Tag Archives: God

Be Careful

Posted on October 31, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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

In another case Jesus told His followers:

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

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

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

Repent, Restore, Reap

Posted on October 28, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Rapture

Posted on October 17, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

Your Life Is A Stewardship From God

Posted on October 1, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Several years ago there was an advertisement that ran in the Atlanta Journal. The ad read:

“SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship. Ethnicity not important. I’m a very good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. When you get home from work, I’ll be at the front door wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 555-1212 and ask for Daisy.”

1500 men called the number, but didn’t find what they expected. The number was for the Atlanta Humane Society. Daisy was an 8 week old black Labrador Retriever.

The life we live, that we currently have, is a stewardship from God. God gifted us life at birth. “The LORD brings death and GIVES LIFE” (1 Samuel 2:6). “God is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:25). What we have, what God has given us, is a stewardship. It does not belong to us. I often hear the phrase,

“My body, my choice”… Continue reading →

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, christianity, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, salvation | 1 Comment

There Is Death In The Pot

Posted on October 1, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

2 Kings 4:38-40 (KJV) And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and {boil stew} for the sons of the prophets. 39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of {Stew}: for they knew them not. 40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

The Bible tells us that “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4, ESV). So many people look at the Old Testament and compare it to the human appendix – a useless organ that can become infected and we would best be without. But the Old Testament was “written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come”. Our Lord Jesus preached extensively from the Old Testament. In fact, Jesus told those who would listen:

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

John the Baptist was the human Herald of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus, when He became flesh. But the Old Testament is the written Herald of Jesus, the Preincarnate Word of God!

God was reaching out to people through the Lord Jesus Christ, calling people to receive Him and love Him, even in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ was in… Continue reading →

Posted in 2 Kings, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, elisha, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Stand Fast

Posted on October 1, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

I prayed and sought God’s Spirit to tell me how to explain this section of scripture. I thought about the phrase “STAND FAST”, the Greek stēkō which means to “set your feet on solid ground, to resolutely stand and refuse to move from your assigned place”. Stēkō is a military term, a manly term. Jesus tied Stēkō to prayer. He said:

Mark 11:25-26 (KJV) And when ye STAND {Stēkō} praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

You cannot STAND FAST if you are in disarray. God’s Church is His people, His army. We stand TOGETHER in Him, in His Word. We do what our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, tells us. We follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture says:

Romans 14:4 (KJV) Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own Master he STANDETH {Stēkō} or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

The Church STANDS FAST not in it’s opinion, but IN THE LORD. The Apostle tells us:

Philippians 4:1 (KJV) … STAND FAST {Stēkō} in the Lord, [my] dearly beloved.

1 Thessalonians 3:8 (KJV) … STAND FAST {Stēkō} in the Lord.

The Christian loves the Word of God, and is led by the Spirit of God. We walk together with other like minded believers, STANDING FAST for Jesus!… Continue reading →

Posted in Galatians | Tagged Bible, disciples, discipleship, Faith, Following Christ, God, Jesus, salvation, stand don't squat, stand for God, Stand Strong, standfirm, standing for Jesus | Leave a comment

Children Of The Promise

Posted on September 15, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Galatians 3:24-26 … bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Before we were saved, we served as slaves false gods. The reason Galatians was written was to warn the Church to not follow the pathway of Israel. They created idols – like golden calves – and then worshiped these things. There are a number of golden calves in the Church today. God tells us:

1 John 4:1 (KJV) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

We test what we have heard by the Word of God. Before we were saved by faith in Christ, born again, we …

Ephesians 2:2-3 (ESV) … 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 flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

We followed the crowd and the darkness. We were slaves to sin and darkness. The devil wants the Church to be like the world. He creeps into the Church as he crept into the Garden of Eden, and brings a pseudo-truth, a twisted version of what God’s Word has actually said. Have you ever heard … Continue reading →

Posted in Hebrews, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Faith, Following Christ, God, God Is Faithful, Jesus, Law our Schoolmaster, Law vs Grace, Loving God, Mount Hagar, Mount Sinai, Mount Zion, salvation, salvation by faith | Leave a comment

To The Saints And To The Faithful

Posted on September 2, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Word Study: Prayer is TO THE FATHER, in the Name or Authority of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. We do not pray to the “saints”. Beloved, WE ARE THE SAINTS. The word translated “SAINTS” is the Greek hagios, which means those who are blameless or consecrated, whose lives honor God. The Christian is a “saint”. The same Greek word hagios is used in the title of the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy {hagios} Spirit. When a person becomes a Christian, it is not through OUR power that it occurs, but through the Holy {hagios} Spirit of God.

When a person hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is awakened to their sinful state by God:

John 16:8 (ESV) When [the Spirit] comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment

The person is left in a place of choice. Will they choose to do as God says,

Mark 1:15 (NKJV) The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.

Acts 2:38 (NKJV) Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repentance is not a human work, but a human anti-work. It is where you acknowledge YOU are a SINNER, and YOU need the Savior. Like Israel in Egypt, you cry out to God for salvation. You believe on Jesus. You cast your life down at His feet! When you do, you have the promise of God: Continue reading →

Posted in Ephesians, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, Christ, Christ follower, christianity, Church, Faith, God, gospel, in Christ Jesus, Jesus, salvation | Leave a comment

But, But, But

Posted on September 2, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Whether they know it or not, every single person is born under the Law of God. There are portions of the Law of God that are written in our hearts, in our conscience. Take, for instance, murder, the taking of innocent life. Murder was written into the Noahic Code. When Noah got off the Ark, God told him:

Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.

God forbade child sacrifice. He forbade the taking of any life, unless that person took a life. The Inca who gave their 4 year old child up to die alone and under the elements on a mountaintop would be guilty of a capital offense under God’s Law. And we all know in our hearts that murder is wrong, just as we know that theft, lying, rape, sexual sins – these things are wrong. But the heart can be hardened by uncorrected sin. Paul warned us in:… Continue reading →

Posted in Galatians, Law Of God, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bible, christianity, Faith, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, law, Law Fulfilled, Law of Christ, Law Of God, lawlessness, Mosaic Law, Royal Law, salvation | Leave a comment

The Law Was Added – Why?

Posted on August 25, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

God loved Adam, and proved it by what he did. But Adam doubted the love of God, and proved that by what HE did. He disobeyed God. He hid from God. He blamed God. This is THE Transgression (1 Timothy 2:14). And yet, God loved him anyway, and gave Adam life for death. Death reigned on the earth from Adam to Moses. Why? It wasn’t because people ate of the forbidden fruit as Adam did (for no one could get into Eden).

Death reigned because people rejected the love of God, choosing instead love of self and by extension love of sin. The wages of sin is death, and God is life. There was no law, and man embraced death while rejecting God.

When Jesus Christ came to this earth, He came to mediate a New Covenant, to bring us, through the Gospel, into a loving relationship with God. The Bible says: Continue reading →