God’s Three Calls I. There are three calls of God that pertain to the salvation of sinners from sin and its penalty as God calls men unto Himself. II. There is a vital call from spiritual death in sins (GEN 2:17) to new life in and by Christ Jesus Who is a quickening spirit. EPH 2:1-5 c/w 1CO 15:45. A. It is by the VOICE of the Son of God Himself according to His will by the Spirit. The sinner is passive in its ...
I. Here is some additional information about LEV 27:29, mentioned above. 1. This chapter deals with things that were ostensibly for God, some of which could be redeemed (the sanctified things) and some which could not (the devoted things). 2. A sanctified thing, person or beast had an appraised value and could be redeemed by paying that value plus twenty percent (the fifth part). vs. 13, 15, 19. 3. There are two classes of devoted things: a...
Losing The Inheritance Of Christ’s Kingdom I. The church of Jesus Christ is God’s kingdom in this world. MAT 16:18-19. A. It is a spiritual kingdom ruled by the Holy Spirit’s operation in the heart and by His revelation to the apostles of Jesus Christ. LUK 17:20-21; JOH 14:15-17 c/w 1JO 4:6. B. It has an inheritance of spiritual wisdom and understanding, spiritual comfort, love, peace, joy and fellowship with God, conformity ...
Debate (ROM 1:29). “Strife, contention, dissension, quarrelling, wrangling; a quarrel.” NOTE: There is a positive aspect to debate (PRO 25:9; ACT 15:2, 7; 19:9) and contention (JUDE 1:3). Differentiate between debating to discover truth and debating against the truth (2TI 3:8 c/w PRO 22:10) or debating solely out of a desire to gender strife (PRO 26:21). Deceit (ROM 1:29). “The action or practice of deceiving; concealment of the truth in order to mislead; deception, fraud, ...
XIII. Judges 13. A. This begins the account of the judgeship of Samson, an eminent type of Christ in many ways but with his fame was also considerable infamy. B. He was a flawed champion of faith with whom we are made perfect. HEB 11:32, 40. C. He was born in the thick of Philistine oppression (v. 1) and judged for twenty years. JDG 15:20; 16:31. D. His name means, “like the sun.” c/w MAL 4:2; REV 1:16. E. His father's name was Mano...
Two Mountains, Two Messages I. There are various ways in which men come unto God but all such comings are by Jesus Christ. JOH 14:6. A. God will not hold audience with the unrighteous. PSA 5:5. 1. Christ supplies our righteousness to overcome this barrier. 2CO 5:21. 2. King Jesus holds forth His own sceptre of righteousness to receive us, similar to Ahasuerus’ holding forth of the sceptr...
XIV. Judges 14. A. In this chapter, God begins to curiously use Samson to judge the Philistines who “...had dominion over Israel” (v. 4). 1. Samson was a chosen instrument to be occasionally animated by the Spirit of the LORD to begin the Philistines’ demise. JDG 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14. 2. In this chapter, Samson sets forth a riddle while his own life and ministry are somewhat of a riddle, a paradox. He...
D. vs. 10-20. 1. Samson went down to marry the Philistine woman and “...made there a feast; for so used the young men to do” (v. 10). a. “Though he was a Nazarite, he did not affect, in a thing of this nature, to be singular, but did as the young men used to do upon such occasions. It is no part of religion to go contrary to the innocent usages of the places where we live: nay, it is a reproach to religion...
Dealing With Drawbacks “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition...” (Hebrews 10:39) I. Ties with a disorderly member who has merited exclusion are to be severed. A. He is to be purged out of the church. 1CO 5:7, 13. 1. The church is not to keep company with such. 1CO 5:9-11. 2. company: sb. Companionship, fellowship, society. 3. There is to be a formal dissociation from the societ...
The NEED for a PERFECT Translation: Do You Have a Jots and Tittles Bible? I. Purpose A. You're probably thinking, "This is the same ol' - same ol' stuff I've heard since I was a kid", or "Yeah, yeah we already know this stuff!" There are many out there in the world that name the name of Christ and claim "I used to be King James-Only, but... (e.g. I got tired of being a fundamentalist legalist...I went to Bible college...or I listened to a debate)." God forb...
Abraham and His Seed A. God made a covenant with Abraham and one of his seed: the Lord Jesus Christ. Gen. 12:1-3; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:16. 1. The LORD told Abraham “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”. Gen. 12:3b. 2. With slight variation, this was repeated two more times in relation to Abraham (Gen. 18:18; 22:18), once to Isaac (Gen. 26:4), and once to Jacob (Gen. 28:14), for a total of five times in Genesis. a. God was sp...
John 1:16 A. The Apostle John had just spoken of John the Baptist who bare witness of Christ. JOH 1:15. 1. John, as prophesied, cried (Proclaimed by crying or loud calling, announced) of Christ. c/w ISA 40:3. 2. O.T. prophets cried aloud to shew the people their transgression. ISA 58:1. 3. John did this but also cried to shew the people their Savior. The denunciation of sin without a declaration of th...
Addictions I. addiction: A formal giving over or delivery by sentence of court. Hence, a surrender, or dedication of any one to a master. The state of being (self-) addicted or given to a habit or pursuit; devotion. II. Scripture uses the expression “given to” which means “inclined, disposed or addiction” and implies a subordination to the power of someone or something. ROM 1:28. III. Addictions may be good or bad; thus the ...
The Return To The Land And The Jeremiah Factor (Jer 16:14) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; (Jer 16:15) But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. There has been for some time a g...
Chief Sinner to Chief Apostle (1 Timothy 1:12-17) A. In these verses, Paul acknowledges his unworthiness and Christ's amazing grace which saved him and made him a minister, enabling him for the task. c/w EPH 3:8; 1CO 15:10. B. NOTE: Christ put Paul into the ministry. 1. This was the reason Christ arrested him on the road to Damascus. ACT 26:16-18. 2. The Holy Ghost confirmed Christ’s election o...
XV. Judges 15. A. vs. 1-2. 1. Samson showed a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation to the wife who had betrayed him. c/w ACT 2:36-40. 2. What woman would not be impressed with a young goat for a gift? Mind that a kid represented a good meal that even God might accept, or future milk. JDG 6:19; PRO 27:27. 3. The unjust remarriage of Samson’s wife is an example of worldly, presumpti...
I. Preamble. A. Wrong thinking distorts perception of God, man and man’s environment. B. Wrong thinking impairs personal development. C. Wrong thinking impairs relationships with God and man. D. Wrong thinking produces conduct and conclusions based on unproven assumptions. E. Wrong thinking produces wrong emotions which facilitate more wrong thinking. F. Wrong thinking produces confusion and chaos. G. Right thinking produces order, soundne...
XVI. Judges 16. A. This chapter sets forth the transition of Samson the Nazarite to Samson the Not So Bright, and it is a warning to believers against the foolish assumption of invincibility, and the foolish assumption that God is obliged to always help His worthies, even in their folly. 1. Paul understood that even as chief apostle, he could still become a castaway if he did not control his fleshly desires. 1CO 9:27. 2. Samson fell prey to the things...
III. As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul particularly was warring evangelistically against the long- standing idolatry which defined the nations, a deceptive bondage to lies. 1CO 12:1-2; GAL 4:8-10. A. The casting down of their imaginations of deity was critical to his mission. What they thought about the invisible God was invented and irrational, leading them to ridiculous conclusions. ACT 14:8-18; 17:24-29. 1. They looked to the creation, to nat...
IV. The government of our thoughts is what determines our actions and character, good or bad. PRO 23:6-7; ROM 12:3. A. The pursued thought (in contrast to the passing thought) of foolishness is sin. PRO 24:9; MAT 5:28. B. It behooves us to guard against allowing temptation to take root in our thoughts. JAM 1:14-15. C. Mind that evil thoughts proceed from the heart, not the brain. There is a moral dimension to thought beyond the cognit...
I. Though married couples without children (by circumstance or by choice) have always been around, there has erupted in the last few years a small subculture of married couples who have been actively promoting childless marriage by choice. A. A little research will discover online forums and articles, as well as in printed media. B. DINK = Dual Income No Kids; DINKWAD = Dual Income No Kids With A Dog. C. This study intends to examine this idea in the lig...
H. Gird up the loins of your mind against the false treasures that mislead us and dethrone God from His rightful dominion over our hearts, souls, minds and strength. MAR 12:30. 1. One’s attention and affection will necessarily be directed according to what he values most, so choose wisely. MAT 6:20-21. 2. Think not that you can “have it all” without forfeiting what is best. MAR 8:36. 3. The unlawful things like the lusts of the flesh must be mortified or ...
VIII. As noted earlier, perception can be as powerful to direct our thoughts as reality. Faulty perceptions of God and one’s own “strengths” are common self-deceptions that need to be cast down or brought into captivity. A. Some examples of self-deception are: 1. Thinking that overindulgence of food or drink is a trivial matter or that you are immune to the deceptive power of alcohol. PRO 20:1; 23:20-21; LUK 21:34. 2. Thinking...
XVII. Judges 17. A. This chapter sets forth a curious mingling of ignorance, superstition and idolatrous images with a professed honoring of the true LORD, a popular form of religion. 1. There are three main characters: Micah, Micah’s mother, and a gadabout Levite. 2. This chapter is very appropriately a place for the general theme of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own ...
X. Another vain imagination that must be cast down is “All roads lead to God.” A. The assumption here is that all religions are valid and merely diverse expressions of the god-man in everyone seeking God: the “upward reach” of mankind. B. This deception basically must concede that child-sacrificing heathen religions are approaches to the true God on par with Biblical faith. But see 1CO 10:20-21. 1. This deception would have to assume that worship of...
XII. Remember that bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ does not imply that you will never have an errant, stupid, weird, carnal, immature, questionable, ugly, uninformed thought or a doubt about how to properly receive something God has written (while NOT doubting that it is indeed God’s word, LUK 12:29). A. Rather, these weaknesses are part of our Adamic nature which we must contend with and hold in check, lest they get an ...
XVIII. Judges 18. A. This chapter sets forth the continuing misadventures of Micah and his hired Levite, added to which are the colored antics of some of the tribe of Dan in fleshing out their inheritance in the land. 1. Here we will see erring camps of a common heritage fighting over the possession of something religious that actually displeased God. 2. This is not unlike squabbles among professed followers of C...
He Went About Doing Good (Acts 10:38) A. Acts 10 sets forth the initial opening of the door of faith unto uncircumcised Gentiles. 1. Heretofore, the N.T. churches in Jerusalem, Judea, Galilee, Samaria (ACT 9:31), consisted exclusively of those of the circumcision. 2. It was commonly understood that non-Jews were “unclean” (ACT 10:28), unacceptable to God and to Jews, and therefore ou...
Training Children I. At the outset, it needs to be understood that training precedes teaching. Before a child develops critical language and reasoning skills, training should be well underway. A. train: III. 5. To treat or manipulate so as to bring to the proper or desired form; spec. in Gardening, to manage (a plant or a branch) so as to cause it to grow in some desired form or direction... 6. To subjec...
XIX. Judges 19. A. This chapter rivals the scandalous fame of Jephthah and his daughter in JDG 11. 1. Previously we read of a sojourning hireling Levite in those days. JDG 18. 2. The only other Levite noted in Judges is the sojourner found in this account and he also has some things to answer for. 3. The events of this chapter set the stage for the near elimination of a tribe of Israel in JDG 20. 4. Again, “...when t...
VII. Consider how critical home life is to the proper training of children. A. Family is the first form of society and government to which children are normally exposed. B. Parents are the first educators of children. What is or is not learned in the home has great implications for a child’s development and adult life. 1. Home is where a child should first learn of God, His love, His will. 2. Home is where a child should first learn lan...
XX. Judges 20. A. This chapter sets forth a call to action for a righteous cause against a tribe that harbored and defended great sinners who deserved punishment: Benjamin foolishly tried to defend the indefensible rather than honor justice against the wicked of their own tribe. 1. The cause against Benjamin was just but victory was elusive. 2. When victory was at hand, the zeal of Israel was excessive and almost wiped out a ...
A. grace: Favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession. B. (JOH 1:17) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 1. That grace and truth came by Jesus Christ flows from the fact of His deity: He alone is God manifest in the flesh. JOH 1:3, 14 c/w 1TI 3:16. 2. Jesus Christ, not Moses, i...
J. Remember, you will train your children one way or another. But will you train them in the way they should go, as PRO 22:6 commands? 1. For example, consider training a small child not to touch something. a. You can keep it within his reach and train him not to touch it by punishing him if he touches it. (1) This teaches him to obey the command not to touch. (2) Thi...
A. We are to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. EPH 4:1. 1. We are called to be saints (ROM 1:7), i.e., sanctified in thought, word and deed: separated from the way of the natural man and the world. ROM 12:2. 2. Transforming grace was needed to fit us for this calling. TIT 3:1-5. 3. The way we live in this world, and especially the way we deal with one another in Christ, should be a positive testimony to all. JOH 13:34-35. B. Believ...
IX. Here is a list of things that need to be trained into children. A. Train the importance of faith (belief, trust, confidence) in what God has declared in Scripture. God cannot lie (TIT 1:1-2) and His word is utterly reliable in all things seen or unseen. HEB 11:1-3, 6-10. B. Train the importance of hope, especially the hope of a better life in a better body in a better environment free of sin and death, and this implies patience to endure pr...
XXI. Judges 21. A. This concluding chapter sets forth the inventive conniving of eleven tribes to salvage the tribe of Benjamin from extinction and loss of inheritance in the land, which diminution was owing to rash, impertinent oaths and being “...righteous over much...” (ECC 7:16). 1. Benjamin had merited chastisement but not utter destruction (which would have violated the will of God for the inheritances of Canaan). 2. T...
(Acts 16:22-40) A. Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten and cast in stocks into prison at Philippi without trial. Paul later described this as being “...shamefully entreated...” (1TH 2:2). 1. Though their treatment was shameful, they had no reason to be ashamed for it. 1PE 4:16. 2. True Christianity may well mean such suffering. PHIL 1:29; 2TI 3:12. B. Instead of fretting about their treatment, Paul and Silas prayed and praised God....
M. Train self-motivation, that they should be diligent and dutiful without oversight. PRO 6:6-8; PHIL 2:12. N. Train independence, that they should not follow the herd of swine off the cliff, and that they should work toward freedom to form their own lives as adults. ROM 12:2; 1CO 15:33; GEN 2:24. O. Train enthusiasm, to live godly with great zeal and spirit. ECC 9:10; ROM 12:11; COL 3:22-24. P. Train discipline, that the...
12. Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. A. Neither is there salvation in any other: i. Salvation is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. a. Jesus Christ by Himself purged our sins (Heb 1:3). b. God the Father gave Christ power over all flesh to give eternal life to ...
I. Christians must fight an ongoing battle with the world, the flesh and the devil. A. Paul prescribes proper equipment for this battle. EPH 6:10-18; 1TH 5:8. B. All of the equipment is needed. The partially equipped warrior is likely to be overcome. 1. The lack of a defensive piece provides a target for the enemy to exploit. 2. Not having a true sword, or not being convinced that the true sword is true, leaves one...