Category: Christian Living

The Bible is its Own Best Dictionary

Words in the Bible can have their meanings changed in society over time.

  • Therefore modern English dictionaries can sometimes wrongly define Bible words.

If you want to know what a word means in the Bible, then pull out the Bible itself and look up all the different places where that word is used! The bible is its own best dictionary.

We look at 11 bible words misunderstood today

  1. church
  2. saint
  3. priest
  4. Christian
  5. baptize
  6. minister
  7. pastor
  8. love
  9. miracle
  10. hades
  11. antichrist

 

Keep yourselves from idols

1 Jn 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 

You Shall have No other Gods
  • Worship God Alone Ex20:1-6; Deu 27:15; Act 10:25-26
  • How Quickly they Forget Exo 32:1-6; Psa 106:13; Isa 44:19-20
Covetousness, Which is Idolatry
  • Beware Covetousness Eph 5:5-6; Col 3:5-6; Exo 20:17
  • Effect of Covetousness on the Heart Mic 2:1-2; Gen 3:6; Mat 6:24
He is Able to Deliver us
  • A kings Decree Dan3:8-12; Isa 10:1; Act 25:8-11
  • We will Not Serve thy gods Dan3:13-18;
We know the Son of God and Him that is true 1Jn 5:18-20

What must I do to be saved?

A most important question in this life is: “What must I do to be saved?”
– This is the question that every person must answer correctly in their lives if they hope to spend eternity with God in heaven.
– Sadly, in the world today, there are many wrong answers given to this question:
e.g., Some trust their own feelings in the matter; but feelings are, of course, unreliable:
Prov 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
e.g., Others trust in the advice of people (where some say one thing, and others another thing!) but this is useless as well:
Matt. 15:9 BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN

Surely Jesus is the only One who truly knows how we can be saved (cf. Rom. 1:4)!
So let’s “listen to Him!” (as God commanded the disciples to do in Matt. 17:5) …

Believe, repent, baptism for forgiveness of sins. Luke. 24:47, Mark. 16:15-16, Matt. 28:18-19, Acts 2:36-40

Remember:
– All parts of the process contribute to the result of being saved; all parts, therefore, are essential.
– Under the NT, someone who is baptized without believing, or believes without being baptized, is not saved!

Have you been saved according to Jesus’ instructions?
– Don’t trust your own feelings! Don’t trust in other people (e.g., “faith only”, “saved without baptism in water”, etc.)! Listen only to Jesus on how to be saved!
– We would urge you, as Saul/Paul was urged: Acts 22:16 Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.

How to live as a Christian

Eph. 4:1-6 is on how to live as a Christian!

Lessons:

  1. Walk in a manner worthy of our calling (Eph. 4:1)
    Col. 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
  2. Have all humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance in love (Eph. 4:2)
    Matt. 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  3. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in peace (Eph. 4:3-6)
    1Cor. 1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Sowing the Seed

Jesus’ command to all His disciples:

  • Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 How are we to “make disciples”?

Sowing the Seed

  • Luke 8:5,11 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up … 11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.

Rom. 10:17  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Sometimes Christians may become discouraged by the apparent lack of response to the direct telling of the gospel.

It is equally discouraging to see people respond to the gospel and then fall away some time later.

So there is a great temptation, at times, to try devious means to entice people to Christ!

But to employ such:

(i)  is to practise deception (like the devil, Rev. 12:9), and

(ii)  may cause people to be attracted to the wrong thing (i.e. not to Christ).

Let’s consider four (4) questions this morning:

  1. What tricks may I use to bring others to Jesus?
  2. How should we bring people to Jesus?
  3. Why can’t we modify God’s word to please all people?
  4. Does the word of God need any “help” from us?