Cincinnati Church

IX. The apex of John’s ministry was his baptism of Jesus Christ. MAT 3:13-17; MAR 1:9-11; LUK 3:21-23. A. The sinless Jesus submitted Himself to this ordinance of a temporary figurative death, burial and resurrection which spoke of His own work to save us. 1. Whereas John’s baptism was of repentance for the remission of sins, Jesus had no sin and therefore nothing to repent of and have remitted. 2. Jesus was/is flawlessly ...

Idle Words, Questionable Expressions I. God knows altogether every word we speak. PSA 139:4. II. Our speech is a window to the heart. LUK 6:45. A. Our speech can bewray us (expose us). MAT 26:73. B. We can gain reasonable insight into what is going on in another’s heart by his speech. What is most in a man’s heart (the abundance) is commonly known by his speech. C. God doesn’t need to wait to hear us speak to know o...

Naaman (2 Kings 5) A. Jesus referred to Naaman, the leprous Syrian, in LUK 4:27-29. 1. Naaman was cleansed at a time when many lepers in Israel were not cleansed. a. Naaman was an uncircumcised Gentile who would be immersed in Jordan. b. Naaman was a proficient military leader who had success against Israel. 2KI 5:1-2. c. This great man was a leper,...

VIII. John’s ministry generally had broad acceptance. MAT 3:5. A. The people were for a season willing to rejoice in his light. JOH 5:35. B. But John did not use the crafty sophistry of the religious leaders. c/w 2CO 4:2. 1. He was not a warm, fuzzy light but a burning one. JOH 5:35. 2. He did not try to zealously affect men with pretended care. GAL 4:17 c/w 2SAM 15:1-6 ct/w 1TH 2:5. 3. He was resolute, stedfast, unwavering. MAT 11:7. 4. He was not a l...

Judges 3. A. This chapter begins the details of the repetitive roller-coaster pattern of sin, bondage, crying, deliverance, rest and return to corruption. We see here three judges/saviors: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar. B. The closing verses of JDG 2:20-23 are here given more details (vs. 1-4), a typical pattern of God’s communications to us in Scripture, adding line to line, here a little, there a little. ISA 28:10. 1. It is spe...

VII. The beginning of John’s ministry was a watershed moment in God’s program. LUK 16:16. A. The prophesied kingdom of God was preached as being “at hand” and people were actively pressing into it by faith, repentance, confession of sins, and baptism. MAT 3:1-6; 21:31-32 c/w LUK 7:29-30. 1. This was a movement which was not political liberation or building/rebuilding/beautifying an earthly temple but spiritual reform. ...

VI. John “...waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts until the day of his shewing unto Israel” (LUK 1:80). A. That day came at a notably identified time. LUK 3:1-2. 1. The sceptre had departed from Judah: they were a subjugated nation under Gentile dominion. Therefore the time of Shiloh/Messiah was at hand. GEN 49:10. 2. The seventy weeks of Daniel’s prophecy of Messiah’s anointing could be generally ...

Christ, Our Altar For Sacrifices I. The Jews for centuries offered carnal, bloody sacrifices on a material altar which never took away sin since the sacrifices themselves were under the bondage of corruption. HEB 10:1-4. A. Paul makes clear to the Hebrew Christians that the uncorrupted Jesus Christ offered Himself one time only as a sacrifice to put away sin. HEB 9:14, 26-28. B. There is therefore no more offering for sin. HE...

IV. Judges 2. A. This chapter consists of three sections: 1. vs. 1-5 deal with a relatively current corruption. 2. vs. 6-10 is a summary review of events following Joshua’s death. 3. vs. 11-23 is a general historical overview of the time of Judges and of idolatry. B. The angel from Gilgal reproved the whole nation in his message. v. 4. 1. This angel may have been the LORD Himself inasmuch as he said, “...I made you ...

E. Zacharias was doubtful about the promise and was struck dumb in judgment. vs. 18-25. 1. His doubt concerned perceived human limitations. a. Often, our moments of weakness of faith follow this pattern and hinder us from living freely and fully by the promises of God. b. Our inadequacies and limitations are the very instruments of God bringing glory to Himself. 2CO 12:9-10. c. Believers need help with ...

e. As a Nazarite, John would have been “different” and “separate” and under other restrictions. NUM 6:1-8. (1) He would have been restricted from contact with dead bodies. (2) He would have had long hair, the exception to the rule for men (1CO 11:7, 14), which, if ignored, erases the distinction of the Nazarite’s hair. (3) Jesus Christ, Whose Spirit authored 1CO 11:7, 14 would not have ...

C. Zacharias was offering the appointed incense when an angel appeared unto him in the temple. LUK 1:8-11. 1. This was one of the hours of prayer. Note the association of incense and prayer. PSA 141:2; REV 8:3-4. 2. Mind that duty is not a substitute for prayer, nor prayer a substitute for duty. The people who may be most expected to receive blessing are a people who respect the service of God’s house and that His house is a house of prayer. MA...

III. Judges 1. A. Joshua had died without appointing a successor but at least the children of Israel were yet willing to proceed with Canaan’s conquest and sought God’s direction. vs. 1-3. 1. This was proper protocol. NUM 27:21. 2. A lack of inquiry of God had earlier been costly. JOS 9:14. 3. A church’s efforts in evangelism should likewise be according to the commands and guidelines of Scripture. ...

V. Consider the parentage, generation and nativity of John. LUK 1:5-80. A. The time was the reign of Herod the Great, the monster who ordered the slaughter of all children of two years and under. v. 5 c/w MAT 2:16. 1. John would be born during a time when rising to prominence was dangerous. 2. John would, though, be raised in privacy in the deserts. LUK 1:80. B. John’s parents are of note. v. 5. 1. Zacharias (from ...

John the Baptist I. (JOH 1:6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. A. His name was by divine order, the first so named in that family line. LUK 1:13, 59-63. B. His name in Greek was Ioannes (SRN G2491), which, according to Thayer, means, “Jehovah is a gracious giver.” 1. That Greek word, according to Brown-Driver-Biggs Hebrew Dictionary, is from the Hebrew Yochanan (SRN H3110), which mea...

Judges I. This study is meant to be a light treatment of the Book of Judges. II. Preliminary observations. A. This book deals with a 450 year period after the conquest of Canaan. ACT 13:17-20. 1. An addition of the years of the different judges’ seasons does come to 450 years. 2. The KJV is accurate in its historical analysis in ACT 13:19-20. 3. Some modern versions corrupt the actual hi...

Governing The Tongue I. Man's tongue is his glory. PSA 30:12; 16:8-9 c/w ACT 2:25-26. A. Man is distinguished from the brute creation by his power of diverse, complex oral communication in both concrete and abstract ideas. B. Man was made after the similitude of God (JAM 3:9) Who communicated to man His will by His mouth in intelligent speech. GEN 1:27-31; 2:16-17. 1. Man accordingly commu...

Humble Thyself And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself... (Philippians 2:8) I. Definitions. A. humility: The quality of being humble or having a lowly opinion of oneself; meekness, lowliness, humbleness: the opposite of pride or haughtiness. B. humble: trans. To render humble or meek in spirit; to cause to think more lowly of oneself. C. humble: (adj.) Having a low es...

Vestiges, Double-Hearts and Drawbacks I. The heart’s devotion to God is vital to our unimpeded success in following Christ. There is a place for godly emotion of the heart in Christian duty. A. Conversion is largely a matter of full submission from within to the will of God: making Him one’s first love. MAT 22:36-37; REV 2:4. 1. Belief should be from the heart, fully. ROM 8:8-10; ACT 8:37; PRO 3:5. 2. Jesu...

Believe Me Not I. Men are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. ACT 16:31. A. There are “...lords many...” (1CO 8:5). B. There is “...another Jesus...” (2CO 11:4). C. There are “...false Christs...” (MAT 24:24). D. It is therefore necessary to qualify which lord, which Jesus, which Christ is to be the object of true faith and worship. II. The Lord Jesus Christ of the Scriptures is the One Who does th...

Qualifications For Baptism I. Sometimes the question arises as to why a minister of Jesus Christ does not automatically baptize a petitioner. This study addresses that issue. II. To be qualified for baptism according to Scripture, there are some absolute requirements to be met. A. One must be a penitent believer who confesses sin and confesses Christ. MAT 3:6-11; MAR 16:15-16; ACT 2:38-41; 8:12, 36-37; 16:14-15, 31-34; 18:8;...

Christ’s Letter to Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) A. Preliminary thoughts. 1. This letter may be the most critical of the seven letters to the churches. There is no commendation for them. ct/w REV 3:1-4. 2. For them is reserved a rarely seen attribute of God: disgust. 3. They were fat, satisfied, indifferent fence-straddlers lacking zeal and who were ignorant of their poor...

The Evening Sacrifice A. In his journey to the cross, Jesus Christ was led as a lamb to the slaughter. ISA 53:7 c/w ACT 8:32 c/w MAT 26:57; 27:2, 31. B. There was a particular hour to which He was appointed. JOH 12:27; 13:1. C. Jesus died shortly after the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.). MAT 27:45-50. 1. This was the time of the appointed daily evening sacrifice in Moses' Law. EXO 29:38-39. 2. It was at the time of the evening sacrifice w...

6. Consider the Spirit's ministry of empowering. a. The goal of the gospel is obedience. ROM 15:18; 16:25-26. b. The Holy Spirit empowers to obey. EZE 11:19-20; ROM 8:13-14. (1) This power must be sought through believing prayer. EPH 3:16-17; MAT 6:13; ROM 5:2 c/w HEB 4:16; 11:6. (2) This power is experienced in faithful obedience to the word...