Jesus Is Superior To Aaron 11-9-25 PM

I.            His position (Hebrews 8:1-2, 4).

a.      The High Priest we have is set on the right hand of the throne of God.

b.      This shows that His position is much better than any earthly high priest.

c.       To be on the right hand of someone has always been a position of power.

           i.      We still refer to someone very important to our work as our right hand man.

           ii.      The right hand is where the sheep are going to be at the judgment.

           iii.      It is said that in the court cases that came before the Sanhedrin, there would be two scribes, one on either side of the judge.

           iv.      The scribe on the left hand would write the guilty sentences and the scribe on the right would write the acquittals.

d.      The high priests who descended from Aaron were on earth and could only go in before the presence of God once a year.

e.      Jesus, is in heaven in the presence of God.

f.        There are numerous passages that tell us that Jesus would be on the right hand of God.

                     i.      Psalm 110:1.

                     ii.      Jesus said He would sit there (Mark 14:62).

                     iii.      When Jesus ascended to heaven, He sat down at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19).

           iv.     Peter preached that Jesus was there (Acts 5:30-31).

           v.      While at God’s right hand, Jesus is interceding for us (Romans 8:34).

           vi.      At the death of Stephen, Jesus was seen by Stephen standing at God’s right hand (Acts 7:55-56).

g.      Jesus is ministering to us in heaven.

           i.      The writer says that Jesus is a minister in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle made by the Lord not by man’s hand.

           ii.      This is heaven, since it made by the Lord it is of a spiritual nature.

           iii.      Jesus is over a spiritual kingdom so it is fitting that He is ruling from a spiritual tabernacle.

           iv.      We know such to be the case because of Hebrews 9:23-24.

h.      This tabernacle was pitched by the Lord.

          i.      The word “pitched” carries the idea of pounding tent pegs into the earth.

          ii.      Heaven has been created by the Son Himself just as He said He would go and do (John 14:1-3).

i.       Verse four contrasts “on earth” with “in the heavens” of verse 1.

          i.      This verse proves where Jesus is.

          ii.      Jesus couldn’t be a priest on earth because He was not of the right tribe to be a priest as was mentioned in Hebrews 7:14.

          iii.      There were already priests on earth who would offer gifts and they did so according to the Old Law.

j.       This is an important verse when dealing with Premillenialists.

          i.      The Bible plainly teaches that Jesus will be a High Priest in His kingdom (Zechariah 6:13).

          ii.      If Jesus is to reign on earth as the Premill’s teach, He is going to have to give up His priesthood or this verse is wrong.

          iii.      Truly though, Jesus is in heaven reigning now over His kingdom as both King and Priest.

k.      Jesus is superior to Aaron and His descendants because of His position in heaven at the right hand of God.

II.            His purpose (Hebrews 8:3).

a.      The purpose of the high priest was to offer gifts and sacrifices.

          i.      Gifts are those offerings brought to God out of a thankful heart.

1.      With these, there was no sin involved.

2.      They were given of the free will of the one who brought them.

            ii.      Sacrifices are those offerings brought because of sin in life of the one who brought them or those required by God for various reasons.

b.      This was his purpose all the time.

           i.      He was over the sacrificial system.

           ii.      He served the people as a mediator between God and the people.

c.       Our writer then tells us that it was a necessity for Jesus to offer something.

           i.      He has already told that Jesus offered Himself (Hebrews 7:27).

           ii.      This is the “somewhat” that Jesus offered.

d.      Something that is very important to note here is the tense of the phrases of the verse.

           i.      The tense of the phrase which talks about the high priest offering gifts and sacrifices is in a tense that indicates repeated offerings.

           ii.      The tense of the last phrase is that of a one time offering with no need to ever offer another.

           iii.      We know that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that takes away sin so there is no need for further offerings.

e.      The purpose of Jesus was to offer only one offering, Himself, where Aaron and his descendants had to keep making offerings.

III.            He fulfills the pattern (Hebrews 8:5).

a.      The priests of the Old Testament were a type of Christ.

            i.      They were an example of what was to come.

            ii.      They were a shadow of Who was to come.

b.      All the things in the Old Testament were pointers to what was coming in Christ.

c.       Jesus fit perfectly the pattern that was shown by the priesthood of Aaron.

d.      Notice what Paul wrote to the Colossians (Colossians 2:16-17).

e.      Moses was told by God to build everything according to the pattern laid out in the mount because all those things pointed to what was coming in Christ.

f.        We need to camp out here as we finish this section of scripture.

            i.      Our God is a God of patterns.

            ii.      He wants things done a certain way and that way is the way He has laid out for us.

g.      Moses was not allowed to deviate at all from what He was given.

            i.      If Moses could not deviate when it came to something that was going to be replaced, what makes us think we can deviate from that which will never be replaced?

           ii.      Yet how many people talk bad about what they call “pattern theology”?

h.      There are patterns laid out in the New Testament and God intends for us to follow them exclusively with no deviations.

           i.      There are patterns for worship, organization of the church, entrance into the church, church discipline, and other things.

           ii.      We have no right to change any of them.

i.        Jesus is superior to Aaron because Jesus is the fulfillment of the pattern God laid out in the Old Testament.

Amazing Faith 11-9-25 AM

I.            The centurion’s faith was strong enough to cause him to have a submissive spirit.

a.      Notice verses 5 and 8.

           i.      “I beseech you.”

           ii.      “I am not worthy.”

b.      Roman legions consisted of 6,000 men which were divided into 60 groups of 100 men which were overseen by a centurion.

c.       This man who had amazing faith was a man of authority, yet easily and willingly humbled himself before a Jew.

           i.      He called Jesus “Lord” indicating someone in a superior position.

           ii.      Though accustomed to giving orders, he came with a humble request, not in a way that would intimidate or impress with greatness or rank.

           iii.      He said he was unworthy or insufficient for Jesus to come to his house.

d.      What we see is that his faith conquered self.

e.      Christians, in order to be pleasing to God, must be those who have conquered self.

f.        This is the example of Jesus (Philippians 2:5-8).

g.      We must be those who possess a lowliness of mind.

          i.      Psalm 138:6;

          ii.      Ephesians 4:2.

II.            The centurion’s faith was active enough to motivate him to compassionate service.

a.      His faith caused him to take on the role of a servant on behalf of one of his servants.

b.      Those who were slaves to Romans led a life of fear.

           i.      One of the Caesar’s hosted a show for Rome that included 600 slaves in the arena for the purpose of fighting wild beasts.

           ii.      Plutarch wrote that a man named Flaminius put a slave to death for a guest who had never seen a person die.

           iii.      Seneca wrote of a man name Pollio who fed his fishes by cutting slaves into pieces.

           iv.      Emperor Trajan forced 10,000 slaves and gladiators to fight for their lives in a blood bath that lasted 123 days.

c.       We said all that to say it was out of this environment that the centurion overcame any selfish indifference toward others.

d.      His faith moved him to act on behalf of someone else.

e.      Christians must be actively engaged in service for the Lord and others (Matthew 25:31-46).

f.        Eighteen times the phrase “by faith” is used in Hebrews 11.

           i.      The Hebrews writer was calling us to imitate the faith of Old Testament followers of God.

           ii.      The faith of those great men and women was active in service to God and others.

g.      This caused someone to pose the question “What on earth are you doing for heaven’s sake?

           i.      Are we launching out in faith?

           ii.      Or, are we wading around in the shallows looking for excuses why we can’t go deeper.

h.      Galatians 5:6.

i.        Faith must be active for it to be a living faith (James 2:17).

III.            The centurion’s faith was full enough to accept the absolute power of Jesus.

a.      This man believed, by faith, in the power of Jesus.

b.      Jesus had shown His power over death, disease, demons and material things during His time on earth.

           i.      The centurion believed in the power of Jesus over illness or disease (Matthew 8:8-9).

1.      He believed that whatever was causing his servant’s palsy would submit to the word of Jesus.

2.      He believed this as much as he believed his soldiers would obey his commands.

           ii.      He also believed in the Lord’s power over distance.

1.      He believed that Jesus did not have to be present for the miracle to take place.

2.      Distance could not stop this man’s faith or the power of Jesus.

c.       Christians must believe in the absolute power of God that acts today through His providence.

           i.      Someone once said, “Faith is not believing God can but believing that God will.”

           ii.      We are to walk by faith and not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

           iii.      And, we are to do so with a spirit of love, power and discipline and not fear (2 Timothy 1:7).

d.      We must carry before us the cry of “With God all things are possible!”

          i.      Paul told us that the weakness of God is stronger than man..

          ii.      This is the Christian’s assurance.

e.      We must believe that God will do what He has said He will do.

IV.            The centurion’s faith was sufficient to warrant divine praise.

a.      Notice Matthew 8:10, 13.

           i.      Jesus said He had not seen such a great faith in all Israel.

           ii.      Jesus approved of the man’s faith by granting the man’s request in a way that kept with the man’s degree of faith.

b.      We must strive for a faith that God could commend to others.

c.       God often gave descriptions of people based on their life style:

          i.      Nabal was “churlish and evil” (1 Samuel 25:3).

          ii.      The priests of Isaiah’s day were “greedy dogs” (56:11).

          iii.      Judas Iscariot was a traitor (Luke 6:16).

          iv.      The Shunamite was a great woman (2 Kings 4:8).

          v.      David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).

          vi.      Abraham is the “father of all them that believe (Romans 4:11).

          vii.      Barnabas was the “son of exhortation” (Acts 4:36).

d.      How would God describe you based on faith possessed and shown?

e.      Would it be “O ye of little, vain, shipwrecked faith?”

f. Or, would it be, “I know of thy great, string, unfeigned faith?”

Defending Your Faith With Grace And Truth 11-2-25 AM

I.            Defending our faith.

a.      We live in a time where all things are questioned.

b.      This is not necessarily a bad thing but it is a thing.

c.       Whatever is worth believing should be able to be tested and shown to be real.

d.      Peter told his readers to be ready to give an answer.

           i.      The word for answer is the Greek word apologia.

           ii.      It means to give a defense.

           iii.      It is from where we get the term apologetics.

           iv.      It indicates an ability to defend what you believe.

e.      We have a doctrinal obligation to be able to defend what we believe.

           i.      This verse speaks to the individual Christian.

           ii.      It is not just for preachers, elders, deacons, or Bible class teachers.

           iii.      It is for each one of us.

f.        Did you notice how it begins?

           i.      Sanctifying God in our hearts.

           ii.      This is the part of making it our own faith.

           iii.      Until we set apart God from all else in our minds, we won’t be able to properly defend our belief in God and His word.

g.      We read of Stephen and Paul as New Testament examples of those who gave a defense of their beliefs.

           i.      They had an advantage over us.

           ii.      They were both inspired by the Holy Spirit.

h.      We are told to set apart God in our hearts and then we can be ready to tell others why we believe what we believe.

i.        You can’t defend something you don’t know or are not sure of yourself.

j.        We have to make it our own so we can defend it.

k.      Sports fans can defend their favorite teams or players.

           i.      I have read people spit out fact after fact about Jordan or Lebron being the best player ever.

           ii.      I have read people spit out fact after fact about which college team had the better offense, 2019 LSU or 2020 Bama.

l.        This can be said about many things in the secular world.

m.    Can we defend our faith?

n.      Peter was inspired to write that we have to be ready to do so.

o.      We don’t know when the moment will come, but we have to be ready for that moment when we are asked “Why do you believe…”

           i.      It’s going to come.

           ii.      It may come at school, it may come at work, it may come on a date, but it is going to come.

           iii.      It may come in your home from your child or grandchild.

p.      We are called to be able to defend our faith.

II.            Defending our faith with grace.

a.      The way we defend our faith is as important as the words we use to defend it.

b.      When we think of grace as Christians, we should think unmerited favor.

c.       However, this word means more than that in today’s language.

           i.      It is defined as “elegance, or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action; a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.

           ii.      Synonyms for it are decency, decorum, dignity, poise, pleasantness, attractiveness.

d.      When it comes to defending our faith, we need to make sure there is an element of beauty of manner.

           i.      It needs to be done in with a pleasing or attractive quality.

           ii.      We need to defend our faith with decency and poise.

e.      Again, the manner in which we defend our faith is extremely important (Col. 4:6).

f.        Peter tells us to be ready to give an answer, or defense, with meekness.

           i.      The meekness is how we handle ourselves with the person or persons to whom we are making our defense.

           ii.      Meekness is the attitude of strength being under control.

g.      We have to be aware of the person with whom we are speaking.

           i.      It may be a person who does not know much about God’s word and is sincere in asking.

           ii.      It may be a person who is very harsh and trying to start a fight.

           iii.      It may be a person who is very steeped in denominational doctrine or atheism.

h.      We are to be gentle as teachers (2 Tim. 2:24).

           i.      We aren’t to be overbearing and hurtful.

           ii.      We are to be bold with God’s word but mindful of the feelings of the person.

           iii.      We are not in it to win arguments.

i.        If we use hostile words or actions in our efforts, it doesn’t matter how right we are, we will lose that person.

j.        When you look at accounts of brethren teaching others in the Bible, there is always a sense of the value of the person’s soul.

          i.      Philip was very careful with the Ethiopian.

          ii.      Paul was careful with the Philippian jailor.

          iii.      Aquila and Priscilla were careful with Apollos.

k.      No one was beaten over the head with God’s word, but God’s word was plainly, but lovingly, taught in each case.

l.        There is so much that is attractive about the gospel.

m.    We need to make sure we just present it and not tarnish it by our presentation.

III.            Defending our faith with truth.

a.      While defending our faith with the right attitude is important, we must use the right material in doing so.

b.      The right material is God’s word and those things that back up God’s word.

c.       Jesus said… (Jn. 17:17).

           i.      We must be proficient with God’s word.

           ii.      It is what creates faith (Rom. 10:17).

d.      The truth is what frees mankind from the burden of sin and doubt (Jn. 8:32).

e.      We have to make sure that we know what God’s word says on whatever subject it is we are discussing with others.

            i.      We can’t say, “Well, I think…”

            ii.      What we think does not matter.

            iii.     If we are discussing some doctrinal subject with someone, we must have scriptural defenses for what we believe.

            iv.     If we are discussing the existence of God, we need to know the scriptures but also have some knowledge of scientific things that are true.

f.        We must be able to handle God’s word correctly (2 Tim. 2:15).

           i.       God’s word is a sword (Eph. 6:17).

           ii.      In fact, it is said to be sharper than any sword (Heb. 4:12).

           iii.      Swords are dangerous, especially in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use one.

           iv.      God’s word is dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn’t know it.

v. This is why there is so much false doctrine in the world.

Jesus, The Superior High Priest 10-26-25 PM

I.            Jesus is superior by virtue of His placement (Hebrews 7:20-21).

a.      The high priest under the Old Law was placed into his position because of his being a descendant of Aaron.

           i.      This is the way God devised it and set it into motion.

           ii.      Exodus 28 deals with this and chapter 40 deals with his installation as high priest.

b.      It all depended on the flesh as to who was to be the high priest, and in the days this letter was written it was a political appointment.

c.       This changed with Jesus being made our Great High Priest.

          i.      We noticed that Jesus came from a completely different tribe than Aaron.

          ii.      Jesus being from the tribe of Judah not Levi.

d.      Jesus was placed as our Great High Priest by an oath.

          i.      It was not an oath given by Himself.

          ii.      It was not an oath given by a man.

e.      This oath came from God and the writer pointed to Psalm 110:4 as the oath.

f.        One thing that is interesting to note is that the phrase “after the order of Melchizedec” is not found in the ASV or the ESV.

           i.      These version simply say, “Thou art a priest forever”.

           ii.      Jesus is the High Priest of the New Covenant.

g.      This was given by an oath from God - God the Father placed Jesus into the position of High Priest.

II.            Jesus is superior by virtue of His permanence (Hebrews 7:22-25).

a.      One of the problems of the Aaronic priesthood was the fact that they died.

          i.      There were numerous high priests under the Old Covenant.

          ii.      Each of them, starting with Aaron, lasted until they died.

          iii.      They each had to be replaced.

b.      It is not so with Jesus.

          i.      The idea is found in Psalm 110:4.

          ii.      The phrase “The Lord sware and will not repent” informs us of this fact.

          iii.      The phrase “will not repent” means God will never change His mind.

          iv.      Jesus is always going to be the High Priest.

          v.      This prophecy of God by the Psalmist is irrevocable.

          vi.      God was never going to change His mind and when it happened it was going to be forever.

c.       The oath that placed Jesus as High Priest allowed Jesus to be the guarantee of a superior testament.

          i.      The word “surety” is found only here in the New Testament.

          ii.      It literally means “bondsman” carrying the idea of bail.

          iii.      Barnes said it means “ It properly means, a bondsman; one who pledges his name, property, or influence, that a certain thing shall be done. When a contract is made, debt contracted, or a note given, a friend often becomes the “security” in the case, and is himself responsible if the terms of the contract are not complied with. In the case of the new covenant between God and man, Jesus is the “security” or the bondsman.”

          iv.      His life, death, and resurrection allow Him to be this guarantee.

          v.      We can believe the new testament will save us if it is obeyed because of the fact that Jesus is our permanent High Priest.

d.      The old high priest had to continually change because of death.

          i.      Even our favorite brands that we know to be better than other items die on us.

          ii.      Our Nike’s wear out, our Cadillacs break down, and we know this.

e.      Such will not be the case with Jesus.

           i.      He has an unchangeable priesthood because of His permanence.

           ii.      He is going nowhere and He will not die or wear out.

f.        In fact, because of His permanence He is able to completely save us.

            i.      There is no rolling forward of sin looking for something better to eventually come from God.

            ii.      In Christ, salvation is complete.

1.      We are entirely washed from our sins.

2.      They are not brought up against us ever again because they are washed away.

g.       The reason is He is always available to intercede for us with God.

          i.      Because of His permanence, Jesus is always there, in the presence of God, able to intercede for us.

          ii.      Jesus is always pleading our case, which is the meaning of intercession.

h.      Think of the great blessing this knowledge is.

          i.      There is always One who deeply loves us in the presence of God.

          ii.      In His presence, this One who loves us so much is always ready to plead our case to the Father.

          iii.      In our darkest hour or strongest storm, we can rest well knowing we have this great promise of a permanent presence before the Father acting on our behalf.

III.            Jesus is superior by virtue of His perfection (Hebrews 7:26-28).

a.      Another problem with the Levitical high priest is that he was a sinner like me and you.

           i.      Read about Aaron and it doesn’t take long to know he was a sinner.

           ii.      In fact, it was while Moses was getting the orders from God to install him as high priest that Aaron created the golden calves.

b.      Notice what verse 27 tells us.

           i.      The high priest had to offer up sacrifices for himself.

           ii.      Sacrifices had to be offered because of sin.

           iii.      Before he could ever offer sacrifices for any of the people, he had to offer them for himself.

c.       This is not a problem the Jesus has.

d.      Look at how the writer spoke of our Great High Priest, and was inspired to do so.

           i.      Jesus is holy - there is no pollution of the world in Him.

1.      He is our perfectly sinless High Priest.

2.      It is His blood that allows us to be holy.

           ii.      Jesus is harmless - there is no malice in Christ.

1.      The ASV says that Jesus is guileless.

2.      The ESV says that Jesus is innocent.

3.      Jesus wants harm to come to no one, He carries no grudges.

           iii.      Jesus is undefiled - there is no stain on Him.

           iv.      Jesus is separate from sinners - He is without sin.

1.      Before the Day of Atonement, the Levitical high priest would dwell apart from the people to avoid contamination.

2.      Being in heaven, Jesus cannot be defiled in any way.

           v.      Jesus is higher than the heavens.

1.      By being in the presence of God, Jesus can plead our cases before the Father.

2.      He does not dwell with us where He His judgment can be bought or where He can be influenced.

e.      Instead of being one who constantly needs sacrifices for Himself, Jesus offered His perfect self for our sins

           i.      His perfection allowed for the end of all sacrifices of a physical nature.

           ii.      It was a once for all offering for mankind.

f.        Under the Old Law, the priests were not perfect, nor could they be because of the Law under which they served as well as their mortality.

g.      But God, with His oath, made our Lord a High Priest that is perfect always and always will be.

Building A Lasting Faith 10-26-25 AM

I.            How?

a.      Examine the evidence for yourself.

            i.      We are told that, when it comes to the existence of God, that God did not leave Himself without witness (Ac. 14:17).

           ii.      Witness means testimony and it carries the idea of evidence.

           iii.      There is a multitude of evidence for God.

           iv.      Once you believe in God, you next have to move to believe in God’s word, for which there is also a great deal of evidence (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

           v.      This word will produce faith when taken in (Rom. 10:17).

           vi.      Notice what made the Bereans of more noble character than the Thessalonians (Ac. 17:11).

           vii.      They examined the evidence for themselves about what Paul was teaching.

           viii.      Luke 1:1-4 – Theophilus could know with certainty.

           ix.      We talk bad about Thomas, calling him doubting Thomas, but the other apostles didn’t believe until they saw Jesus themselves.

           x.      We all know about Jesus appearing to Him, but notice John 20:29.

           xi.      There are many great tools to help us do this:

1.      The Bible itself must be taken in and studied.

2.      Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell.

3.      The Book God Breathed by Keith A. Mosher.

4.      Out With Doubt by Kyle Butt.

5.      Apologeticspress.com.

6.      Christiancourier.com.

7.      Just to name a few.

b.      Become a student of God’s word.

           i.      2 Tim. 2:15.

           ii.      Psa. 1:2.

           iii.      1 Pe. 2:2.

           iv.      2 Pe. 3:18.

c.       Pray often.

           i.      1 Th. 5:17.

           ii.      Jam. 4:8.

d.      Worship God faithfully.

           i.      Acts 2:41-42 – the first Christians continued steadfastly.

           ii.      Heb. 10:24-25.

           iii.      1 Cor. 14:26 – all things are to be done for edifying.

e.      These steps are proven ways to build a faith that will last.

II.            Why?

a.      Why is it important to build a lasting faith?

b.      We can’t be pleasing to God without it (Heb. 11:6).

c.       We can’t be saved without belief (John 8:24).

d.      We lack ability to overcome temptation without it (1 Pe. 5:8-9; Eph. 6:16).

e.      We won’t be able to endure persecution (Matt. 13:20-21; 1 Pe. 1:6-7).

f.        We will be spiritually weak and prone to temptation and apostasy (Eph. 4:13-15; Heb. 5:12-14; 2 Pe. 3:16-17).

g.      We must all have our own convictions (Ga. 2:20; 2 Tim. 2:12)

h.      So we can spend eternity in heaven (1 Pe. 1:9; Rev. 2:10).

III.            When?

a. Today – 2 Cor. 6:2.

(From a sermon by a preacher from Texas whose name I do not know)

A Day Of Good Tidings 10-19-25 AM

I.            The lepers delight (vs. 8).

a.      These men had decided that they were going to die one way or the other, so they might as well try to get some food..

          i.      They were dying men in the first place but they didn’t want to die of starvation.

          ii.      To die by a Syrian sword was better than starvation.

b.      Once they found out no one was there, they went into the first tent to which they came.

c.       They had a ball.

d.      They got food.

          i.      Just a little earlier, they had no hope of food and now more than they could eat.

          ii.      Jesus is the Bread and Water of life and we have access to all the spiritual nourishment we need as Christians.

e.      They got riches.

          i.      The life of a leper was one of abject poverty.

          ii.      They had to depend on help left for them by family members or aid given by others to have anything.

          iii.      Not only that, the siege of Samaria had left nothing for them.

1.      Family inside the city would keep for themselves what little they had.

2.      Why waste what they had on someone who had a terminal disease?

          iv.      Now they had all they wanted and then some.

          v.      Christians have wonderful spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3).

1.      God hears our prayers.

2.      God grants us forgiveness.

3.      God redeems us through the blood of His Son.

f.        They got clothing.

           i.      They came into the camp dressed in the rags of lepers.

           ii.      Now they had their choice of clothing left behind by the Syrian army.

           iii.      As Christians, we get washed and become new (Acts 22:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

1.      We get washed in the blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5).

2.      We get new clothing (Isaiah 61:10).

g.      These men now had everything they would ever need.

II.            The lepers dilemma (vs. 9).

a.      Can you imagine the fantastic feeling these men had?

b.      At first, caught up in the euphoria of the moment, they thought of no one but themselves.

          i.      This would be understandable in their case.

          ii.      It was rare that anyone thought of a leper.

c.       After the initial rush went away, they realized they weren’t right.

          i.      They realized they were hoarding up their blessings and not allowing anyone else to benefit from them.

          ii.      They had more than they could ever use.

          iii.      Those of us who are Christians don’t do well when we fail to tell others about the blessings that God has bestowed upon us.

         iv.      We are to tell others the good tidings (Matthew 28:19-20).

d.      They came to understand that what they had was not just for themselves, but for all of Samaria as well.

          i.      We need Christians who realize that what we have is not just for us.

          ii.      There are so many who need what we have.

e.      It was possible for them to keep silent.

          i.      The Syrian departure would surely be realized soon.

          ii.      They probably would have been put to death if found because they had not told the city.

f.        What about when we keep silent?

          i.      We fail to keep the Great Commission.

          ii.      We fail our mission as God’s people to praise God as we should (1 Peter 2:9-10).

          iii.      We will answer to God for keeping silent.

g.      We keep silent at times for various reasons.

          i.      Sometimes there is a famine going on in our own lives.

1.      We fail to study as we should.

2.      We don’t grow as we should (2 Peter 1:8-9).

         ii.      Sometimes there is fear or discouragement.

1.      We fear how people react or get discouraged because some have reacted poorly in the past.

2.      In the list of those who will be in hell, the fearful are the first ones liste (Revelation 21:8).

3.      Just because people don’t react well does not mean we have the right to quit doing our work.

          iii.      Sometimes we think it is too difficult.

1.      If we believe that Jesus died for us, was buried and was resurrected, we can tell others.

2.      If we do two things we can evangelize:        

a.      Follow 1 Peter 3:15 - Give the Lord a special place in our hearts and prepare to give an answer for what we believe.

b.      Pray:

                                 i.      For opportunity (1 Corinthians 3:5);

                                ii.      For wisdom (James 1:5);

                                iii.      For boldness.

III.            The lepers decision (vs. 10-11).

a.      These men decided that they could not keep this to themselves any longer.

          i.      They went back and told the porters at the gate.

          ii.      This message was then relayed to the king.

b.      After debating on whether it was true or not, the king sent men to find out, and they found it was true.

          i.      The city came out and got what they needed.

          ii.      They even found goods strewn down the road on which the Syrians had fled.

c.       The decision by the lepers took courage.

          i.      It took courage for a leper to approach someone.

          ii.      They stood the chance for death or rejection.

          iii.      It takes courage to tell people about the Lord and His plan to save them.

          iv.      Despite the reaction of those to whom we speak, we must still take the message out to the lost.

d.      The decision took love.

          i.      More than likely, there were those in the city who had mistreated these men simply because they were lepers.

          ii.      It was common in that day for the family of one stricken by leprosy to go ahead and have a funeral service for them and never reach out to them again.

          iii.      We must show the world we love them by taking the gospel to them.

          iv.      It doesn’t matter how we have been treated or will be treated, we must love those who are in the world.

e.      Their decision resulted in conversions.

          i.      The city was saved.

          ii.      We probably are never going to convert an entire city.

          iii.      However, there will be those few with whom we speak that will accept and heed the message.

          iv.      You don’t know how things will turn out when you speak to someone about Jesus.

A Prophesied Change Has Come 10-12-25 PM

I.            The change (Hebrews 7:11-12).

a.      Our writer begins the section by pointing out the fact that a change has been made in the priesthood.

b.      He does so by stating a fact that they should have understood: there was no way to reach spiritual maturity or completion under the Levitical system.

c.       In fact, the change was twofold:

           i.      There was a change in the priesthood;

           ii.      There was a change in law.

d.      The Psalmist, one beloved by the Jews, had prophesied of the fact that the Messiah would be a High Priest in the likeness of Melchizedec, not Aaron (Psalm 110:4).

           i.      There would be no need for a change if the human high priests through Aaron could lead a person to spiritual completion.

           ii.      One could not get to God completely through them, which is what perfection is, access to God (Hebrews 7:19).

e.      All that the offerings of the Old Testament did was to roll sin forward to Jesus and His redeeming blood.

f.        The only way to change the priesthood, though was by changing the law (vs. 12).

           i.      Notice that the writer said is of necessity.

           ii.      The word necessity carries the idea of compelling force.

           iii.      It was imperative that there be a change in the law.

g.      Our writer does not discuss the change in the law here, but introduces and will come back to explain it more fully later on.

h.      This change in the priesthood was prophesied by the Psalmist and that of the law by Jeremiah.

i.        God had promised there would be a change and our writer, by inspiration, points out these changes.

II.            The evidence of a change (Hebrews 7:13-17).

a.      The writer does not want his readers to simply take his word that there has been a change: he provides evidence of such.

b.      He gives evidence of the necessity of a change because the One of whom these things were prophesied belonged to another tribe, not the tribe of Levi.

            i.      The One of whom these things were spoken was the Messiah.

            ii.      We know that Jesus was not of the tribe of Levi and no man had ever served at the altar who was from His tribe, that of Judah.

c.       History records the fact that Jesus was of the tribe of Judah, and had to be in order to be the Messiah.

           i.      He was to be a descendant of David (2 Samuel 7:13).

           ii.      David was from Judah, and the genealogies of Matthew and Luke show that Jesus descended from him, not anyone from the tribe of Levi.

           iii.      Moses never mentioned that anyone from Judah could serve as a priest under the Mosaic Covenant.

d.      Incidentally, but extremely important, this lays out a great example of the power, or authority, of the silence of the scriptures.

          i.      Moses never was inspired to write down who could not be a priest under the Old Law.

          ii.      He was only inspired to write down who was a priest and it was understood that all others were left out of the priesthood.

          iii.      Only those of Levi could serve in the temple, and more specifically, only those Levites descending from Aaron could be the high priest.

          iv.      When God says what He wants done or used in the fulfilling of His will, He does not have to tell us all that He does not want done or used in the fulfilling of His will (elaborate).

          v.      This verse, Hebrews 7:14, is a tremendous and powerful illustration of that fact.

e.      Our writer then points out more powerful evidence of the change.

f.        A new High Priest has come into existence in the likeness of Melchizedec.

           i.      This High Priest, the One about Whom our writer has mentioned several times as we noted in the introduction, did not come to office because of the flesh or a fleshly commandment.

1.      He did not descend from Aaron.

2.      He is not like them in that they all died and another replaced them.

3.      There was a system in place to change the high priest when death occurred.

          ii.      He came to this office because of the resurrection and the fact that His life will never end and the power that is shown by that fact.

1.      Jesus will never die, thus His Priesthood will never change.

2.      There will never be one to take His place.

g.      The writer was then inspired to remind them of the prophecy of the Psalmist found in 110:4.

           i.      The “he” mentioned at the beginning of the verse is God.

           ii.      God, through the Psalmist, testified and still does, that Jesus is forever a High Priest in the likeness of Melchizedec.

III.            The purpose of the change (Hebrews 7:18-19).

a.      It may be that there might be some who would have read these words and wondered why a change had to be made.

b.      Our writer does not deal with why the priesthood had to be changed specifically, but does so by pointing out why the Law had to be changed.

            i.      The law had to be cancelled, the meaning of disannulling, because it was weak and unprofitable.

            ii.      Weak means without strength.

            iii.      Unprofitable means useless.

            iv.      It was such because it could not save mankind, it only reminded men of their sins, never completely removing them, only rolling them forward till the blood of Christ was shed.

c.       It was described in this way because it made nothing spiritually whole or complete, only the bringing in of a better hope could do that.

           i.      He has previously tied hope to Christ (Hebrews 6:19).

           ii.      It is superior to what the Aaronic priesthood offered because it brings us to completion.

d.      Completion is described as drawing nigh to God.

           i.      Through Christ, you and I have access to God.

           ii.      He’s already told us that we can get to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16).

e.      This is the whole purpose of Christianity, to give us closeness and access to God and this is what God wants.

          i.      He provided it in the Garden.

          ii.      When man sinned, the ability to draw close to our Holy God was hindered.

          iii.      God provided a way through Christ for man to once again have access and closeness to Him.

f. If we want it, we can have it.

Watch Your Tongue 10-12-25 AM

I.            The pollution of the tongue.

a.      When we use words that are sinful in some way, we create a polluted tongue.

b.      Cursing is a pollution of the tongue.

           i.      In our text, James says we cannot bless and curse with the same mouth.

           ii.      Col. 3:8.

           iii.      Eph. 5:4 – this would include dirty jokes as well.

           iv.      Remember how Peter acted when he denied Jesus (Matt. 26:73-74)

c.       Gossip is a pollution of the tongue.

           i.      God has always been against this (Lev. 19:16).

           ii.      Pr. 11:13.

           iii.      In the list of sins that condemned the Gentile world, Paul was inspired to use a term translated whisperers (Rom. 1:29).

d.      Judging is a pollution of the tongue.

          i.      Matt. 7:1.

          ii.      John 7:24.

          iii.      Jam. 4:11-12.

e.      Lying is a pollution of the tongue.

           i.      Pr. 12:22.

           ii.      We mentioned in the introduction how it is one of the seven things God hates (Pr. 6:17).

           iii.      Rev. 21:8.

f.        Boasting is a pollution of the tongue.

           i.      2 Tim. 3:2.

           ii.      Gal. 5:26.

           iii.      Pr. 27:1.

           iv.      Jam. 4:15-16.

           v.      Ps. 10:3.

g.      You may think of some other uses of the tongue that are sinful but these cover most and others can fit in with them.

II.            The pain of the tongue.

a.      When we sin with our tongue there is great pain caused.

b.      The old adage is Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

           i.      We know this is not true.

           ii.      Words are very harmful.

c.       Cursing harms us in several ways.

           i.      It limits access to God (Jam. 3:9-10).

           ii.      Do we think we can call on God for help when we’ve used His name in vain?

           iii.      It makes us sound just like the world.

           iv.      It will turn off someone who is offended by it and hurt our influence with them.

d.      Gossip harms in many ways.

          i.      No other action has destroyed more friendships than this one (Pr. 16:28).

          ii.      Someone has correctly labeled a gossip as a reputation assassin.

          iii.      It causes division and strife.

          iv.      Remember that God hates those that sow discord among brethren.

          v.      It undermines unity.

          vi.      It destroys trust.

e.      Judging harms in many ways.

           i.      It is an attitude that turns people away from us.

           ii.      It causes us to be quick to see faults in others but overlook their good qualities.

           iii.      It often is to make us feel better in sins.

           iv.      It keeps us from having a relationship with God.

f.        Lying harms us in many ways.

           i.      It separates us from God.

           ii.      It creates more lies.

           iii.      It harms our influence.

           iv.      It will keep us out of heaven (Rev. 21:27).

g.      Boasting harms us in many ways.

           i.      It causes us to put others down because we are elevating ourselves.

           ii.      It causes division.

           iii.      It causes envy (Gal. 5:26).

           iv.      It keeps us from having proper humility (Jam. 4:10).

III.            The prescription for the tongue.

a.      As a doctor can examine the tongue, determine illness, then prescribe a treatment, God has shown us the prescription for overcoming sins of the tongue.

b.      Pray for forgiveness is the first step.

           i.      We have to confess sins of the tongue to God like any other sins.

           ii.      We have to realize we need forgiveness then seek it.

c.       Pray for strength to overcome those sins.

           i.      Remember that Jesus taught us to pray with asking God to not lead us into temptation.

           ii.      We have to have a great desire to no longer use our tongues for evil.

d.      Be intentional with our words.

           i.      Jam. 1:19.

           ii.      Someone has well said, “Taste your words before you spit them out.”

           iii.      Ps. 19:14.

e.      Specifically to cursing, we need to make sure we are taking in that which is pure and holy (Php. 4:8).

           i.      What type of music are we listening to?

           ii.      What type of shows are we watching?

           iii.      What type of words are our friends using?

f.        When it comes to gossip, we need to ask some questions?

           i.      Is it true?

           ii.      Is it kind?

           iii.      Is it needful?

g.      We have to seek to be humble and kind to others with our words, just like we would want people to be towards us with their words.

The Old, New, Or Both? 10-5-25 AM

I.            The purpose of the Old Testament.

a.      The Old Testament, or Law of Moses as it is called in Nehemiah 8:1, was to govern the lives of the Jews (Exodus 34:27).

b.      It was to govern them morally, doctrinally, but also nationally.

           i.      We have the Constitution to govern the U.S.

           ii.      They had the Law of Moses to govern them as a nation, because Israel was a theocracy, a nation governed by God.

c.       This law was only for the Jews (Deuteronomy 5:2 – made a covenant with us).

d.      Paul tells us one of the purposes of the Law was to make sin known to the Jews (Romans 7:7).

           i.      The Law made Jews aware of their sin.

           ii.      Paul said he wouldn’t have known it was a sin to lust unless the Law was present to tell him.

           iii.      Notice Romans 3:20.

           iv.      If there had been no law, there would have been no sin (Romans 5:13).

e.      Also, the Law served to bring people to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

           i.      By pointing out sin, it showed the need for a Savior.

           ii.      The Law was not to serve the purpose of saving man.

           iii.      It was impossible for the sacrifices of the Law to do that (Hebrews 10:4).

f.        These verses show us that the Old Testament served two very important purposes: to make man aware of sin and to bring man to Christ.

II.            The period of the Old Testament.

a.      The day that Moses came off the mount from receiving the Law, his face shone (Exodus 34:29ff).

           i.      This scared the people of Israel.

           ii.      So, every time he spoke to them, til his face appeared normal again, wore a vail over his face.

b.      But notice what Paul, by inspiration had to say about this event (2 Corinthians 3:7-13).

           i.      Three times in these verses reference is made to the Law of Moses being done away with at some point.

           ii.      The idea is that the Law of Moses was only for a certain period of time.

c.       Galatians 3:19 tells us the ending point of the Law of Moses.

           i.      It was to last til the seed came.

           ii.      Verse 16 tells us Who the seed was that was to come - Jesus.

d.      The Old Law was never intended to be permanent.

e.      Instead, it was to bring man to Christ and His ability to save (Galatians 3:24-29).

III.            The promise of a New Testament

a.      The thing that many miss is that the Law of Moses, the Old Testament, was never meant to be permanent.

b.      Jeremiah 31:31ff.

           i.      Long ago, God told the Jews that there would be a new covenant, or testament, between Him and His people.

           ii.      It would be different in that, under the new covenant, there would be no more remembrance of sin.

           iii.      All the Old Testament sacrifices did was remind God’s people of their sin (Hebrews 10:1-3).

c.       We know this promise was fulfilled because of what we read in Hebrews 8:6ff.

d.      Jesus talked about His relationship with the Old Law (Matthew 5:17).

           i.      Jesus said He was not simply destroying the Law.

           ii.      Instead, He fulfilling it or completing it.

           iii.      The reason He could say this is that the Law was in place to bring men to Him, He was the fulfillment of the Law.

e.      God never intended for the Old Testament to remain in place and had let the Jews know that such was the case.

IV.            The performance of the change.

a.      The Old Testament was put in place to make men aware of their sin and to bring them to Christ.

b.      It was only intended to last until Christ came and the Jews had been promised that there was going to be a change.

c.       The question comes then, when was the change performed?

d.      The New Testament makes this very clear:

           i.      Colossians 2:14.

           ii.      Ephesians 2:15.

           iii.      This was done when Jesus was crucified on the cross.

e.      Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and said that His blood was the blood of the New Testament and was shed for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28).

f.        The change took place at His death (Hebrews 9:16-17).

g.      The fact is that Jesus took away the first, the Old, and replaced it with the second, the New (Hebrews 10:9).

h.      The fact is, you and I have been delivered from the Old Law when we came to Christ (Romans 7:1-6).

i.        The book of Hebrews points out that there had to have been a change in covenants because we have a new:

           i.      Priesthood - from Aaron to Jesus (Hebrews 5:1-10; 7:11-14).

           ii.      Sacrifice – from continual sacrifices to the sacrifice of Jesus (Hebrews 10:1, 10-12).

j.        It is important to understand there was a change because it shows we can’t find authority in the Old Testament.

           i.      There is a New Testament example of this.

           ii.      The apostles showed that Old Testament authority is not valid in the way they dealt with circumcision.

           iii.     There were Jewish converts who were teaching that Gentile converts needed to be circumcised.

iv. The apostles put an end to this idea when they stated that they had given no such commandment (Acts 15:22-29).

First Things First 8-28-25 AM

I.            We do it earnestly.

a.      The word earnestly means: with deep and sincere feeling.

           i.      It carries the idea of whatever is being done this way carries great importance.

           ii.      It is nothing half-hearted or with any attitude of neglect.

b.      When you are truly seeking something, it is important to you.

c.       This is similar to what is stated later by Jesus in this same sermon (Matt. 7:7-8).

d.      The word seek gives us a picture of a person in a quest for something:

           i.      A shepherd seeking his lost sheep.

           ii.      A woman tearing apart the house to find her lost coin.

           iii.      A businessman selling all he has to purchase a pearl of great price.

e.      When one truly seeks something in this manner, there is no luck involved.

           i.      You don’t luck up and find the kingdom of God.

           ii.      This kingdom is only found with effort and diligence.

f.        We hear people talk as if it is all up to God.

           i.      If God wants me He will get me.

           ii.      If God wants me to have this He will give it to me.

           iii.      If God…

g.      We have to be seeking the kingdom to find it and to be a part of it.

h.      It takes earnest effort to be find the kingdom, become a part of it, and to remain in it.

II.            We do it continually.

a.      The tense of the word “seek” is that of continual action.

           i.      It is not a one time seeking and then you are done.

           ii.      It indicates a lifetime of seeking God’s kingdom first.

b.      Remember, this is relational with God.

           i.      Do you want a good or bad relationship with God?

           ii.      The goodness or badness of the relationship depends on our effort in seeking the kingdom first.

c.       You and I are to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pe. 3:18).

d.      Growth is continual and it is involved in seeking the kingdom first.

e.      There is no time, from new birth until death, which we have off from this duty.

           i.      We don’t take breaks or vacations from it.

           ii.      We don’t hit a retirement age where we don’t have to do it any longer.

f.        Our avenues of seeking the kingdom will change.

           i.      We go through different stages of life.

           ii.      Someone has kindly called them different seasons of life.

           iii.      How we seek the kingdom through the changing times of life will differ.

           iv.      But, we still must seek the kingdom first.

g.      In Mark 14, a woman came into Jesus and used some very expensive ointment to anoint Jesus.

           i.      This made some of the people watching mad because they considered this a waste.

           ii.      Do you remember the words of Jesus in her defense?

           iii.      She has done what she could (Mark 14:8).

h.      This is what God expects of us – nothing more, nothing less.

III.            We do it immediately.

a.      I’ve met very few people in my lifetime that don’t believe in Jesus.

b.      Most people I have met also believe in the gospel, at least certain parts.

c.       One writer said that almost everyone believes in the gospel but few believe in the gospel of now.

d.      Satan wants us to delay seeking the kingdom.

           i.      He does not mind if we admire the kingdom.

           ii.      He does not mind if we want to be in the kingdom.

e.      What is keeping you and me from truly seeking the kingdom first?

           i.      Not just playing at it but really seeking it?

           ii.      What is keeping us from living the life God calls us to live?

f.        It’s easy to say when I get through this season of life I will get to it.

           i.      I’ve just gotten my first job and I have to give it my attention.

           ii.      I’m dating this girl and it is really serious and we are probably going to get married and then I will give it my attention.

           iii.      We’ve got children and they keep us so busy but when that slows down I will give it my attention.

           iv.      The kids athletics take up a lot of time but when that is over I will give it my attention.

           v.      I’m getting older and I will leave it to the younger ones.

g.      We need to be seeking the kingdom first immediately, right now because we are not promised any more time.

h.      Think about the example we are setting for our children when we seek everything but the kingdom first.

Hurdles Too High 8-21-25 AM

I.            The presence of singing only in New Testament passages.

a.      Whenever you read about singing when it comes to the worship activity of Christians in the New Testament, singing is what is mentioned.

b.      The word translated singing in Colossians 3:16 is what we know in English as “psallo”.

           i.      This word, in its early usage, was used not only for singing but also for playing an instrument.

           ii.      However, according to those studied in koine Greek, this word was not used for instrumental music in New Testament times.

           iii.      It was strictly used for singing.

           iv.      In fact, the final definition in Strong’s concordance for psallo is “in the NT to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song”.

           v.      Also, another Greek word translated “sing”, which is found in Revelation 15:3 is “ado”, which means to utter words in a melodic pattern.

c.       Nowhere in the New Testament do you see Christians being told to play instruments, only to sing.

d.      An interesting observation is that the translators, beginning with those that translated the KJV, were all members of religious bodies that used instrumental music in worship, however, despite obvious bias, they still translated the Greek “singing and making melody in your heart”.

e.      The Greek experts understood the meaning of the words.

II.            No instruments of music in the early church.

a.      Br. Everett Ferguson has done some extremely scholarly work to show that instrumental music was absent from the early church until many hundreds of years after her establishment.

b.      Br. Ferguson is member of the church of Christ, but his work is so scholarly, it is respected by many who are of very different religious persuasions.

c.       Br. Ferguson wrote, “The historical argument is quite strong against early Christian use of instrumental music in church”.

d.      In a book entitled “Instrumental Music In The Public Worship Of The Church”, written by a Presbyterian named John Girardeau, Mr. Girardeau laid out the case historically of only singing in Christian worship for many centuries and used doctrinal grounds to prove it.

          i.      On pages 95-96 he concluded one argument with this statement: The abolition of the temple worship, so far as it was peculiar to the Jewish dispensation, has now been proved by an appeal to the nature of the case, to the statements of the New Testament Scriptures, and to the awful providence of God; and as it was before incontestably shown that instrumental music was employed in that worship, so far as public religious services of God’s people were concerned, it follows that that kind of music is, with those limitations, abolished, and that its use in the Christian church is contrary to the Word and will of God.”

          ii.      He went on to show the similarity in synagogue worship, not temple worship, to the worship of Christians, and made the point that instrumental worship was not found in synagogue worship at that time and stated, “As, then, the use of instrumental music was unknown in the worship of the synagogue it was not introduced in the Christian church.”

e.      I realize that there is no Bible in this point, but to show it historically is a very valid reason to not use the instrument in worship and simply sing.

III.            How God dealt with acts of unauthorized worship throughout history.

a.      Why did God tell Cain that his worship was not acceptable?

b.      What was wrong with Nadab and Abihu’s worship in Leviticus 10:1-4?

c.       What was wrong with what Jeroboam’s worship in 1 Kings 12?

d.      Since God does not care if we change the worship, why was His reaction so harsh in those instances?

e.      God did seem to care if worship was altered under the Patriarchal and Mosaic systems of worship.

           i.      Do we really think that God would lose His desire for obedience in acts of worship under His Son’s covenant?

           ii.      A covenant that is described as better in Hebrews 8:6.

f.        God has always dealt with departures in worship harshly, so we must believe He would today as well.

IV.            The fact that God draws conclusion using the silence of the scriptures.

a.      Hebrews 7:14.

          i.      Jesus could become a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, but not under the Old Testament rule.

          ii.      The reason is that God had specified only those of the tribe of Levi and of the family of Aaron could be high priests under Old Testament rule.

b.     Nowhere did the Old Testament explicitly say a high priest could not come from another tribe, but it didn’t have to.

c.     What the Old Testament specified in this regard was sufficient.

d.     Notice that this argument is made in the New Testament.

e.      The use of the silence of the scriptures to draw a conclusion in this case shows that using the same method of argument in other cases is valid.

          i.      As we mentioned in the first point, we are only told to sing in the New Testament.

          ii.      The scriptures are silent concerning the use of mechanical instruments of worship, therefore there is no authority for their use.

V.            Authority can and must be determined.

a.      Colossians 3:17 – we must have the authority to do whatever we do and this included worship.

b.      Why do we sing at all?

           i.      Is it just because someone came up with the idea to do that?

           ii.      I’ve never seen that argument made.

c.       The basis for worship comes from the teaching of the New Testament.

d.      Because of that fact, nearly everyone would say there are boundaries to what can and can’t be done in worship.

e.      If there is and must be divine authority for what we do, and rules for worship that are objectively determined, there must be acts that fall outside the bounds of what is authorized.

f.        Where are the boundary markers to be found if not in scripture?

           i.      It becomes completely subjective if they can be established anywhere else.

ii. Only the Lord has the authority to establish bounds and His bounds must be honored.

(From a sermon by Neal Pollard)

More Than Conquerors 8-7-25 AM

I.            The problems we face (Rom. 8:35-36).

a.      In Paul’s day, and especially in the years to come, the gladiator games were extremely popular in the Roman Empire.

            i.      Imagine a gladiator standing in the arena and one of the doors opens.

            ii.      At first, he does not know if he will face another gladiator or angry beasts.

            iii.      He is ready for whatever but could still be surprised.

b.      One of my favorite movies of all time is “Gladiator.”

            i.      There is a scene where the main character Maximus is in the arena fighting another gladiator.

            ii.      Unbeknownst to Maximus, tigers had been held in covered pits and then the coverings were removed while he battled the other gladiator.

            iii.      He had no idea they were going to be there and he had to deal with them as well as the other gladiator.

c.       I mention these things because that is somewhat the picture Paul is painting here.

d.      As Christians, we are in the battle for our lives against a foe who will unleash all he has against us.

e.      The first thing Paul mentions is tribulations.

            i.      This word carries the idea of pressing together or great pressure.

            ii.      In life, we are pressed upon by its burdens.

            iii.      Some are self-imposed by choices we have made.

            iv.      Some are unavoidable because of life itself.

            v.      Remember the words of Jesus (John 16:33).

            vi.      We have to remember that passing through the periods of distress we grow stronger (Jam. 1:2-3).

f.        Paul then was inspired to mention distress.

            i.      Thayer said the word literally means narrowness of place but is used metaphorically to mean extreme affliction.

           ii.      One writer mentioned that this word is most often used to describe mental grief over something more than anything physical.

           iii.      Have you ever been in such a difficult place in life that you didn’t think you could breathe?

           iv.      It may be such a difficult situation that you have no idea how you will get out of it.

           v.      That is generally our first idea when these situations arise.

           vi.      After being able to gather ourselves mentally and spiritually, we realize who we have on our side.

           vii.      We remember that He has told us to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us.

g.      Paul moved then to the word persecution.

           i.      This word has the idea of being pursued by enemies.

           ii.      Have you ever had someone make false claims about you?

           iii.      That is nothing new to Christians.

           iv.      Our early brethren were called cannibals, had it said that they were trying to overthrow Roman rule, and also called atheists.

           v.      There are people who will slander us and falsely charge us with things because we are Christians.

           vi.      We must remember that we aren’t the first nor the last that will have to endure this.

           vii.      We must look to Jesus during times like that (1 Pe. 2:21-23).

h.      Paul then moved on to famine.

           i.      In that time, if Rome was against you they could move you like they did the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos.

           ii.      You may not be able to find work to provide for yourself or family.

           iii.      Early Christians who would not worship the emperor were not allowed to work in their trade guild.

           iv.      When this happened, food was scarce.

           v.      The temptation would be to give in to the order to worship the emperor in order to provide for yourself or family.

i.        Paul mentioned another problem that could come with forced poverty – nakedness.

           i.      If you can’t provide for yourself, your clothes will be all you have and they didn’t have closets full of robes back then.

           ii.      The clothing would turn to rags after awhile.

           iii.      As people who strive to be modest to follow the command of God, this would be a terrible indignity.

j.        Paul then spoke of perils.

           i.      This word means danger, risk or hazard.

           ii.      It carried the idea of constant threat of life.

           iii.      This was the lot of Christians in that day.

           iv.      They did not know when an emperor or some leader would decide to punish Christians.

v. 1 Cor. 15:31.

           vi.      Paul mentioned this idea in his listing all the things he endured as an apostle (2 Cor. 11:26).

k.      The last thing Paul mentions is sword.

           i.      It is as if Paul summed up all these things with this one cruel form of punishment.

           ii.      It was often with sword that the will of the emperor was performed.

l.        Paul then summed it all up with a quotation from Psalm 44:22.

m.    As Christians, we should be willing to give our lives for the cause of Christ.

n.      But, being totally honest, not many of us are facing these seven things.

           i.      At least not to the extent Paul and the brethren back then were facing them.

           ii.      It was constant with them but we might get some mean things said to us at times or a door slammed in our face.

o.      The danger we face is far more enticing.

           i.      We have too much stuff calling for us.

           ii.      We have pride in the way.

           iii.      Spurgeon wrote long ago: I fear me that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than when she was in those rough times.

p.      We must be on guard more against ease than against punishment.

II.            The promise made (Rom. 8:37a).

a.      In all these things we are more than conquerors.

b.      How can we be more than a conqueror?

            i.      A conqueror is a winner.

            ii.      A conqueror has overcome the obstacle that was in his way.

c.       One way I see that we are more than is look at those who conquered in the past.

           i.    Every nation that has been victorious has suffered defeat.

           ii.      As great as Egypt was, Egypt was conquered.

           iii.      As great as Assyria was, Assyria was conquered.

           iv.      As great as Babylon was, Babylon was conquered.

           v.      As great as Rome was, Rome was conquered.

           vi.      As great as America has been, we’ve been defeated.

d.      When we depend on physical things, we will be conquered, not matter how strong or mighty we may be.

e.      Our battle is a spiritual battle with God on our side (Rom. 8:31).

f.        The phrase “more than conquerors” is one word in the Greek and Thayer’s says it means to gain a surpassing victory.

g.      In Christ, we have won already, which is the point of the book of Revelation.

           i.      We serve a God that cannot be conquered.

           ii.      We are on the winning side.

h.      We are more than conquerors because God takes our weaknesses and makes them strengths.

           i.      Paul had weaknesses and was used greatly by God.

           ii.      2 Cor. 12:7-9.

i.        God doesn’t need our wisdom, strength, charm, charisma or anything from us but our lives and effort for him.

j.        When we give Him that, we win.

k.      We are more than conquerors also because of our motive for fighting.

           i.      We are fighting for the souls of others.

           ii.      We are fighting to glorify God.

l.        We are more than conquerors because we lose nothing in the fight itself.

           i.     No matter how righteous a cause is, the one who fights loses something in this life.

           ii.      I respect our veterans so much, but they lose something of themselves at war.

           iii.      The Christian is made stronger when tried in the heat of spiritual battle.

           iv.      Even if physical life is lost, we get to go be with God.

m.    In every aspect, when we fight this war, we are more than conquerors.

III.            The power with us (Rom. 8:37b).

a.      Through Him that loved us.

b.      The word through can also be translated by.

c.       We are more than conquerors by Him that loved us, which goes back to verse 35 (Rom. 8:35).

d.      The power to be more than conquerors is from God who loves us so much.

           i.      We can’t comprehend the height, nor depth, nor width of God’s love.

           ii.      If God loves us so much that He will not spare His Son, we can conquer anything while in that love.

e.      Paul closes the section saying there is nothing that will separate us from the love of God.

f.        He lets us know where that love is located: which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

g.      In Christ is the place to find and hold onto God’s love.

           i.      As long as we remain in Christ, we remain in God’s love.

           ii.      God does love all men, but there is a special love for those in His Son.

h.      To be in His Son is to be in His church (Eph. 1:22-23).

i.        This power is not going anywhere.

           i.      We can leave it, but it won’t leave us.

ii. Christ has conquered all things and we are conquerors in Him.

The Greatness Of Melchizedec 8-24-25 PM

I.            Who he was (Hebrews 7:1-3).

a.      What our writer does is summarize what we read in Genesis 14 with some explanation.

b.      We learn that Melchizedec was a king and priest.

           i.      He was the king of Salem which would later be known as Jerusalem.

           ii.      He was a priest of God.

c.      The beginning of Genesis 14 contains an account of the battle of the kings.

           i.      Genesis 14:1-10.

           ii.      Abraham went after his nephew Lot and rescued he and his family and recovered all that the kings had taken.

d.      Upon Abraham’s return, Melchizedec went out to meet and Abraham and bless him.

e.      Abraham then gave a 10th of the spoils to Melchizedek.

f.        We learn that his name means king of righteousness.

g.      We learn that he is the king of peace, the meaning of Salem.

h.      Our writer then gives us some interesting notes:

           i.      He was without father and mother.

           ii.      He had no lineage.

           iii.      He had no beginning or ending of life;

           iv.      He was like the Son of God, abiding a priest continually.

i.        There are some interesting ideas about who this man was:

           i.      Some believe he was an angel;

           ii.      Others believe he was Enoch;

           iii.      While others believe he was Shem.

j.        Because of what is said about him in verse 3, some believe he was a “Christophany”, an appearance of the 2nd person of the Godhead on earth.

k.      The most common view of Melchizedec, and the one I believe, is that he was a type of Christ.

           i.      He is said to be the things in verse 3, not because he had no parents or descendants or lineage, but because none is listed.

           ii.      He is said to have no beginning or ending because neither is revealed to us.

           iii.      If any of these had been revealed to us, it would take away from his foreshadowing the coming Christ.

II.            Melchizedek a type of Christ.

a.      The word "Melchizedek" means "King of righteousness," thus the very name becomes a title of the Lord Jesus Christ.

b.      "King of Salem" means "King of peace," and thus the title of Melchizedek is another appropriate title of our Lord (Isaiah 9:6ff; Psalms 72:7).

c.       Melchizedek was both king and priest, a double dignity not enjoyed by any illustrious Hebrew, not even Moses, and startlingly typical of Jesus Christ who is both king and high priest.

d.      Melchizedek received tithes of Abraham, even as Christ receives gifts of them that love and follow him.

e.      He blessed Abraham; Christ blesses his followers.

f.        Melchizedek's priesthood encompassed service to Gentiles and Jews alike, as witnessed by his reception of Abraham; and Christ likewise is the High Priest of all mankind, having no racial or other limitation.

III.            Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.

a.      Having shown who this man was, the writer now tells his audience how this man was greater than Abraham.

            i.      To a Jew, Abraham was their father and the greatest man who ever lived.

            ii.      For this man to have been greater than Abraham would be hard for any Jew to swallow.

            iii.      The point of this section is to show that this man pointed to Jesus and the greater priesthood than what the Mosaic Law offered.

b.      He had to be great because Abraham paid tithes to him.

            i.      The lesser always paid tithes to the greater.

            ii.      This was a sign of respect given to someone who holds a higher position or rank.

            iii.      As great as Abraham was, he realized he was inferior to Melchizedek.

c.       The Levites took tithes from the people, but this man who did not descend from the Levites took tithes from them through Abraham.

d.      Not only that, this man blessed Abraham and the greater blesses the lesser.

e.      Because Levi was a descendant of Abraham, it is right to say that Levi, in Abraham, tithed to Melchizedek, making him and his priesthood lesser than that of Melchizedek.

f.        Verse 8 is interesting and difficult.

           i.      The men that die are, of course, the Levites.

           ii.      It is debated as to whom the writer is speaking when addressing the one that is living.

1.      Some believe it is a reference to Jesus.

2.      Others believe it is a reference to Melchizedek.

3.      If it is Melchizedek, it is not a problem, because he typified the coming Christ, who is living, so in a sense, either way is a reference to Jesus.

g.      So three things are told us here that show Melchizedek was greater than Abraham: he received tithes from Abraham, he blessed Abraham, and had a greater priesthood than the offspring of Abraham, Levi.

The Lord Is Good 8-24-25 AM

I.            This reveals the personality of God – He is good.

a.      Some have the view that God is looking down trying to find those He can cast into hell.

           i.      There is this idea that God is some kind of sadistic dictator with a great desire to punish us.

           ii.      God is just out to keep us penned in and if we break out at all He just wants to crush us.

b.      Come have the view that God is in heaven and doesn’t take an interest in what is going on down on His creation.

           i.      This is the view of deism.

           ii.      God started things up and is sitting back watching what takes place with amusement.

c.      In the beginning, everything God created is described as good (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).

           i.      Every part of God’s creation speaks of His goodness.

           ii.      All things were created for our benefit.

           iii.      Even today, when we look at the beauty of what God created, we see His goodness.

           iv.      It was man that messed things up by giving in to temptation and sinning.

d.      Every act of God since that time has been good.

           i.      He destroyed the world because it had gotten so bad during the days of Noah.

           ii.      He chose to bless all the nations through Abraham’s seed.

           iii.      Everything God did was aimed for the good of man.

e.      When we look at the cross, the goodness of God should cry out to us.

           i.      This is truly the greatest evidence of the goodness of God.

           ii.      Rom. 11:22.

f.        When we look at these things and see the personality of God, they all cry out that the God we serve is a God of goodness.

II.            This reveals the protection of God – a stronghold in the day of trouble.

a.      Nineveh considered itself to be a stronghold.

           i.      The walls of Nineveh were 100 feet tall and wide enough for three chariots to ride side by side.

           ii.      It was surrounded by a moat that was 60 feet deep.

           iii.      It was estimated that Nineveh could have withstood a 20 year siege.

b.      Nineveh fell when the Euphrates River overflowed and washed away some of the wall, leaving a gap that the Babylonian-led army could enter.

c.       It used to be that America was viewed as a place of protection for those fleeing from persecution.

d.      The only true refuge of strength and protection is God.

e.      Notice how the Psalmist put it:

           i.      Ps. 31:2-3.

           ii.      Ps. 71:3.

           iii.      Ps. 91:2.

f.        Only in God is there protection.

           i.      John 10:27-30.

           ii.      When God has us, there is nothing that others can do to us that jeopardizes our spiritual safety.

           iii.      We can cast our cares on Him because He cares for us (1 Pe. 5:8).

g.      We seek out protection and seek to protect ourselves and families from all manner of things and people.

h.      The only truly perfect place of protection is in God.

III.            This reveals the presence of God – He knows them that trust in Him.

a.      The word translated “knows” means more than just mere intellectual knowledge.

           i.      It indicates an intimate knowledge gained only from being in the presence of that person.

           ii.      It is used by David in 2 Sam. 7:20, after God has said that David’s throne would always have someone on it.

           iii.      God intimately knew David because of the time David spent seeking God.

           iv.      David truly trusted in God and God knew Him.

b.      I’ve often seen interviews where an athlete or some lesser known talent is asked, “Who is the most famous person in your contacts.”

           i.      They would name someone very well known.

           ii.      It was made to be some big deal that this person is known by some big star of Hollywood or the sports world.

c.       What a great privilege it is to say that God knows us.

           i.      2 Tim. 2:19.

           ii.      He knows us so well that He knows the number of hairs on our heads (Lu. 12:7).

d.      He knows us in this way because we have come to trust in Him.

           i.      God has shown Himself to be trustworthy by keeping every promise He has ever made.

           ii.      Our trust in God is never misplaced.

e.      Notice what Paul said about His trust in God in difficult times (2 Cor. 1:9).

           i.      He knew men, including himself, are not fully trustworthy.

           ii.      He placed his trust in the one who is completely trustworthy.

f.        We can trust God with our salvation (1 Tim. 4:10).

g.      We show our trust in God when we obey His word and let His word be the guide for our lives.

           i.      We are taking Him at His word that He will save us, because He said He will.

ii. He is also the God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

The Christian’s View Of Money And Possessions 8-17-25 AM

I.            Some people’s view of money and possessions.

a.      You know as well as I do, people view things differently.

           i.      2 people can have the same thing or see the same thing and have two totally different opinions.

           ii.      Oftentimes, the more people you add to the equation, the more varied ideas there are.

b.      The same thing holds true with money and possessions.

c.       The New Testament reveals to us various ways in which people view their money and possessions.

d.      There are those that believe it is all their own.

           i.      Luke 12:16-19.

           ii.      Notice all the times personal pronouns were used by this man.

1.      “What shall I do?”

2.      “My fruits.”

3.      “My barns.”

4.      “My fruits and my goods.”

5.      “And I will say to my soul...”

           iii.      He believed it was all his and gained all by himself.

           iv.      No credit is given to God anywhere in his words.

           v.      There are those like that today.

1.      My house, my car, my money.

2.      I work hard for my money and I will do with it what I want.

e.      There are those that waste their money and possessions.

           i.      Luke 15:13-14.

           ii.      He had been blessed with a good amount of money.

1.      He had a terrible attitude about money.

2.      He was basically wishing his father was dead so he could go ahead and collect his inheritance.

           iii.      When he got some freedom, he lost it all.

1.      His brother would later say that he wasted it with harlots.

2.      However he used it, he wasted it.

           iv.      How many times have we gotten a little money and it was gone before we knew it?

1.      Many don’t have good money sense.

2.      Others don’t pay attention and, before they realize it, they’ve gone through all that they have.

f.        There are those who let their possessions possess them.

           i.      Mark 10:17-21.

           ii.      This man was very well off.

1.      Not only that, he was an extremely moral man.

2.      He followed the Mosaic Law when it came to his treatment of others.

           iii.      But Jesus knew his problem when it came to being able to be saved was an unholy desire for all of the goods and money he possessed.

           iv.      So many people today get caught up in what they have and have no desire to share it with others or get rid of it to be right with God.

1.      Their goods possess their thoughts.

2.      Just look at reality shows like “Hoarders.”

a.      Those people have problems.

b.      They cannot get rid of anything because they are possessed by their possessions.

g.      Then there are those who just want more.

           i.      Notice the beginning of 1 Timothy 6:9.

           ii.      There are those whose motivating desire is to be rich.

1.      Their number one goal in life is to have a lot of money.

2.      The more the better.

           iii.      It is said of John D. Rockefeller, that when he was asked how much was enough, he said, “Just a little more.”

           iv.      So many people around us, and even in the Lord’s church, are running after wealth as if it is the great cure-all for what ails them.

           v.      There is absolutely nothing sinful about money.

1.      In fact, money is neither good nor bad itself.

2.      Money is a wonderful thing to have and it takes money to live, and it seems like it takes a lot of it.

           vi.      Where we get in trouble is when getting it is our top priority.

           vii.      Those that “will be rich,” as used by Paul, are those whose main action in life is to get and accumulate wealth.

II.            The fate of those who hold one of these views.

a.      The rich man who viewed everything as his and did not acknowledge God was called a fool by God (Luke 12:20).

            i.      Can you imagine God calling you a fool today?

            ii.      Notice verse 21 (Luke 12:21).

1.      This is exactly how God sees us when we fail to acknowledge Him.

2.      His soul was required by God for refusing to see anyone else but Himself.

            iii.      Our fate will be the same as the rich fool.

b.      The prodigal son, who wasted his living, ended up in the pig pen.

            i.      Luke 15:14-17.

            ii.      He ended up with nothing, contemplating eating what the pigs ate.

            iii.      Those who waste what they have, end up with nothing.

            iv.      What happened to the foolish servant in the parable of the talents?

1.      There was a man who was given a large sum of money to do something with.

2.      The others who did what they were supposed to do, upon giving an account, were blessed by the master.

3.      Notice what was said to the one-talent servant (Matthew 25:26).

4.      Then his fate is told us in verses 29-30.

            v.      When we waste what we have, we lose what little we have left and, ultimately will lose our souls.

c.       The rich young ruler went away grieving and lost (Mk. 10:22).

            i.      When the Lord told the young man to sell all that he had and give it to the poor, it wasn’t because he was sinning by having a lot.

            ii.      It was because his possessions were his main priority.

1.      He knew he had a problem.

2.      He knew he lacked something that was keeping him from salvation.

            iii.      Those that are possessed by their possessions never find happiness, only want.

1.      They want a little more.

2.      If you aren’t happy with what you have, you won’t be happy with what you don’t have either.

            iv.      When we trust in our riches and make them our priority, we will be grieving and lost as well.

d.      They that want more, that will be rich, end up hurting and destroyed.

           i.      1 Timothy 6:9-10.

           ii.      There are so many temptations that go along with wealth.

1.      This is why Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven.

2.      Men trust in their wealth and that money won’t get us to heaven.

3.      Several friends attended the viewing of a departed friend who all knew to be very wealthy, but the exact dollar amount was unknown.

a.      As people are wont to do, one of the friends asked, “How much do you think he left?”

b.      A wise friend in the bunch said, “He left all of it.”

           iii.      You and I are going to take nothing physical with us when we die.

           iv.      We will take the effects of what we did with what we had.

           v.      How we use the money and possessions we have will affect where we spend eternity.

III.            The correct view of money and possessions.

a.      You and I are nothing but stewards or our money and possessions.

b.      V.P. Black defined stewardship this way: “that while we live in this world God entrusts into our care certain material things; we use them while we live in this life; we die; we go to the judgment and give an account to God as to how we used them.”

c.      You and I don’t own anything; it all belongs to God.

           i.      Job learned this long ago when God said...(Job 41:11).

           ii.      The Psalmist understood it (Psalm 24:1).

1.      How can it be His?

2.      Keep reading (Psalm 24:2).

           iii.      Notice what David said (1 Chronicles 29:14).

d.      If we could ever fully grasp this concept as Christians, preachers wouldn’t have to preach on giving.

           i.      Elders wouldn’t have to tell missionaries “no.”

           ii.      Worry wouldn’t have to be in the picture when it came to budget planning time.

e.      What would you think about a congregation who oversaw a missionary, and when the missionary, who had gone out to raise funds for himself and had those funds directed to the overseeing congregation, asked for the funds was told, “All you do is ask for money. We aren’t giving you any more of our money?”

           i.      They received that money from other congregations.

           ii.      They were to oversee the funds for the missionary, not use it at their discretion.

           iii.      It was to go for the support of the missionary.

           iv.      We would believe those brethren to be terribly misguided at best and thieves at worst.

f.        Isn’t this what we do to God when we fail to give back liberally to Him that which He has intrusted to us as stewards?

g.      If we would learn and understand that we are stewards, giving on the first day of the week would be viewed as a joy and privilege.

h.      When we have the proper view of our money and possessions, so much good gets accomplished.

           i.      More evangelization would take place.

           ii.      More benevolence would take place.

           iii.      More edification would take place.

           iv.      We wouldn’t be losing our young people at the rapid rate we are.

           v.      Families wouldn’t be torn apart by divorce, of which the leading cause is money problems.

Expect Better Things 8-10-25 PM

I.            The remembrance of God (Hebrews 6:9-10).

a.      The writer now encourages them after admonishing them.

b.      He does so by telling them that he is persuaded of better things for them.

            i.      Those better things are those that accompany salvation.

            ii.      He still called them beloved, despite the path on which some were headed.

            iii.      Despite what he had told them, he still knew they would be saved if they did what he was telling them to do.

c.       The reason for his confidence was the remembrance of God.

           i.      It is interesting that God forgets sin, but remembers good works.

           ii.      The work they had been doing was toward the brethren.

           iii.      No doubt some of them were part of the group we read about in the beginning of the book of Acts.

1.      Those who had all things in common.

2.      The group that took care of one another.

           iv.      This attitude was still present among them.

d.      When we stumble but repent, God does not forget the good works we have done in the past.

           i.      There were times Abraham sinned but God still put his faithfulness on his account.

           ii.      God does not wipe away the good with the bad, only the bad and the good lives on.

e.      This should give us hope and encouragement when we sin, knowing that God will not forget the good when wiping away the sin through our repentance.

II.            We must continue to work (Hebrews 6:11-12).

a.      Paul longed for them not to stop working, which in this case is studying and drawing closer to God.

           i.      He wanted them to give diligence, which is great effort.

           ii.      They needed to study the way that they cared for one another.

b.      We need to realize that being good at something but neglecting effort in other areas is not getting the job done.

           i.      We can’t be good students but neglectful of how we treat others.

           ii.      We can’t treat others well but fail to study.

           iii.      We should strive to be well-rounded Christians, those who are capable of study and growth as well as treating others the way they should be treated.

c.       The Hebrew Christians are then reminded to not be lazy.

           i.      “Slothful” is the same Greek word as “dull” back in 5:11.

           ii.      There is no such thing as a lazy Christian.

d.      The Hebrews writer then tells them to imitate the people of faith who have gone on before them.

           i.      This is another instance of the writer mentioning something to which he will come back later.

           ii.      These people were faithful and enduring.

           iii.      This allowed them to inherit the promises of God.

e.      Only by developing the virtues of diligence, faith, and patience can we rightfully have an assurance that we will one day "inherit the promises".

f.        Without them, we become sluggish, and as such expose ourselves to the danger of apostasy.

III.            God keeps His promises (Hebrews 6:13-20).

a.      God made a promise and swore an oath to Abraham.

b.      What God promised was that He would bless Abraham and multiply His seed (Genesis 12:1-3).

            i.      Abraham patiently endured the time that passed until Isaac was born.

            ii.      This is an illustration of what the writer called for in verse 12.

c.       Because God knew that men needed an oath to make things so in their minds, God confirmed His promise with an oath.

d.      God gave two unchangeable things, His promise and His oath, and we know it is impossible for God to lie.

e.      Robert Milligan made the statement that God made doubly sure as we occasionally say.

f.        Again, these things ought to give us great hope and an expectation of better things.

           i.      God has made us promises, just as He made Abraham and other Old Testament men and women.

           ii.      God kept every promise He made to them and we should be assured that He will keep the promises made to us.

g.      We who have run to God for hope should be strongly consoled in how God dealt with Abraham.

h.      We have hope that anchors us to God.

           i.      This hope is sure and stedfast.

           ii.      It goes all the way to heaven.

i.        It goes to heaven because that is where the Lord is, who is now a high priest in the same manner Melchisedec was.

When My Heart Is Guilty 8-10-25 AM

I.            The cry of confession (Psalm 51:1-6).

a.      He begins this psalm requesting mercy that goes along with the lovingkindness of God.

b.      He requests to be washed from his sin.

c.       The reason for these two requests are found in verse three.

            i.      He opens up that he has sinned.

            ii.      It is a constant part of his life and he can’t get away from it.

d.      We don’t know how much time had passed between taking in Bathsheba and Nathan’s visit.

            i.      It does seem like some time had passed.

            ii.      We know the result of this was that the child born because of the sinful relationship would die and we read this in 2 Sam. 12:15.

e.      David had lived with his sinful actions for some time, possibly over a year.

f.        This passage seems to tell us that it had gnawed at him but he had never done anything about it.

            i.      He thought he had gotten away with it.

            ii.      After all, no one except Joab knew David had Uriah killed and even Joab didn’t know why David wanted him dead.

           iii.      No one but Bathsheba and David knew about their fornication.

g.      Though he thought he had gotten away with it, David being a man after God’s own heart still knew he was guilty.

           i.      We don’t know the backstory of Psalm 6 but it is also a penitential psalm.

           ii.      Notice Ps. 6:6.

           iii.      Something David had done was bothering him greatly.

h.      Now that David is confronted, David can get the weight of his guilt off of his shoulders.

           i.      It is sad it took Nathan taking his own life in his hands and boldly confronting David.

           ii.      David could have had him killed.

           iii.      If David had acknowledged the sin and confessed it to God on his own, the child may have lived.

i.        But now David cries out that he is confessing his sin.

j.        David states that his sin is against God only.

           i.      David had sinned against himself (1 Cor. 6:18).

           ii.      David had sinned against Bathsheba.

           iii.      David had sinned against Uriah.

           iv.      David had sinned against Israel.

           v.      David had sinned against his wives.

           vi.      David understood though, that all sin is first and foremost against God.

k.      David then acknowledges that any punishment God would hand him would be justified.

l.        His sin has affected him so much that he says its been with him since birth it seems.

           i.      Psalm 51:5 does not teach inherited sin.

           ii.      David isn’t saying this sin he committed was Adam’s fault.

           iii.      He’s saying I’ve been messing up since birth it seems.

           iv.      Haven’t you felt that way before God?

           v.      We’ve made a mess of things so often that when we go to God it feels like we were just in this same place a little while ago.

           vi.      David is simply saying his life has been full of times like this and he again needs God’s great mercy.

m.    David understood that this confession is not just an external act, it has to come from deep within him.

n.      The truth is, our guilt will never go away until we confess our sin to God.

o.      This is one of the first things one has to do in studying with non-Christians.

           i.      We have to get them to see their guilt.

           ii.      We have to get them to understand that all have sinned and they are a part of all.

           iii.      They have to come to terms that they are sinners in need of forgiveness.

p.      For us as Christians, we have to remember that we still sin from time to time and we need the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7).

q.      Until we truly, sorrowfully confess whatever sin it is we’ve committed, our hearts are going to hold on to that guilt.

II.            The call for cleansing (Ps. 51:7-12).

a.      Notice that David never thought he could cleanse himself – His plea is directly to God.

b.      David calls for a spiritual cleansing by referencing the sacrifices offered at the tabernacle.

           i.      Hyssop was the fibers used to apply the blood of the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:22).

           ii.      It was used to sprinkle purifying water (Num. 19:18).

c.       David asks to be washed.

           i.      This idea of washed is not an outward cleansing only.

           ii.      The Hebrew word is associated with the idea of fuller making something clean.

           iii.      A fuller would fully scrub harshly garments that needed cleansing.

           iv.      David knew that if God would do this then he would be completely free of the sin.

d.      David has not been joyful because he has been bearing this guilt.

e.      He knows God would cleanse him and restore his heart.

f.        David begs God not to cast him away but to restore the joy of life he had when he was in a right relationship with God.

g.      This all only will come when the sin he had committed was atoned for and the guilt removed.

h.      One problem we often have with confession is holding on to the shame of the act that we have confessed.

           i.      It is almost like we don’t believe God will truly forgive us of what we have done.

           ii.      We must have faith that God will remove and forget that sin or we will always struggle with guilt.

           iii.      We must come to realize that God truly does totally remove our sin (Ps. 103:12).

i.        We can wallow in our guilt and shame, or we can bring it to God and ask Him to cleanse us of our sin.

j.        If we want the weight of our sin, that guilt and shame we bear, to be gone, we have to ask God to cleanse us with the blood of Christ (Rev. 1:5).

III.            The commitment after cleansing (Ps. 51:13-17).

a.      David asked God to renew a right, or steadfast, spirit in him, which means the will to stay cleansed.

b.      David would need that type attitude or spirit in order to keep the commitment he is now going to make.

c.       I will teach sinners of your ways.

           i.      He knew while he was in sin he could not properly teach someone about God’s will for him or her.

           ii.      He couldn’t set the example before his family and all Israel that he needed to set.

d.      I will worship you.

           i.      He knew he could not show himself to God while in sin.

           ii.      He could not properly worship God while this guilt was weighing him down.

e.      God demanded sacrifices to be made but those were to get people to understand the weight of sin.

f.        What God really wanted was the heart of the one offering the sacrifice.

g.      This is true today when it comes to our worship to God.

           i.      We can sing all the right songs, use all the right prayer language, give a bunch of money, amen the preacher, and shed tears during the Lord’s Supper and be lost.

           ii.      If there is unconfessed sin, unrepented of sin, in our lives and we worship God externally as much as we can, we are lost.

h.      God wants our hearts and when He truly has them, our worship will flow out of love and gratitude.

i.        When we are truly guilt-free because of our confession of sin, we will be committed to working for and worshiping properly our great, forgiving God.

j.        Then, we will be able to pray for others to enjoy the same guilt-free life we are enjoying.

           i.      David then prays for Jerusalem and the people of God.

           ii.      If they would experience what he has experienced they could truly worship God as he now could.

k.      When we have that joy of our salvation restored, our guilt removed, we want other people to experience that.

           i.      We want our brothers and sisters in Christ who may be struggling with guilt to be made whole.

           ii.      We want those outside of Christ to experience the forgiveness of God and the cleansing of the blood of Christ.

The Age Of The Earth 8-3-25 AM

I.            The Gap Theory.

a.      Listen to Genesis 1:1-3.

b.      What the Gap Theory, which is not really a theory but a false idea, says is that there is at least one gap of time in these two verses, if not multiple gaps of time, that allow for there to be billions of years for evolution to take place.

c.       If you are like me, you are asking where is the gap?

d.      Those that say there is a gap say it is between verses 2 and 3.

          i.      The idea is that God created the heaven and the earth and that it was without form and void.

          ii.      The word “was” is important because they say that means the earth became without form and void or had become without form and void.

          iii.      This means that God had to recreate the earth.

          iv.      One writer stated, “It is the mistranslation of this word which has, perhaps, added more to the ranks of the gap theorists than any other factor.”

e.      They also go to Genesis 2:4 and say created and made mean two different things.

          i.      Created means created in the Hebrew.

          ii.      Made means recreated in the Hebrew.

          iii.      This is simply Hebrew parallelism, where one thing is stated two different ways.

          iv.      The heavens and earth were created; the Lord made the earth and heavens.

          v.      These two words, along with about eleven other words for creation, in Hebrew are used interchangeably.

f.        This last part of saying these two words mean different things is the most easily refuted aspect of this false idea.

          i.      Notice 1 Chr. 16:26 – made is the word here used to describe creation, and no one ever thinks this verse means a recreation.

         ii.      Neh. 9:6 – God created heaven, which in this verse means the realm of God, He did not recreate it.

         iii.      Ps. 33:6 – God did not recreate the heavens and no commentator has ever tried to say that is what this verse means.

g.      One of our own brethren, a man named John Clayton, went around teaching this for a number of years and may still be doing so.

h.      The truth is there is no gap or even room for a gap in Genesis 1.

i.        God created the heavens and earth on the first day.

         i.      The rest of the text no longer concerns itself with the heavens.

         ii.      It moves to the earth being without form and void.

         iii.      The earth, on day one, was unmolded by the creative hand of God.

         iv.      The succeeding days show how God molded and created this world into what was present while man was in the Garden of Eden up until the day the flood came.

j.        There is nothing in the text of Genesis 1:1-3 or 2:4 that demand a gap of time.

         i.      In fact, if there was a needed gap to be shown, there was a multitude of ways the Holy Spirit could have inspired Moses to write using Hebrew.

         ii.      When reading the account of Joseph there are three times we read of a gap of time and they are shown by the phrase “After these things” (Gen. 39:7; 40:1; 48:1).

          iii.      If a very long time was needed, the Hebrew phrase “many days” could have been used (found 38 times in the Old Testament).

           iv.      Neither of these phrases occurs in Genesis 1.

k.      Listen to this statement made by an Apologetics Press writer: So we are left to trust the Gap theorists that they are qualified to speak where the Bible is silent, and to understand in the Hebrew what no Hebrew scholars actually affirm, and what no qualified translators have ever put forth.

l.        So I conclude the Gap Theory is false.

II.            The Day-Age Theory.

a.      This idea about the age of the earth is much more popular than the Gap Theory among those who profess to be Christians.

b.      What this false idea asserts is that the days of creation were not literal 24 hour periods.

c.       Instead, each day was really long eons of time allowing for evolution to occur.

d.      There are basically two groups of people who believe this:

           i.      Those who completely accept organic evolution but do believe in God – we call them theistic evolutionists.

           ii.      Those who profess to believe in the Bible and don’t believe in organic evolution but do accept the commonly believed dating methods that say the earth is old – they believe God created the earth but did so progressively allowing geologic time for it to take place.

e.      We all know there are different ways to view the word day.

           i.      It can mean a literal 24 hour period.

           ii.      It can mean just the time when the sun is out – daytime.

           iii.      We also can use it to mean a period of time – back in my day.

f.        Listen to this paragraph that Eric Lyons wrote showing all the uses in one place: In Abraham’s day, God made a covenant with the righteous patriarch and his descendants, saying: “Every male child among you shall be circumcised…He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis 17:10, 12). As long as it was day eight, it may not have mattered if Abraham and his descendants circumcised their young males during the day or night. In Moses’ day, even if day eight fell on the seventh day (the Sabbath day), the Israelites were expected to circumcise their male children on this day, “so that the law of Moses should not be broken” (John 7:23).

g.      One of the passages that those who hold to this run to for support is 2 Pe. 3:8.

           i.      They say this verse means time means nothing to God.

           ii.      I was in a Bible class where this happened.

           iii.      All this means is that God does not need the time we might think He needs to do something.

h.      One of the main problems with this false idea is that it limits the ability of God to properly communicate.

           i.      If God wanted to tell us He created all things over vast spans of time, could He have not done that?

           ii.      If God wanted to tell us He created all things in six days, how else would He have done it?        

i.        The context of Genesis 1 demands that these be literal 24 hour days.

           i.      Notice Genesis 1:5 – the morning and evening.

           ii.      Notice Genesis 1:14 – if days are ages, what are years, or what is a night?

           iii.      One writer said, “If the word day in this chapter does not mean a period of 24 hours, the interpretation of scripture is hopeless.”

j.        Exodus 20:11 makes no sense if the days of Genesis 1 are not 24 hour days.

k.      If days are really long ages, you have plants created in the 3rd long age not getting any sunlight until the 4th long age.

           i.      They would be lasting for millions of years with no sunlight.

           ii.      Not only that but the animals and insects were not created until days 5 and 6 and certain plants need insects for pollination to occur.

l.        Plain passages of scripture show that the days of creation were literal 24 hour days:

           i.      Exodus 20:11; 31:17.

           ii.      Psalm 33:9; 148:5.

m.    But listen also to what Jesus has said (Mk. 10:6).

           i.      If this idea of the Day-Age Theory is true, man has not shown up until the last few hundred thousand years.

           ii.      Jesus said God made male and female from the beginning of the creation.

           iii.      Either evolution is true and Jesus is false or Jesus is true and evolution is false.

n.      Notice also Romans 1:20.

           i.      Man has been perceiving creation since the beginning.

           ii.      Man had to be here in the beginning in order to perceive that.

o.      It is not feasible to fit millions and millions of years into Genesis 1.

III.            The earth is young.

a.      The Bible clearly teaches a young earth.

b.      One has to believe in the Bible and its inspiration first.

           i.      The Bible claims to be from God (2 Tim. 3:16).

           ii.      The writers claim inspiration (2 Sam. 23:2).

c.       If it is such, which I believe it to be; it is going to be accurate about all things that are discussed in it.

           i.      It is right about history though not a history book.

           ii.      It is right about geography though not a geography textbook.

           iii.      It is right about science thought not a science book.

d.      So, when the Bible discusses things about the age of the earth it is accurate as well.

e.      The genealogies of Genesis 5, 10, and 11 all indicate that there was between 2,000 and 4,000 years between Abraham and creation.

           i.      History and scripture show there were about 2,000 years between Abraham and Jesus.

           ii.      Jesus lived roughly 2,000 years ago.

           iii.      These all go to show that the earth and the universe are fewer than 10,000 years old.

f.        Moses said that all things were created in 6 days (Ex. 20:11).

g.      When you read Romans 1:18-32 you see that God’s attributes have been clearly seen by man since “the creation of the world.”

h.      Notice Luke 11:50-51.

           i.      Jesus said the shedding of Abel’s blood occurred at the foundation of the world.

           ii.      According to the Big Bang idea, 99.96% of the earth’s existence took place before humans arrived.

           iii.      Either Jesus is wrong or the Big Bang is wrong.

i.        Human population statistics show that the earth is young.

           i.      If humans have been on the earth one million years, factoring in wars, disease and famine, there should be 10 to the 2000 place people on the planet today.

           ii.      There is not even 10 to the 10 place humans on the planet.

           iii.      To have what should be here, we would need 10 to the 200 place more universes the same size as ours to have that should be here according to evolution.

          iv.      However, if you base your calculations off the biblical model things are different.

          v.      If you assume the flood was roughly 4,500 years ago then you have all humanity coming from Noah’s 3 sons and their wives.

           vi.      Statistics show that there would be roughly 6.7 to 8.1 billion people on earth now.

           vii.      The US Census Bureau documents that the world’s population is no at 7.9 billion people.

j.        Carbon-14 dating suggests a young earth.

            i.      Right now, it takes 5,730 years for half of this element to break down into nitrogen-14 in wood or bone.

            ii.      After 57,300 years all the measurable Carbon-14 is gone.

            iii.      If Carbon-14 is detected in an uncontaminated specimen, the specimen cannot be older than 100,000.

            iv.      All the fossils that have been checked still contain Carbon-14.

            v.      It’s been found in wood dating to the Cenozoic era, which is believed to be up to 65 million years ago.

            vi.      Coal from the Paleozoic era, which is believed to be 40-320 million years ago.

            vii.      What this tells us is that the fossil record is not a record of life through time, but a record of death during the flood just a few thousand years ago.

k.      The fact that soft tissue/blood vessels in dinosaur fossils have been found show a young earth.

            i.      It is believed that dinosaurs became extinct anywhere from 65 to 200 million years ago.

            ii.      There is no conceivable way flesh could survive that long.

            iii.      Many fossils have been cracked open and studied only to find collagen and blood vessels with red blood cells intact, original proteins, and soft, stretchy, flexible tissue.

            iv.      Multiple species have been found this way.

            v.      Evolutionists have not come up with a reasonable explanation for this.

l.        There is plenty of reason to believe, even scientifically in a young earth.

(Some of this material came from Apologeticspress.com and from VBS material produced by Apologetics Press)

Carest Thou Not That We Perish? 7-20-25 AM

 I.            Jesus cared enough to leave heaven.

a.      Could you imagine what it would be like to be in heaven?

b.      I am sure when we get to heaven we would never want to leave.

c.       However, Jesus willingly gave that up to come to earth.

           i.      Php. 2:5-8.

           ii.      ASV says, “Who existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped” (vs 6).

d.      Not only did Jesus give up heaven, He was so willing to come that He gave up being on an equal basis with God.

           i.      The word “equal” means equal in quantity and quality.

           ii.      There was no hint of selfishness in the Lord.

e.      Not only that, vs 7 tells us He emptied Himself (ASV).

           i.      He did not empty Himself of deity.

           ii.      He limited Himself by placing Himself under subjection to mere humans, the law of Moses and even to death.

f.        Lying at your feet is your dog. Imagine, for the moment, that your dog and every dog is in deep distress. Some of us love dogs very much. If it would help all the dogs in the world to become like men, would you be willing to become a dog? Would you put down your human nature, leave your loved ones, your job, hobbies, your art and literature and music, and choose instead of the intimate communion with your beloved, the poor substitute of looking into the beloved's face and wagging your tail, unable to smile or speak? Christ by becoming man limited the thing which to Him was the most precious thing in the world; his unhampered, unhindered communion with the Father. C.S. Lewis

g.      Surely we can see Jesus cares when we see what He gave up to come to this earth.

II.            Jesus cared enough to teach us how to live.

a.      When you think of what Jesus taught, He changed world.

b.      Jesus taught man how to live.

           i.      If every person followed His rules of conduct the world would be a better place.

           ii.      Even if there was no hope of heaven, the Christian life is the best life there is.

c.       His teaching was revolutionary.

           i.      Just following the Golden Rule would make the world a better place.

           ii.      Just loving our neighbor as our self would make the world a better place.

d.      The teaching that Jesus left us is enough to show He cares for us.

III.            Jesus cared enough to lose His life.

a.      Rom. 5:6-8.

b.      Php. 2:8 - even the death of the cross.

c.       There should be no doubt that Jesus cares since He was willing to go through all of this for us.

IV.            Jesus cared enough to be resurrected.

a.      1 Cor. 15 tells us why it was important for Him to be resurrected.

b.      Verses 13-20.

c.     There would be no hope for mankind without the resurrection.

d.     Notice this quote: Well over three hundred verses are concerned with the subject of Jesus' resurrection in the New Testament. We are told that this event is a sign for unbelievers (Mat 12:38-40); cf. Jo 20:24-29) as well as the answer for the believer's doubt (Lu 24:38-43). It serves as the guarantee that Jesus' teachings are true (Ac 2:22-24; 1 Cor 15:12-20) and is the center of the gospel itself (Ro 4:24-25, 10:9; 1 Co 15:1-4). Further, the resurrection is the impetus for evangelism (Matt. 28:18-20; Ac 10:39-43), the key indication of the believer's daily power to live the Christian life (Rom. 6:4-14, 8:9-11; Phil. 3:10) and the reason for the total commitment of our lives (Rom. 7:4; 1 Cor. 15:57-58). The resurrection even addresses the fear of death (Jo 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:54-58; cf. He 2:14-15) and is related to the second coming of Jesus (Acts 1:11; Rev 1:7). Lastly, this event is a model of the Christian's resurrection from the dead (Acts 4:2; 1 Cor. 6:14; 1 Th 4:13-18) and provides a foretaste of heaven for the believer (Php.3:20-21; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

e.      By doing something that means this much for us, it should show us Jesus truly cares.

V.            Jesus cared enough to ascend on high.

a.      His ascension into heaven means that He is reigning over His kingdom (1 Cor. 15:24-25).

b.      Another purpose of His ascension is to prepare a place for His faithful followers (Jo 14:1-3).

c.       By His doing this, we should know He truly cares.

VI.            Jesus cares enough to continually watch over us.

a.      Heb. 13:5.

b.      This allows us to not be afraid (Heb. 13:6).

c.       He wants us to cast our cares on Him because He still cares about us (1 Pe. 5:7).

d.      Jesus is our Advocate (1 John 2:1).

e. He still provides the strength that we need (Php. 4:13).

Implications Of Immaturity 7-6-25 PM

I.            We tie ourselves to old teaching (Hebrews 6:1-3).

a.      As we look at this text, we need to remember that it is tied to the previous chapter.

                         i.      Chapter 5 deals with Jesus being the Great High Priest.

1.      He is the Author of eternal salvation.

2.      He is a high priest in a similar manner to Melchisedec.

                        ii.      But, for their lazy hearing, they were headed back towards Judaism.

b.      They did not understand that things in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, which is why he could not talk to them right then about the comparison of Melchisedec to Jesus.

c.       The writer, when we come to chapter 6, challenges them to go towards maturity in Christ.

d.      He tells them they need to leave the beginnings of Christ.

                        i.      The word “leaving” means to separate from or send away.

1.      Jesus sent away the multitudes (Matthew 13:36).

2.      This word is used in 1 Corinthians 7:11-13 to talk about the sending away of a spouse.

                      ii.      Very good lexicon writers define it as “abandon”.

1.      It is used in Romans 1:27 to describe the homosexuals that abandoned the natural use of the woman.

2.      It is used in Revelation 2:4 of the Ephesians who had left, or abandoned, their first love.

                     iii.      We need to understand that the writer is not telling them to leave, or abandon, the beginnings, which is the meaning of the word translated “principles”, the teaching of Jesus.

                     iv.      The beginning of Jesus, or the Christ, is in the many Old Testament passages that point to His coming into this world.

e.      What our writer is telling these brethren, is that they need to leave, abandon, the ties they have to the Old Testament.

                       i.      This is something many in the Lord’s church battle when it comes to denominational baggage they bring in from their conversion.

                     ii.      Those ties to the denominational teachings need to be abandoned.

                    iii.      When we fail to grow, or mature, we end up going back to those teachings because it is that with which we are most familiar.

f.        The writer then tells them to press on to perfection.

                      i.      This word is only used once in the book of Hebrews, but the verb form is used several times.

                     ii.      Hebrews 7:11, 19; 9:9; 10:1, 14; 11:40; 12:2.

                   iii.      Each of those show either the imperfection of Judaism or the perfection of Christianity.

g.      In other words, the writer, by inspiration is challenging them to abandon all ties to Judaism and march towards completion in Christ.

                     i.      We need to sever all ties with denominational teachings or worldliness as we mature in Christ.

                    ii.      If not, we will be tied down and unable to grow.

h.      The writer then mentions six doctrines they need to abandon.

                     i.      Again, he is not telling them to abandon doctrines of Christianity.

                   ii.      These six doctrines are doctrines that were found in Judaism, not Christianity.

                  iii.      Remember, he is telling them to abandon the beginning of Christ, or the Old Testament.

                  iv.      All six of these are found in the Old Testament and need to be viewed as such, and some pertain only to the Old Testament.

i.        Repentance from dead works.

                    i.      The writer did not say repentance from sin, which is necessary for conversion to Christ.

                   ii.      These refer to practices of the Old Law, while saying one is part of Christ.

                  iii.      Romans 7:6 and Hebrews 9:14 refer to the Old Law as dead.

                  iv.      Going back to that and laying a foundation of works of Judaism needed to be abandoned.

j.        Faith towards God.

                     i.      Jews believed in God and always been taught about God.

                    ii.      They needed to believe in Jesus as the Son of God, the Author of eternal salvation, and their Great High Priest.

                  iii.      Faith towards God was a characteristic of the Old Law and a foundational element of Judaism.

k.      The doctrine of baptisms.

                     i.      The word baptisms is translated in newer versions as washings.

                   ii.      There were numerous washings in the Levitical system.

                 iii.      The various offerings had to be washed.

                 iv.      Sometimes bodies had to be washed.

                  v.      One could not enter the tabernacle or temple without washing.

                 vi.      In fact, the word translated baptisms is not from the same Greek word commonly translated baptism.

                vii.      In every other instance it is translated washing and should be here as well.

l.        Laying on of hands.

                 i.      There is much written about laying on of hands in the New Testament.

                ii.      However, there is also a lot of instances mentioned in the Old Law of laying on of hands.

               iii.      Priests laid hands on sacrifices, those offering sacrifices had to lay their hands on the sacrifice they offered.

               iv.      All the people had to lay their hands on the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement.

                v.      Remember the context of this passage: Jesus as the Great High Priest.

              vi.      Don’t lay again the foundation of laying on of hands from the Old Law.

m.    The last two, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment, are both found often in the Old Testament.

                i.      Judaism was the only religion to teach these things, up until Christianity.

               ii.      They were foundational elements of Judaism and the teaching of the Old Law was to be abandoned because both of these are fully explained in the New Law.

n.      Verse 3 simply says that this will happen if they depend on doing God’s will and not their own.

o.      We must mature in Christ so that we are not tied down to old teaching that would hinders our understanding of the gospel.

II.            We turn from salvation (Hebrews 6:4-6).

a.      There are two words in this section that cause problems for people.

b.      The first word is impossible.

                 i.      If you believe in the possibility of falling away, how can you believe it is impossible to renew that one who has fallen away?

               ii.      Some try to soften it and make it mean just difficult.

              iii.      Some believe it means God thru the Holy Spirit can do it but you and I can’t.

              iv.      Some have said it means after baptism there is no bringing back.

c.       The other word is “if” in verse 6.

                i.      The problem here is “if” is not in the Greek.

               ii.      The ASV renders it better and accurately with “and then fall away”.

              iii.      The NASV says, “and then have fallen away”.

              iv.      The problem is that all the blessings he mentions match up in the Greek with the falling away.

               v.      They all read “having”.

             vi.      In other words, you have had all these things and now you have fallen away.

            vii.      The “if” was put there because of Calvinistic bias.

d.      Now, for the text itself.

e.      Notice these great blessings:

              i.      They had been enlightened by the light of the gospel.

             ii.      They had tasted the sweet taste of salvation.

            iii.      They were given miraculous gifts from the Holy Spirit.

            iv.      They were followers of the good word of God.

             v.      They had been blessed by the powers of God more fully seen in the world to come.

f.        One who has done all those things or received those blessings has been saved.

g.      The one who falls away from those blessings and goes back into Judaism, which is the context of this passage and book, cannot be saved by such.

             i.      It was and is impossible for Judaism to save him or her.

            ii.      There is only salvation in Christ, not Judaism.

h.      Those that associated with Judaism could continually crucify the Christ and put Him to an open shame in one of two ways:

             i.      By offering sacrifices that typified the Christ;

            ii.      By uniting with a people who were against the Christ.

i.        What does that mean for us today?

              i.      If we have obeyed the gospel and then leave it for something we came out of, we can’t find salvation there.

            ii.      That is why we left it in the first place.

           iii.      We can’t find salvation in worldliness or denominationalism.

III.            We face destruction (Hebrews 6:7-8).

a.      The writer closes this section with an illustration from gardening or horticulture.

b.      God waters the ground and the earth drinks it in and produces either herbs or thorns and briars.

            i.      The gospel goes out and it produces Christians or it turns people from God, depending on their reception or rejection of it.

           ii.      These are the only two results.

c.       Where the earth produces herbs there is a blessing.

d.      In fields that produce thorns and briars there is a burning.

e.      The illustration is simple:

            i.      Those that follow the Christ, the Great High Priest, will flourish and enjoy salvation for all eternity.

           ii.      Those that reject the Christ, the Great High Priest, will be burned in eternity in hell.