Battle For The Gospel

Posted on July 29, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Townsend Walton on Unsplash

Galatians 2:1-2 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Opening: A young preacher asked an older preacher “What can I expect in serving the Lord?”. The older preacher said, “Well, it’s a walk in the park.” The younger preacher said, “GREAT! I thought it would be difficult”. The older gentleman said, “You didn’t let me finish. It’s a walk in the JURASSIC Park!”

It is a joy to serve the Lord, and I am so honored that the Lord called me to this life of ministry. But if you stand uncompromising for the Lord, you will quickly find out that we are at war. The Apostle reminded us that:

Ephesians 6:10-13 (ESV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. [12] For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the RULERS, against the AUTHORITIES, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Those who live for Jesus are battling against impossible odds. If we were merely wrestling against flesh and blood we could go to the gym, bulk up, buy weapons, and defeat the foe. But our battle is not against flesh and blood. We are warring against a spiritual foe who has been tempting and deceiving humans for thousands of years. He has seen all the tricks, tried various methods, and he and his fallen friends (the demons) are given names like:

Rulers (archē), those with vast power, Kings and Presidents
Authorities (exousia), those with judicial power, Judges
Cosmic Power (kosmokratōr), world leaders, Ambassadors
Spiritual Forces (pneumatikos ponēria), fallen demons

The deck is stacked against us. Satan and his forces are in the background. Satanic forces created “Planned Parenthood”, telling us that abortion of an innocent is no more that “health care”. Satanic forces created the “Alphabet Mafia”, who demand that we normalize that which God has scripturally forbidden. Demons inhabit “Mainstream Media”, pushing propaganda and half truths, fear mongering and deception. Evil inhabits our institutions of Higher Learning, teaching that men can have babies, and confusing as well as brainwashing students to where they cannot even answer a simple question like “What is a woman?”. We cannot battle these forces in our own power. We cannot use logic, nor apologetics.

Beloved, you cannot argue with a corpse, and those without Christ are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). Humans are born into this world disconnected from the Light of God and the Life of Christ. You must be “quickened”. You must be born again of the Holy Spirit.

Illustrate: The Christ follower is like David standing before Goliath. We cannot use a sword, nor even a King’s armor in this battle. What must we rely on? The Rock that is Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). As David did, we gather “five smooth stones out of the brook”. Five is the number of GRACE, and GRACE comes from the Living Water that is Christ (John 4:10; 7:38). We put on the Armor of – not Saul, not human achievement nor human philosophies – but the Armor of GOD. We cling to His Word, storing it in our hearts. The Prophet, attacked from all sides, was reminded by the Lord:

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not My Word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jesus Christ and His Gospel is a burning fire. It burns up sin, burns up worldliness, it burns up the Goliath of Satanic forces against us.

We Are To Keep Our Eyes On God’s Word

Last week we saw how Paul – called by Grace to be an Apostle – immediately went about serving the Lord. We read:

Galatians 1:16-19 (KJV) immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

Paul as an Apostle to the Gentiles immediately attended to his calling. He went to Arabia and Damascus, preaching the Gospel of salvation. After three years of ministry (three being the number of God), Paul went and spent a scant fifteen days with the Chief Apostle, Peter. Then he left again to do God’s Work. Fourteen years pass. If you’re keeping track, Paul was:

3 years in Arabia and Damascus
about a month with Peter and James
14 years again with the Gentiles

Galatians 2:1-2 (KJV) Then fourteen years AFTER I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Paul was seventeen years among the Gentiles preaching the Gospel. So now, Paul takes with him a young convert called TITUS, and he heads back to Jerusalem. Why did he go to Jerusalem? We are told:

vs 2 I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles

God told Paul to go to Jerusalem, and share the Gospel with them. Now wait a minute! SHARE THE GOSPEL IN JERUSALEM? The APOSTLES were in Jerusalem. JAMES, the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem, was in Jerusalem. God took Paul by the arm and told him,

You need to get to Jerusalem.
They are messing up my Gospel.

When Paul got to Jerusalem, it was not his intent to cause trouble. He tells us that he shared the Gospel that he had been preaching “among the Gentiles, privately to them which were of reputation”. He got together with the big name Evangelists in Jerusalem. He talked to the Pastors there, and shared the Gospel that Jesus had told him to preach. Why did Paul take Titus with him? Titus was a Gentile, not a Jew. He was converted to Christ, saved by the Grace of God’s Gospel. When Paul headed to Jerusalem, he headed toward a prominently JEWISH Church. So he brought Titus with him to show that God saves Gentiles, just as He saves Jews.

Interesting Parallel: When the “New World” of America was “discovered” by the Pilgrims, when a ship returned to England they carried a Native American named “Raleigh”. Converted to Christ by the Gospel, he went to England as a witness to the power of God in salvation. The same was true of Titus. Titus was raised a Gentile, and had no exposure to Judaism.

Galatians 2:3-4 (KJV) But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

At this point Paul speaks of CIRCUMCISION. God established circumcision – the cutting off of the male foreskin – as a part of the Abrahamic Covenant to Israel. Circumcision was required of all of Abraham’s MALE descendants as a sign of the Covenant of Israel.

Genesis 17:9-14 (ESV) .. God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Circumcision is NOT a part of the Gospel. How do we know this? Because it is only on the MALE, not the female. Further, those who are NOT circumcised are “cut off from his people”, not from God, but from the nation of Israel. When Paul took TIMOTHY with him to preach the Gospel among the Jews:

Acts 6:1-3 (NKJV) {Paul} came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

The Jews would not have listened to the Gospel if Timothy, who was half Jew, shared that Gospel with them. Being uncircumcised Timothy would have been “cut off” from Israel, a non-person to many Jews. To facilitate his ministry, Paul had Timothy circumcised.

But Titus was a Gentile. He was not under the Covenant that God made with Abraham for Israel. Titus was not “COMPELLED” (Greek anagkazō, under threat or forced) to be circumcised. Circumcision was only for the Jews, for Israel. It is not an issue of salvation. Paul says he was confronted by those who were those who would sabotage the Gospel.

Galatians 2:4-5 And that because of false brethren {pseudadelphos} unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

The Devil Puts False Converts In The Church

Word Study: “because of false brethren unawares brought in”. The devil’s number one target, that which he works tirelessly to pervert, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If he can pervert the Gospel, then people cannot be brought into a right relationship with God. Paul describes these people as pseudadelphos pareisaktos, which means pretend Christians, those who PROFESS to be Christian, but have not the Spirit of God nor His new birth. Paul uses the same word to the Corinthian Church, when he describes all the trials he went through:

2 Corinthians 11:26 (KJV) … [In] journeyings often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren; {pseudadelphos}

Preach! In my time in ministry, those who have been the most troublesome are pseudadelphos, or pretend Christians. They are still spiritually dead, walking Godless corpses, and are always looking to make trouble. They are in Church to try and take it over, because power, raw power excites them. They study Scripture and twist it, just as Satan the Serpent did in the Garden of Eden. Their intent is not edification of the upbuilding of the Body of Christ, nor are they interested in spreading the Gospel nor Glorifying God. They just want power over God’s people. They are not in the Church because God put them there, but are imports from the devil. Paul says that they are:

unawares brought in {pareisaktos}

They didn’t come of their own volition. They were secretly, surreptitiously planted by the evil one. It amuses me somewhat when people tell me about a “great preacher or orator” who fell from Grace, and destroyed the faith of many. Beloved, if King David could murder a man and take his wife, and when confronted REPENT anyone can do anything. Do you know how David got right with God?

He REPENTED, and RECEIVED the Lord God Christ!

He responded to the Gospel call. The devil wants to pervert and destroy the Gospel. So he plants people in every Church – yes, even ours – who will pervert the Gospel. They will add human requirements like circumcision, a Biblical command for Israel only, and make that necessary for salvation. What is the intent of the Gospel twisters?

who came in privily to SPY OUT {kataskopeō} our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage

They are SPIES. They plot against, watch the effects of the Gospel, then seek to overthrow it. They come out with outrageous things, like:

“If you’re not a member of the Catholic Church or the Church of Christ, you’re not saved.”

“If you’re not baptized by an approved authority of our Church, you’re not saved.”

“If you don’t wear certain color clothing, or fail to marry within your od given color, you’re not saved.”

“You must count beads, or confess sins to a “priest” or a “Father”, or you’re not saved”

“You’ve got to sing certain hymns, and can’t have any of that other music in the service, or you’re lost!”

I can go on and on, because I’ve seen it all over the years. Pharisaical teachings that blend Old Covenant Theology with New Covenant Truth. What did these people do with Titus? I can almost hear it. Paul comes to Jerusalem with Titus to show how God has saved even the Gentiles by the Gospel. These people look Titus up and down, and say,

“Well, has he been circumcised?”
“Does he keep this Festival, or that Feast?”
“Does he eat only ‘clean’ meats?”
“Unless he does these things, he’s not saved because we say so”

It is a god complex, a narcissistic web of evil that strokes the ego of the lost who somehow sneaked into the Church and into the Gospel. The person who points it out is not concerned about advancing the Kingdom of God, but their own agenda.

Galatians 2:5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

Paul said, “WE – Paul and Titus – did not back down one little bit”. He refused the compromise with the forces of evil. The Church at Jerusalem had already compromised the Gospel. Many of its leading citizens had compromised the Gospel. Compromising the Gospel, Pharisees had crept into the Church body, infecting the whole. Their intent was to blend the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, to make salvation a human work.

Galatians 2:6-10 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: 7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; 8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) 9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. 10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

Paul would not give place to the fake Christians, no matter how important they thought they were. Paul said,

verse 6 whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person

I’ve often been told, But Brother David, DR So and So SAID but YOU SAID, so YOU MUST BE WRONG. Well, dear friend, I am often wrong. But I look directly at the Scripture. I have listened to sermons from:

John Piper
Billy Graham
Charles Stanley
Adrian Rogers
J. Vernon McGee
John MacArthur

and there have been times when we have disagreed on certain points of doctrine. Why? Because I point directly to the Scripture, not to what some “authority” has said. Are these men greater than I? Absolutely. I remember the words of the Lord:

Galatians 6:3 if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

I am nothing, an unworthy servant. I follow the plain sense of Scripture, something I was taught years ago by those who mentored me:

“When the PLAIN SENSE of the Scripture MAKES SENSE, seek NO OTHER SENSE”

Paul, I’m sure, was held up to the others who had preached the Gospel longer than he had. He had been in ministry seventeen years, but Peter walked with Christ. But “God shows not partiality” (Romans 2:11). God assigned Paul to a mission, and assigned Peter to a mission.

Verse 7 the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter

Meeting with the Apostles fourteen years before, Paul was examined, and they realized that Paul’s calling was to go to the Gentiles while they went to the Jews. “we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision”. The only requirement that they gave Paul was that they should remember the poor. Those who are poor have a special place in Christ’s heart. He said:

Matthew 11:5 … the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor

Paul Stands Face To Face Against Peter

Galatians 2:11-13 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. {hypokrisis, hypocrisy}

The Jews under the Old Covenant had so perverted the Grace of God, that they made circumcision a point of worthiness. The Jews considered those who were uncircumcised, not of Israel, to be dogs. Our Lord Jesus Christ tested the faith of a Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter. Jesus told the woman:

Matthew 15:24, 26 … I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. … It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.

When the woman humbly replied, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table”, Jesus commended the woman on her understanding of the Gospel, and healed her daughter. Our Lord Jesus came to give the Gospel to “the Jew FIRST, but also to the GENTILE” (Romans 1:16; 2:9). But the Old Covenant perversion that God never came to save Gentiles, that Gentiles because they were uncircumcised, were to be shunned. In fact,

The Jews used the word “uncircumcised” (Hebrew ʿārēl) as a curse – much as we use the much hated “N” word today (Judges 15:18; 1 Samuel 14:6; 17:26, 36; 2 Samuel 1:20; 1 Chronicles 10:4; Isaiah 52:1)

Israel forgot that it was Grace that led them from Egypt, and Grace that kept them in the wilderness. As a matter of fact, most of Israel was UNCIRCUMCISED WHEN THEY ENTERED THE PROMISED LAND UNDER JOSHUA:

Joshua 5:2-7 (LSB) At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.” 3 So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 Now this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way when they came out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the sons of Israel had walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, were completely destroyed because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh, to whom Yahweh had sworn that He would not let them see the land which Yahweh had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And their sons whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised because they had not circumcised them along the way.

God did not “cut off” Israel because they were uncircumcised while wandering forty years. Israel did not become “dogs” because they were uncircumcised. They were still God’s chosen People, under His Grace. God’s intent was to use Israel to spread the Gospel. He prophesied this in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 60:3 (ESV) nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Luke 24:47 (ESV) repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Rather than sharing the Gospel with the Gentiles, Peter and the other Apostles and prominent names in the Church at Jerusalem shunned the Gentiles when the Pharisaical Jews were around.

Peter was not being motivated by fear of the Lord, but “fearing them which were of the circumcision”

He was afraid of being shunned for not shunning the Gentiles. I have experienced the same madness along racial lines. I refused to bow to it, and was fired from my first Church.

And I’d do it again.

When leaders of the Church condone that which is Biblically unsound, others follow. Paul wasn’t going to let that happen. He was very plain with Peter:

Galatians 2:14-16 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

When Paul went to Jerusalem – as God sent him – he initially spoke privately with the leaders of the Church there. But when Peter persisted in being a hypocrite, shunning the Gentiles when the Pharisees were around, but eating with them when they were not – Paul called him out publicly.

There are times when the good leader, the God led leader, has to call out bad behavior publicly. He does not do so to achieve power, but to honor the Gospel of Christ.

Let us all adhere to the Gospel of Christ. For His glory. Amen!

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Living For Jesus

Posted on July 25, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Spencer Plouzek on Unsplash

Proverbs 19:11-12 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. 12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favor is as dew upon the grass.

The Power Of Patience And Self Control

The difference between the television shows I saw when I was a child, and the shows you see today, is that my childhood shows all taught some form of morality. Shows on television today teach and justify immorality. That’s part of the reason our country is in the mess it’s in.

One of those old shows was called “I Love Lucy”. Lucy was the wife of a Cuban Band leader, Ricky Ricardo. In one episode Lucy bought a new hat. Ricky flared up! “You’ve only got one head. Why do you buy so many hats!” Lucy said that Ricky lost his temper too much. Ricky shouted, “What do you mean, I lose my temper? I never lose my temper! Lucy replied, “You’re the first person I ever saw whose veins bulge just because he has a good disposition!”.

They made a bet that if Ricky could keep his temper for a week, then Lucy would buy no more hats. But if Ricky lost his temper, Lucy could buy all the hats she wanted. This is where it gets funny. Lucy did everything she could to get Ricky to lose his temper. She spilled crackers in his bed, and cracked walnuts while he was trying to sleep. When he woke up, got out of bed, and tried to put on his slippers, he nearly fell down. Lucy said, “I was only trying to help dear. You never can find your slippers in the morning, so I nailed them to the floor”.

For breakfast, Lucy gave Ricky tomato juice in a “dribble glass”, which ruined his only white suit. Through every temptation Ricky counted to ten, and held his temper in check. Even his friend Fred got in on the act. He returned Ricky’s golf club, twisted into a “u” shape. Fred said, “I was golfing in Central Park, and a tree jumped out in front of me.”

Toward the end of the show Ricky was looking for an act to add to his show, and the talent scout had dealt with Ricky and his temper before. He knew if he could get Ricky to lose his temper, he could get more money for his clients (and his pocket, too). The agent called. “Ricky, we’ve thought it over carefully and he can’t do it for less than $500”. Ricky calmly replied, “I see. Well, if that’s the man’s price, that’s the man’s price. Unfortunately, I can’t afford it.” The agent told his client, “He didn’t even raise his voice.

He must have somebody else.” The client said, “I want you to get me that job at any price”. Keeping his temper, Ricky got the act for half of what was quoted, $250. This ties into our text today.

Proverbs 19:11 The DISCRETION {śēḵel} of a man deferreth his anger;

Word Study: The word translated “DISCRETION” is the Hebrew śēḵel, which means “good sense, prudence, cunning”. When angered, you are given a choice. Act on the anger, and return retribution in kind, or let it go and control your temper. People make bad decisions when they act in anger. A wise man “DEFERS his anger”, refusing to act on it at that moment. Being angry is like drinking too much alcohol! The Apostle wrote:

Ephesians 4:26-27 (LSB) BE ANGRY, AND [yet] DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and do not give the devil an opportunity.

Proverbs 19:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

We are most like Christ when we “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39; Luke 6:29). It glorifies God when we imitate Christ in forgiveness. Hanging from the Cross of Calvary, mocked and spat on, naked and bleeding, Jesus said:

Luke 23:34 (KJV) Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Even as they “parted his clothing” at the foot of the Cross. I like the phrase, “to pass over a transgression”. It evokes the image of the “Passover”, when God saved Israel from Egypt. God told His people:

Exodus 12:13, 23 (KJV) And the blood {of the slain lamb} shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye [are]: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy [you], when I smite the land of Egypt. … [23] For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite [you].

God forgave us by the Blood of the Lamb. He “passes over” out sin, not discounting it, but forgiving it because we have repented and believed in Him. I heard a Pastor say this, and I quote it because I can say it no better:

“The best weapon I’ve ever used for my soul is forgiveness. We as a culture don’t really know what forgiveness is. The best definition I can give is forgiveness is giving up your right to hurt someone back for hurting you. We’re not minimizing the offense. We’re not giving people a pass. We’re not saying, ‘Oh, you know, that’s okay’. That person is guilty, dead to rights. We’re not navigating around justice. There I some people whom I’ve forgiven even for abuse of someone else. But there is a justice, consequences for your actions. There are people I can forgive, but they wouldn’t be allowed on my property because there’s zero trust. Forgiveness doesn’t mean reconciliation. Forgiveness is giving up our right to hurt someone back for hurting us.”

Rather than let anger control you, control your anger. Defer it. Give it to Jesus. The Bible says that our God is longsuffering:

2 Peter 3:9-10 (NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

God defers His anger – and His anger is righteous – each day so that more might come to Christ. But His anger will one day be released. When it is, God’s anger will destroy the enemy, but also rebuilt the Heaven and the earth (Revelation 21:1).

Proverbs 19:12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favor is as dew upon the grass.

Some believe that, since they are in a place of power, that their wrath will accomplish much. It doesn’t. Anger rarely accomplishes anything of value. Some of the worst leaders in history were those who could not control their temper. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 37:8 (ESV) Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Anger unrestrained leads to wrath, and nothing good comes from wrath. The stepbrother of Christ wrote:

James 1:20 (ESV) For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Several years ago my dear wife lost her inheritance because of the evil that and older brother and sister did. While on vacation, we came across the brother-in-law who was also instrumental in robbing my dear wife. It was the hardest thing I ever did, but I walked up to him and civilly greeted him, along with my sweet wife. I despise what was done, but told Sherry that we would never miss what we were robbed of.

And we haven’t!

We turned it over to the Lord. We are children of the King of Kings, of royalty. “The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion”. A roaring lion often goes hungry. The young and foolish lions often roar, boastful and proud. But at the end of the day it is the quiet lion that feasts, while the roaring lion starves. Do not let anger take you. Give it to God. God told His Old Covenant Saint:

Deuteronomy 32:35-36 (NKJV) Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in [due] time; For the day of their calamity [is] at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’ [36] “For the LORD will judge His people And have compassion on His servants…

and tells us who are His New Covenant Saints:

Romans 12:19-21 (NKJV) Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but [rather] give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance [is] Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. [20] Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Do good. If you are in a position of authority, do not shout and roar like a foolish young lion, but do good.

Proverbs 19:12 His favor is as dew upon the grass.

Dew on the grass makes things grow. Let your light shine so that the Kingdom of God will grow.

Good Family Relationships Rely On The Parents

Proverbs 19:13-14 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. 14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord.

18 CHASTEN {yaw-sar’} thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

Dr Benjamin Spock (1903–1998) was a medical doctor whose wrote the book, “Baby and Child Care” (first published in 1946). The book encouraged parents to be less strict and unconcerned about ‘spoiling’ their children. Several generations of children have grown up, challenged by broken families, single parents, and permissive rearing. The renowned Roman Poet Virgil stated,

“As the twig is bent the tree inclines”

The Bible tells us to “Chasten thy son while there is hope”. Children are far easier to correct when they are very young. The Bible does not direct us to brutalize our children, but to lovingly discipline them in the “fear of the Lord”. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 6:4 (NAS) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Children raised in one environment in the Church, but in a totally different environment at home will spot hypocrisy, and leave the Church when they come of age. Parents themselves must have “fear of the Lord”, and raise the child in that type of atmosphere. My commentary notes:

“To leave a child to himself is to display a cruel indifference to the fate of one committed to our care. To be heartless and unnecessarily severe in correcting him is the opposite extreme. The Word of God teaches the happy medium that produces the desired results. The child should come to realize that it is his good which is sought. Many irate fathers who merely vented their frustrations have lost the respect of their children”

To “CHASTEN” (Hebrew yaw-sar’) the child is to use corporal means such as the paddle, the switch or the hand on the buttocks of the child. The Bible gives frequent directions on this. For example:

Proverbs 29:15 (ESV) The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Proverbs 23:13-14 (ESV) Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.

Proverbs 13:24 (ESV) Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Proverbs 19:13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the CONTENTIONS {miḏyān} of a wife are a continual dropping.

The wise child is the one who is taught by his father. The wife assists the father in training the child by showing respect for his leadership. The word translated “CONTENTIONS” is the Hebrew miḏyān, which means “strife, contention”. I remember watching the “Cosby Show” several years ago, where Bill Cosby played “Cliff Huxtable”. His wife, “Clare” was always cutting him down in front of the children, minimizing him in their eyes. The wife who disputes with or denigrates her husband in front of the children is counterproductive to the raising of the child. What fathers do matter in the raising of the child. When men and fathers are minimized, children grow up lacking proper discipline.

Proverbs 19:14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a PRUDENT {śāḵal} wife is from the Lord.

Fathers are important. Men are important. Godly men are important. And Godly women are gifts from God. When families work together as God has intended, then “HOUSE AND RICHES” – a stable home and a family that loves the Lord are what come of it. The word “PRUDENT” is the Hebrew śāḵal, which means “insightful, attentive, one who can give valuable insight or teach”. What a blessing a Godly wife is!

What if a child was raised in the fear and the admonition of the Lord, but has now departed? The parents are to do their best to raise their children to fear the Lord. But children are not machines – they have free will.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached in his sermon “Nurture and Admonition” (Ephesians 6:4):

“I went to stay with some friends while I was preaching in a certain place; and I found the wife, the mother of the family, in a state of acute distress. In conversation, I discovered the cause of her distress. A certain lady had been there lecturing that very week, her theme being “How to bring up all the children in your family as good Christians.” … She had five or six children, and she had so organized her home and her life that she finished all her domestic work by nine o’clock in the morning, and then gave herself to various Christian activities. All her children were ‘fine Christians’; and it was all so easy, so wonderful. The mother talking to me, who had two children, was in a state of real distress feeling that she was a complete and utter failure. What had I to say to her? … I said, “Wait a moment; how old are the children of this lady?” … Not one of them at that time was above the age of sixteen … I went on: “Wait and see. This lady tells you that they are all Christians, and that all you need is a scheme that you carry out regularly. Wait a while; the story may be different in a few years.” And, alas, it turned out to be very different. It is doubtful whether more than one of those children is a Christian. Several of them are openly anti-Christian and have turned their backs upon it all. You cannot bring up children to be Christians in that way. It is not a mechanical process, and in any case, it was all so cold and clinical…A child is not a machine, and so you cannot do this work mechanically.”

You can do everything right – and still have a child that shames you. The writer of Proverbs, Solomon, is himself proof of this. Solomon, who wrote “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), raised his son Rehoboam to be his replacement. And yet, the first thing Rehoboam did when he ascended to the throne was divide Israel by his pride and foolishness. You can train a child, yet the child has a free will, as does the adult.

And consider Solomon as the son of David. Though Solomon was the wisest person who ever lived, “Our Daily Bread” notes:

“Solomon’s wisdom did not keep him from playing the fool. In spite of all the insight God gave Solomon, he ended up doing precisely what the kings of Israel were forbidden to do (worshiping false gods – Deuteronomy 17:14-20). In outrageously self-indulgent ways, he multiplied personal wealth, wives, and sexual partners. … Solomon built altars to the pagan gods of his wives on the hills surrounding Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:1-8). Solomon’s life shows us something very important. Wisdom helps us only if we use it.”

God Blesses Those Who DO, Not Intend

Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger

It is so easy to become a procrastinator, to put off till tomorrow what you need to do NOW. God saves a Christian into His Kingdom to “Go” and “Make”. Our Lord Jesus commanded:

Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV) …All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [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: [20] TEACHING them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

The Christian way of life is to be lived. Churches die when its members become slothful. The “IDLE SOUL SHALL SUFFER HUNGER”. You cannot be blessed in bed. God expects us, and has called us to serve Him as long as we live. There’s an old song that has never been out of style:

O land of rest, for thee I sigh!
When will the moment come?
When I shall lay my armor by,
And dwell in peace at home?

We’ll work till Jesus comes, We’ll work till Jesus comes,
We’ll work till Jesus comes, And we’ll be gathered home.

No tranquil joys on earth I know,
No peaceful, shelt’ring dome;
This world’s a wilderness of woe,
This world is not my home.

To Jesus Christ I fled for rest;
He bade me cease to roam,
And lean for comfort on His breast
Till He conduct me home.

We are called to live for Jesus while we walk this earth. It is dangerous to become a sluggard in the Christian way of life. We are told:

Proverbs 19:16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth His ways shall die

It is God Who gives us life and light. If we become sluggards in obedience, then the Lord can call us home. The Church at Corinth is a good example of this. They had taken the Lord’s Table, and turned it into a party of gluttony. The Apostle told them:

1 Corinthians 11:26-32 (KJV) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. [27] Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. [28] But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup. [29] For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. [30] For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. [31] For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. [32] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

If you love your soul, love the Lord. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Live for Him while you have life. Lift up those in need. Honor God in how you live for Him. Let His light shine through your lives.

May God touch your hearts. Amen!

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Participation Trophies

Posted on July 21, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Romans 14:16-23 (KJV) Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. 19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Opening: I remember several years ago Sherry and I were in Georgia watching our oldest grandson play soccer. When we got to the soccer field I noticed a large, long table, with about 50 little trophies on it. I wondered why there were so many trophies. After watching the children play – and being young, none were very good – one team finally made a goal after about two hours. I remember one team made a goal before that, but the little boy kicked the ball into his own team’s goal, so it didn’t count. After what seemed like an eternity the two teams lined up and everyone got a trophy. Everyone.

Welcome to American confusion.

The child who never touched the ball got a trophy, along with the one child who scored the goal. The child who kicked the ball in his own team’s goal got a trophy. The child who got hot, and walked off the field got a trophy. The child who got distracted and chased a butterfly rather than the ball got a trophy. Everyone got a “Participation Trophy”.

Life is not like that.

People complain that the male players in the NBA get paid more than female players in the WNBA. The NBA generates $10 billion in revenue each year. The WNBA generates around $200 million in revenue each year, about fifty times LESS revenue than the NBA. Women are paid less because, dear friends, there’s no “Participation Trophies” in sports. Where more money is generated, more money is paid.

Life does not give out “Participation Trophies”. Those who work harder are rewarded with better pay and better status. Children who grow up believing in “Participation Trophies” become adults who believe that they should be rewarded just for showing up.

God Does Not Give Out “Participation Trophies”

Sadly, the concept of “Participation Trophies” has crept into the Church of Christ.

Poor preaching has led people to believe not only that salvation is a “Free Gift”, but it is also a “Cheap Gift”.

People have been told that they can come to Jesus, say a “Sinner’s Prayer”, join a Church, and then act just like the lost world in their daily lives. You will not find that taught in the Bible. The Bible teaches that in order to be saved, you must first REPENT:

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

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

Luke 13:3, 5 (KJV) {Jesus said} I tell you, Nay: but, except ye REPENT {metanoeō}, ye shall all likewise perish. … [5] I tell you, Nay: but, except ye REPENT {metanoeō}, ye shall all likewise perish.

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

Word Study: To “REPENT”, the Greek metanoeō, means to “go through a change of mind, to set your mind in another direction”. Before salvation we live in the Kingdom of ME. “I” do what “I” want to do. Those in the Kingdom of ME suit themselves. They live their lives saying “It’s my life” and “It’s my body, I’ll do what I want”, or “I have a right to ___”. The Kingdom of ME has a god of one, that’s ME. But to be saved, you must REPENT. ME is no longer your god. We preach:

Acts 2:38 … REPENT {metanoeō}, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

REPENT. Change the direction of your mind. BE BAPTIZED. Why? Because it is the first command of Jesus Christ our Lord (Matthew 28:19). If you are saved, you will obey Jesus. The outward FRUIT that shows you are saved is that you obey Him. Jesus said,

John 14:15, 23 (KJV) If ye love Me, keep My commandments. … [23] 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.

Once you repent, and show the fruit of obedience, God causes you to be BORN AGAIN. He writes His Law in your heart as He has promised:

Jeremiah 31:33 (KJV) … I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Salvation moves a person from the Kingdom of ME to the Kingdom of HE, the Kingdom of Christ, the Kingdom of God.

Romans 14:17 (KJV) For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy SPIRIT {Pneuma}.

The Holy Spirit Who causes you to be BORN AGAIN, Who causes you to enter the Kingdom of God, produces certain visible fruit. There is a Kingdom of ME, and a Kingdom of GOD. Let’s look at the negative first:

the Kingdom of God is not MEAT and DRINK

In many religions there is an emphasis on what you eat, when you eat, and how you eat. Before Christ came Judaism taught that certain foods were “clean” and others were “unclean”. The reason God established stringent rules on eating and drinking under the Old Covenant is because

Galatians 3:24 (LSB) … the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

God has ALWAYS saved people by Grace. He saved Adam by Grace. He saved Noah by Grace. He saved Abraham by Grace. He saved Jacob by Grace. He saved Israel by Grace. God gave the Law at Sinai as a schoolteacher to show us that, by our strongest efforts, we cannot save ourselves. The Law came to teach us and draw us to Christ. We do not come to God by the Law, but by Christ. As the Apostle wrote:

1 Peter 3:18 (KJV) For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

It is not what you EAT or DRINK that matters to God, but how you manifest the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT to those around you.

In the Kingdom of ME, I was concerned about satisfying myself regardless as to what the God Who made me thought. But in the Kingdom of HE, I am concerned about pleasing my God. “We are bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20). We are not about glorifying ourselves, but about glorifying the Lord Who loves us.

We are no longer in the Kingdom of ME.

What IS the Kingdom of God? It is not meat or drink, but something much greater. We are told:

Romans 14:17 (KJV) For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy SPIRIT {Pneuma}.

Now pay attention. “RIGHTEOUSNESS” is an attribute that we are not born with. We are born into this life with a faux righteousness. Ever since we ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we have thought that we set the standards of righteousness. But Beloved, “RIGHTEOUSNESS” is what God says, not what we think. The Bible says:

Isaiah 33:22 (NKJV) For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord is our King; He will save us

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV) we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

It is GOD Who sets the standard of right and wrong, and He has revealed this standard in the Scripture. No Christian lives in the Kingdom of ME, but in HIS Kingdom. We do what God says. We have righteousness because God imputed righteousness to us when we received Jesus as Lord and Savior. We now follow after HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS because He is our Lord. Jesus said that once we are saved, quit worrying about meat and drink. The world chases after that. Jesus said:

Matthew 6:31-33 (NKJV) do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

We live to please our Heavenly Father. We live to please our Lord Jesus. And remember, “there are no Participation Trophies”. God has expectations for His children, just as all good parents do. Our fruit should not look like the lost. Our fruit should be RIGHTEOUS.

Romans 14:17 (KJV) For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy SPIRIT {Pneuma}.

The Kingdom of God is not just RIGHTEOUSNESS (which is as God has defined it), but PEACE. If you are saved, then you are NOT at war with God. The Scripture says:

Romans 5:1-3 (LSB) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we boast in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about perseverance;

If you are born again, saved by the Grace of God, you “have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Now Jesus told us,

John 16:33 (LSB) These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

If you are in the Kingdom of HE, then you will be at odds with those in the Kingdom of ME.

The Christian is at peace with God. Not because we are perfect, but because we are hidden in Christ. We walk through this life following Jesus – even when its tough. The Pharisees hated Jesus, because He was not as religiously rigid as they liked. The Sadducees hated Jesus because He was not liberal enough to suit their tastes. The Herodians hated Jesus, because He would not endorse their political party. The Romans hated Jesus because He would not worship their gods and goddesses. Everyone in the Kingdom of ME hated Jesus, and nailed Him to a Cross for not toeing the “Party Line”.

Jesus rose again on the third day, and His Kingdom endures forever!

Never was there a man hated more than Jesus. His name is a curse word, even today, often more popular than that horrid GODDA__ that people say! If you follow Jesus, then you will find yourself at odds with the world.

I’ve had people come up and say to me, “I invited so and so to Church”. That’s fine, insofar as that goes. I have also been told by “Christians” that they like to attend large Churches where they are not known, and are not expected to do anything. They hide in the crowds. Beloved, a Church doesn’t save a person, but Jesus does. My preaching will not save you, but if you HEAR the Word and RECEIVE the Word, God will make a change in you. Let’s try something that the early Church did. Before you invite someone to Church, invite them to Jesus. Tell them what Jesus did for you in YOUR life. Tell them how you changed, how God changed you.

Romans 14:17 (KJV) For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and JOY in the Holy SPIRIT {Pneuma}.

When God’s people come together, and God is in our midst, there should be “JOY in the Holy SPIRIT”. Christian, if you are not walking in daily JOY, there is something wrong in your spiritual walk. If you are being persecuted for your faith, for following Jesus in righteousness, Jesus said:

Luke 6:23 (NKJV) Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward [is] great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

If the world is mad at you, if your Facebook or YouTube feed is being blocked, if the harpies on “The View” are mocking you, “REJOICE and LEAP FOR JOY!” Your fruit is about right! But if the darkness endorses what you are doing and how you are living, if you think that God is going to give you a “Participation Trophy”, then odds are you are not saved. The saved walk with Jesus IN THE LIGHT.

1 John 1:7 (NKJV) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Those who are saved by Grace “WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT”. We love one another. We major on the major things.

Every Christian Is Running A Race

Why do we come and gather as a Church once we are saved? Does going to Church matter? Read with me:

Romans 14:19-21 (KJV) Let US therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

In the early Church, some who were saved by Grace were Gentiles who were accustomed to eating all manner of things. Others were Jews, saved by Grace, who were raised to believe certain foods and drinks were clean and others unclean. The Church is a mix of people from various backgrounds.

But every Christian is running a race for God.

We come from culturally different backgrounds. I grew up poor. We ate pork neck bones and rice, cornbread, bread bought from the “day old bakery” store, pig feet, hog brain, pork skins. I wore hand me down socks, white, daddy’s socks, because they were the cheapest we could get. I never owned a new bicycle, but had a used one that I learned to repair. I never played in High School sports nor in the Band because we couldn’t afford to rent instruments, and my parents had no spare time to take me to the games.

Everybody has different backgrounds, different things they were raised with. In the Church we obey the clear teachings of Scripture – but we are not to be sidetracked by things not clearly defined in the Bible.

The Bible defines the Christian life as a RACE:

Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Every believer is to be “RUNNING THE RACE SET BEFORE THEM”. Every believer is to be “LOOKING UNTO JESUS” as we run. If you are saved by Grace, sealed by the Spirit, then you are to RUN, not WALK for Jesus. Someone told me,

“I don’t see why you reach out to the homeless, you have so much else to do”.

My answer is simple. God put it on my heart, and I strive to run the race looking unto Jesus. You should, too. Beloved, if you are running the race for Jesus, there are no “Participation Trophies”. To whom does Jesus give the reward? To the victor. To the one who runs until they cross the finish line. God saved us, and left us on this earth to overcome.

1 John 5:4-5 (LSB) For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the overcoming that has overcome the world–our faith. [5] Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Christians are OVERCOMERS in the race of life because we look unto Jesus. As we run our race, there are cultural differences in each one of us. But listen:

I am supposed to run MY race without causing you to stumble in YOUR race. I am not supposed to TRIP YOU UP over foolish things that are not part of the Kingdom of God.

Romans 14:20-21 (KJV) For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

In my past 30 years of ministry, I have seen Churches explode – not over BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION – but over STUPID STUFF that has no business destroying us.

WHO CARES what color that wall is?
WHO CARES is a tree is cut down in a cemetery?
WHO CARES whose birthday was forgotten?
WHO CARES about the minor stuff?

It is my responsibility as a Christian to help my brother and sister run the race set before them. I am to emphasize the KINGDOM OF GOD, which is “RIGHTEOUSNESS and PEACE and JOY in the Holy Spirit”. I am to stay focused on what the Bible has clearly said is truth. But cultural differences that are not addressed in Scripture – I may not agree, but frankly, its none of my business.

And it’s none of yours, either.

I was asked several years ago about “speaking in tongues”. Being saved in a Pentecostal Church, I know all about that. I referred to the Scripture, and told them:

1 Corinthians 14:28 (KJV) But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

If there’s no INTERPRETER present, keep it to yourself. That goes for anything that the Bible does not clearly present. We as Christians together are to emphasize what God has clearly said, and encourage our fellow believers to keep running their race, by faith. In the early Church this meant that the Gentile was not to eat something the Jewish Christian considered “unclean” in front of them. And if they did, the Jewish Christian should readily forgive them for their offense.

Romans 14:23 he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Lift up your fellow believers. Run TOGETHER the race set before you for the glory of God. Amen!

Posted in Romans, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Other Gospel

Posted on July 21, 2025 by bibleteacherorg
Open Bible

Galatians 1:6-9 (KJV) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Who Calls Us Into Grace Through The Gospel?

It is so very important that we understand what “The Gospel” is. Even so called “Bible Scholars” have trouble understanding the Gospel. What if you have a poor view of the Gospel? Paul writes:

Galatians 1:6 (KJV) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel

Now, Who calls you into the Grace of Christ? Is it the Preacher? No, the Preacher shares the Gospel, but the Bible says that before Christ that we are all DEAD in TRESPASSES and SINS. Paul told the Church at Ephesus:

All Are Spiritually Dead:

Ephesians 2:1-6 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– [3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

It is GOD Who CALLS us. We hear the Gospel through the Preacher, through the Witness who shares the Gospel, but God must open our eyes to that Gospel. The Apostle Peter wrote:

1 Peter 5:10 … the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

It is God Who calls to salvation.

2 Timothy 1:8-9 (ESV) Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, [9] who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

It is GOD Who calls to salvation through the Gospel message. A human shares the Gospel, but GOD does the calling. One of my favorite verses,

Romans 8:28 (ESV) … we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

It is GOD Who calls us, through the proper presentation of the Gospel, “ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE”. And the Words of our Lord Jesus:

John 6:44 (ESV) No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

God calls the person to salvation. God opens our eyes, causing the scales of sin to fall off of them. God calls us. Yes, I believe we can refuse the call, but He calls us. He is faithful to call every person.

1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Remember 1 Corinthians 1:9, because I’m coming back to it in a moment.

Let’s look at our text again:

Galatians 1:6 (KJV) I marvel that ye are so soon removed {metatithēmi} from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel

Word Study: If “HIM THAT CALLED YOU INTO THE GRACE OF CHRIST” is God – and we have amply proven this – then when you go to another Gospel you are “REMOVED from HIM, REMOVED from God”. The word translated “REMOVED” is the Greek metatithēmi, which means to be “transformed from one state to another”. If you are saved by the true Gospel, then it is God Who saved you, and God Who walks with you. But if you move to a false Gospel then you have wandered away from the power of God. Now there are many false Gospels in the world today. The word metatithēmi is used in the Book of Jude,

Jude 4 (KJV) For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, TURNING {metatithēmi} the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Some crept in the Church and said “The Gospel says that you can receive Jesus as Savior, but you need not follow Him as Lord. He is not your King. Once saved, you may go on living your life as you desire, pleasing yourself, and once you die you may go to Heaven.” People who teach this have transformed the Gospel from one state to another.

Jesus Is BOTH Lord And Savior Is The Gospel

The Gospel that God saves us by is a faithful Gospel. It CALLS us into fellowship with Jesus Christ. But Who is Jesus? The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Gospel that saves us is used by God to CALL us into fellowship with Jesus Christ OUR LORD. He is Lord of His people. This is the Gospel that Jesus preached.

The devil has sent his agents into the Church with a false gospel. The false gospel teaches either Jesus is Lord but not Savior, or Jesus is Savior but not Lord. The True Gospel is that Jesus is both Lord and Savior.

Matthew 4:23 (KJV) Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom

Matthew 9:35 (KJV) Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom

Matthew 24:14 (KJV) … this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations

Mark 1:14 (KJV) Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God …

The GOSPEL that saves is a KINGDOM Gospel, and a KINGDOM has a KING. Guess what? We aren’t the Kings. Jesus is the King. God is the King. The Gospel that saves is “REPENT, for the KINGDOM of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15). Who is saved? The Bible says “JESUS … shall save HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS”.

The Gospel is REPENT from being your own god, and RECEIVE Jesus Christ as your God.

God saves through the proper Gospel, the Biblical Gospel. But God will not enable you if you transform the Gospel, if you make it something that He never meant it to be.

The False Gospels TROUBLE The Christian
And DAMNS The Lost

Galatians 1:6-7 … unto ANOTHER {heteros} gospel: 7 Which is not ANOTHER; but there be some that TROUBLE {tarassō} you, and would PERVERT {metastrephō} the gospel of Christ.

Word Study: The false Gospels are “ANOTHER”, the Greek heteros, meaning “not of the same nature, form, or class”. The counterfeit gospels that are out there will not lead a person to genuine salvation. The reason these gospels exist is because there are people and entities that want to “TROUBLE”, the Greek tarassō, that is “to take away your balance, to strike your spirit with fear, dread, and uncertainty”. It is the devil’s intent to rob you of Paradise, of the joy of walking with Jesus. The devil did the same thing in the Garden of Eden, and what the devil does today. He says:

Genesis 3:1 (LSB) Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?

Has God really said that? Perverting the Word of God, the devil used this as an opportunity to lead Adam away from God and toward the flesh. The devil has agents who will try and “PERVERT”, or turn what was light into darkness, turn what was joyful to heaviness.

There are two prevalent perversions
of the Gospel in the world.

1. Jesus is Savior, but not Lord. One says that once you say a prayer, walk the aisle, and get baptized, you are right with God. You do not need to obey God or follow the Bible. You are freely saved. You will one day go to Heaven because of your momentary decision. Your name is on the roll of the Church. If you decide to go deeper, you can be a disciple – but Christianity is two staged. You can be saved and live like the world. Or you can grow and be a disciple. God doesn’t care what you do.

2. Jesus is Lord, but not my Savior. I must add to the work that Jesus did at salvation. There are other things I must do, rituals or rites, or else I am not saved. Salvation is what Jesus did PLUS what I must do. This perversion was pushed on the Gospel by Pharisees and Scribes, requiring certain outward actions IN ADDITION TO faith in Christ for salvation. This is the prevalent perversion that the Book of Galatians attacks.

The true Gospel speaks to our utter inability to save ourselves. Jesus must save me, because I cannot save myself. Jesus must call me from the grave of sin and death as He did Lazarus from the grave. Salvation is all of Jesus.

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

We are all born into this world hopelessly lost. We are sinners from physical birth. As sinners, we are blind to God, broken. Our most righteous acts are unworthy of God. “We are ALL as an unclean thing, and ALL our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). We could do not good thing that would be pleasing to God.

Illustrate: Here I have a HANDKERCHIEF. I’ll blow my nose on it. Now I want to make a GIFT of it to you. Would you want it? I only blew my nose on a small part of it. You can blow your nose on the clean part How about it? No? Now you know how God feels. He doesn’t want any part of your dead righteousness. This is why Jesus Christ came. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (ESV) Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

Only GOD Can Save Us! Only Jesus Will Do!

The Bible says that in Jesus “the whole fullness of the Godhead exists in human form” (Colossians 2:9, AP). God became Perfect Man. “The Word {Jesus} became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Our Lord Jesus lived our His life on earth as a perfect and sinless Man (1 Peter 2:22). He went to the Cross of Calvary, dying for our sins, taking our place. Jesus rose from the grave on the third day, by His resurrection proving that the Father received His work for us. Because of Jesus our sin debt is “paid in full”.

How is salvation received? It is received as a free gift from God. To receive it, we must REPENT and RECEIVE Jesus as Lord and Savior. We come surrendered to God. We are told in:

Romans 10:9 (ESV) If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

We are made alive by the Gospel. We are made alive by Grace. When we confess Jesus as Lord, repenting and receiving Him, God sends the Holy Spirit into our lives and causes us to be “born again”. Jesus said:

John 3:6-7 (KJV) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. … 7 Ye must be born again.

Those Who Are NOT Born Again Are Damned!

Why is it so important that a person receive Jesus Christ as BOTH Lord and Savior? Because none of our works can save us, so we need the Savior. We need GOD to not do a momentary thing in us, but a miracle. You must be born again, something only God can do for you. This is why Paul had very harsh words for those who twist the Gospel:

Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be ACCURSED {anathema}.

Word Study: The word “ACCURSED” is the Greek anathema, which means “to be cursed of God, to be without hope of being redeemed, to be doomed to destruction”. This word is used in:

1 Corinthians 16:22 (KJV) If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

As the false gospel will keep people from being saved, the Apostle pronounces damnation on the person who shares the false gospel. The true Gospel teaches that we are unable to save ourselves, so we must fully surrender to God. We REPENT of being our own gods, and RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We believe that He gave Himself for us.

And God the Holy Spirit causes us to be “born” into the family of God.

Salvation is entirely a work of God. That work of God changes us. The Christian wants to attend Church services because we want to be with our family. The Christian wants to follow the Lord.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV) … hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Believers want to attend Church services. They want to:

Share the Lord’s Table
Be Baptized
Be generous and give
Sing praises
Pray
Read and Hear The Bible

Born again believers, called to salvation by God through the hearing of the Gospel, do these things not to be saved, but because we desire it. We realize that there is not one single thing we can do to “help” Jesus save us. We are saved by His Grace.

All of the things that I just said believers do, Unbelievers can do as well. So how do we truly know that we are saved?

If you are saved, then you will walk in the light of God with Jesus whether at “Church” or not. God is not your hobby, your part time companion. Christians who are “born again” do not pursue sin, but Jesus.

1 John 1:6-7 (ESV) If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

You cannot walk in darkness, pursuing sin and evil, and walk with God. Will you as a Christian sin? Why yes, you will. While you are in this life you are incomplete, and there are times you will stumble. But the Christian, saved by the Gospel, approaches sin through the Gospel:

1 John 1:8-9 (ESV) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When the lost person sins, they rely on “making it better”, or they ignore it entirely. The Christian who:

MESSES Up
LOOKS Up
FESSES Up
then trusting the Gospel,
MOVES ON

The believer does not run around trying to make it better. We can’t make it better. The only thing that covers sin is the Blood of Christ. We rest on God’s faithfulness. But as Christians, we want to obey God’s commands:

1 John 2:3-4 (ESV) And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him

John 14:15 (ESV) If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

1 John 5:3 (ESV) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

If a person tells me, “I’m saved, but I don’t want to be baptized”, the Bible says “if you will not keep His commandments, you are a LIAR”. Out Lord Jesus commanded baptism (Matthew 28:19-20). If you love the Lord, if you are saved by the Gospel, then you will obey Him because you love Him.

May I end with this:

The Christian LOVES the Word of God.

If you find the Bible tedious. If you think the Bible is an outdated Book with antiquated ideas. If your idea a good preaching is entertainment, but not this Word of God … you may not be saved. The saved person loves the Word of God. It is through the Word of God that our Lord speaks to us. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). If you have no love for God’s written Word, you have no love for God’s Living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3). May God the Holy Spirit lead you to His side before the death angel comes. For those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, for them death is a promotion. But for those who do not know Him as He is, death is a horrid demotion.

Forever. Amen.

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Follow God, Follow Good

Posted on July 17, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Jonas Degener on Unsplash

Proverbs 19:1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is PERVERSE {ʿiqqēš, crooked, false, perverted} in his lips, and is a FOOL.

Let Our Tongues Be Controlled By God’s Word

Our Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees:

Matthew 15:11 (KJV) Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

The Pharisees had twisted and perverted the Word of God, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”. They did this to receive riches – not monetary riches but the praise of man. When Jesus made this statement the disciples told Jesus, “When You said that, You offended the Pharisees” (Matthew 15:12). Jesus told them:

Matthew 15:13-14 (KJV) … Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. [14] Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.

They were seeking the praise of man, not the praise and glory of God. Jesus said “these people are blind. They are NOT planted by My Father. They are not saved.” Just as Jesus told Nicodemus:

John 3:3 … Except a man be born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God.

The Pharisees sought not God, but self satisfaction. They lived to be seen of others, to be people pleasers. They were not children of God, but of Satan, the devil (John 8:44). Those who have FAME and FORTUNE often chase after more of the same. But we are told that:

Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity

The person who has nothing but Jesus, who faithfully walks with the Lord, is in a better place than the richest or most famous person. When Solomon wrote this, he was perhaps the richest person in the world. But Solomon knew from experience that riches often draw us down a terrible path.

Proverbs 16:8 (ESV) Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.

Godly Knowledge, Not Human Wisdom,
Guides Us In Safe Journeys

Proverbs 19:2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

Illustrate: I was watching a commercial the other day on Cascade® Tablets. I use Cascade® in my Whirlpool dishwasher, and we’ve had this unit for about 4 years now. In the commercial – and I usually ignore commercials – the man was talking about how good Cascade® is. Then he said, “It even keeps your filter clean”. Filter? I had no idea a dishwasher had a filter. I checked and, sure enough, there was a filter just where the man said it was. I bought this dishwasher 4 years ago when my other dishwasher would not drain. I figured it was broke. More than likely, the filter (which I didn’t know I had) was clogged.

It is not good that the soul be without knowledge.

I probably wasted $600 for lack of knowledge. But poor knowledge can effect you in other ways. I have heard of people eating wild mushrooms, which is fine if they are not poisonous. But many are. You need to have knowledge. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Lack of knowledge can lead you down a dark path. To gain knowledge, you must listen to the right sources. God is the right Source.

When we humbly come to God, He will bless us with Kingdom life. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:3 (KJV) Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Pharisees, the Scribes, the Sadducees, the Herodians all believed that they had ALL the answers, so they would not hear the Lord Jesus, nor God the Father. They rejected life saving knowledge from God. Many are like that today. They are RICH IN SPIRIT, they think they know better than anyone, and will not hear anything else. You can have knowledge – but if you do not USE it, it does no good. Jesus is the Source of Eternal Salvation:

Hebrews 5:9 (KJV) {Jesus} became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him

We are to hear and to do. We are to be “poor in spirit”, realizing we need His knowledge.

Who did Jesus reach during His earthly ministry? The Broken, the Hopeless, the POOR IN SPIRIT who were ready to HEAR and OBEY!

When asked if He were the Messiah, Jesus replied:

Luke 4:18 (KJV) The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Only the POOR in Spirit, those willing to admit their brokenness, will hear and receive the Gospel preached. The rich will not receive the Word of Truth, and they harm themselves.

he that HASTETH with his feet sinneth.

Saul of Tarsus is a picture of a man who rushed to do the wrong thing, for he had not heard the Gospel of salvation, the Gospel of Christ. Those who are hasty to do something without getting knowledge from God will regret their actions later.

Human Knowledge Is Often Useless

Proverbs 19:3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

Illustrate: I heard a fellow the other day say that he spent $100,000.00 to go to college, and get a Master’s Degree in “Gender Studies”. He was moaning because the only job he can find with that type of degree is to be a barista at a coffee shop making about $35,000.00 a year. What a waste of money.

The foolishness of man perverteth his way

I can tell you all you need to know about “Gender Studies” right now, and I won’t charge you $100,000. I learned this years ago, and kids were taught this by Mr. Rogers in his 1971 song Everybody’s Fancy (I was 13 then):

Some are fancy on the outside.
Some are fancy on the inside.
Everybody’s fancy.
Everybody’s fine.
Your body’s fancy and so is mine.

Boys are boys from the beginning.
Girls are girls right from the start.
Everybody’s fancy.
Everybody’s fine.
Your body’s fancy and so is mine.

Only girls can be the mommies.
Only boys can be the daddies.
Everybody’s fancy.
Everybody’s fine.
Your body’s fancy and so is mine.

It is “the foolishness of man that perverts his way”. We ignore what God has said, and do it our way – then suffer the consequences. Then we blame God.

ILLUSTRATE: One of the most common questions I’m confronted with as a Pastor is “Why does God (Who is Good and Loving) allow evil and suffering in the world?” I have heard theologians struggle with this for years. Larry King, the commentator (he died at 87), said this is the reason he cannot believe in God. When John MacArthur (he died at 86) was asked this question, he spent one hour and four minutes beating this subject to death. The answer is fairly simple. It goes back to Genesis (as do most questions we have).

God created man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). God gave man a free will, the ability to choose to obey or disobey God. God gave man a tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9, 17), and directed man not to eat of it. God gave man stewardship over the earth:

Genesis 1:28 … Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over (every living thing on the earth) …

Man chose to disobey God. Why is there evil in the world? Because of man. Because of our decisions. Because we will not heed God.

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

Why does a loving God allow evil to continue in the world? Again, let’s go back to Genesis. God gave man the world, gave man free will, and asked man to follow Him – and man followed not God but himself. We do that today. Sin is in the world because of us. If God were not longsuffering, He would have wiped us all out long ago. But He did not.

Why is there cancer in children? Because of sin.
Why do innocents get murdered? Because of sin.
Why do flash floods kill people? Because of sin.
Why are there wars? Because of sin.
Why is there sin? Because “by one man sin entered the world”.
Why does it persist? “Because all sin”.

The god of Larry King would have destroyed this world and started over – and Larry King would never have been born. Larry interviewed John MacArthur and Billy Graham (both who are now with the Lord Jesus). Like most unbelievers, he discounted or blamed God rather than turn to Christ.

Proverbs 19:3 The foolishness of man perverteth {sālap̄, to overthrow or ruin} his way: and his heart fretteth (zāʿap̄, is enraged) against the Lord.

It is the “FOOLISHNESS OF MAN”, the desire to be god rather than follow God, that “PERVERTS”, that is “ruins or overthrows” his way of life. Rather than repent and turn to Christ, “HIS HEART FRETS or is ENRAGED” against the God Who made us. It is HIS fault. He CAN’T exist. But He does. Why do children have cancer? Because sin entered the world. Why did a flash flood hit Texas’s Camp Mystic, an all girls Christian Summer Camp in Hunt, Texas? Because creation is tied to the stewardship of man. When man fell, “sin ENTERED THE WORLD, and DEATH by sin”. 27 Campers died. It’s tragic.

For those who have received Christ as Savior, death is not an end but a beginning. “Whoever believes in Him is NOT CONDEMNED”.

Many horrid things happen in this world, but this is not how God made it. It is how man made it by disobeying God. So we have a choice. Turn to the God of the Scripture and trust in Him, or do as Cain did. Refuse God, and hurt ourselves and others.

We cannot make the world sin free, but we can defeat the consequence of sin in our lives by giving ourselves to the Lord Jesus! Sin has made the world a dangerous place. In Christ we overcome the world by living in His Kingdom. We glorify God no matter what we go through, knowing we are present recipients of eternal life.

We are told:

Proverbs 19:8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

You love your soul by pursuing God’s Wisdom. You live the best life by trusting in God’s Word. It is sufficient to our every need!

Sin Causes Us To Devalue Life And Overvalue Stuff

Proverbs 19:4 Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbor.

Sin in the heart of man leads us to value or devalue people based upon their wealth (or poverty). I have heard it said in other Churches, “I hope that fellow joins our Church! We can use his influence and wealth.” Such thoughts are contrary to the Christ-like walk. My commentary notes:

“a rich man’s wealth can attract people like a picnic draws ants. Many of these so-called friends do not really care about the rich man; they simply hope to receive his favor in the form of financial gifts. … The same type of so-called friends who flock to a wealthy person will abandon someone if they cannot benefit from their friendship.”

Proverbs 19:6-7 Many will entreat the favor of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. 7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

Illustrate: Those who are lost often place a premium on money and fame, and yet disdain those who have little. I’m reminded of the show “The Beverly Hillbillies”, a cute show that was on television back in the golden age of comedy. They were a bunch of hill folk – ignorant of the ways of the modern world – who owned land that an oil company found to be oil rich. In every episode people would always down play or mock them – for riches didn’t change them – and even at one time had them arrested. But when they found out that they were worth millions of dollars, suddenly they had great friends!

Every person has value, and life itself is priceless. True believers understand this principle. New Birth should change how you look at human life. People are not objects, but creations with infinite potential.

In the early Church when people were “born again” through the preaching of the Gospel, their eyes were opened in that they understood that the wealth we have been gracefully given by God is given so that we might benefit others. If God saves a soul, He saves the wallet as well! We read of the early Church:

Acts 2:44-47 (KJV) And all that believed were together, and had all things common; [45] And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all [men], as every man had need. [46] And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, [47] Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

A “saved” person who loves his wallet more than his God is not saved at all, but deceived. The saved know that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35, NIV).

The lost devalue people. The lost also devalue truth. We read:

Proverbs 19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

Proverbs 19:9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

I despise a liar. I was raised to be true to my word, to do what I said I’d do. Daddy would whip us terribly if he caught us lying – and I did the same thing to my children. It is even more terrible to tell a lie on someone, to demean their character. The ninth commandments states:

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

When you speak falsely against your neighbor, you damage their reputation. God despises the lie that hurts others. This is why God says that those who are eternally damned are:

Revelation 21:8 (LSB) But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

God’s people are to be “truth speakers”. We are not to gossip, or to spread untruths about or through the Church. The Pharisees hired false witnesses to testify against Christ (Matthew 26:59-61). The Pharisees also accused Jesus of casting our demons by the power of Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24). The mark of a lost person is their willingness to twist the truth to the hurt of others. Those who lie and stand against the truth will suffer for it. God will balance the scales in time.

Illustrate: False witnesses maliciously accused the Prophet Daniel, causing him to be thrown into the lion’s den. No harm came to Daniel. But what of those who stood against Daniel? After his release, the Bible says:

Daniel 6:24 (ESV) And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

The sin of lying and standing against God and His people caused not just the false accusers, but their children and their wives were all cast into a pit of death. Failing to tell the truth can harm more than just YOU – it can harm the innocent as well.

To deny the truth of Scripture is to bear false witness against God Himself. The Bible is a Faithful Witness. Our Lord Jesus is THE Faithful Witness (Revelation 1:5)

Illustrate: One of the lies that has crept into the Church over the last twenty or thirty years is the lies against Genesis. Many Christians have been persuaded that the earth was not created in six days and six nights as Genesis tells us, but that the earth is millions – maybe billions of years old. Sadly, many have fallen for this Trojan Horse because of what “scientific research” has said. Some “theologians” have suggested theories like “Day-Age Creationism”, which suggests that God did not create in six literal days, but in six ages or epochs that may have been millions of years. Others suggest that there is “GAP Creationism”, that the time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 may be billions of years. Then “Theistic Evolution” teaches that God used scientific evolutionary methods to, over billions of years, to bring about creation.

The problem with all the various views of creation that well meaning theologians have developed in order to cause the Bible and Science to walk hand in hand is that these views do not take the plain sense of the Scripture. Our Lord Jesus believed what the Bible said. Jesus never contradicted the Scripture. He said:

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

The clear reading of the text of Genesis (Moses’ writings) is that the earth was created in six literal days – and God ordered a Sabbath on the seventh day. Nothing else fits the context. We cannot modify Scripture in order to please the world. We receive what God has said by faith, even if every scientist in every age says what we speak is false. We need to boldly speak HIS TRUTH, just as Jesus did, saying:

Matthew 22:29 (KJV) Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Jesus believed the Genesis account (see Matthew 19:3-8), and told us that:

Luke 11:49-51 (KJV) (God said) I will send them prophets and apostles, and [some] of them they shall slay and persecute: [50] That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; [51] From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

If you stand with Jesus in the truth, believing the Bible to be literally true, you will be persecuted, found odd, made light of. I believe the Scripture, and seek to live by its directives. I’ll end with this warning and prayer from Solomon:

Proverbs 30:5-9 (NKJV) Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. 7 Two things I request of You {O Lord} (Deprive me not before I die): 8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.

Teach us, O God, to be content with Your Word and Your Truth. Let us live for Your glory. Amen.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grace Changes Things

Posted on July 16, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Whereas the Book of Romans has been called the “Constitution of Christianity”, the Book of Galatians is called “The Declaration of Independence of Christ’s Kingdom”. The devil will do what he can to stop the Gospel. He tried to scare the disciples away from preaching the Gospel. Imprisoning by the High Priest, God’s people were imprisoned (Acts 5:18). But …

Acts 5:19-20 (KJV) … 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.

The Gospel brings LIFE. It brings LIGHT. Jesus Christ is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD (John 8:12; 9:5), and the devil wants the darkness to remain. He wants sin to rule the earth, and man to destroy himself. When the High Priest and his soldiers caught up with the disciples again, they said:

Acts 5:28-29 (KJV) Did not we straitly 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. 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Beaten, persecuted, killed for the faith, the children of God continued to share the Gospel of salvation. The High Priest called out the Big Guns – he called for Saul of Tarsus. Saul was trained by Gamaliel, the Chief Rabbi of the day. Saul sat on the Sanhedrin, the Council of Israel. The Sanhedrin hated Jesus and His disciples.

Preach! Self righteous people hijacked the Law of Moses, and turned it into Judaism. Judaism taught only Jews could be the children of God – that other nations were unworthy. Jesus taught that He came to save the “world”, whosoever will. Judaism ignored the clear teaching of Grace, and made salvation a thing you worked for. Jesus taught that all are unworthy, and that salvation comes by receiving Him. Judaism taught that ethnic Jews had a one way ticket to Heaven. Jesus taught that you must be born again of the Spirit to enter Heaven.

Called by the High Priest, Saul’s job was to destroy Christianity, and to restore Judaism as the only true faith. But our God is filled with Grace. He knocked Saul down on Damascus Road, and there Saul’s calling and name changed.

Saul Was Called By Judaism, But
Paul Was Called By Jesus!

Galatians 1:1-2 Paul, an APOSTLE, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) 2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the CHURCHES of Galatia:

As “Saul”, he was called by and sought to please a false religion. But Jesus, Who is rich in Grace, called and appointed “Paul” to be an “APOSTLE”. An “APOSTLE” {Greek apostolos}, is “one who is sent of God, sent with orders”. Every Apostle was hand picked by the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 10:2-4 Jesus chose the first twelve Apostles. He gave them an initial command, to carry His Gospel specifically to Israel:

Matthew 10:5-7 (KJV) Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The Messiah that Israel had long waited for had come. The message the Messiah gave was:

Mark 1:15 (KJV) The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT ye, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL.

The Apostles were called BY JESUS to spread the Gospel. Not their opinions, but the Gospel of Grace.

Not one Apostle chosen by Jesus was worthy to be called an Apostle. They were not called by Self, by Seminaries or Synagogues, nor were they voted into office as Peter tried to do with Matthias. They were specifically chosen by Jesus, just as our Lord specifically chose the Prophets of the Old Covenant. Listen Beloved, those whom God calls, He calls by GRACE. It is not called by WORTH.

Noah was saved by Grace. When he got off the Ark, he got DRUNK.
Abraham was saved by Grace. He lied, and said his wife was his sister.
Isaac was saved by Grace. He followed in his father’s footsteps in lying.
Samson was saved by Grace. He was a womanizer.
Gideon was hiding when Christ called out to him.
Elijah was saved by Grace. He panicked, and ran from Jezebel.
Jonah was saved by Grace. He ran away when God called him to preach.
David was saved by Grace. He was a murderer and an adulterer.
Moses was saved by Grace. He was a murderer.

Illustrate: A daddy was walking the beach with his little daughter, and as they walked they were collecting shells. Daddy was looking for shells that were whole, in good condition. But his daughter was picking up every shell she saw, even if they were broken. When her daddy asked her why she was picking up even the broken shells, she replied “Daddy, the broken ones are beautiful too”.

Isaiah 11:6 … and a little child shall lead them …

If Apostles were chosen by US, they would have to be near perfect. But Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Deacons, and every child of God is chosen by God in Grace. Here is a perfect definition of GRACE:

Galatians 1:1 … not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, AND God the Father, who raised him from the dead

“NOT OF MEN”. Salvation is not based on what the world thinks, nor on what is popular opinion. There were some who refused to acknowledge Paul as an Apostle because he was not of the original Twelve. Yet others, remembering how Paul previously persecuted the Church, said “Paul isn’t worthy”. Paul acknowledged his past, saying:

Galatians 1:13-14 (KJV) For ye have heard of my CONVERSATION {anastrophē, conduct or behavior, how I used to live} in time past in the Jews’ religion {Judaism, the false perversion of Mosaic Law}, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: 14 And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the TRADITIONS {parádosis, man made religious activity} of my fathers.

When Paul was “Saul” he chased after and worshiped “THE JEWS RELIGION”. Not God’s religion, not what Christ directed, but human traditions and injected idolatry into what was the Law of Moses. Saul was “all in” on following “THE JEWS RELIGION”. If ANYONE was UNWORTHY to be an Apostle of Christ’s, it would be Saul.

WORTHY and GRACE do not walk hand in hand.
GRACE and MERCY do.

Paul told the believers at Corinth:

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (ESV) I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Galatians 1:1 … not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, AND God the Father, who raised him from the dead

“NEITHER BY MAN”. A person is saved from darkness and sin by the Grace of God. We are not saved because WE are worthy, but because HE is worthy. We are saved and called to salvation “by Jesus Christ, AND God the Father”. Of course, anything the Son does, both the Father and the Spirit are in agreement. But Paul is careful to explain that his salvation AND his authority – and Apostles had great authority – was not based on his will or his opinion or ability or worth. Jesus called him.

The Apostles were the FOUNDATION or bedrock of the Church (Ephesians 2:20), along with the Prophets. Paul was one of these foundational Apostles. The mystery of the Church Age and the Kingdom of God were “revealed to the holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit {of God}” (Ephesians 3:5).

Grace Should Free Us From People Pleasing,
And Make Us God Pleasers

When he was Saul, he sought to please the leaders of “THE JEWS RELIGION”, the Chief Priests and the powers that be. Things changed when Saul became Paul. We read:

Galatians 1:15-19 But when it PLEASED {eudokeō, to bring satisfaction to} GOD, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, 16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

The Old Saul was busy running around to please others. The New Paul was busy, but in PLEASING GOD.

Galatians 1:10 (NKJV) do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Those who are saved by Grace seek to please God first. Those who are born again seek to love God most. We are not to be “people pleasers, but servants of Christ, doing the will of God from our hearts” (Ephesians 6:6, ESV). The fruit of the life of the lost is self service, self promotion, self pleasure, self satisfaction. The fruit of the Child of God is to “produce heartily, as for the lord, and not for people” (Colossians 3:23, AP).

Jesus Christ called Paul to be His Apostle. Paul did not seek the approval of man, nor did he head to Jerusalem to get Peter’s blessing (for Peter was considered the Chief Apostle). Paul went out and began to share the Gospel of Christ, just as Jesus gave it to him. For three years he preached the Gospel before he went to see Peter in Jerusalem. While there, Paul also saw James, the Lord Jesus’ stepbrother.

As Paul writes about the Gospel to the “churches of Galatia”, he wants them to know that his letter on the Gospel is not Paul’s private or peculiar interpretation of the Gospel. He says:

Galatians 1:11-12 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I believe that the reason so many “Christians” are scared to share their faith is because they have a skewed view of salvation. If you have not experienced salvation, you cannot explain Grace.

Saul was turned to Paul when he said “Yes” to Jesus. Paul was called to be an Apostle by Jesus. Paul was taught the Gospel by Jesus. I can tell you all about the Gospel, but until you experience the Grace of God by REPENTING and turning to the Lord Jesus as Savior, you will never understand the Gospel. It’s not like 2+2 = 4. It’s all about GRACE.

Illustrate: How many of you have read your Bibles from cover to cover? Don’t raise your hands, but I doubt few have. It’s a big Book! Now, how many have read the first TWO chapters of the Bible in Genesis? I’ll bet most of you have, maybe all of you have. If you take these first chapters, a little sliver, is everything God intended for us. But we fell from His Grace. Everything that comes after those FIRST TWO chapters is humanity messing up, but God in Grace kept reaching out to us. The Bible is God’s testimony of how patient and merciful He is. If it were me or you, the Bible would be only TWO chapters long! Everything would end at Genesis 3! But God is longsuffering. God is gracious. God is good! The last TWO CHAPTERS of the Bible tell us where God wants to take us … if we’ll heed Him, and His Grace.

The Intent Of Grace Is Peace And Deliverance

Galatians 1:3 GRACE be to you and PEACE FROM God the Father, and from our LORD Jesus Christ …

The Grace of God always brings PEACE with God. We are told in:

Romans 5:1 (KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ:

We are “JUSTIFIED” or made right with God “BY FAITH”, not by works. We believe on what Jesus did for us at Calvary. But once saved, JESUS BECOMES OUR LORD. He is LORD of our lives. We live according to His Word, not our word or human traditions. The Bible teaches that “PEACE WITH GOD” does not come from us, but it is “PEACE FROM GOD”. Salvation is entirely by GRACE. But once saved, God changes us. We are moved from one state to another.

The world is, at best, ignorant of God. It tunes God out. It refuses to acknowledge the God of Scripture, but creates idols to worship, idols that it controls. In the world system of religion “god” is controlled and appeased by what you do. “God” is satisfied if you count beads, or pray at certain times, or sacrifice something, or kneel at a human idolatrous altar. Christianity says NO to human works that appease God. God is satisfied in Christ. The Scripture says:

1 John 2:1-3 MY LITTLE CHILDREN, I am writing these things to you so that you MAY NOT SIN. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the PROPITIATION for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

The Christian has PEACE WITH God and FROM God because we have been “born again”. We are God’s “LITTLE CHILDREN”. We do not belong to the world anymore. God’s standard is that we “MAY NOT SIN”. But if the Christian does sin, we have a representative who knows us, “JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS”. We are at peace with God, children of God, because Jesus Who is righteous took our punishment on the Cross. Jesus is the “PROPITIATION” {hilasmos}, that is, the One Who appeased the wrath of God against sin. How does one know that we are saved? Because “we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments”.

We do not chase after sin. We strive to live to glorify our Savior!

Galatians 1:4-5 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus Christ died for us, for our sins, to “deliver us from this present evil world”. Grace does not save us so that we can chase after sin. Grace frees us so that we can serve the God Who loved us, and gave Himself for us. You cannot be saved, and live as if you are a lost person. Those who are saved are DELIVERED. We are not like the darkness. We are the Children of God.

Illustrate & Close: I heard Adrian Rogers tell this once in a sermon: “A godly Pastor was doing a good job, but two men in the Church didn’t like him. They came to him and said, ‘Pastor, we think you should be the pastor no longer in this Church. We’re going to ask you to step aside and resign’. The Pastor said ‘Thank you for coming to see me. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I will take it to the Lord, and pray over it, and I’ll get back with you’. They said, ‘All right, we’ll meet next week.’ Next week came, and they met, and the men said, ‘Well, what did God say to you?’ The Pastor said, ‘God said He’d never heard of you two guys.’” Adrian went on to say, “There are always people who’ll be used of the devil to defame the good”.

That is so very true. Both you and I have heard of people who are supposed Christians, even supposed Pastors, who get involved in godless activities and bring shame to the Church of Christ. These are not true believers, but wolves in sheep clothing.

Those who love the Lord love His Bible, His commandments.
Those who love the Lord cherish His Grace!

May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Posted in Galatians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Best Friend

Posted on July 11, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Who Is Your Best Friend?

I’ve had very few “friends” in my lifetime. When I was growing up my two best friends were Benny and Ricky. I met Benny first, and as a child spent many nights at his house, eating meals with him and playing in the woods behind his house. I forget how we met, but we were “BEST Friends”. Later I met Ricky, and we were inseparable. We went through a lot of tough times together. Ricky was the friend who led me to the Lord. He invited me to the Church he was attending, and on Saturday February 28, 1976 I was at a Youth Rally when the Lord called me to be His.

That was the greatest day of my life.

I’ll never forget when the Holy Spirit opened my heart to the Gospel, and I literally felt God’s hand on my shoulder. But something happened that day. I lost my best friend Benny. Ricky and I started attending Church regularly – every time the doors were opened – but Benny wasn’t interested. I still miss Benny. I tried to see Benny several years ago when I was in Raleigh, but he refused to meet with me. I miss him. Ricky changed, too. Though we got together and had a great time, Ricky had gotten away from the Lord. I still love him, and hope that he will come back to Jesus. The problem is,

I have nothing in common with Benny or Ricky any more.

When I met up with Ricky, he was married to his second wife, and was a prolific drinker. He drank around 7 or 8 beers while I met with him, and several when we went out to eat. I couldn’t join him in that. He and Benny met frequently at a local bar and drank. I lost my two best friends to the world – but gained a much better Best Friend in Jesus.

Jesus tells us to be careful who we are friends with. Jesus wants to be our Best Friend – and He is. Jesus wants us to be friendly to all – but only friends with those who are friends with Him. The Bible says:

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

When someone is an UNBELIEVER, we who are friends of Jesus are not to become intimately bound to them. Why? Because they can lead us away from our BEST FRIEND Jesus. As I sat with Ricky, several times he offered me a beer. And Beloved, I thought about it. What would it hurt if I had a beer? My Church wouldn’t know. Who would know? My Friend Jesus would know. And once I start down that path, I might not stop. God says to us,

2 Corinthians 6:17 … Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.

We who are children of God are called to be friends of God. Now, we should be friendly to everyone. I try to be nice to people. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV) … be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

We should be kind and merciful to others, whether they are saved or not. Our Lord Jesus often sat at meat with sinners that He might share the Gospel with them. He was friendly with the lost, but not friends. Those who hated Jesus claimed He was …

Matthew 11:19 … (NKJV) a glutton and a winebibber, a FRIEND of tax collectors and sinners!

Jesus was not a “friend of sinners”, though He was friendly to sinners. The Bible tells us that we are to reach out to those who are lost. The Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 9:16-19 (NKJV) if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

Paul was friendly and reached out to all to share the Gospel with all. But he was not friends with the lost. God is not friends with the lost. Friends are bound together in a deep, intimate relationship. Friends “keep company” with one another. Though the Apostle was friendly to and reached out with the Gospel to all people, he warns us to not be friends with those who are sexually immoral:

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 (NKJV) I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

We are to be friendly to the lost, to reach out to them with the Gospel. BUT if someone professes to be a fellow believer, “anyone named a brother”, then we are not to keep company with nor eat with such a person. If their lifestyle is not that which honors Christ, then we are not to be around it.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 (NKJV) Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin

Even if you are the “light of Christ”, you are called to avoid friendship with the darkness. “Friendship with the WORLD is to be the ENEMY OF GOD” (James 4:4). We who are saved by Grace belong to Jesus. We do not belong to the darkness, but to the Light.

Christ Jesus Is Our Best Friend

Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

I have a lot of friends in this Church. I have a few “Best Friends” – I’ll not tell you who! But my BEST FRIEND is Jesus. He is closer to me than any brother or sister, closer to me than anyone I’ve ever met. My friends Benny and Ricky have begun to walk a path I can’t be on. I’ve had other friends that, because of our location, they have moved away and are no longer close to me. I have pastor friends that I was once very close to. One of my best friends in this Church went to be with Jesus a few years ago.

Human friends and human relationships come and go. But the Best Friend you’ll ever have is Jesus. He sticks closer to you than a Brother!

Those who love Jesus will stick close to you as well. Over the past thirteen years I’ve seen people I thought were my friend (and your friend) wander away for other friendships. When you serve Jesus, you will eventually find out who is your true friends, and who are are Iscariots. When the Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome, he wrote his student Timothy:

2 Timothy 1:15-18 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; 17 but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. 18 The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.

Paul had many friends until He unashamedly preached the Gospel – then they began to abandon him. Two of those friends were “Phygellus and Hermogenes”. When Paul’s preaching was bringing in crowds, these two followed him in his work. But when Paul was arrested and shunned by the powers that be, these guys ran away. Why? Because they were nominal, surface Christians.

God often sends trials our way to not only test our faith, but to show us the faith of those who claim to be our “friends”.

When things were easy and popular, the false crowd comes. But when the bad times come only those like “Onesiphorus” stay with you. Beloved, I would rather this Church decrease in size to 20 people who were Onesiphorus, than to have 2000 of the other kind. Paul said of Onesiphorus:

he often refreshed me, and
was not ashamed of my chain

He encouraged Paul as he went through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He was not ashamed of what Paul went through. Jesus told us:

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

Those who are Light in the midst of Darkness will be hated, imprisoned, shunned, mocked, lied about, and persecuted. But those who love Jesus are the best friends you can have. Onesiphorus “when he arrived in Rome, he sought {Paul} out very zealously and found {him}”. A friend will stand with you.

You will have earthly friends who come and go, but like minded believers will stay with you while they can. In time, earthly believers may move to other areas. They may leave this life.

But Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you.

Our forefather Abraham understood that the Best Friend you can have is Jesus. How did Abraham and Jesus become such good friends. Go back to our Proverb:

Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly

When God offered the hand of friendship to Abraham in Genesis 12, Abraham grabbed His blessed hand. He believed God. He followed God. Though he often failed, he looked for God. The Bible says:

James 2:23 (NKJV) “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.

Friends believe in one another. Abraham didn’t doubt the promises that His Friend Jesus gave him. He just believed, and followed. Even when his Friend asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Abraham believed God. He trusted God. HE FOLLOWED JESUS. Jesus tells us:

John 15:12-14 (NKJV) This is My COMMANDMENT, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

You cannot be a Friend of God and not obey His commandments. It doesn’t work that way. Friends trust one another. Friends love to be with one another. Friends do not abandon one another.

What a Friend we have in Jesus! Amen.

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Guarding Against False Teachers

Posted on July 8, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Jude 10 But these {false teachers} speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

Last week we saw how Jude spoke against idolatry and false teachers. He started by reminding us that when God saved Israel from Egypt, a “mixed multitude” went out with them:

Exodus 12:37-38 (KJV) And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot [that were] men, beside children. [38] And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, [even] very much cattle.

Word Study: “Mixed multitude” is the Hebrew ʿēreḇ raḇ, which can be translated “a foreign multitude, a great rabble, a mixed {non-Israelite} crowd”. God’s people – whether Israel or the Church – has always had those who are not born again who attend services, who may actually be on our membership roll. When Israel regathered in Jerusalem at the end of the Medo-Persian exile, much of the “mixed multitude” were cousins of the Israelites, Ammonites and Moabites. These people had their own gods and goddesses, and secretly wanted to draw Israel away from the God of Scripture. We are told in:

Nehemiah 13:1-3 (KJV) On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; [2] Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. [3] Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude{ʿēreḇ}

When Israel neglected the Word of God, they bound together with false teachers and idolaters, those things that would keep them away from a perfect union with God. But once they realized through the reading of God’s Word who were ʿēreḇ and who were of Israel, they separated from these people.

It is the Word of God that gives us the standards that we, as Children of God, are supposed to seek. The mixed multitude can lead the Church from honoring Christ.

Characteristics Of False Teachers

Jude 10 But these {false teachers} speak evil {blasphēmeō} of those things which they know not

Word Study: The false teachers blasphēmeō, or blaspheme things they do not understand or agree with. They did this with our Lord Jesus. The Pharisees made intricate additions to the Law of God concerning the Sabbath. If you were hungry, you were not even supposed to pick raw corn from the stalk to eat it (Matthew 12:1-8). Jesus reminded them that The Scripture taught that when David was hungry, on the Sabbath day the PRIESTS gave him and his men shew bread, which was only supposed to be eaten by PRIESTS (Matthew 12:3-4). Jesus relied on the Scripture. Moving to the Synagogue, the Lord Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day (Matthew 12:10). Again Jesus referred to the Scripture, saying:

Matthew 12:11-12 (KJV) … What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

The Law of God allowed people to eat, and animals to be watered and rescued on the Sabbath Day. The Sabbath was established as a time to worship the Lord, to glorify His name. But the Pharisees – a “rabble among us” or “mixed multitude” – did not refer to the Scripture, but to what they thought was best. When Jesus healed on the Sabbath, rather than glorifying God they taught that Jesus was demon possessed. When Jesus healed a demon possessed man, proving He was the Messiah, the …

Matthew 12:24 (ESV) … Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

They do not understand, nor do they want to understand Jesus the Messiah, so they blaspheme Him. They put Jesus in league with the devil, though He did no wrong. They did so not on the basis of Scripture, nor by the Holy Spirit, but based on their feelings and desires. Jesus pointed out that, if He were in league with Satan, then …

Matthew 12:26 (ESV) And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Jesus went on to say,

Matthew 12:28, 31-32 (ESV) But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. … [31] Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. [32] And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

The Pharisees were not blaspheming the Son of Man, the Messiah. It was the Holy Spirit that was casting the demons out. It was the Holy Spirit by which Jesus healed people. They were blaspheming the Holy Spirit, an unforgivable sin that brings everlasting damnation. Why is this sin unforgivable, and all others forgivable?

Because it is the Holy Spirit that convicts a person they they are a sinner, and need the Savior, Jesus Christ
(John 16:8-9).

Jesus said in John 6:44, (KJV) “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” When a person is under conviction, it is because the Father sent the Spirit of God to convict that person. When a person sees a clear work of God and attributes it to Satan, they are rejecting the Holy Spirit, the only One Who can convict them of sin and bring them to REPENTANCE so they might be saved. My commentary notes:

“All sin can be forgiven. However, the key to forgiveness is repentance. The key to repentance is conviction. The source of conviction is the Holy Spirit. When a person blasphemes, slanders and rejects the true work of the Holy Spirit, they disconnect their source of conviction. When this happens, there is nothing or no one who will move that person to repentance and without repentance there can be no forgiveness. … they have rejected the Holy Spirit.”

False Prophets Cut Themselves Off From Salvation

The “mixed multitude” or the unsaved cut themselves off from salvation. They are likened to “BRUTE BEASTS”…

Jude 10 … what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

Their actions condemn themselves to hell by rejecting the Word of God and the Messiah. When a person in our midst says, “I know what the Bible says, BUT I DISAGREE. It’s an old, outdated Book.” That person condemns themselves, and if not careful, will kill the righteous. The Apostle wrote:

2 Peter 2:12-13 (KJV) But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; [13] And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, [as] they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots [they are] and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you …

The Way of Cain

Jude 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain …

False teachers have no love for their brethren. We are told “they have gone in the way of Cain”. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is DEATH” (Romans 6:23). Adam’s sin against God in Eden brought the reality of this home to both him and his wife. After their expulsion from Eden, Adam and Eve had a child called Cain, a farmer, and Abel, s shepherd (Genesis 4:1-2). God had instituted animal sacrifices in the Garden to act as a temporary covering for sin. When Cain brought his sacrifice, he brought the “fruit of the ground to the Lord” (Genesis 4:3). His brother Abel brought the firstborn of his flock (Genesis 4:4).

God refused Cain’s offering, but received Abel’s offering. Why did God refuse Cain’s offering? Because it was NOT OF FAITH. Faith heeds God’s Word. Faith honors God.

You can’t just do it the way you want to do it. The Word of God establishes the pattern, what is acceptable. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 11:4 (ESV) By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

Cain could have easily obeyed the Lord. He knew what the standard was. His brother Abel was a believer in God, and would have readily given Cain a lamb had he asked for it. God pleaded with Cain, saying:

Genesis 4:6-7 (ESV) … Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? [7] If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Faith is to DO WELL, to DO WHAT GOD SAID. Period! God will not repent. Cain must repent. But since Cain refused to repent, and God would not re-write Scripture to satisfy Cain’s whim, Cain killed his brother Abel. The false prophet wants to set the standard. The Apostle wrote:

1 John 3:12 (ESV) We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

False teachers are “OF THE EVIL ONE”. They are not of God. Those who are of God, of Christ, not only HEAR but DO His Word. Jesus said:

Luke 6:44-46 (ESV) … for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. [45] The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. [46] Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

The false teacher, like Cain, will not repent. He will KILL HIS BROTHER – either literally or figuratively – rather than obey the Lord. Cain has made himself a god, and refuses the Word of God.

Running After The Error Of Balaam

Jude 11 Woe unto them! for they … ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward

When Israel came out of Egypt, they passed near Moab in their journey to Sinai. The Moabites, though cousins to Israel, hated Israel and the God of Israel. They along with the Amorites worshiped Chemosh, the Destroyer. Mesha king of Moab …

2 Kings 3:27 … (ESV) took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall.

Those who worshiped Chemosh (who was demonic) offered human sacrifices to appease that god. Balaam was a ‘prophet for hire’ that the King Balak of Moab hired to curse Israel. God told Balaam:

Numbers 22:12 (AP) You shall NOT go with the Moabites. You shall NOT curse Israel, for they are BLESSED.

Balaam was offered riches to speak man’s word instead of God’s Word. He agreed. But God sent an Archangel to stop Balaam. His donkey saw the Angel, but he didn’t.

Anytime God allows an animal to speak in Scripture, whether snake or donkey, we would best reconsider what we’re planning. The Angel allowed Balaam to go with the Moabites, but warned him:

Numbers 22:35 (ESV) Go with the men, but speak ONLY THE WORD that I tell you.

Four times Balaam prophesied over Israel, but instead of cursing God’s people, he was made to bless them. But Balaam was greedy. When King Balak offered him more money Balaam suggested that Balak send unbelieving but beautiful women from Moab into Israel to entice God’s people into sin.

Israel added to the mixed multitude!
What was the result?

Numbers 25:1-3 (ESV) {Israel} began to whore with the daughters of Moab. [2] These invited the people {of Israel} to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. [3] So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

Israel took up with the human sacrifice of Chemosh. We are told that Israel “yoked himself to Baal of Peor”. The word baal is simply the word for “lord,” “master,” or “ruler.” Baal became a technical or semi-technical name for the gods of the Canaanites. What Israel did caused God to bring a plague on the nation that would kill 24,000. What was the source of this horror?

Numbers 31:16 (ESV) Behold, these, on Balaam ‘s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.

False teachers bring plague upon God’s people, and lead the Church into sin. Jesus spoke to the Church of Pergamum:

Revelation 2:14 (ESV) … you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.

I suspect that the “TEACHING OF BALAAM”, the suggestion that we as believers should allow more leniency towards those who “practice sexual immorality” is one of the more common false teachers found in American Churches.

The Rebellious Talk Of Korah

Jude 11 … and perished in the gainsaying {antilogia} of Core {kore, or Korah}.

This is a reference to Korah. The word translated “GAINSAYING” is the Greek antilogia, which means “to speak against, to rebel against Divine authority, to contradict what god has decreed”. There are three other “Korahs” in the Bible (Genesis 36:5, 14, 18; 1 Chronicles 1:35; Genesis 36:16; 1 Chronicles 2:43), but this Korah is found in Numbers 16:1-40.

Korah was the grandson of Kohath. The lineage of Kohath was responsible for transporting the furniture of the Tabernacle, along with the Ark of the Covenant. Korah reported to Aaron’s son Eleazar, the Overseer of the Tabernacle. Korah’s responsibilities and those of his family was very important. Without the vessels and the Ark of the Covenant, worship could not proceed. But Korah wasn’t satisfied.

Just as Lucifer looked at himself, and thought himself better than even God His Creator, Korah felt that HE could be more than he was called to be. Korah wanted to be of Aaron’s line – and led a revolt against Moses and Aaron to that effect.

Numbers 16:1-3 (ESV)Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. [2] And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. [3] They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

He claimed that Moses and Aaron conspired to be priests and leaders, and that he and his followers had just as much right to lead Israel. There were 24 courses of priests throughout the sons of Levi, and each had their assigned place BY GOD. But Moses was very wise.

He put it before God. He let God fight the battle.

Numbers 16:5-7 (ESV) {Moses} said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. [6] Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; [7] put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

Korah and his crowd forgot that Moses and Aaron did not call themselves. God called them. Only God can remove them, not Korah!

We must all be careful not to overstep our calling. God calls us – we do not call ourselves. When you step into God’s place, and seek to overthrow someone God installed, then you do so to your peril.

Moses let God fight his battle. Moses called two of the ringleaders, Dathan and Abiram to come and speak to him. Their response is typical of the false teacher. They refused to meet Moses face to face, but hid in the mob they created, saying …

Numbers 16:12-14 (KJV) We will not come up: 13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? 14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

They claimed it was Moses, not God, who led them to this place. They blamed Moses, not themselves, for failing to enter the Promised Land. In short, they lied and put their problems on Moses, not on themselves. The reality is that these people were part and parcel the reason that the first generation of Israel perished in the wilderness.

Neither Moses nor Aaron can force a people to the blessings of God. The people must choose to follow God. Murmuring and grumbling will not bring blessing, nor will rebellion. “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and insubordination is idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23).

I wish you would read the full chapter of Numbers 16, for my time is limited and I must hurry to close. Let me simply say this. Moses asked God …

Numbers 16:30-33 (KJV) if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. 31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

They were buried alive by God! God will punish those who defy Him, who murmur and complain and seek to impede His will.

What Should We As God’s Beloved Do?

Jude 17-20 But, BELOVED, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20 But ye, BELOVED, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

What can we do to preserve our fellowship, and honor our God? Remember that we are His Beloved. Remember that God has warned that the mixed multitude will come among us, spiritless and unsaved people who will walk following themselves as idols. Let us pray, let us grow, let us stay true to our God.

More on this next week. May God touch your hearts with his Word! Amen.

Posted in Jude, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Good Customer Service

Posted on July 6, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Romans 14:7-12 (KJV) 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. 9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. 10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Whatever Happened To Good Customer Service?

I was having coffee with my brother Frank yesterday when I asked the question, “Whatever happened to good customer service?” It’s getting rarer and rarer today. No one wants to wait on you. When you go in a store, you are treated like an inconvenience. People want your money, but they don’t want your presence. For that matter, people want to be paid – but hate the fact they have to work.

I believe much of the problem has to do with 21st century parenting. Children are raised without responsibilities. They are given everything, whether they work for it of not. So the child grows up believing:

“I live TO MYSELF. If it’s not about ME, then I don’t care. My entire responsibility in life is to please MYSELF. I will live my life MY WAY, like Frank Sinatra, then when I die I will die TO MYSELF. Nobody else matters but ME.”

I can tell you horror stories, and you can probably tell me the same. I went to CVS with a coupon the other day, and the cashier treated me like dirt. People refuse to say “thanks for coming” or even “thank you”. It’s just, “Give me the money, get out!” I’ve had cashiers ring up my order wrong, and when I point it out they look at me like “What an inconvenience!” On one error I pointed out the young lady said, “Well, it’s just $2.00!” Yes, but it’s MY $2.00.

Let’s talk about turn signals. People refuse to use them. Turn signals prevent accidents, increase the smooth flow of traffic, and get us all home safely. But because everyone is so “It’s all about ME” no one wants to be courteous. And we all suffer.

Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and NO MAN {oudeis} dieth to himself.

Word Study: The words translated “NO MAN” is the Greek oudeis, which doesn’t mean “NO MAN” but “NO ONE NOR ANY THING”. Children believe the world revolves around them. Some Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Communists and Libertarians believe the world revolves around them. It doesn’t. I’ve seen people on television gluing themselves to highways, or throwing paint on priceless works of art in order to “protest” the flavor of the day. These children in adult bodies believe life is all about them. They stop traffic, keeping people from working and paying taxes so these lazy creatures can be social justice idiots.

Harsh? I mean to be. God created the world to where there is NO life where there is no give and take.

For years we let people come across our border, and enter our society, but imposed no liability nor taxation on them. This increased the tax burden for every person in America. It’s not all about you. If you live in this free country, you MUST pay taxes to maintain its infrastructure. If you don’t, then someone has to. When John F. Kennedy was Inaugurated, January 20, 1961, in his speech he said in part:

“We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. … The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

In any nation when the people become self absorbed, “It’s all about ME”, I’m going to do it MY WAY, the anarchy of it will destroy that nation.

In any community where selfishness and self love prevails, lawlessness and flaming “mostly peaceful protests” will hurt everyone.

In any family where children are taught selfishness by selfish parents and grandparents, in time the children will grow into childish adults who live out their lives consuming rather than creating.

In any Church where we forget that we are to be the Light and the Salt – then in time God Himself will shut down that Church. We are called as believers not to seek our own, but to “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) if you expect to be blessed. Israel forgot this when the Messiah came. So Jesus told Israel:

Matthew 21:43 (KJV) … The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

God will close the doors of the nation that encourages selfish fools.
God will close the doors of the business that forgets its customer’s value.
God will close the doors on greedy cities.
God will close the doors on families that ignore His Word.
God will close the doors on Churches that do not glorify Him.

God Is The Customer Of This Church

What is the business of every Christian, the business of every Church?

Romans 14:8 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.

We as Christians live to please the Lord Who saved us. In that sense, God is our Customer. We are bought by the Lord. We belong to the Lord. We are members of His Kingdom. And God has expectations of us.

In the midst of all the “salvation is a free gift” preaching – and it is a “free gift” for we cannot earn nor deserve it – many “accepted Jesus” but were not told that there would be consequences of accepting the free gift. Now, let’s talk about that phrase “FREE GIFT”.

The phrase “FREE GIFT” is only found twice in the Scripture, ONLY in Romans chapter five.

Romans 5:15-16, 18 (KJV) But not as the offense, so also [is] the FREE GIFT {charisma}. 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 {charisma} [is] of many offenses unto justification. … [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.

Word Study: The words “FREE GIFT” is the Greek charisma, which means “a favor with which one receives without any merit of his own, divine gratuity and deliverance”. These words are used in verses 15-16, but not in verse 18. The King James translators added the words in verse 18 – though this is what the Apostle was talking about. Salvation is indeed a “FREE GIFT” in the sense that you cannot purchase it, you cannot earn it. You cannot work toward it. But it is a FREE GIFT WITH CONSEQUENCES.

When you receive the FREE GIFT of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, God sends the Holy Spirit to you, and as a consequence you are BORN AGAIN.

Receiving the FREE GIFT of salvation from Jesus Christ brings a change to the recipient. We are told in Romans 5:19 that “many are MADE RIGHTEOUS”. Whereas before you were selfish and self absorbed, now you live in love with God and your fellow believers. We are told in Romans 5:21 that for the believer, “GRACE REIGNS through RIGHTEOUSNESS unto ETERNAL LIFE by Jesus Christ our Lord”.

The world and the worldly LIVE FOR THEMSELVES. But for the Christian, born again of God’s Spirit:

Romans 14:8 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.

Christians belong to the One Who bought them.

1 Corinthians 6:20 (KJV) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

“FREE GIFT” doesn’t mean you are freely given salvation so you can live for the devil. We do not live to please the world. We live to please our Savior and lord.

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

We do not live our lives to please the lost world. We live our lives for Jesus. “whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”. Jesus did not die on the Cross and rise from the grave so we can be a selfish mess with the rest of the world. Jesus did not die on the Cross and rise again just so “I can go to Heaven”. No!

Jesus purchased a Kingdom with His Blood!

Romans 14:9 (KJV) For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living.

Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Earth. He is Lord of all. He is Lord of His Kingdom. “That He might be Lord both of the dead and living”. What does that mean? Jesus told us:

John 5:22-29 (NKJV) For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, [23] “that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. [24] “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. [25] “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. [26] “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, [27] “and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. [28] “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice [29] “and come forth–those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Jesus Christ is the “LORD of all”, the “LORD of the DEAD and of the LIVING”. Those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are born again, quickened, made alive by the Spirit of God. They are “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (John 1:12; Romans 8:16; 1 John 3:10; Philippians 2:15). The Bible says:

Philippians 2:9-10 (NKJV) Therefore God also has highly exalted {Jesus} and given Him the name which is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, …

Jesus is the LORD of the Living, of the Born Again, of the Church. But Jesus is also the LORD of the dead, the spiritually unborn, of the world.

Romans 14:11-12 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, EVERY knee shall bow to me, and EVERY tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then EVERY ONE OF US shall give account of himself to God.

Judgment Day is coming for every person, and Jesus Christ is the Judge. Some will stand before Jesus at what the Bible calls “The Great White Throne Judgment”. Those who refused His “free gift” of salvation, who refused to lay their lives down to follow Him, who refused to listen to what Jesus said:

Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV) Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

The lost gave their soul to self, to selfishness, to chase sin and sinful pleasures. These “lost souls” will one day stand before a Great White Throne. They refused to DENY THEMSELVES, TAKE UP THE CROSS, and FOLLOW JESUS. As they stand before this Throne, Jesus will tell them “I never knew you”.

Jesus is life and light. The sum of their lives on earth are selfishness and self service. He doesn’t know who they are.

That’s what Jesus is talking about in:

Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of My Father in heaven. [22] “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not PROPHESIED in Your name, CAST OUT DEMONS in Your name, and DONE MANY WONDERS in Your name?’ [23] “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

What is the “WILL OF THE FATHER IN HEAVEN”? It is to believe on Jesus, to give your life to Him. It is not occasional acts of good, but committing your daily walk to Him. Those who are nominal or occasional Christians may not be saved. I beg you – examine yourselves. There is no purgatory, and the Lake of Fire is forever (Revelation 20:11-15).

Jesus Will Judge Every Christian

Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

With these words, the Apostle is not giving the Christian the right to sin. There are certain activities that the Bible clearly labels as “sin”. If we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will warn them against sin. What the Apostle is talking about is something you find objectionable that is not clearly marked out in Scripture as “sin”. We’ve talked about this before.

Though we as Christians are to avoid what God has clearly defined as “sin”, there are other gray areas that are open to interpretation. Here’s the standard:

If you can find a Bible text that clearly states “this is sin”, then stand with the text. But if the Bible does not address what you find objectionable, let Jesus be the judge.

Romans 14:13-15 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. 14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

In the early Church, Jewish Christians were taught that certain meats were “unclean” and should not be eaten. Gentile Christians were not raised in that culture, so ate all things. Paul said, “I am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself”. But even if its not forbidden, if I love my brother or sister in Christ and it might cause them to stumble in their growth, shouldn’t I practice self denial? My prejudices and upbringing should not cause another believer grief.

We are members of one another (Ephesians 4:25; Romans 12:5).

Give up your “sacred set” or your “parking place” to another. Deny yourself. Be encouragers, not discouragers. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and on Grace. Be charitable.

Romans 14:16-17 Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

We are all different, with different backgrounds. As long as the Bible does not forbid it, love your fellow believer – even if you don’t agree. I close with this:

Romans 14:20-21 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Let us love one another. In Christ’s name. Amen!

Posted in Romans, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Follow Your Leader

Posted on July 3, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

Sin is a transgression against the clear commandment of God. The Apostle wrote:

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Sin begins with the question, “Has God really said?”, and then moves from there to partaking of what is forbidden. Those who minimize sin are not Christian, though they may claim to be so. The person who blatantly and without regard to God sin is the enemy of God, and the partner of Satan. The Scripture tells us:

1 John 3:8 (ESV) Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

To “sin and grin” is to prove that you are not God’s child, but a lost person in need of the Savior. The Christian is called to willingly separate from anything that is “of the flesh” or sinful. God told the Old Covenant priest:

Isaiah 52:11 (NKJV) Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the Lord.

The New Covenant believer is a priest, and IS THE VESSEL of God. We are the possessions of Jesus.

We are indwelt by the Spirit of God. “You are not your own – you are BOUGHT WITH A PRICE” (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23)

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (NKJV) Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”

False Professors Walk By Desire,
Not By The Word Of God

Proverbs 18:1 Through DESIRE {ta’ăvâ} a man, having separated himself…

The Christian is to be driven by the Word of God, but the world and the worldly are driven by the flesh, by desire. Our Lord Jesus had a very high view of Scripture, as well as the moral requirements of the Old Testament. False professors of Christianity claim that the Scripture, our Bible, is outdated and errant. An early Pastor named Augustine wrote:

“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”

Word Study: False professors are not walking in the Spirit of God, but in the flesh. What drives them is DESIRE {ta’ăvâ [pro. tah-av-aw’]}, “the longing of the heart, lust or greed”. This word was used in the Garden of Eden when humanity decided to sin against the goodness of God. We read:

Genesis 3:6 (KJV) the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was PLEASANT {ta’ăvâ} to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Knowing what God said, Adam used his own judgment, his own flesh, and did that which God forbade by His Word. The proper Christian is to separate himself from sin based upon the Word of God. The improper Christian relies not on the Word of God, but on his flesh, his compulsive desires.

Mixed Multitudes Often Visit Us

These people have always invaded God’s people. Jude speaks of these types, saying:

Jude 16-19 (NKJV) These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

When Israel came out of Egypt, we are told:

Exodus 12:37-38 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot [that were] men, beside children. [38] And a mixed multitude {ʿēreḇ raḇ} went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, [even] very much cattle.

A “mixed multitude {ʿēreḇ raḇ}”, a mixture of other people, left Egypt with Israel. The Benson Commentary notes,

“Some perhaps willing to leave their country, because it was laid waste by the plagues. But probably the greatest part was but a rude, unthinking mob, that followed they knew not why. It is likely, when they understood that the children of Israel were to continue forty years in the wilderness, they quitted them, and returned to Egypt again.”

The Pulpit Commentary notes that “it is more probable that they consisted of fugitives from other subject races (as the Shartana) oppressed by the Pharaohs. We have again mention of this “mixed multitude” in Numbers 11:4, where we find that they were the first to regret the “flesh and the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlick” which they had eaten in Egypt freely (ib. 5). They thus set a bad example, which the Israelites followed.”

Both the Church as well as Israel has always had an open door policy. Anyone can come and enjoy the services. But some come not to glorify God, but to twist the Scripture to make it fit their lifestyle choices. They …

Proverbs 18:1 seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

Word Study: The “mixed multitude” that joins with us generally will be polite. But some – like Judas Iscariot – seek out and “INTERMEDDLETH” {Hithpael Imperfect gālaʿ}, that is to say, “they stand against or quarrel with ALL WISDOM”. Rejecting the Word and the Command of God, they seek to twist an pervert it in order to please their own desires. Some of this is even in our Baptist Churches.

I recently read in the Baptist and Reflector where Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas talked about “his church’s “robust complementarianism,” with male and female deacons, stating, “Complementarianism frees women to minister in appropriate roles alongside men, not limit them.”

The last few years I’ve heard phrases bandied about that have not ties to scripture, especially phrases like egalitarianism and complementarianism. The problem with big words that are not found in Scripture (and I’ll talk more about this in a moment) is that these big words confuse people. Let me be very much to the point.

For a person to be installed in the OFFICE of Deacon, the Apostles very clearly laid out the qualifications in the Scripture.

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

The OFFICE of Deacon is limited to men, just as the OFFICE of Pastor is limited to men. Why? Because God said so. Though there are many honorable and blessed women in the Bible, no Scriptural text, Old or New Testament, is written by women. In the early Church when the Apostles (all male) was founded, these representatives of Jesus Christ said:

Acts 6:3 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.

Not women, but men. Why? Because God said so. Does that offend you? I understand. But God said so. The Bible says so. Period.

Those who ordain women to the OFFICE of Deacon point to Paul’s writing in:

Romans 16:1 I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a SERVANT {diakonos} of the church which is at Cenchrea:

They say, “See, Phoebe was a DIAKONOS, the same word that was used by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:8 for “Deacons”. So we can ordain women as Deacons”. Did Paul lose his mind? Did he forget that God led him to write one thing in Timothy, and another in Romans? No. Here’s the thing.

Deacons {DIAKONOS} are servants of the Church. There is an OFFICE of Deacon. But when you study the word DIAKONOS, you find out that it does not just refer to the OFFICE. Biblically ..

1. Secular Rulers and Presidents are DIAKONOS. In Romans 13:4 the Apostle wrote, “he is the MINISTER {DIAKONOS} of God to thee for good”. President Trump is, by this Scripture, a SERVANT or DIAKONOS of God – but he is not an ordained Deacon – nor would he be qualified to be a Deacon in our Church. For that matter, since “the powers that be are of God”, then Putin and Zelenskyy are also DIAKONOS.

2. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is described as DIAKONOS.

Romans 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a MINISTER {DIAKONOS} of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.

Jesus came and ministered (DIAKONOS) to the Jews first – but He is not in the OFFICE of Deacon. No, in the Church JESUS IS THE HEAD (Colossians 1:18), the LORD, our BOSS.

3. The Apostle Paul himself, Apollos, and every believer who labors with him in the Gospel as DIAKONOS:

1 Corinthians 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but MINISTERS {DIAKONOS} by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

2 Corinthians 6:3-4 Giving no offense in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: [4] But in all [things] approving ourselves as the MINISTERS {DIAKONOS} of God …

4. The Lord Jesus Christ calls ALL His Children to be not masters but DIAKONOS or servants. He is not calling every Christian to the OFFICE of Deacon, but to serve one another in love:

Matthew 20:25-28 (KJV)But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. [26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your MINISTER {DIAKONOS}; [27] And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your SERVANT {DOULOS}: [28] Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto {diakoneō}, but to minister {diakoneō}, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew 23:10-12 (KJV)Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, [even] Christ. [11] But he that is greatest among you shall be your SERVANT {DIAKONOS}. ..

What God has said in Scripture is very clear – but we often allow our desires color and contaminate what the Lord has told us. Phoebe, like all good Christians, served (DIAKONOS) the Church. But she was not in the OFFICE of Deacon. Feminism demands that we culturally toe the line, and say “Whatever men can do, women can do”.

Not if God says otherwise.

Pastor Harry Ironside wrote:

“To separate from apostasy is right and Scriptural. To separate from what is godly causes grievous division in the church. It is the human will setting itself above the authority of the Word and Spirit of God.”

We must not let desire, nor the whims of our culture to invade the clear textual teaching of the Scripture.

The Godless Pursue Self Satisfaction

Proverbs 18:2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

Though highly religious, Jesus called the Pharisees “fools”. Why? Because they didn’t want to live by God’s Word, but twisted the Word to suit themselves. Read this and see if you understand why Jesus called them “FOOLS” or godless people:

Matthew 23:16-22 (ESV) “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

When people start using doublespeak – deliberately distorting the language to hide or twist the truth – you should immediately be suspicious.

The fool isn’t driven by a desire to understand truth, for all that matters to them is what’s on their mind. I heard a feminist say:

“The men you should avoid are those born on their birthday”.

That is about the stupidest statement I’ve ever heard. Or this gem:

“All white people are racist”.

That is, in and of itself, a racist remark. It makes no sense, for it is not based in truth. It is not a productive statement, but tears at the fabric of our nation.

Proverbs 18:3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also CONTEMPT {bûz}, and with IGNOMINY reproach.

The word translated “CONTEMPT” is the Hebrew bûz, which means “that which shows disrespect, to despise or shame another”. Fools or godless people who reject Christ mock the Gospel of God and the lifestyle of the Child of God. The wicked disrespect the way of Christ. What do they get for this? In time, they suffer “IGNOMINY” the Hebrew qālôn means “shame, confusion, dishonor”. Eventually righteousness and the Christian way of life brings peace, whereas the wicked and disrespectful way of life brings dishonor. Why?

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are as DEEP WATERS, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

Human wisdom and human opinion is like “DEEP WATERS”. What does that mean? Think about “DEEP WATERS” for a minute. The deepest waters on earth are in our oceans. There are hidden treasure in the oceans. But the water itself is undrinkable. If you are caught in deep waters, you can be drowned. There are hidden dangers in deep waters, like sharks. Deep waters can be a blessing, or they can be a curse. You can get lost – or worse – in deep waters. If the words of a man’s mouth speak the Word of God, these deep waters are always beneficial, always a blessing.

Proverbs 18:4 … and the WELLSPRING {māqôr} of WISDOM as a flowing brook.

Word Study: The word “WELLSPRING” is the Hebrew māqôr, which means “the source, the fountain or origin”. Wisdom comes from God, from His Word. Wisdom comes from Jesus. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 7:37-38 (ESV) … Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

The flowing brook is drinkable water. It satisfies the thirsty soul. Man’s wisdom often leaves us wanting more, but God’s wisdom satisfies and blesses.

The “flowing brook”, fed from God the Son, never dries up.

When people heard Jesus speak, they professed “No one ever spoke like this Man!” (John 7:46). The words of man may sometimes be beneficial, but Christ’s Words are always a blessing. Jesus said:

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

We who love the Lord must cling to His Word, regardless as to what the current culture says. It is God’s Word that saved us. It is God’s Word that keeps on saving us. I close with this:

Philippians 2:14-16 (ESV) Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life

May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment