ to bring us into union with Him. Once saved by faith in Christ, we are to love one another as we have been loved. The Apostle wrote:

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

God is a Father Who loves us. God is a Father Who we can talk to. He is a Father Who meets our every need. Jesus said:

Matthew 6:26-33 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

It is the Father we pray to in the Son’s Name and in the power of God the Holy Spirit. It is the Father Who supplies our needs. He supplies our need for salvation through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He supplies our daily needs as a good Father will do. God marks the Christian by sending the Blessed Holy Spirit to inhabit us after salvation. Praise Him, “God {the Father} sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit Who calls out ‘Abba, Father’”.

God is a Father we can trust to be there. But if you would know God as Father, you must come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: No one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). It is Jesus Whom the Father sent (John 3:16). It is Jesus Who died on Calvary, making payment for our sins. It is Jesus to Whom all power has been given. Do you know Him? Do you know Jesus as Lord and Savior? Have you put your soul into His hands? If not, today is a great day to do so. “For whosoever believes on the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). May God touch your hearts with His Word. Amen and Amen.

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Baptist Distinctives #3: Jesus Is God Our Brother

Posted on January 20, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Hebrews.

During our “Snow Day” last Sunday, I listened to an online preacher talking about the Dangers of Idolatry. It was a very interesting sermon/ teaching, and very much enjoyed it. In the sermon the minister noted that “everybody worships something”, and that when God took His people out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership, one of the first requirements that God gave His people was:

Exodus 20:2-3 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

God identified Himself as Israel’s Savior, and Israel as a people saved. God commanded that His people have no other gods before the God Who saved them. God identifies Himself frequently throughout the Scripture, using the same terminology He uses in Exodus 20:2 ..

Deuteronomy 5:6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt …

Psalm 81:10 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt …

Isaiah 43:3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior: I gave Egypt for thy ransom …

Hosea 13:4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no savior beside me.

God identifies Himself as Israel’s Savior.
God identifies Himself as OUR Savior.

When we make an idol of anything, if we worship anything or anyone outside of the God of the Scripture, we demean God our Savior. It is God Who saves us, and not we ourselves. When the commercials today say “Keep on doing YOU”, they are bidding us to follow idols.

Illustrate: I saw a commercial for a Chevy Camaro this morning. It showed a young boy seeing his first Camaro, and falling in love with it. The boy got a pickle jar and started saving for his car. As he grew up, and time passed, situations in his life caused him to spend his “Camaro” money on other things. He spent money on a wedding ring, the birth of his children, the marriage of a daughter. Each time his “Camaro” savings were depleted, and he started saving again. After his wife died, and he emptied the “Camaro” jar to bury her, he again began saving. A birthday coming up, he carries his full pickle jar to the Camaro dealer when, suddenly, he gets a heart attack and dies. As the commercial ends, the man gets to the afterlife, and there is the Camaro of his dreams. He gets in it, and becomes a little boy again. The commercial ends with, “Camaro, the dream never dies”.

This is idolatry. A Camaro cannot save you, nor make your life better. When you die the stuff you made idols of will not be waiting on the “other side” for you. You will just have Jesus’ statement ringing in your ears as you depart into a place of separation from God and eternal punishment. Our Lord’s Words:

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

When we make idols instead of worshiping the God Who made us, we rob ourselves of a promised blessed life.

As we continue our series on Baptist Distinctives, tonight we’re going to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Baptist Faith & Message (2000) notes:

“Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.”

Within the Trinity of God, the Father is the Planner and the Director of the will of God. God the Son – though equally God with the Father – moves at the discretion and direction of God the Father to save the people of God. The Book of Hebrews teaches us many things about the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Is Not Lesser God Than The Father
Jesus Christ Is God Manifested To Be Our Mediator

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

The first point made is that under the Old Covenant (the Old Testament) GOD spoke to humanity “by the prophets”.

The Prophets Were Mediators Between God & Man

2 Peter 1:21 … the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy {Spirit}.

God sometimes came to individuals in a dream. God did this with:

Moses (Numbers 12:6-8)
Jacob (Genesis 46:2-4)
Abram (Genesis 12:1-3)
Noah (Genesis 8:15-19)
Joseph (Genesis 37:5)
Joseph, Mary’s Husband (Matthew 1:20)
Paul (Acts 9)

There are many others God talked to personally, but most people received the Word of God through a mediator. In the Old Testament God chose men to be mediators, people through whom He would speak to humanity called prophets. Under the New Covenant, the Mediator is Jesus Christ, or the Apostles that Jesus Himself chose to speak for Him. The Prophets and Apostles were just plain folk, just like we are. James, the stepbrother of Jesus notes that “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17). The Apostles and Prophets were not “super believers”, but were chosen because they were willing to be used of God. But Jesus, He is more than just another Prophet. We are told:

Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he {God} hath appointed heir {Jesus} of all things, by Whom {Jesus} also He made the worlds…

God the Father has made Jesus “heir of all things”. Why is Jesus “heir of all things”? It is because it is “by Whom also {God} made the worlds”. God the Father, the Planner and Leader of the Trinity, made everything you see and cannot see through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle says it this way in:

1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

God the Father is the Planner and Director. Jesus Christ is the means of creation. “By whom are all things, and we by him”. Though Father, Son, and Spirit were in the beginning, from eternity, with God, it was Jesus Christ Who made all things at the direction of the Father. It is Jesus Christ that makes us right with God. Jesus is Creator God. The Apostle notes this in the oft quoted:

John 1:1-3, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ is called “the Word”because He IS the ONLY Mediator between God and Man in this current dispensation. He entered His creation through Mary.

Jesus did not come into being when He was born of a virgin. He was “with God, and the Word was God”. John carefully states that “the Word was made flesh”, that is, Eternal God the Son took on humanity through the operation of God the Holy Spirit in the life of the virgin called Mary (Luke 1:35). Jesus is fully equal with both Father and Spirit. Jesus is also like us, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 9:28). As God, Jesus knows what it is to be God. As perfect Man, Jesus knows what it is to be in this present creation. The Bible says:

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

There is only One Person Who has ever been able to act as the conduit between God and Man. I believe that it was Jesus Christ Who walked daily in the Garden with Adam (Genesis 3:8). I believe that it was Jesus Christ Who formed Adam of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), and Jesus Christ Who took a rib from Adam and formed Eve (Genesis 2:21-22).

Jesus made all things at the Father’s direction. Jesus created animals and humanity. When the Bible says that we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 9:6), it means that we were made to be like Jesus, our Creator. Jesus is the “appointed heir of all things” because He made it and us. When creation fell to darkness, it is easy to understand that Jesus would be the Savior, since He made it all in the first place. Everything belongs to Jesus. Everything. When God spoke through the Prophet saying:

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

It was the preincarnate Jesus telling humanity that we all belong to Him. It is Jesus Who, offering Himself up on our behalf on the Cross of Calvary, saves whosoever believeth in Him. Why? Why won’t other gods, other methods, bring salvation to a sinner? Because Jesus Christ is the ONE and ONLY MEDIATOR between God and Man. We read:

Hebrews 1:3-4 Who {Jesus} being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Jesus was made in His humanity, but not in His deity. Jesus Christ is revealed God in human flesh. He is the “brightness of His {God’s} glory”. Jesus said:

John 14:9 … he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father …

The Apostle wrote in Colossians 1:14-17 In {Jesus Christ} we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And {Jesus} is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Jesus is God manifested to us. In Jesus we see “the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power”. The Apostle tells us that we who believe are waiting for “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ”. Jesus Christ is God. The Father, upon incarnating Jesus into the world, ordered …

Hebrews 1:6 … let all the angels of God worship him.

The Father declares the Godhood of Jesus. Jesus is to be worshiped. Jesus was worshiped. The Magi came looking for the Baby Jesus. “We have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). When Jesus began His ministry, He often received worship.

“there came a leper and worshiped Him” (Matthew 8:2)
“there came a certain ruler, and worshiped Him” (Matthew 9:17)
“they that were in the ship came and worshiped Him” (Matthew 14:33)
“Then came she and worshiped Him” (Matthew 15:25)
“came to him the mother of Zebedees …worshiping Him” (Matthew 20:20)
“they held Him by the feet and worshiped Him” (Matthew 28:9)

How could Jesus be worshiped? Is this not blasphemy? No, it is not, for God has said of Jesus:

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

As The Only Mediator, God The Son Represents
The Saved Before God The Father

There are many idols in the world, but Jesus Christ is no idol. Jesus is “Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the True God, and Eternal Life” (1 John 5:20). The Bible makes it very clear that every human is unworthy to stand before God. The Apostle said:

Romans 3:10-12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

People believe that they can be good enough to reach Heaven. The scripture never teaches such a concept. The Bible tells us that Adam’s sin in Eden brought sin and condemnation to all humanity. We read:

Romans 5:12, 15 -19 … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: … 15 But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. 17 For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Adam sinned a sin that brought sin and death into all of his children. Jesus Christ came to mediate between God and man, to bring us back to a state of rightness with God our Father. Under the Old Covenant, the High Priest would take an animal sacrifice, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on the sinner. The blood sprinkled “atoned for” or “covered up” sin, making that person temporarily right before God.

Hebrews 10:4 … it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

The Old Testament sacrifices were but temporary measures, until God the Father sent God the Son into the world. “The Law {of animal sacrifices} was a shadow of good things to come, but not in itself the good thing” (Hebrews 10:1). But then the Father sent the Son. Jesus was willing to come and give Himself for our sins.

Hebrews 10:9-14 Then said {Jesus}, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God {the Father}. He taketh away the first {covenant of animal sacrifices}, that he may establish the second {covenant of Calvary’s sacrifice}. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering often times the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God {the Father}; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

God through Moses gave humanity a temporary means by which we could make ourselves right with God the Father. It was temporary, for otherwise the animal sacrifices would only be done once, not year after year as they were. When Jesus Christ came, He came to take the place of the animal sacrifice on our behalf. Dying on Calvary, His Blood willingly offered is “one sacrifice for sins for ever”. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Blood of Christ is applied to our lives. We have the promise that “by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified”. We are not, ourselves, perfect in the eyes of the Father, but we are perfect because His precious Son applied His perfection to us. We are loved for Christ’s sake. Does not the Scripture tell the Christian:

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

We have neither earned nor deserved our salvation in the Father’s eyes. No Beloved, “God {the Father} for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”. Our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. When Jesus walked this earth, He often forgave sins. In Mark 2:5 Jesus told theman sick of the palsy, “Son, thy sins be FORGIVEN THEE” (Mark 2:5). When the Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy (for only God can forgive sin – Mark 2:7), Jesus miraculously proved He has the power to forgive sin. When a woman called a sinner washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, and dried His feet with the hair of her head (Luke 7:44), Jesus said:

Luke 7:47-50 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And {Jesus} said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And He said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

How can Jesus forgive sins? Because Jesus is not only the Son of God, but Jesus Christ is both the sacrifice for sin as well as our High Priest.

Hebrews 4:14-15 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

And again in:

Hebrews 7:25-27 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. 26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when He offered up himself.

As the One True Mediator, Jesus Christ is our High Priest and our sacrifice for sins. He “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them”. Our Jesus sits on the right hand of God the Father representing those who love Him and obey Him. We have access to God our Father at any time because of Jesus Christ our High Priest, our Savior, our Lord, and our Elder Brother. Robert Stein, the Hogan Professor of New Testament studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary notes:

“During his ministry, {Jesus} was recognized as the unique Son of God by demons (Mark 5:7), Satan (Matt 4:3, 6) and most importantly the voice {of the Father} from heaven at his baptism and transfiguration (Mark 1:11; 9:7). During his ministry, he acted as one who possessed a unique authority over the temple by cleansing it (Mark 11:15-19, 27-33; John 2:13-21), over demons and Satan by his exorcisms, over disease by his healings, over the Sabbath by his actions (Mark 2:23-28), over death by his raising the dead and at times even over the Law by his teachings (Matt 5:21-48; Mark 7:18-19).”

We serve an awesome and splendid Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord! If you do not know and live for Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I beg you, give yourselves to Him today! Our Jesus not only gives eternal life in glory, but a blessed life while walking through this maddening world. May God the Holy Spirit draw you close to Him today. Amen and Amen!

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The Most Important Thing

Posted on January 12, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Robert Koorenny on Unsplash

1 Corinthians 9:16-23 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. 18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. 19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.

Paul Kept The Main Thing The Main Thing

The Apostle Paul saw His calling as a preacher of the Gospel to be a great blessing from God. He said “Though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”. When Jesus knocked Saul down on the Damascus Road, He set Saul (soon to be Paul) apart to preach the Gospel. God told Ananias:

Acts 9:15-16 Go thy way {to Paul, and help him}: for {Paul} is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

What is interesting is that Saul before he was called Paul caused great suffering to many Christians. After Saul was saved, and was called “Paul”, he in turn suffered greatly for the preaching of the Gospel.

Paul was treated with suspicion by those he previously hurt.
Paul was treated as a traitor to the Jewish Ruling Sanhedrin.
Paul was imprisoned as a troublemaker by Rome.

And yet Paul never gave up trying to reach others for Christ. He said:

2 Corinthians 11:24-27 (ESV)Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

With all the trials and tribulations, discouragement and disaster, you would think that Paul would just throw up his hands and quit. But he didn’t. Paul had been allowed to look into glory one time, and that look blessed him beyond measure (2 Corinthians 12:3). Paul kept the main thing the main thing. He realized he was called to share the Gospel of salvation to others, to live so as to lead others to Christ. Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:17 … if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me

Word Study: When God called Paul to salvation, God promised a “reward” if he did as God required. The word translated “reward” is the Greek μισθός misthós, {pronounced mis-thos’}, which means “dues paid for work, wages, hire paid at the end of the day”.

There will be a payday, someday, for us all.

The son or daughter of God is called to work for the Lord Who saved them. We are not saved by works, but once saved, we owe our allegiance to the King of Glory. Jesus told us:

Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV) … Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward {misthós} is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We, like Paul, keep our eyes looking Heavenward, knowing that one day the saved will be with us in glory. What a wonderful reward it will be to see a lost person in glory, rather than in flames of hell! That is our reward.

Word Study: But Paul also said, “if {I preach} against my will, a dispensation” was given to him. The word “dispensation” is the Greek οἰκονομία oikonomía, {pronounced oy-kon-om-ee’-ah} which means “stewardship”.

If you share Christ willingly, God will treat you as a son. If you share Christ unwillingly, God is treating you as a servant. You choose how you will serve Him.

What Was True Of Paul Is True For Us As Well

Paul is not talking about his ministry to brag. He wants us to apply these truths to ourselves as well. All Scripture has purpose to the believer.

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

Everything in the Bible was written with the purpose of growing us spiritually to be more like Christ.

Romans 15:4 … whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Paul told the Churches he wrote:

1 Corinthians 4:16 … I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

1 Corinthians 11:1 … Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Philippians 3:17 … Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

Philippians 4:9 … Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

As Paul had a calling, every Christian has a calling. We are all ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). God could have taken us to Heaven the day He saved us, but God left us as strangers in a strange land (Jeremiah 5:19). We are all called to represent Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.

  • Both Paul and we who are American Christians have been given the Grace of unprecedented physicalfreedom.

1 Corinthians 9:19 For though I be free from all [men], yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

Word Study: The word “men” is NOT in the manuscript, but was added by the King James translators. They showed this addition by italicizing the word men. The Apostle actually says, “though I be free from all”. The Apostle was “free” both PHYSICALLY as well as SPIRITUALLY. Let’s deal with the PHYSICAL freedom of Paul first.

In the ancient Roman Empire conservative scholars note that around 10% of the population was enslaved. Freedom is a great blessing!

When Paul was threatened with scourging by a Roman soldier, the Apostle said:

Acts 22:25 … Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?

When the soldier realized Paul was a freeman, he told Paul:

Acts 22:28-29 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I {my} freedom. And Paul said, But I was [free] born.

No one chooses their own birth. Some born into Rome were born into slavery and poverty. Others were born free. Paul was “a Jew born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia … brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the Law of the fathers …” (Acts 22:3). Paul was blessed by God in his birth. Gamaliel was one of the great Rabbinical Scholars of that day. Paul was born physically free because God chose to make him so.

Even so, as Americans we are born extraordinarily free. Though some be born into poverty, even the impoverished in America are blessed by the standards of other countries.

In Afghanistan the minimum wage for government workers is $74 per month.
In Algeria the minimum wage is $156.19 per month.
In Angola, it is $58 per month.

There are worst places than these. We have the freedom to travel from state to state at will, when ever we want. God gave us this freedom for a reason.

  • Both Paul and we who are American Christians have been given the Grace of unprecedented spiritual freedom.

The believer in Christ is freed from death and sin. We are told in Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” We are not bound by sin, but are bound to a Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. We are “set free from sin so that we might serve God” (Romans 6:22). We are “dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” (Romans 7:4). We as believers no longer need to sacrifice animals on an altar, nor do we need to seek forgiveness through a human High Priest. Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). Jesus Christ is our sacrifice for sin (John 1:29, 36). Our Jesus “makes intercession for us who are saved” (Romans 8:34). As Jesus said:

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Death has no hold on the believer. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

As Christians, we are given freedom for a purpose.
Let us honor God in our freedoms.

We are given this unprecedented freedom, both spiritual as well as physical, so that we can share the Gospel of salvation with others. We are not saved by this glorious Grace so that we might coast our way into Heaven. We should say with the Apostle:

1 Corinthians 9:19 For though I be free from all [men], yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

When Israel was brought into Egyptian bondage, the Bible says they were in “bondage” (Acts 7:6, δουλοω, douloo, [pronounced doo-lo’-o]). The Apostle uses the same word in 1 Corinthians 9:19 when he says, “I made myself servant {douloo} unto all”. Paul lowered himself – not into sin – but came to each person where they were. This is the same thing our Lord Jesus did. Jesus was often found dining with sinners and publicans (Mark 2:15), and called Jesus “a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!” (Luke 7:34). Yet Jesus told the religious critics,

Mark 2:17 …. They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Paul Used His Freedom To Reach People For Christ

Being a Jew, Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

The meaning of the text is not that Paul became Jewish, but instead he followed the habits and rituals of the Jews insofar as they conformed to the righteousness of God. People will best identify with people who first identify with them. The commentator Matthew Henry notes:

“Though {Paul} looked on the ceremonial law as a yoke taken off by Christ, yet in many instances he submitted to it, that he might work upon the Jews, remove their prejudices, prevail with them to hear the gospel, and win them over to Christ.”

The Apostle took the vow of the Nazarite (see Acts 18:18) – a specialized priest in Israel and highly regarded (Lamentations 4:7) – so that he could reason with and possibly reach the Jews at Ephesus with the Gospel. We read further:

1 Corinthians 9:21 … To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

Most orthodox Jews of that day shunned contact with the Gentiles, but Paul sought out friendship with the Gentiles. Our Lord Jesus did the same thing with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:7-10). Jesus finds this woman at the well drawing water, and asks her “give Me something to drink” (John 4:7). Both Jews as Gentiles need water. The woman responded, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan (a Gentile) for water? The Jews have nothing to do with us!” (John 4:9). Jesus used this encounter to tell her that He is the Messiah, the “One Who can give living water” (John 4:10).

1 Corinthians 9:22-23 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all [men], that I might by all means save some. (23) And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with [you].

The Apostle says “I have become (literal Greek) all things to all men”. This does not mean that the Apostle lowered himself into sin in order to reach the sinner. Though Jesus was accused of being a drunkard (Matthew 11:19) by His detractors, He never lowered Himself into sin in order to witness to the lost. Neither should you, dear Christian! We do not justify what God has condemned as sinful when reaching out to the lost. But we do ignore cultural and color differences, and with love and civility reach out to those without Christ.

We are ambassadors for Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). An Ambassador lives in a foreign country while he works. An Ambassador takes his orders from his Sovereign Nation. As Christians, we are strangers and foreigners in this world. We are alive to represent Jesus Christ our Lord to a lost and dying world. Our written directives are found in the Holy Scripture. The Apostle said:

1 Peter 2:11-12 Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; (12) Having your {way of life} honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by [your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation …

We who are Christ’s are members of His Body (1 Corinthians 12:27). While we serve the Lord, we will be blessed. “A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful Ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:16-17). As the Apostle Paul had a reason to live, a purpose, we who are Christ’s have a purpose. Let us live for Him, and reach out to others with the glorious Gospel of salvation. Jesus is alive! We serve a Risen Savior! Amen and Amen.

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What Does Love Demand?

Posted on January 11, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Leighann Blackwood on Unsplash

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. 2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.

I’m sure you’ve all been in a room with someone on a telephone. Nearly everyone carries cell phones nowadays. It’s common today to be speaking with someone, their phone rings, and they put you on hold while they talk to the person on the other side of the phone line. That’s the best way to describe this chapter. The Apostle was visited by three men from Corinth, Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (Acts 16:17). These men were some of the first Gentiles saved as the Gospel was preached in the Roman Province of Achaia (Acts 16:15). Professor Daniel Balge (Martin Luther College) notes:

“We don’t know whether the(se) three Corinthians walked to Ephesus, a journey of about 900 miles, or spent a week or more crossing the Aegean Sea by ship. … But this we know: Out of love for Jesus they served God and people well in a humble, but vital, task. They reliably carried two letters and linked a pastor to his people. Thus in his letter Paul could speak timely words to urgent problems and timeless truth (in Corinth).”

A Little Background

The three messengers told Paul that the Church was in an uproar over whether to eat meat sacrificed to idols or not.

Corinth, as well as Rome, was a place where there were several very large Pagan Temples where animals were sacrificed to “the gods”. Once the animals were sacrificed, rather than waste it, the meat of the animals was often sold in meat markets at reduced prices. The Gentiles of Corinth, raised among other Pagans who worshiped these false gods, saw no problem in eating the meat of animals that was sacrificed to the idolatrous gods. The Jews, however, had a big problem with this.

When the early Church started, Jesus told His followers:

Acts 1:8 … ye shall receive power, after that the Holy {Spirit} is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Had the Church stayed in “in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea“ there would never have been a problem. The Church would have been nothing but people with Jewish backgrounds. Jewish Christians grew up with Jewish customs. Jewish Christians were well acquainted with the Law of God, and particularly with the Ten Commandments. The Ten commandments start with:

Exodus 20:2-7 … I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Every problem Israel ever had could be traced back to idolatry – so Jewish Christians would be especially frightened of anything idolatrous.

The Jews knew that God was the Only God, and would not worship any other god, Roman or not. Jewish Christians were united in the fact that they would not have anything to do with idols. They would not go into an idolatrous temple, and no Jew would eat meat from animals that were sacrificed the idols.

While the Gospel was going to Jerusalem and Judea, all Christians were Jewish Christians. But as the Gospel went out to “Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth“, Gentiles began to come into the Church. And as these Gentiles came, they brought with them their backgrounds, and traditions that they had grown up with. BEFORE the Apostle Peter was led by God to the Roman stronghold of Caesarea to the home of a Centurion called Cornelius (Acts 10:1), God gave Peter a vision. Peter was praying at lunchtime – about noon. The Bible says:

Acts 10:10-16 … {Peter while praying} became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

As a Christian from an Orthodox Jewish background, Peter had never eaten what the Jews considered “unclean”. But as the Lord gave Peter this vision, Peter was told to eat all manner of edible meats. Peter naturally replied with, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean“. As an ethnic Jew Peter had never eaten what the Lord called forbidden. But the Lord told Him, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common“. The rules were changed by Jesus. Now that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, the animal sacrifices, and the issue of clean and unclean, no longer applies. In fact, Jesus, when He walked this earth, “declared all foods clean” (see Mark 7:19). Christians are not forbidden to eat any foods that they feel comfortable eating.

Once the Church began to receive Gentile converts to the faith, and began to bring their customs into the Church, it began to cause arguments between Jews & Gentiles.

In one of the first business meetings of the early Church missionaries were sent out to the Gentiles. Though Gentiles who were saved by faith in Christ were not required to be circumcised (as all ethnic Jews were circumcised), they were nonetheless told:

Acts 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Gentiles were not required to keep the Law of Moses once saved, but were told to “keep themselves from things offered to idols” (Acts 21:25). But here we’ve got a problem.

Jesus told His disciples that all foods are clean.
Jesus told Peter in the vision that all meats are clean.
Jewish Church leadership told Gentiles not to eat things offered to idols.
Gentiles who are saved are eating meats offered to idols.
Jewish Christians are offended by meats offered to idols.

This is a big mess in Corinth, and not just at Corinth, but in Rome as well. In Romans chapter 14 the Apostle deals with the same problem he is dealing with in this chapter of Corinthians. So the local Churches, instead of growing, are fighting internally. Stalled spiritually, the Corinthian and Roman congregations are busy arguing about who is right, while they should be sharing the Gospel.

The devil loves that!

It Doesn’t Matter Who Wins The Argument
Love Is The Key!

1 Corinthians 8:1-2 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. 2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

On the matter of “things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge“. Both sides knew that they were right. The Jews, with a long cultural heritage of avoiding idolatry, knew that any compromise with idolatry is a slippery slope. Some of the Jews that are now Christians perhaps used to be Scribes or, like Paul, Pharisees. They were well versed in the Law, and knew how idolatry had hurt Israel. “We know we are RIGHT”.

The Gentiles, saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knew that an idol is nothing but a figment of a man’s imagination. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 115:3-7 OUR God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 4 THEIR idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

The God we serve is real. He controls all things. Our God is Sovereign, and speaks to His people through His Word and through His Spirit. But THEIR idols are just made up things, nothings, ciphers. “They have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths” (Psalm 135:16-18). They are just dead statues, empty things. If I as a Gentile eat discounted meat from a Disneyland Temple, what does it matter? After all, meat is meat. And Jesus said all food is clean!

So both sides are right, and the other side is wrong. There was an old song years ago that said:

There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong

The Apostle says:

Knowledge puffeth up

Word Study: “I KNOW that I’M RIGHT”. You may be right. Both sides may have a kernel of right. But “Knowledge puffeth up“. The phrase “puffeth up“ is the Greek φυσιόω physióō, {pronounced foo-see-o’-o}, which means “to cause to swell up, to make yourself lofty, to be proud”. The image is of a weight lifter who, posing for the crowd, swells up his chest and thumps it, much like Tarzan would do. Consider who were the ones who ordered Jesus to His death. They were all knowledgeable people. Those on Jesus’ Death Row Committee were:

Scribes
Pharisees
Sadducees
Priests
Politicians

Everyone of them had “knowledge”, so much knowledge that they executed Jesus Christ, the Messiah. They knew what they knew. But the Apostle said, “none of the princes of this world knew {Jesus was Messiah}: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory“. Knowledge puffeth up! Knowledge often gives us a swelled head.

… but charity edifieth

Word Study: The Greek agapē oikodomeō, “love builds the House”. The Bible says in Psalm 127:1, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it”. When I have KNOWLEDGE this puffs me up, and those who follow me. But when I have love as Jesus wants us to love, then the House of God, the Church, will grow into a beautiful Temple that honors God. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

As humans, we always think we know everything. Yet truthfully, our knowledge is so very finite.

  • Darryl Zanuck of 20th Century Fox, in 1946 said “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night”.
  • The Surgeon General of the United States (1967) William Stewart said, “The time has come to close the book on infectious diseases. We have basically wiped out infection in the United States”.
  • Back in 1977, Ken Olson (Chairman & Founder Digital Equipment Corp) said, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home”.
  • In 1995, Robert Metcalfe the developer of the Ethernet said, “I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse”.

We all think we know so very much. But in time, we discover what we thought we knew, was incomplete, or inaccurate. The only time we will have full knowledge is when we are face to face with Jesus in eternity. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Only God knows what is best at all times. Only God possesses all knowledge. We know so very little, even with all of our technology. Though our knowledge grows, errs, and often goes out the window, one thing we can know with all certainty:

1 Corinthians 8:3 But if any man love God, the same is known of Him.

If you love God – if you love the Lord Jesus and follow His will – He has promised:

John 14:15-16 If ye love Me, keep My commandments. 16. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;

John 15:10-14 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Being right with God is a simple matter of “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind“. Love God more than you love anything or anyone else. If you love God, God knows you, for you are His Child. If you love God, you will do as God said, and “love one another, as {Jesus has} loved you“. Love is the guiding truth and the strength of the Christian faith.

The Mature Believer Knows That An Idol Is Nothing

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

We know that there are many “that are called gods“ by many different people. One article I read noted:

“Throughout recorded history, we can count between 8,000 and 12,000 gods who have been worshiped.”

As the Apostle said, “there be gods many, and lords many“. But for the believer in Christ, “there is but one God, the Father“. The Bible teaches there is but ONE God, the Triune God of Scripture. The testimony of Scripture is “the Lord He is God; there is none else beside Him” (Deuteronomy 4:35). “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else” (Deuteronomy 4:39). Throughout the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to His people as Yahweh, Elohim, El Shaddai, and other descriptive titles. But in the New Testament God is revealed to us as “Father”. Though God was called “Father” in a few Old Testament texts (see Deuteronomy 32:5-6; Isaiah 63:16; 64:8; Jeremiah 31:9,20; Hosea 11:3-4; Malachi 1:6; 2:10), it was only when Jesus Christ came from Heaven to Earth that we fully learned this loving aspect of God. God is our “Father”. Jesus told us to pray:

Matthew 6:9 … Our FATHER which art in Heaven …

Jesus commanded us, in Matthew 23:9 “call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven“. Jesus saw the phrase “Father” as a precious statement as to how much God loves us all. There is “one God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in us all” (Ephesians 4:6). Oh, how God loves us. There is one God the Father, “of whom are all things, and we in him“.

And there is “one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him“. Jesus Christ is our “Lord“. In His title “Lord“ we acknowledge Him as the Ruler of our lives, and co-equal to God the Father. Jesus is called “the great GOD and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). We are saved because of the great love that Jesus has for us. He gave His everything on the Cross of Calvary so that we might be saved.

It is God’s love that SOUGHT us out, and God’s love that SAVED us. It is God’s love that SECURES us for Heaven, and God’s love that STAYS with us daily.

If you love God, believing in Jesus Christ Whom He hath sent, then God loves us, and brings us into His family. We do not earn nor deserve this salvation that the Lord bestows on the believer. It is all of grace, all of love.

God’s Actions Matter, Our Actions Matter

Even though we knew little, and know little still, God reached out through space and time to save us by the sacrifice of His Beloved Son. Because Jesus died for us, we are born again into the family of God by faith in Him. God’s actions showed us that He loves us. Jesus’ actions show that He loves us. As the Apostle says:

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We know and understand very little about God, other than the fact that He loves us. We are also to love one another. Returning to the explosive subject of eating meat once offered to idols the Apostle says:

1 Corinthians 8:7-9 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. 9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.

We as Christians have the liberty to eat any type of meat that we want to eat. But not every Christian understands this truth. The Jewish Christian, raised to despise anything related to an idol, is offended by anyone eating idolatrous meat. I have liberty, but I need to be careful lest my “liberty“ trip another up in his or her Christian walk. The Apostle says:

1 Corinthians 8:10-13 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; 11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

This scripture can be applied to many things in our world today. We as believers are to walk with love toward those around us. As Christians, we have wonderful and glorious liberty. And yet, I must never use my liberty without first asking myself, “how does my brother or sister believe about this?”. In the Church at Rome the Apostle tackled the same problem. He wrote:

Romans 14:1-4 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Love should be the governor on all of our liberties. As believers, we are to carefully consider the spiritual blessing of our fellow believers. We are, together, the Church of Jesus Christ. We are to love our God, and love one another as our God loves us. We are to consider the other when it comes to the “gray areas” of our faith.

Romans 14:6-8 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Let us love one another as Jesus has commanded. Let us walk so as to build up the Body of Christ, the Church – and not to tear it down. May God the Holy Spirit guide us through His Word, and to His Will. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen and Amen.

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What’s Your Power Source, Part 3

Posted on January 9, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter four.

Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash

I have a workshop outside my home, one that I love to go and tinker in. I love woodworking. I love taking raw wood, and turning it into attractive and useful things. There’s a pleasure in working with your hands and your mind. Anyway, I have three basic types of tools in my shop.

  • I have tools that require no external power source, things like chisels, hammers, screwdrivers, hand crank drills, hand saws, etc. These tools are ME powered. It takes MY energy to drive them, and they stop working when I myself get tired.
  • I have tools that are battery operated. I love these things, because they have no power cord to get in my way. They run off of lithium batteries, which store a charge for a long time, and are able to deliver a lot of power to my tools. When the battery dies, that is, runs out of charge, it stops quickly. When this happens I have to put in another battery that is charged, or let this battery charge before I can continue my work.
  • I have tools that are power cord operated. Though the cord limits my freedom of movement, the tool will keep on running as long as I have it plugged into the wall AND pay my electric bill.

What does any of this have to do with the Christian way of life? Our God has given us resources to enable us to live in this world, but empowered by His Kingdom. Sometimes we want to live out our lives in our own power. We use our strength, just as I use hand tools in my shop. Sometimes this is effective – but after a while we just run out of energy. The Lord said:

Jeremiah 17:5-6 (ESV) Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

There are times in our lives when our own strength is enough. But if you habitually live out your life this way, after a while, life will just be miserable. You won’t see the good all around you. You’ll wear yourself out.

Then there are times when we are on battery power. We get charged up. We come to Church, and get a blessing, and move into Monday with a positive outlook. But you can only carry a charge so long. Some only read their Bible or pray on Sundays, charging themselves up. But it won’t last. You have more freedom of movement, but suddenly when life happens you’ll find yourself out of power, dead in the water!

But then, others live their lives plugged into God. This limits your freedom, of course, because you can’t go but so far from God before you pull the plug out. But being plugged in to God – this is what gave the early Christian POWER and the Church POWER.

Staying Plugged In Means Uniting In Prayer

Peter and John preached the Gospel at the 3 pm prayer meeting last week, having the audacity to preach on Solomon’s Porch. Brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Ruling Council, we read:

Acts 4:17-20 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straightly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. 18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

The Council said “let us straightly threaten them”. This is the same word in the Greek, apeilē apeileō, which could be translated “threatening, let us threaten them, or menacing, let us menace them. What they are saying is very dark, very stark, very fearful. These men were preaching Christ on Solomon’s Porch, a place in the Temple. The Council tells them to not “speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus”. Peter and John replied without hesitation, saying, “we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard”. We have no choice. We must preach Jesus resurrected from the dead. We must preach salvation through the name of Jesus. The Council let Peter and John go. We read:

Acts 4:23 And being let go, they {Peter and John} went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

Peter and John went back “to their own company” to other Christians, and shared what they had been told, fearful as it was. The Church is at a crucial cross road. Will they give in to FEAR, and allow the Council to dictate their actions, or will they plug into God.

They plugged into God. Or rather, they stayed plugged into God. They began to pray. This prayer tells us much about the early Church and it’s power.

Acts 4:24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:

Word Study: Please note that they DID NOT start their prayer complaining about their abuse at the hands of the Council. We are told “with one accord” they started praying by recognizing the GREATNESS of God. “Lord, thou art God”. This is the Greek despotēs sy Theos, which means “Master of everything, You are God”. Our God is SOVEREIGN. He is over all things, for He is the Maker of all things. The Bible says that God is …

Ephesians 1:11 … Him Who works all things according to the counsel of His will …

The Jewish Council locked up Peter and John, and held them over night in a jail cell. The Jewish Council “menacing, they menaced them; threatening, they threatened them”. And yet, our God is SOVEREIGN. He is in control of all things. God said through Isaiah:

Isaiah 46:9-10 (ESV) … I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

We pull the plug out of the wall when we begin to think God has lost control. He hasn’t. It is human to sometimes wonder what God is doing. As the Church prayed, they stayed plugged into God by praying the Scripture.

Acts 4:25-26 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

As they pray they are quoting Psalm 2:1-2 where King David noted that the darkness and the evil always arrays itself “against the Lord, and against his Christ”. The “heathen” will always “rage”. Those who do not know the Lord will always “imagine vain things”. Yet, this does not mean that the darkness is in control. God is in control. God is always in control. Though Peter and John in their prayer did not quote the rest of Psalm 2, I want to quote what is just beyond our text.

Psalm 2:4-6 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

God “laughs” at the futile attempts of man
to thwart His purpose.

God “holds them in derision”. God will triumph! As Peter and John quote Psalm 2 in their prayer, noting that David foresaw (through God) that “the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ”, they say:

Acts 4:27-28 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

They acknowledge it happened exactly as David prophesied. That the rulers, “Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together” in one accord against Jesus. And yet, as they pray this, they acknowledge that this was all according to God’s plan. God allowed the evil to flare and seem to be in charge, that He would be able to perform a greater thing.

The Apostles and the Church stayed plugged into God by rejecting fear, and embracing the sovereignty of God through prayer and united love. If it happened, God caused it or allowed it. God is at the helm,
not Satan!

Continuing their prayer …

Acts 4:29-30 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

The Church acknowledge the threatening menace against them, but rather than pray it go away, prayed “that with all boldness they may speak thy word”. They asked that God do a supernatural work through them for the glory of Jesus Christ. Did God bless them? Yes!

Acts 4:31-33 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy {Spirit}, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

The evidence of God’s Power was that the Church’s members loved one another, and loved God. They took care of one another, and preached with further power “the resurrection of the Lord Jesus”. The Apostle tells us:

Romans 13:8-10 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Jesus presented the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) in the Law as, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”. God is to be preeminent in our love. But He also decreed, “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). Because the Church and the Christian stayed plugged in to God, we read “great grace was upon them all”.

Staying Plugged In Requires Your Obedience To God

As the Church grows, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is spread, the Sanhedrin once more is aroused against it. We read:

Acts 5:17-18 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, 18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.

Had the Apostles and the early Church backed away from the Name of Jesus, and compromised with the Council of the Sanhedrin, all would have died in obscurity. But praise God, the Church did not do this. They stayed plugged into God. They continued to stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, they got to spend another night in “the common prison”. In Acts 4:3 we see Peter and John “put in hold until the next day”. They are once more put in this temporary Sheriff’s Jail until they are tried by the Council. But things are different this time. We read:

Acts 5:19-20 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, 20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary notes, “There is no prison so dark, so strong, but God can visit his people in it, and, if he pleases, fetch them out. Recoveries from sickness, releases out of trouble, are granted, not that we may enjoy the comforts of life, but that God may be honored with the services of our life.”

The Angel of the Lord is mentioned 58 times in the Bible.

  • The Angel of the Lord went to Hagar when Sarai cast her out. God told Hagar through this Angel to return to Abram and Sarai, and promised to bless Hagar for being obedient (Genesis 16:7-10).
  • The Angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac (Genesis 22:11), and promised “in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:17-18).
  • The Angel of the Lord “appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:2) and called Moses to be God’s representative to Israel and Egypt.
  • The Angel of the Lord stopped the prophet Balaam from cursing Israel (Numbers 22:32).
  • The Angel of the Lord told Joseph that Mary was carrying the Messiah (Matthew 1:20).
  • And the Angel of the Lord rolled back the stone of Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 28:2), not to let Jesus out, but to let the disciples in to see that “He has risen, just as He said”.

The Angel of the Lord is a Specialized Angel
that speaks for God.

The Psalmist said that “The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear God, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). The Angel of the Lord opens the prison doors, and tells the Apostles that God wants them to:“Go”, “stand”, and “speaK”.

The Apostles were to boldly Go back to the scene of their arrest. They were not to hide their light under a bushel, nor be afraid of men. God wants whosoever will to hear that Jesus has defeated death, that Jesus is risen, and promises eternal life to those who receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

The Apostles were to stand, to hold their ground, to “stand by faith” (Romans 11:20). God calls His people to stand up for Him, to “put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11-14). Standing is often not very easy, especially when you stand against the darkness with Jesus. David had to stand before Goliath, the prophet Job had to stand in faith though he lost all things. Jeremiah stood and preached, though none wished to hear. John the Baptist stood against Herod, though it cost him his head. Go and STAND.

God’s people are to speak in the Temple the Word of life. There is only one way to eternal life, and that is through Him Who defeated death, Jesus Christ our Lord. Go “holding forth the Word of life” (Philippians 2:16). Tell others about Jesus. What did they do? Exactly as they were told. This next section is very amusing, if you dwell on it.

Acts 5:21-24 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, 23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. 24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.

God’s people went back into the Temple and taught. They didn’t hide. They taught! Early in the morning. While they are teaching, the unbelieving Sanhedrin convenes, and sends soldiers to the prison to retrieve these troublemakers. But they aren’t there! They’re in the Temple teaching about Jesus! Finally someone comes into the judgment hall and tells them:

Acts 5:25-27 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. 26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

Peter and the Apostles are brought before the Council once more. The High Priest asks, “Did not we straightly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” (Acts 5:28). Peter and the Apostles respond:

Acts 5:29-33 … We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Peter and the Apostles said “We ought to obey God rather than men”. The Church was growing because God’s people were obeying God. The Church was being preserved because they were obeying God. The power of the Church is the “Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him”. As Christians we are to be obedient to God.

Are you? Or are you a fence sitter? Pastor Tim Burt tells us this parable:

Illustration: There was a large group of people gathered. On one side of the group stood Jesus. On the other side stood the fallen Archangel, Lucifer, also known as Satan or the Devil. Jesus was on one side of the fence calling out to people, Satan on the other side calling out to people. One by one, each person making up their own, went over the fence to either Jesus or Satan. A smaller crowd went to Jesus’ side, and about twice as many went to Satan’s side. One man who was called climbed the fence that was there and sat on it. In time, Jesus told His group, “Come now, My children, we must go home!” Jesus and His children went to glory, and with a dark puff Satan and his people blended into the darkness.

The man on the fence sat alone.

In a few moments Satan came back, wrinkled brow, searching for something he misplaced. The man asked, “Have you lost something?” Satan looked straight at him and replied, “Oh, there you are. Come with me.” The man protested. “I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him.” Satan said, “That’s true, but I own the fence.”

Matthew 12:30 (ESV)Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.

Make your choice. Choose to obey and follow Jesus, or choose Satan, darkness, and damnation. The choice is entirely up to you. May God the Holy Spirit move you to Jesus through this, God’s Word. Amen and amen.

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Baptist Distinctives 1: All Scripture Is God’s Word

Posted on January 7, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

When our Lord Jesus prepared to go to the Cross and give His life for ours, He prayed about His Church and the Word of God He had given to His Church. Jesus said:

John 17:13-17 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Jesus knew that His Church would be attacked by the lost world, just as He was attacked. Throughout His ministry Jesus focused time and time again on the Word of God. Jesus gave His Church the Word of God. Though the Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, and Priests stood at odds with Jesus, our Lord repeatedly referred to the Word of God. Jesus often said, “It is written”, and quoted the Old Testament Scriptures as directives from God. Jesus knew that if Satan was going to infiltrate the Church that He was building, Satan would do so through twisting of the Word of God. This is what Satan did in the Garden of Eden when he said to Adam and Eve, “Hath God really said” and “God said you will die, but you will not die!” (Genesis 3:1, 4). Jesus was concerned about His Church. This is why He asked the Father to “Sanctify them (keep the Church out of the world) through Thy truth: Thy WORD is truth (the Bible is true).

Salvation Comes Only By Faith In Christ

I along with others who call themselves Baptists firmly believe that salvation comes only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is a decision that each person must make between themselves and the call of God’s Holy Spirit. Now, how do I know that this statement is true? How do I know that you must believe in Jesus? Perhaps you can believe in another god, or in mother nature, or in father time, or in the stars of the sky as the ancient Babylonians believed. Perhaps there are many ways unto God.

If I hold a loose, flimsy view of the Scripture, then I can weave other methods and means of salvation into my life.

Some who are Christian call themselves Social Justice Warriors, and believe that salvation is to establish a certain social order between the races. Black Pastor and seminary dean Voddie Baucham Jr said “CRT {Critical Race Theory} is at least as foreign to Christianity as Hinduism is”. Social Justice cannot fix what ails this fallen world. The Bible makes it clear that all are fallen sinners in need of salvation (Romans 3:23).

How do I know all have sinned?
Because the Bible says so.
How do I know how to be saved?
By reading the Bible.

The Apostle clearly outlined the simplicity but necessity of salvation when he (as moved by the Holy Spirit) wrote:

Romans 10:8-13 … that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 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. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Salvation is a confession that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and that Jesus has risen from the dead. These are not works, but acts of faith that come from a heart opened by God the Holy Spirit to receive and believe on these truths. This is what we believe as Baptists.

Our starting place for defining salvation
is what the Bible has to say about it

Baptists Are People Of “The Book”

It might surprise you to know that there are 45,000 denominations of Christians globally. Though there are an estimated 2 billion professing Christians in the world today, we have separated ourselves into thousands of denominations.

What about Baptists? Do we all believe the same? No. Even among Baptists there are many different sects or denominations. In America there are – as noted by Baylor University – 19 Baptist denominations. A partial list of these is:

Alliance of Baptists
American Baptist Association
American Baptist Churches USA
Conservative Baptist Association
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches
National Association Of Free Will Baptists
Pentecostal Free Will Baptists
Primitive Baptists
Progressive National Baptist Convention
Seventh Day Baptists
Southern Baptist Convention

Of these various groups:

  • Some Baptists are Reformed or call themselves Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists. They believe that God elects or chooses certain souls to salvation, and that only those so elected can possibly be saved.
  • Some Baptists worship only only Saturday, as the Seventh Day Adventists do.
  • Some Baptists consider not only the Lord’s Table and Baptism to be ordinances, but also consider foot washing to be an ordinance (something a Christian is ORDERED to do by Jesus). There are no Baptists who consider these actions to be sacraments, a necessary practice in order to be saved. Baptists universally believe salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone (Solus Christus).
  • Some Baptists adhere to the King James Version of the Scripture as the only true Bible. I believe this is a very narrow view of Scripture, as all Scripture is compiled and translated from ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, Chaldean, and Greek manuscripts. To say that the King James Version is the only version of the Bible is to say that Christians prior to 1611 had no access to God’s Holy Word, which is patently untrue. The Geneva Bible of 1560 was read by Christians prior to the King James. One of the earliest Bible translations into English was the Tyndale Bible (1522-1536). This Bible was also one of the earliest Bibles mass produced because of new advances in the art of printing. I preach from the King James because I choose to do so.

I’ve talked about the differences between Baptists – but what do we have in common. Baptists have a HIGH VIEW of Scripture.

Though we differ in some areas, we as Baptists believe the Scripture to be God breathed, God inspired, and God ordered. In most Baptist Churches the first thing you see on entering the sanctuary is the Bible on the Lord’s Table.

At this Church we are members of the Southern Baptist Convention, and if we are asked what we believe (a statement of faith) we refer to the Baptist Faith and Message. The Baptist Faith and Message is a general overview of what Southern Baptists believe. The very first article of the Baptist Faith and Message is:

“I. The Scriptures: The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.”

This statement is what led me to become a Southern Baptist. I am proud that we bind together with other believing Baptists to support missions throughout the world. I feel blessed that, as Southern Baptists, we believe in the autonomy of the local Church. There are no hierarchies of rulers above us.

We are a body of believer-priests, led by a believer-priest called Pastor, and are directed and ultimately led by the Holy Scripture and the Holy Spirit of God for the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the Spirit and the Scripture that binds us together. This is what Jesus envisioned.

If you believe God’s Word to be true in all that it affirms, then what you believe effects what you do. For instance, if you believe as Jesus did that “Thy Word, O God, is truth”, then that belief effects everything religious you do.

Your View Of Scripture Effects
Your Walk With And Service To Jesus

For instance, Baptists believe that genuine Baptism is a command (an ordinance) that a Christian must obey of their own free will. Further, Baptists believe that a person must go down into the water, and come up out of the water to be properly baptized. Why do we believe this? Because the Bible says so.

Baptism is a command (an ordinance or an order from Jesus) because the Bible says Jesus said so. We often quote what we commonly call “The Great Commission” where Jesus commanded us:

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Jesus commanded baptism of those who believed in Him. It is an ordinance, an order from our Lord. As Baptists we believe that a person is baptized not by sprinkling or pouring, but by immersion in water. Why be so picky? Because the Bible says so. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (yes, Jesus was baptized, too), we read:

Mark 1:10-11 .. And straightway coming up out of the water, {Jesus} saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus came “up out of the water“. John did not sprinkle Him, nor pour water on Jesus. The Bible tells us that John the Baptist

John 3:23 … was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

John chose where he baptized carefully, making sure there was “much water there“. If he were baptizing from a cup or a fount, the amount of water would not have mattered. John baptized by immersion.

Word Study: Further, the word “baptize” is transliterated from the Greek βαπτίζω baptízō, {pronounced bap-tid’-zo}, which means “to immerse, to submerge, to make fully wet”. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance notes, “used only in the New Testament of ceremonial {washing}“. Further, the Scripture compares baptism to a symbol of death in:

Romans 6:3-5 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

When the disciple goes down into the water, this is symbolic of their death to their old way of life. When they come up out of the water this is symbolic of their resurrection into new life with Jesus Christ as their Lord. In the early Church baptism was by immersion in water. For instance, when Philip led the Ethiopian Eunuch to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior …

Acts 8:36-39 … the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

Preach: As Baptists, we do not receive new members onto the written roll of the Church until the convert is baptized by immersion. We see baptism as an ordinance. If you will not obey Jesus in this simple ordinance, we do not want you on the roll! However, we do not say that those who are baptized by sprinkling or by pouring are not Christians. Baptism is an ordinance, a command, but not a sacrament.

A sacrament is an action that one must perform in order to be saved. We do not believe baptism to be a sacrament. Why? Because the Scripture says so.

When Jesus was on the Cross dying for our sins, a thief that hung near our Lord believed on Jesus. He said, “Jesus, LORD, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom“. Jesus told that thief, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:41-43). The Scripture tells us that Jesus promised this totally unbaptized man that he would be with Him – that very day – in Paradise or Heaven. If Baptism were a SACRAMENT, then Jesus would not have promised this man Paradise with Him.

Jesus never disobeyed the decreetive will of God.

Baptism is clearly NOT a sacrament, a necessary function of salvation. It is, however, an ordinance or a command from Jesus. And Jesus said, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). If you love Jesus, you WILL be baptized or your own volition!

We do not baptize babies. There is no place in scripture where a baby was ever baptized by anyone. Baptism is a decision freely reached by the convert.

The Catholic Church baptizes babies because it considers water baptism a sacrament, or a necessary part of grace

This is probably what prompted that sect to baptize by sprinkling from a fount or chalice. If you force a baby underwater, it is cruel, and leads to choking! One of the major differences between Baptist Churches and Churches of Christ is that the Church of Christ views baptism to be a sacrament, or a necessary part of salvation.

The Church of Christ along with the Catholic Church believe in the doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration

An online commentary I love to visit called “Got Questions” notes:

“The problem with this viewpoint is that there are biblical passages that clearly and explicitly declare faith to be the only requirement for salvation. John 3:16, one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” In Acts 16:30, the Philippian jailer asks the Apostle Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” If there was ever an opportunity for Paul to present a four-part formula, this was it. Paul’s response was simple: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). No baptism, no confession, just faith. … There are literally dozens of verses in the New Testament that attribute salvation to faith/belief with no other requirement mentioned in the context. If baptism, or anything else, is necessary for salvation, all of these verses are wrong, and the Bible contains errors and is therefore no longer worthy of our trust.”

A high view of Scripture effects how you live out your faith. Equally, a low view of Scripture effects how you live out your faith.

The Scripture Is And Will Always Be
Politically Incorrect. Period.

The reason why many people abandon the Scripture is because it is not “with the times”. But the Scripture has never been with the times. Returning to Jesus’ prayer for His Church, He said:

John 17:14-17 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

The Bible is very much a PATRIARCHAL Book.

God is our “Father”, not our “Mother”.

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

Sin came into the world “by one man”, not by “one woman”.

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The antidote for sin is belief in a Perfect God/Man named Jesus.

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

God has decreed that man lead his family, as Christ leads the Church.

Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

The leadership of the local Church is male, not female.

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

1 Timothy 3:12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

God does not undermine women by making the Bible Patriarchal. On the contrary, God used women in both Testaments to do mighty and wonderful things.

  • God used a virgin called Mary (Luke 1:35) to bring Messiah into the world.
  • One of Jesus’ most faithful followers was Mary Magdalene (Matthew 27:56), who was the first disciple to discover that Jesus rose from the grave.
  • Jesus often rested at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany (John 11:1). Mary was often found sitting at the feet of Jesus as He taught Scripture(Luke 10:42).
  • The Apostle Paul commends Phebe, a servant of the Church which is at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1). In the same chapter Paul tells us that his favorite helpers were Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3), who had a Church meeting in their home.

I could go on and on. God never undermines women, as the Scripture always treats women as precious, and just as much in the image of God as a man is. However, in God’s design, He has established men in leadership positions in the home, the community, and in the Church.

I am certain as I read these words – which are quoted directly from Scripture – there are many who are offended by them. But I can only say, “It is written”. This is what the Bible says. I do not feel the need to make excuses nor debate what God’s Word has said. What He has written, He has written. If you choose otherwise then you believe this Book is just a human book, with no effect on eternity whatsoever. Many sects professing Christ believe this. I have an inherent problem with this. If this book is just a human book, with no effect on eternity, then how can you say that Jesus Christ is the only Way unto God? How can you say that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone? If part of the Book is flawed, how do we determine the true from the untrue? Who’s to say?

It is all confusion.

For me and my house, we believe in the purity of God’s Word. We believe that it is wholly true, and valid for the believer in God for all ages. Though I and my wife love and accept Christians from all walks of faith regardless of their practice, we hold the Scripture to be true, and the foundation on which all life is to be built on. The Church is defined by the Scripture. I close with these words:

Ephesians 2:18-22 For through {Jesus} we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

May God bless the preaching of His Word, to the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen and Amen.

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What’s Your Power Source, Part 2

Posted on January 3, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash

This morning we were in Acts Chapter Four asking the question, “What’s Your Power Source?” We will shortly be in Acts Chapter Five as we continue this subject.

I believe the weakness of the Church in America today can be attributed to many programs and many human solutions, but we pay little attention to God the Holy Spirit. We fill ourselves with our own talents and abilities. I was reading an article the other day where the Author said something like this:

“God was invented by man when we lived in simpler times. But now that we have become technologically advanced, now that we have medical science, now that we make our own miracles, we no longer need God. God is obsolete. We are our own God.”

I think this is foolishness – and delusion. As Solomon said, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9, ESV). Solomon was caught up in the accomplishments and abilities of his advanced age. Solomon in his wisdom did much good in Israel. And yet, without God, Solomon said “vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, KJV). If God is not in it, if you live a life with no greater purpose than to satisfy yourself, in time life itself seems meaningless! Solomon for all of his riches and all of his knowledge, ended Ecclesiastes with:

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

This is why Jesus gave the Church, and every Christian, the Holy Spirit. God wants you to be filled not with fear, nor with pride, but with His Holy Spirit. Please turn with me to John chapter 14. I feel led to talk about the Holy Spirit prior to going to Acts chapter 5. First, let’s examine …

Who Or What Is The Holy Spirit?

Some people think the Holy Spirit is a power, much like electricity or nuclear energy. But the Bible makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit is a PERSON. The Holy Spirit is the THIRD Person of the Trinity of God. In the commonly named Great Commission Jesus told us His Church:

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

When a believer is baptized in water, we are baptized “in the name” or by the authority of God.

Note that “In The NAME” is SINGULAR, not PLURAL.

Jesus noted that the authority by which we are baptized is “the Father”, “the Son”, and “the Holy Ghost {Pneuma, Spirit}”. All three Persons of the Godhead are given equal authority and deference. As we study the Holy Spirit in the life of Christ, we see that Jesus did the miracles He did through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Mark Jones for Desiring God Ministries notes:

“Christ’s inseparable companion during his earthly ministry as a true man was the Holy Spirit. Therefore, at all of the major events in the life of Christ, the Holy Spirit took a prominent role. The Holy Spirit was the immediate, divine, efficient cause of the incarnation (Matthew 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35). This was a fitting “beginning” for Christ since Isaiah spoke of the Messiah as one endowed with the Spirit (Isaiah 42:1; 61:1). … ”

The Bible tells us that, though Jesus is God in Human Flesh, the miracles He did were through the power of God the Holy Spirit. We read:

Acts 10:38 …. God {the Father} anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy {Spirit} and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

The Holy Spirit is God. God the Father anointed God the Son with God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself said:

Matthew 12:28 if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Jesus did not use His own divine power to heal or to cast out demons. Jesus used the power of the Holy Spirit. That is, the Holy Spirit, Who is God, indwelt the frame of Christ, and operated through the Messiah.

As Jesus allowed the Spirit to empower Him, He wants us to allow the Spirit to empower us!

When Jesus prepared to go to the Cross of Calvary, He began to introduce the Holy Spirit to His disciples. Jesus told them:

John 14:15-18 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Word Study: Jesus said that if we loved Him and kept His commandments (He is LORD), then He would, in turn, pray to the Father, and the Father would send “another Comforter”. The Holy Spirit is called the “παράκλητος paraklētos, One Who Comes Alongside To Assist You”. Our Lord Jesus often came alongside the suffering and the sinner to assist them, to lift them up, to encourage them, to teach them, and if needed, to rebuke them. The Holy Spirit is “another” Comforter like Jesus was a comforter while on this earth. Just as the Father sent Jesus to this earth to give His life for our sins, the Father sends the Holy Spirit to those who obey Jesus’ commandments. The Comforter, when He comes, will not leave.

Jesus said, “that HE may abide with you for ever”.

As Jesus is a Comforter, the Holy Spirit is a Comforter.
As Jesus is a Person sent by the Father,
the Holy Spirit is a Person sent by the Father.

The Spirit is not an IT but a “HE”. The Holy Spirit is not just called “Comforter”, but also “the Spirit of truth”. It is the Holy Spirit of God Who moved the Prophets to speak and write the Scripture. Peter tells us:

2 Peter 1:21 … the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy {SPIRIT}.

Word Study: The King James translators alternated the translation of pneuma {Spirit} with the word “Ghost”. David Crowder has a song out called “I Know A Ghost”. I like David Crowder, but he’s no theologian. The better translation of pneuma is SPIRIT. That’s what I will use throughout the rest of this sermon.

The Holy Spirit is the ultimate Writer of the Scripture.

Jeremiah 31:31-32 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

But when this text is quoted in the New Testament, we read:

Hebrews 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

And in Isaiah 6:8-9 I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

But when quoted by Paul in Acts 28:25-26 … Well spake the Holy Ghost by {Isaiah} the prophet unto our fathers, 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

When our Lord Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1, He said “David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Mark 12:36). When Peter quoted the Psalms that Prophesied the betrayal of Jesus by Judas (Psalm 41:9; Psalm 55:12-15), Peter said “the Holy {Spirit} by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas” (Acts 1:16).

I could go on and on, for there are numerous references like those I just quoted. But we have seen enough to know it is the Holy Spirit that communicated the Scripture to us through the Prophets. Jesus told His disciples, “ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be IN you”. The Holy Spirit would come to take Jesus’ place. He would walk with the Apostles and all who believe on Jesus. The Spirit would INDWELL the believer, lifting us up, and empowering us just as Jesus did.

The Lord said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you”. When the Holy Spirit comes to us, He represents Christ Jesus so exactly that it is as if Jesus Himself is inside us. The Spirit represents Jesus, just as Jesus represented the Father.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy {Spirit}, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Holy Spirit comes to the believer to teach us the things that Jesus Christ said. Jesus said “He shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”. Jesus reiterates this again in:

John 15:26-27 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

The Holy Spirit will “testify” of Jesus, just as the Disciples were to testify of Jesus. The Spirit speaks to us, and we speak to the world. That is the arrangement. We share the Gospel, as the Spirit shares the Christ. While Jesus was on this earth ministering, the Holy Spirit came at times and left at times. But once Jesus left this earth, the Holy Spirit came to indwell God’s people. Jesus said:

John 16:5-8 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. 8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Word Study: The Holy Spirit came to “reprove” (ἐλέγχω elénchō), that is, “to convict, convince, refute, or correct”. The Holy Spirit would work in conjunction with the disciples as they witnessed Christ. The Spirit would only speak truth. Jesus said:

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

The Holy Spirit came to guide the Church into “all truth”. The Spirit is repeatedly referred to by Jesus as a “He”. Not a SHE or an IT, but a “He”.

Do Not Lie To The Spirit Of Truth

The Holy Spirit is a PERSON, not a POWER. The Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). The Spirit can be sinned against (Isaiah 63:10). The Spirit can be quenched or suppressed (1 Thessalonians 5:19). You can also lie to the Spirit of God, a very dangerous thing to do. Turn with me to:

Acts 5:1-4 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

So what is happening in Acts chapter 5? Our Lord Jesus has ascended to Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for His Church (Romans 8:34). The Holy Spirit was sent to the Church on the Day of Pentecost to indwell the believer in Christ. The Scripture says:

Romans 8:9 … if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

As the early Church is gathering, believers are “together, and had all things common; (Acts 2:44) And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need”. No one is making the believers do these things. The Church is loving, and love demands doing good. As people sell things, and bring the sale of the items into the Church, two followers known as Ananias and Sapphira conspire against the Kingdom of God. They could have kept the money for the sale. Or they could have specified they were only donating a part of the land sold. They didn’t do this. Ananias and Sapphira decided to pretend they were giving all the money from the sale when they only gave a part.

And the Holy Spirit knew it. The Spirit alerts Peter to what is going on. Peter says,

Acts 5:3 … Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy {Spirit}, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

You cannot “lie” to an IT. You cannot “lie” to a door, a wall, a rock, or electrical energy. Peter said:

Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Ananias had free will, and could choose to have honestly withheld the money, withheld part of the money, or could give all of the money. No lie is needed!

But Ananias lied to the Spirit of Truth. Peter put it clearly. He said, “thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God”. The Holy Spirit is God, and Ananias lied to God. Beloved, you ought not ever lie to God. God sees the heart. We look on the OUTWARD, but “the LORD sees not as man sees. The LORD looks on the HEART” (1 Samuel 16:7). We read:

Acts 5:5-6 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

Nothing breaks up a camp meeting like people dropping dead! Beloved, sin can kill you. In fact, sin will kill you. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Ananias should have known better! When we partake of the Lord’s Table, I always warn you against “eating the bread or drinking the cup unworthily” (1 Corinthians 11:27). To do so can bring sickness and early death. The Corinthians did this, and the Apostle said “for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep {die}” (1 Corinthians 11:30). It is a dangerous thing to blaspheme God. It can be a fatal thing to blaspheme God the Holy Spirit! We continue:

Acts 5:7-9 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

When Sapphira comes in, she doesn’t know that her husband is dead. Peter asks her what the land sold for. When Sapphira parrots her husband, Peter tells her “How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?” Sapphira along with her husband lied to the Holy Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Trinity. She died and was laid to rest alongside of her husband (verse 10). What effect did this have on the growing Church?

Acts 5:11-12 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. 12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

The Church experienced the “fear of the Lord”. That is, they all had respect and reverence for the things of God. When the Holy Spirit is active in the lives of the members of the Church, God is respected and His Word upheld. The blessing of the Church is in every believer being yielded to the Word of God and the Spirit of God. We end with this:

Acts 5:14-16 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) 15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. 16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Let us draw closer to God the Holy Spirit and the Word of truth this New Year. Let us do this for the glory of God our Savior. Amen and Amen.

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