Tag Archives: Light vs Darkness

The State Of The Saint

Posted on October 13, 2025 by bibleteacherorg

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith He loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

God shows His love for us, His mercy, His great Kindness by offering us a way out of spiritual death. That Way is Christ, faith in the Lord Jesus! God raises us from a state of spiritual death when we receive Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior. I heard a preacher make this statement:

“There is no place in the New Testament where God says we are to REPENT OF OUR SINS.”

That’s a profound statement – and it is true. God calls us to repent. But it doesn’t mean to be sorry for our sins. The word “REPENT” is the Greek metanoeō, which means “to change the mind”. Here’s the thing. IF we are DEAD IN SINS, blinded to our sin, and are born into this world DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS, then how are we to REPENT and feel sorry for our sins? Repent means to LOOK GODWARD, and give your life to Him. It means to look upward and say,

“Lord, I’m broken. My way of life isn’t working. I give myself to You. I will follow You. I am no longer my own god. You and You alone are my God! I love You, Jesus!”

Word Study: God opens our eyes at the point of salvation, and gives us a choice to either accept or reject Jesus Christ as Lord. If we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, God responds to this and “quickens us together with Christ”. The word translated “QUICKENS” is the Greek syzōopoieō which means “to make ALIVE TOGETHER WITH”. This word is found twice in the Scripture. Here, and in:

Colossians 2:13 (KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together [syzōopoieō] with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;… Continue reading →

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Plain Truth About Righteousness

Posted on December 7, 2024 by bibleteacherorg

Proverbs 13:22 (KJV) A GOOD man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the SINNER is laid up for the just.

Leave Your Children A Godly Example

The Bible uses the word “GOOD” in a relative way. When humans are compared in the eyes of God, there are:

“Children of God” (Matthew 5:9) or
“Children of the Devil” (John 8:44)

Fruit bearing “Wheat” or
Poison bearing “Tares” (Matthew 13:24-30)

“Children of the Kingdom” or
“Children of the Wicked One” (Matthew 13:38)

“Children of Light” or
“Children of Darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5)

“Sinners” or
“Righteous” (Luke 5:32)

“Good” or
“Evil” (Matthew 5:45)

Jesus told us “there are NONE GOOD but God” (Matthew 19:17). In relation to God, none of us are truly “good”. But among mankind there are “GOOD” people, those saved… Continue reading →

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Suffering Well

Posted on September 26, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

As humans, we often ask “Why is there suffering in this world we are in?” Sometimes we see suffering in children, such as those at St Jude’s Hospital. Open your newspaper and you don’t have far to look for suffering. I subscribe to “Main Street Maury”, our local newspaper. I like it because it seems to have balanced reporting. In the opinion section there is a liberal column right next to a Libertarian column. I don’t agree with all I read, but I do like balanced reporting. I look at my paper. On the front page, “SAFE Clinic helps victims of violence”. A wonderful ministry operated locally by the Center of Hope. It exists because of suffering. Turn the page. “Domestic incident leads to Columbia woman’s death; suspect hospitalized”. This is horrible. It’s suffering. Next page. “Free legal assistance to low income residents”. Suffering. The obituaries. Death and suffering. You see where I’m going.

If “God is good”, if there is a God Who created all things, why is there such suffering?

The Bible tells us that suffering entered our world because mankind chose to walk away from the God Who created all things “VERY GOOD” (Genesis 1:31). When God made us, He made us – both male and female – “in Our image, after Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). God gave humans authority over the earth, telling us to “have dominion” and to “multiply and fill the earth”. God gave us authority over the animals and nature, but gave us a free will to make choices. We could choose to follow our Creator, or we could follow another created being.

Many of us, like Adam, choose to follow
the created rather than the Creator…. Continue reading →

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Gibea, Gomorrah & Sodom

Posted on July 19, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Turn with me in your Bibles to Judges chapter 19. An ancient preacher named Miguel Molinos stated:

“There are two kinds of darkness, an unhappy darkness and a happy darkness. The {unhappy} darkness is that which arises from sin. … The second type of darkness is darkness which the Lord allows within our inward part in order to establish and settle virtue …”

When I thought about that statement, I thought about what our Lord Jesus told us. Jesus said,

Matthew 16:24-25 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.

When we who love the Lord follow our Jesus, we climb Mount Sinai up steep walls and loose rock, shifting sand. We find our God on Mount Moriah, and are told to willingly give up our Isaac on an altar we build there. We are called to walk the Via Dolorosa – the dusty path our Lord Jesus carried His Cross – as the crowds around us mock and jeer and toss stones. We are called to go “outside the camp and bear the reproach He bore” (Hebrews 13:13). Christians are not called to a life of compromise, pleasing the world around us. We are to stand in the shadow of our God, knowing that the darkness is but brief, and that our God watches over “those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). This is why the Scripture tells us who are saved:

James 1:2 (ESV) Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Your faith will be tested as you go through this life. Is your faith genuine? Trials will prove your faith, or trials will disprove your faith…. Continue reading →

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God Is In The Relocation Business

Posted on January 31, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

If you study the Scripture you will find that MAN is not the focal point in human history. GOD is. God made everything. The Scripture opens with:

In the beginning GOD created … (Genesis 1:1)

and ends with:

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (Revelation 22:21)

God made us. God loves us. God knows what is best for us. God will be glorified. God will ultimately triumph. God said:

Isaiah 45:5-10 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. 8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it. 9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? 10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?

God is the first cause of all things. God is the Creator of all life. God is. Not us, but God. God is the Source of all life. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:15). God’s Will will come to pass. The story of Scripture is that God made us, we rebelled against God, but God pursues us still. He wants to bring us into union with Himself.

John 3:17 God sent His Son into the world not to condemn it, but that the world through Jesus might be saved (my paraphrase)

God is not glorified in a lost world.
God is not glorified when racism abounds.
God is not glorified when people hate – and hurt – people.
God is not glorified when humans try and be God.

We need to relocate our hearts and minds to God…. Continue reading →

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The IF Of Salvation

Posted on March 23, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

The word “IF” occurs in the King James Version of the Scripture 1,595 times in 1,420 verses. The first use of the word “IF” occurs when Cain was upset that God would not accept his sacrifice. God told Cain:

Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

God was emphasizing to Cain that He expected Cain to bring an animal sacrifice, not the fruit of the field. Had Cain done that, the Lord would have accepted it. God demanded animal sacrifices because, as we later learn in Scripture, these animal sacrifices pointed out that human works cannot permanently cover our sins in God’s eyes. We all needed Jesus Christ as the “Lamb of God” to come and give His life for us. Jesus is “the Lamb without spot or blemish (John 1:29), “Christ our Passover sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Cain refused to listen to the IF of God, and murdered his brother Abel. Cain not only lost the possibility of salvation, but lived the rest of his life a marked man for the evil he did.

IF is used so many ways in the Scripture:
Noah released a dove to see IF the waters were receding (Genesis 8:8)
Abraham by IF gave grace to Lot, allowing him to choose (Genesis 13:9)
IF God found just ten righteous in Sodom, they would live (Genesis 18:32)

Some of the great IF statements come from Jesus. Continue reading →

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Being A Sober Minded Christian In A Sin Soaked World

Posted on March 19, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

The Roman Empire, much like America today, had given itself fully over to sin. The wages of sin is death. Sin unconfessed, sin renamed, sin justified by humanity, sin is a disease much worse than the Coronavirus ever was. It was sin that brought about a world wide flood in the days of Noah, sin that caused Adam and Eve to leave Paradise.

America shares much with the ancient Romans, as sin is cherished by many in our nation. We are today living in a post-Christian America. As a nation our leaders are making bad decisions, decisions that are not supported by the God of the Scripture. I believe, as Peter believed, that “the end of all things is at hand”. Believing this, Peter exhorted the Church that Jesus loves to

“be ye therefore SOBER and WATCH unto prayer”

Word Study Let’s focus on these key words. Be “SOBER and WATCH”. What do these words mean? The word translated SOBER is the Greek… Continue reading →

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A Christmas Light

Posted on December 16, 2020 by bibleteacherorg

Why did God send His Son into the world? Because without Jesus, evil is unchecked. The life that rejects Christ as Lord and Savior can become as mean as Herod’s life was. Oh Beloved, this world needs Jesus. Oh Beloved, we all need Jesus. The Light of God led the Wise Men to Jesus. The Light of God beckons you to Jesus. If you do not know Him as Lord and Savior, I pray that this Christmas your focus is not on the presents under the tree … but the Presence of God Who died on the Tree. He gave Himself for you and for me. Trust Him. Believe He gave Himself for your sins. Obey the Gospel:… Continue reading →

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Standing Strong In Chaotic Times

Posted on August 16, 2020 by bibleteacherorg

So many Christians today have been so bullied by the pagan culture around us that they have compromised with evil, and keep silent rather than be rebuked. The Bible is said to be outmoded, and any who stand up for it’s truths are archaic and against progress.

Today even the state is getting involved in attacks against Christianity. The Supreme Court of the United States should be wholeheartedly endorsing the First Amendment, protecting the rights of Christians to worship. Instead even our Chief Justices have turned a blind eye to state terrorism of the Church. But this isn’t new.

In England prior to the colonization of America the state religion was Anglicanism, and Bible believing Christians who did not agree with the state owned Church of England were persecuted. William Penn, the eventual founder of Pennsylvania, was… Continue reading →

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Whose Home Are You?

Posted on July 5, 2020 by bibleteacherorg

Those who were “within” the Family of God would be able to understand the parables because the Children of God go to God, and God explains the parables. But those who are “without”, who have not received Christ as Lord and Savior, would not be able to understand the parable. The Apostle Matthew explains why Jesus spoke in parables by quoting a prophet called Asaph (1 Chronicles 25:2), a message he wrote in Psalm 78:2.

Matthew 13:34-35 All these things spake Jesus unto… Continue reading →

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