Sound Teaching

It is time to take inventory – a new year has begun. There is nothing about the beginning of the new year that is anything special. New Year’s resolutions are entirely arbitrary. However, God does expect us to self-examine and adjust as needed to ensure that our standing with God is as it should be!

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:50).

This is key. We need to consider what is most important. Resolutions about our physical lives have merit and can lead to important lifestyle improvements. However, they do not compare to resolutions that are spiritual in nature. “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

Do you pray enough? Are your prayers the “effective, fervent prayer [-s] of a righteous man”? (cf. James 5:16). How about your fervency of faith? How about your Bible Study and reading? How about your worship and attendance habits? How about your love? Faithfulness? Faith? Virtue? Righteousness? Your relationship with your brethren? Your relationship with your family? Your relationship with the world? Are any changes needed?

The Bible makes a very clear contrast between wise behavior, and the characteristics of foolish action.  Don’t be a fool!

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Having established that “the Lord is gracious” (3), Peter additionally refers to Him as “a living stone.”  This refers to Jesus as a foundation stone promised by God, a Messianic prophecy (cf. Isaiah 28:16). Christ is the foundation upon which God’s redemptive promise is founded, though He was rejected by men.

The key here is to determine our responsibility to the One responsible for our reconciliation with the Father.  We have been told to  put off evil and desire His will (1-2), now Peter tells us to approach Jesus (the foundation stone) as living stones! We are called to action. It is our responsibility as Christians to live moral lives in service to God. The words Peter uses here “to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” mirror the words of Paul in Romans 12:1-2 calling us to be transformed in the lives we live.  No longer are we to live our lives for ourselves. We are to sacrificial, offering up ourselves in service to the Lord. God saved us through Jesus. Our response to Him should reflect that.

LAGNIAPPE. Don’t try to pronounce the word phonetically.  The correct pronunciation is: (LAN-yap).  It is  defined as “a little something extra,” and is originally taken from the Spanish (la ñapa) “the gift.” Long ago it became a common word in the French/Creole culture in Louisiana. If you have been to New Orleans during their celebrations, you may have heard the term.

Consider what Jesus said in Luke 18 in response to Peter’s declaration that they had left all to follow Him.  “So He said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life’” (Luke 18:29-30). Continue reading “Lagniappe” →

The triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem is so called because of the response of the people to Him.  This response is written by Mark in 11:9-10.

“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”

The event is chronicled in all four gospels—Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 19; John 12. The word Hosanna in the text above is a transliteration from the Hebrew into the  English translations, and is an expression of adoration with which the Jews were familiar.  The basic sentiment was an expression seeking to bring well being and victory to Jesus as the Messiah of the Jews.  A literal definition from the Hebrew would be something like — oh save! Continue reading “Hosanna!” →

James, after establishing the sinfulness of showing partiality, points out a sin in this area is sufficient to condemn a man. This is a truth with which Jews were especially familiar. He who willfully breaks one command is a law breaker and is guilty before the law. You can’t treat God’s law as a buffet, taking what you want and ignoring the rest.

So, in this regard we are to love all men and treat them well. As James wrote, “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” (12). To dishonor the poor man is to act in a way that is inconsistent with the law of Christ. He taught clearly the responsibility to love all men.

God will not forgive our sins, if we don’t forgive the sins of others. (cf. Matthew 6:12). He will not treat us with mercy if we are not willing to treat others mercifully. (Matthew 18:21-35). This mercy and compassion for one another is what sets apart the disciples of Christ from the world. 

In Jeremiah 25, God is revealed to have sent His prophets to Judah. He sent them to warn Judah to repent to avoid harm. Consider His warning and their response:

“‘Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you. Yet you have not listened to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt’” (Jeremiah 25:6-7).

Because of their rebellion, God sent Nebuchadnezzar to judge the nation, leading to destruction, oppression, and captivity for a period of 70 years.

An interesting phrase is used here, “to your own hurt” (7). Consider that God’s sincere desire is that every man receive His eternal blessings. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The proof of His love and motivation toward man is seen in the sending of His son to the earth (cf. John 3:16).

When condemnation comes, it is not God’s doing.  Men often do not act in their own interest. Peculiar, but very prevalent.  This is why addiction, crime, etc. is rampant.  When condemnation is present, it is because we act to  our “own hurt.” Think about it!

A discussion of Psalm 15.  Who is it that may dwell in the Presence of the Almighty?

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“Does God exist?  Who Cares? I’m not interested.”  How does this disinterest come to be, and what can we do to combat it!

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The earliest manuscripts head the writing “the Hebrews”, which later was expanded to “The Epistle to the Hebrews.” It’s exact date of writing is not known, but there is strong internal and external evidence that it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. AD 68 or AD 69 are dates commonly posited. We know from Clement of Rome in his writing that by the end of the first century he was in possession of the manuscript.

The exact audience is likewise unknown, but the title and content show that the audience was Jewish Christians. The book deals with a common problem early in the church, the Jewish struggle to know how exactly to place Jesus and His sacrifice in the context of God’s will for man. Continue reading “A Short Introduction to Hebrews” →

In the first seven verses of the chapter, Paul affirms an important truth, we are saved by the mercy and grace of God, brought to us through Jesus Christ.

Right after he states that we do not merit our salvation by “works of righteousness we have done” (5), he writes Titus to “affirm constantly” the need to “maintain good works.”

Interestingly, denominational preachers often do just the opposite. They are so interested in affirming that we are not saved by our own merit (which is true), that they deny that our salvation depends at all upon our obedience (which is decidedly false)!

Read this from Paul’s pen, “those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works” (8).

Any doctrine that teaches God’s grace does not expect anything in return from its recipients is a cheap and faulty view of grace.  We can’t get to heaven without God.  We all agree with this.  Nowhere does the Bible say we don’t have to do anything!

The child of God has great assurance given him by his heavenly Father. It is a wonderful thing to be able to go through life with the certainty that the preeminent Being in the universe is on your side! It is good to be mindful that “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psalms 62:5-7).

Sometimes we have difficulty accepting this truth. We can become preoccupied with things that are seen. This is something Paul understood, and so wrote the Corinthians something we need to hear. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

If you are having difficulty with your life in this difficult world, trying focusing on your hope of heaven as God’s child!

A fact of life we all face is our inevitable decline. The Bible says, “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27). While some die due to unforeseen circumstances, most see it coming through age, or a failure of health.

It is not a surprise that God has accommodated this truth in His instructions to His children. His call for us to love one another is specially challenged when the object of that love becomes more vulnerable or needy. There are numerous examples found in scripture of such circumstances. And it often does not involve age, as other physical circumstances in life can impact our service to one another. Continue reading “(12 of 13) Physical Considerations in Our Relationship” →

A discussion of the Two Tabernacles and the ordinances of divine service mentioned in Hebrews 9.

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An examination of Paul’s wonderful sermon preaching on Mars Hill in Acts 17.

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