Tag Archives: love

Nature Of The Christian

Posted on December 6, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ…..

Let’s start with these ten words. C.H. Spurgeon noted that one of the signs of spiritual maturity is to realize how weak you are, but how great Christ is. He said:

“Get to Christ somehow, anyhow, for if you get to Him you shall live. It is not the greatness nor the perfection of your faith, it is His greatness and His perfection which is to be depended on.”

As Peter begins this letter, let’s note how he begins it:… Continue reading →

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To The Elders

Posted on November 15, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

When I came across this the other day, I thought of Jerry Bridenbaugh, our Worship Leader and resident Lawyer. The man who told it to me started out with, “This is a true story, and there are court records that prove it”. This is from the British Newspaper, The Guardian:

“A lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina, bought a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire. A month later, after smoking all the cigars, he filed a claim against the insurance company, claiming that the cigars had been destroyed “in a series of small fires”. Naturally, the insurance company refused to pay, arguing that he had consumed the cigars in the normal way. The lawyer sued and won…. Continue reading →

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Above All Things

Posted on October 31, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

1 Peter 4:7-8 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

As Peter looked at the madness of society around him, he declared “the end of all things is at hand”. Both Israel and Rome had become so decadent and divorced from the God of Scripture, that he knew it was not long before both nations would collapse. Israel would collapse in 70 AD, as Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed. Rome would fall a little over 400 years later, in 476 AD. Moral corruption, the political division of the empire, and invasions by what we would call “illegal aliens” who attacked the citizenship. The Bible tells us:

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

What kept the Roman Empire going for 400 years after Israel was scattered?

God’s Church, the people for whom Christ died.

Nations have come and gone since Christ walked this earth. These once great nations are now only found in history books:… Continue reading →

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Do You Believe?

Posted on September 6, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

We have been studying the longest passage in Scripture on Jesus’ healing a man born blind. Jesus healed other blind people, but the entirety of chapter 9 deals with this one man. Interestingly, we never know this man’s name. But God knows it. Jesus knows his name. Jesus healed this man to show us that, as Messiah, He came to give sight to the blind. God told Moses:

Exodus 4:11 (ESV) … Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

It is God who makes a person. People say, “How can a loving God allow that child to be born blind, or with cancer, or with some horrid disease?” Yet what we are saying in reality is,

We have created a false god, an image of the true, in what we think is our image and in our likeness. God is not like what we want Him to be. God is as He is. God does what He does for a purpose. He is God, and we are not.

It is God – the LORD God Almighty – that makes each person according to His will. He made this man on purpose. God made this man blind so that, as we found out in verse 3, “that the works of God should be made manifest in him”. He was made blind from birth so that we all could see the power of Jesus over those who believe in Him. This man’s blindness could be healed – but the blindness of the Pharisee, the self righteousness of man made religion – cannot be fixed. … Continue reading →

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Who Is Abraham’s Seed?

Posted on August 11, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

John 8:37-42 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Last week we saw that the Pharisees were attacking Jesus. These were sincere people who believed in the Law of God. They were very conservative – and often added to the Law of God, making it more strident and binding. The Pharisees are also bullies, and try to bully Jesus. Jesus tells these religious zealots:

vs 37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed…

These people thought that because they were direct descendants of Abraham, that they were in a right relationship with God. As Pharisees they were physically tied to a righteous man named Abraham. But this is not how you are saved.

To Be Saved, You Must Be PHYSICALLY And
SPIRITUALLY Tied To God The Father

There will be many Jews who spend eternity in hell because they rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. These same Jews will believe that they are God’s “Chosen People” because they can trace their lineage back to… Continue reading →

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Being Born Again

Posted on August 7, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

1 Peter 1:22-25 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Children of Adam are to act one way – but Children of God are to act another way. Children of Adam act the way they act because they are driven by the flesh. But Children of God act differently because they are driven by the Spirit.

Children Of Adam Are Born To Lust
Children Of God Are Born To Love

Though “Lust” and “Love” both have four letters and begin with the letter “L”, no two words could be more different. “Lust” is love INWARD, self satisfaction, self pleasure, self gratification. “Love” is love OUTWARD, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, treating others with respect whether they deserve it or not. We read:

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

What “purifies your soul”? It is to “obeying the truth through the Spirit”. What is “THE TRUTH”? It is what God has said. God is the Source of all Truth. When God passed by Moses He told that grand old Believer:… Continue reading →

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Disciples Indeed

Posted on August 4, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

John 8:31-36 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in My word, [then] are ye My disciples indeed; {32} And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. {33} They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? {34} Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. {35} And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: [but] the Son abideth ever. {36} If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Salvation Is A Free Gift That Changes You

Salvation is a free gift from God. But it is a free gift that, when it comes to you, changes you positionally and progressively. When you are saved, you are positionally a Child of God:

Romans 8:16 (ESV) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God …

When God looks at us, we ARE His Children, if we are saved. This is positional. We are not children of Adam, but of God. But we are also progressively changed, which is what we will look at today. We read:

vs 31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him

Word Study: Jesus is addressing BELIEVING Jews. They have BELIEVED (past tense) on Him. The word translated BELIEVED is the Greek Perfect Active Participle of “pisteuō”, which means “to have faith in, to rest in, to place confidence in or rest upon”. According to my commentary:

“The Perfect Tense describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated. Jesus’ last cry from the cross, TETELESTAI (“It is finished!”) is a good example of the perfect tense used in this sense, namely “It [the atonement]… Continue reading →

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I Am He, The Light Of The World

Posted on July 28, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

God Is The Source Of All Light

“light” is a very interesting thing. Light allows us to see colors. Light is made up of different wavelengths or colors, and white light is the combination of every color. When sunlight lands on a colored surface, the reflected wavelengths are what cause us to see the color. For instance, if something is RED, the RED WAVELENGTH is reflected back to our eyes, but all the other colors of the light are absorbed. So you see RED. There are different forms of light, some visible and some not. When we think of light, we think of the SUN as it is the biggest visible source of light. One commentary notes:

“Light waves have different forms: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. Sunlight is a source of visible light and ultraviolet radiation. X-rays and gamma rays are used in medical diagnosis, cancer treatment, and security.”

The Bible tells us that God created light before He created the sun or the stars. God did not create the darkness, but the Light…. Continue reading →

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Working The Works Of God

Posted on May 26, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

John 6:22-29 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The Mystery Of The Manna & Christ

Last week we saw Jesus feeding above 5000 people with two fish and five small biscuits. At the end of the meal, the disciples took up twelve baskets of bread that was not needed. This was God’s way of showing us that Jesus is God’s Manna from Heaven.

Just as God provided manna for Israel as they journeyed toward the Promised Land of Canaan, God provides Jesus to SAVE us, to SHEPHERD us, to FEED and PROTECT us as we head toward our Promised Land. … Continue reading →

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Knowing You Have Eternal Life

Posted on May 1, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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