The Saints SHAPED by the book do…
SOCIAL Duties of the Saints. 1-7.
HEED Christ, Doctrine, & worship. 8-16.
Obey AUTHORITY in the church. 17.
PRAYER request. 18-19.
EXHORTATION for the Saints. 20-22.
Final DECLARATION. 23-25.
Overview of Hebrews.
OUTLINE of HEBREWS.
ENDURE. Heb 12.
Overview of Hebrews.
FAITH is used in multiple senses in Scripture. It is a much deeper concept than just “belief & trust.”
FAITH is used in these ways.
The FULL Body of information from God. Heb 11:1-3; Jude 3; Rom 10:17
To ACT upon hearing. Jas 2:14-26.
It INSISTS in being loyal to the One in whom we have faith. Heb 11:35
To TRUST fully in the One we believe. Heb 11:17-19
Is to HOPE in the One we have heard. Heb 11:13
Here is a link to the overview of Hebrews.
you LOVE your ENEMY?
All this month we’ve been talking about LOVE. Here’s a recap.
Love the LORD week 1;
First, GOD IS LOVE. (1John 4:8)
Second, GOD LOVES. (1John 4:9)
Third, HE LOVED US FIRST. (1John 4:19)
Last, GOD DIED FOR US. (1John 3:16)
Love OTHERS week 2:
Love The Brethren. (John 13:34)
Love Others. (1Thess 3:12)
Love to Visit the needy. (Jas 1:27)
Love our Enemies. (Luke 6:27)
Love His Appearing week 3:
We Look for His return. (Luke 12:37)
We Obey Him. (Luke 6:46)
We add Virtue, etc. (2Pet 1:5-11)
We Endure this life. (Matt 10:24)
This week we’ll look at the Lord’s command to Love our Enemy.
It’s unambiguous that we are to love our enemies. Who our enemies are varies. As much as it lies within us, we try to live at peace with all men (Rom 12:18), but there are some that just don’t like us, are rude, mean, or antagonistic to the church. It matters not why; Jesus taught us to LOVE our ENEMIES.
How are we to LOVE an ENEMY?
First, with EMPATHY. We need to have empathy for we were once enemies to the Lord.
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10).
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1Cor 6:9-11).
No matter what a person may say to provoke us, we must remain NICE. The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (Jas 1:20)
“And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same” (Luke 6:33).
This teaching doesn’t mean we put ourselves in harm’s way. Paul avoided many attacks on his life by the Jews, but he still desired they be saved.
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved” (Rom 10:1).
This next one is difficult, but we need to have a heart to EVANGELIZE.
Some will, some wont, but you’ll never know until you try. We seldom think about, nor even desire to teach an enemy the truth of the gospel.
I ask myself this question whenever interacting with an “enemy;” Could I invite them to worship despite our conflict? Look at this example:
Jesus sent Ananias to Saul of Tarsus to teach him the gospel. “Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem” (Acts 9:10-16).
Within the command to love our enemy is to be Merciful.
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
Merciful means… compassionate, experiencing deep pity (lamentation) as God has for people who look to Him for help in their difficult situations. Consider the example of the stolen servant girl who told Naaman of a cure for leprosy. (2Kings 5:1-3). “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.”
Finally, and very importantly, YOUR forgiveness depends on it. Let’s read from our passage in Luke:
“For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:32-35). To love only those that love us is no better than the enemies themselves. Look at what Jesus taught:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”
(Matt 6:14-15; Mt 18:35; Mr 11:25-26; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13).
People mistake these concepts as having to take abuse, pain, etc. That’s a mistake. We have authority to avoid our enemies attacks, if we do it without sin, and without denying the Lord.
Think about the Apostle Paul in Acts 23:12-31. Some of the very people he was trying to reach with the Gospel had sworn to lie in wait for him so they would have occasion to ambush and kill him. He loved those in Judaism who were persecuting him (Rom 10:1-3), but that didn’t mean he had to be killed if it could be avoided (see, Acts 9:25; 2Cor 11:33).
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good”
(Rom 12:19-21).
–Spencer
DOCTRINE of FALSE TEACHERS 1-4.
2Pe 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
False Teachers w/ FEIGNED words.
DOOM of False Teachers 4-11
2Pe 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
DEPRAVITY of False Teachers 12-16
2Pe 2:12 But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,
DESTINY of False Teachers 17-22
2Pe 2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
HEBREWS 10 He TAKES away the 1st.
TAKES away. 1-18
HEBREWS 10:19-39 LET US…
DRAW NEAR. 22
HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION. 23
CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER TO STIR. 24
ASSEMBLE TOGETHER. 25
DRAW BACK. 26-39
Overview of Hebrews.
Hebrews 9 chapter overview.
The Earthly TABERNACLE. 9:1-10
Heb 9:2 For there was a TABERNACLE made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
Christ ENTERED heaven, the real tent, with his own blood. 11-14
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he ENTERED in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
The NEW covenant established by the blood. 15-22
Heb 9:5 And for this cause he is the mediator of the NEW testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
He entered the TRUE things, to God himself for us. 23-28
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the TRUE; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
4 Things about Loving the LORD
4/4
The LORD DELIVERS those that Love Him.
Psalm 145:20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
Psalm 31:23 O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
Psalm 18:1 <<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,>> I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2Cor 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
2Tim 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
2Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
5 ways we try to ALTER the word to validate a false belief.
5/5
1. We ADD to the word.
3. We TWIST the scriptures to fit us.
4. We EXPLAIN away clear scripture.
5. We REJECT plain truths.
1. We ADD to the word.
We ADD to the word like Satan did with Eve.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall NOT surely die: (emphasis mine seb)
In our times people try to ADD that same not to Mark 16:16, but the ADD it in different places.
faith alone.
He that believeth and is (NOT) baptized shall be saved;
Baby baptism
He that believeth (NOT) and is baptized shall be saved;
Universalists
He that believeth (NOT) and is (NOT) baptized shall be saved;
atheists
He that believeth and is baptized shall (NOT) be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Jesus said,
Mark 16:16 KJV
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
2. We LESSEN the word of God.
Revelation 22:19 KJV
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Some say, “this verse only applies to the book of revelation.”
I say, “so you’re saying God is ok if we take away from other parts of the Bible?”
Look at what Jehoiakim did…
Jeremiah 36:23 KJV
And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
Deuteronomy 4:2 KJV
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Proverbs 30:5-6 KJV
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. [6] Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
No, we cannot ADD nor LESSEN God’s word. His word…
2 Timothy 3:15-17 KJV
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. [16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
3. We TWIST the scriptures to fit us.
2 Peter 3:16 KJV
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable TWIST, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Psalm 56:5
All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.
Jeremiah 23:36
But refer no more to the burden of the LORD, for each man’s word becomes the burden, so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God.
For example…
People TWIST what Jesus said about the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and make it about themselves.
John 16:13 KJV
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
This was spoken to the Apostles and does not apply to us in the same way.
We are guided by the holy Spirit in as much as we study and understand the written word.
Ephesians 3:3-4 KJV
How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
John 20:30-31 KJV
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: [31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
We need to see what the context is of each passage. Not every passage is about us.
Let’s stop TWISTING the scriptures to fit us.
4. We EXPLAIN away clear scripture.
This one accepts that passages are God’s word, but somehow they don’t mean what they say. It’s a form of denial.
For example, Mark 16:16 KJV
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Folks will use the second half of the verse to EXPLAIN away the first half, or just deny that those verses are even in the Bible.
Some will come up with an unlikely, implausible scenario to EXPLAIN away the command.
For example; “What if you’re on the way to be baptized but die on the way?”
All this shows is a lack of concern for the commandments of the Lord.
Luke 6:46 KJV
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
John 14:15 KJV
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Ps. The pic is just to match the topic and is not a solicitation.
5. We REJECT plain truths.
For example; Naaman was given plain instruction about how to be cured.
2 Kings 5:10-12 KJV
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
[11] But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
[12] Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
Another example from Jesus:
Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
We do the same thing regarding baptism.
We REJECT it even though it’s clearly taught to be saved by grace through faith.
BAPTISM.
Is a BURIAL Col 2:12.
ADDS us to the church. Acts 2:41,47
PUTS on Christ. Gal 3:27
TAKES away (washes) or sins. Acts 22:16
It is INTO His death. Rom 6:3-4
SAVES us. 1Pet 3:21; Acts 16:31-33
MADE free from sin, and a new creation through Christ. Rom 6:3-4; 2Cor 5:17.
The Theme for January focused on Bible study, reading, and warnings.
WEEK ONE:
4 Examples of those that READ the bible.
Josiah Read to RESTORE worship.
EZRA Read to the people.
Examples of Readers in ACTS.
DANIEL Read the scriptures.
WEEK TWO:
5 Tips for Effective Bible STUDY.
WEEK THREE:
the Relevant BIBLE.
WEEK FOUR:
5 ways we ALTER the word to keep our beliefs.
The focus of our assemblies is to Know Jesus through His word. You’re welcome to join us at one of our assemblies.
Borger church of Christ @ Franklin & Juniper 