That makes me think about milk too — it’s good nourishment for growth.
Last night I had two fresh almond cookies dipped in milk — SO SO good!
You and I need good spiritual nourishment. All Christians regularly need to be fed in order to grow right, to mature, and to get strong in the Lord.
What does the Bible say about the evangelization of children? I say keep it simple, put the goodies and cookies down on a lower shelf where they can reach them. Come on Kurt, do young children really need to be evangelized? (my wife Liney was very young when she got saved and she remembers it!)
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” Matthew 7:24–25
Now, of those persons who decide to believe only parts of the Bible, (those parts, that of course line up with their lifestyle), Jesus would strongly address them:
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” Matthew 7:26,27
You can not love God at all, if you do not love His truth that’s found in the Bible!
It’s sad that so many within Christendom today lean solely on their subjective experiences for direction. Inner fuzzy sentiment, cozy feelings and so-called spoken “prophetic words” from other Christians (that sound so spiritual) seem to have more weight for direction than the Bible. But there must be an objective way to test subjective enlightenment and personal revelations. Otherwise, we’d all go sideways spiritually. Hey Buckeroo, there’s no new revelation, fresh illumination in God’s old Bible.. sure!
If it’s new it ain’t true, and if it’s true it ain’t new.
No soldier would go out on the battlefield all famished and undernourished if they didn’t have to. Why fight weak? No, be rested and properly fed first before you do your good warfare.
“To wield the sword of the Spirit successfully, we must read it habitually, diligently, intelligently and prayerfully.” — JCRyle
What does the Bible say about how we are to nourish ourselves spiritually?
What does it mean that man shall not live by bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3)?
Is the Bible truly God’s Word? How can we know that the Bible is the Word of God?
“So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.” Romans 10:17 amp
Our Christian faith is historical and evidential (See Acts 17:2,3), and the Bible has been verified to be totally true and divine. So we want to study!
You can not love God at all, if you do not love His truth that’s found in the Bible!
Any knowledge can puff us up if we let it. Knowledge of the truth can it it’s not wisely applied. Why be merely religious like those leaders back in the day who treated Jesus beyond harshly?
We are not called to study truth as an end in itself — for the sake of merely knowing truth. We humbly, prayerfully study the Word so we can better worship God, and can better witness. Yes, be a good witness and give a good witness–wisely do warfare and work. We study so that we can enjoy closer fellowship with God and better fellowship with other believers. We want to obey the great commandment and great commission — we want to go win souls and equip the saints to go win souls while we can!
If the Bible isn’t the Word of God, those who have believed it throughout the centuries are embarrassingly mistaken. If it isn’t then all those martyrs who have given their lives down through the ages (even in our day) to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ all died in vain. Thank God this is not the case, however, there are several reasons that verify that the Bible is God’s Word. In “Does Inerrancy Matter?”
Dr. Montgomery Boice Gave Us four proofs for the Bible’s inerrancy.
- The Bible itself teaches inerrancy.
- Jesus Christ affirmed the inerrancy of the Scriptures.
- The Church has always believed in the Bible’s inerrancy.
- The Lord’s holy character demands that His Book is inerrant.
— The Bible teaches inerrancy. Yes, without a doubt the Bible views itself as God’s Message. Over 2,000 times in the Old Testament alone, there are clauses such as “And God spoke”, “The Word of God came to Jonah” and “God said.”
The Bible says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16
That word “inspiration” in the original language is theopneustos, (theh-op’-nyoo-stos) and is literally translated “..breathed out of the nostrils of God.” So the Scriptures originated with God exhaling life and truth in to his servants, in to their very thoughts. And God overshadowed them as they flawlessly wrote this truth down.
“For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” 2 Peter 1:21
In 2 Peter 1:16–20 the Apostle Peter teaches us that experience is never to be the basis for our beliefs, but the Bible is to be our basis and no other book with it. Furthermore, what is contained in the Word is not at all from men’s minds, even though it passed through the prophet’s minds.
They spoke out as God moved through them. Our so-called natural or supernatural experiences are not to be leaned on for direction. Ask yourself do they have a real Bible basis. They must have, any of us could go off into left field! Yes, all the so-called experiences of the Spirit (I mean that people say are “of the Spirit” and does this bring up His gifts to mind?).. well, everything needs to be measured against what the Bible teaches. The Bereans did that when Paul ministered.
I like Acts 17:10–12, it describes the Bereans as “examining the Scriptures daily to see if [the] things [Paul and Silas preached] were so.” This conviction to act like a Berean needs to be ingrained in each of us.
Who were the Bereans in the Bible? What were the Bereans known for? Where is Berea located?
Notice again the order the Bereans employed: The Bereans received, then examined, and finally believed the truth (Acts 17:11–12).
It was by the authoritative witness of Scripture that the Bereans believed what they received. The truth was clearly brought to them as a conclusion from sound interpretation. The apostles taught them that Jesus Christ was the Christ, the Son of God. This truth they then verified according to the Word (Scripture at this point, the Old Testament texts they had at the synagogue). Then they believed!
Let’s be as cautious as those in the early church (including the Bereans) were. They didn’t have the full New Testament. They didn’t yet have Romans 8, Ephesians 2, or the Gospel of John. God worked through them just the same.
Christians today DO NOT DO theology ex nihilo (getting it from nothing) or ex ratio (getting it solely from reason, what can be observed and deduced in the world). The essential truths of the Historic Christian faith developed in the early church should be received by believers, but not simply on their internal logic. Christians should search Scripture daily to see how these teachings are upheld by the witness of God’s Scriptures. We shouldn’t act as if we are the first ones to ever read the Bible (it wasn’t written to us, but for us too). Neither should we set our Bibles aside to put our trust in all really old writings just because they are called creeds. I like our good creeds. We receive the truth handed down to us, that’s verified and then we guard it by the authority of the Scriptures. We share the truth by the power of the same Holy Spirit.
“That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” 2 Timothy 1:14 nkjv
What’s the end goal of acting like a Berean in our day? It’s not to win debates or fill our heads with knowledge for its own sake.. where that terminates upon itself. The Bible passage teaches us that it’s so that many will see our godly lives, hear the Gospel and believe in Jesus.
“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.” Acts 17:11–12 nkjv
The goal of emulating the Bereans’ pattern is to bring about saving faith and to strengthen faith too. It is Christ’s person and work preached from the Scriptures that saves sinners and sanctifies believers.
— Jesus Christ Himself affirmed inerrancy! Today, the people who believe that certain passages in the Bible are erroneous, or mythical often refer to the first eleven chapters of the Genesis account, which include the facts of creationism and the flood, but guess what. Jesus Christ, Himself believed in and spoke of these portions of the Scripture as if they were true because they are truth. Yep, Jesus utilized the creation account along with the flood as references in His preaching.
“And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’” Matthew 19:4
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” Matthew 24:37
Jesus reaffirmed and confirmed what the Bible says about itself, that every Scriptural word from God will be fulfilled.
“Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” Luke 24:44,45
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ‘For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled’” Matthew 5:17–18
The Lord Jesus showed from the Old Testament how those writings referring to Himself, were being fulfilled in Him.
Watching prophecy being fulfilled with one hundred percent accuracy should have convinced all those in that era, that the Scriptures are of divine origin.
With Jesus referring to these passages we can see that He believed in them. He said the Scriptures cannot be broken, therefore we today have no grounds to take some lame lesser view of them (as fools have done) and still call ourselves His followers!
Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). Jots and tittles are small marks in the Hebrew alphabet, which distinguish one letter from another. This means that all Bible predictions will be fulfilled even the ones that seem insignificant or obscure. You can be absolutely sure, will all be fulfilled, no ifs, ands, or buts about it!
— The Christian Church concurs with the Bible’s inerrancy. Sure does — talk about clout! Christ’s own Church has believed the Bible to be the Word of God for 1,800 years! This historical fact all alone certainly does not prove the divine inerrancy of the Bible, but our generation would be insanely idiotic to disregard the age-old credibility of the saints of previous centuries! They accepted the Scriptures as God’s holy and powerful word — let’s study find the answers (they are there for us) and do the same.
Martin Luther states, “The Scriptures, although they were written by men, are not of men nor from men, but from God.”
John Calvin attests, “We owe to the Scriptures the same reverence which we owe to God; because it has proceeded from Him alone and has nothing belonging to man mixed with it.”
— The Lord’s holy character attests to the fact of the Bible’s inerrancy. God’s perfect, sterling, very excellent character concurs and proclaims that the Bible is without error — because He too remains flawless.
“..God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” Titus 1:2
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” John 17:17
“The entirety of Your word is truth..” Psalm 119:160
I’m so grateful for God’s love letter! To people and for people, God brought us His infallible revelation through fallible men. The Spirit of God moved on men in a powerful way to give us His promises and Scriptures.. that we can fully trust.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..” 2 Timothy 3:16
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” 2 Peter 1:20,21
For us, there are many good reasons that prove the Bible was divinely inspired.
The witness of all History verifies the Bible’s source. History is His-story! All true Science and legitimate Archaeology agree together with the Bible. So many prophecies have been fulfilled just as God said they would be. Today we have evidence of changed lives as proof too.
If you could find ten people in your local area with similar educational backgrounds, all speaking the same language and ask them to write their opinion on one controversial subject, such as “The meaning of life,” it’s very hard to get them to agree. But the Bible had 40 different people writing the Message down and they didn’t write about one subject, but many very controversial subjects. They came from a wide variety of different backgrounds: Joshua was a military general, Daniel was a prime minister, Peter was a fisherman, and Nehemiah was a cup-bearer.
Most of them were not contemporaries of each other. It took over 1,600 years to write the Bible. They wrote from different settings: Moses wrote from the wilderness, Paul wrote from prison, John wrote from the Island of Patmos. They wrote from three different continents: Africa, Asia and Europe. They wrote in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and yet with all this there is a perfect unity, a complete harmony in the Bible! There is one theme throughout the whole Bible, “Salvation through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is seen in every book. Sin is sin in every book — it doesn’t change to righteousness anywhere. It all goes together; the Old is the New concealed and the New is the Old revealed!
(FYI: Parts of Daniel are in Aramaic — that’s the only part of the Bible that’s in that language.)
The Word of God is alive today!
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner” Hebrews 4:12
It’s true, God’s Word can change you from the inside out. Jesus catches his fish so to speak, and then He cleans them. Come as you are! Right now. The living word can resurrect you from the dead because He is living. God the Author is living! Over 500 people saw Jesus alive after His death on Calvary’s cross — after He came out of the cold dank tomb!
“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me, the Bible has feet, it runs after me, the Bible has hands, it grabs a hold of me.” ~ Martin Luther
The study of God’s Word is vital for every believer. It initiates spiritual growth in our relationships, yes, with God and our beloved brethren in that order.
People today in every land are talking about spiritual growth, but there is no spiritual growth apart from the Word of God.
Listen to God speak, read His word, hear Him well, memorize the truths you’ll need for what you’ll face, and internalize the word so that you’re ready to put feet to your faith in a way that you won’t regret. That no one will regret. Knowledge of Bible truth never comes by intuition. It can only be obtained by diligent, regular, daily, prayerful study and attentive reading.
God is pure, so His Word indeed has a purifying effect on those who love and obey it (See Psalm 119:9; Ephesians 5:26).
1 Peter 2.2 reads as follows: ὡς ἀρτιγέννητα βρέφη τὸ λογικὸν ἄδολον γάλα ἐπιποθήσατε, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῷ αὐξηθῆτε εἰς σωτηρίαν.
“Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation..” Most modern translations also go with.. τὸ λογικὸν ἄδολον γάλα as ‘the pure spiritual milk’ or something very similar (NIV, RSV, REB, TEV, NLT, NJB, ESV, NAB, ASV, etc.) The KJV here has “the sincere milk of the word.”
What does it mean that every word of God is pure (Proverbs 30:5)?
Every word of God is pure. This reminds us that the Bible in its original autograph is infallible and inerrant. Everything in it is truth. Its author is God, who makes no mistakes. His Word is the final authority (Psalm 119:89; Galatians 3:10).
Jesus told Peter to “feed my sheep” in John 21 ..knowing real well the need.
In two Bible books (1 Corinthians and Hebrews) the Apostle Paul, contrasted “milk” verses “meat” of the word in order to make a clear spiritual analogy that would help. Paul said,
“And, I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to those who are spiritual, but as to those who are carnal — even as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, and not meat; for you were not yet able to receive spiritual meat; and neither are you able now, for you are still carnal. For since envy and contention and divisions are among you, are you not carnal?..” 1 Corinthians 3:1–3 hbfv
“I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people?” nasb
Milk (in the Greek is gala. See Strong’s Concordance #G1051). It means the basic spiritual nourishment, the elemental teachings of true Christianity first learned by new believers. The word “meat” comes from the Greek word Broma (See Strong’s #G1033). It means the more solid and complete or deeper spiritual doctrines of God’s message.
On milk and meat — please see the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter addressed to the Hebrews. Spend some time there.
Concerning Whom (Jesus and his fulfilling the role of High Priest after the order of Melchizedek) we have much to say and hard to explain, since you have become dull of in hearing.
For truly, by this time you ought to be teachers, but instead you need to have someone teach you again what are the beginning principles of the oracles of God, and have become those in need of milk, and not of solid food (See Hebrews 5:11 to 12–6:20).
What are the four types of people presented in 5:11–6:20 of Hebrews:
1. Immature milk eaters, 5:11–13
2. Mature meat eaters, 5:14
3. Immature who revert into the type rather than the antitype, 6:1–8
4. Mature eaters who go and produce fruit thirty, sixty and one hundred fold, 6:9–20
Only two types, people are either lost or found (by God a.k.a. saved), dead or alive spiritually. Saved people are either growing spiritually or not. Paul talks about the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man. Be saved, be spiritual, be growing in the word.
Saved baby Christians need basic nourishment to grow right. Spiritual babyhood is found in Hebrews 5:13, “..for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.”
Sure, a baby Christian will for a time live on milk, and not on solid foods. He or she is often “unskilled” in making proper judgments about all of the Scriptures. He or she wants to read the whole Bible through because they do not yet have the ability to see how a certain passage from Scripture wisely applies to his or her life.
The Reasons Why..
- We need the whole counsel of God taught. They cannot understand every passage yet (we’re all studying truth and learning more and more if we’re wise — we all want to mature and grow some more. I personally can’t seem to get to the bottom of the Bible and I love that. I want to stay hungry and believe all the promises in God’s word. As life around me changes there are often new insights to be had or new applications regarding God’s unchanging word),
- They cannot always form a sound principle from a certain passage,
- They do not always know how to assimilate it into their life and
- They want to wisely apply the right principle to a given situation in their life, but we all need clear Bible teaching. They lack the “skills” to become mature all alone.
“Unskilled” means “without experience.”
Godly wisdom is about doing the best thing with what we know. You know how some knowledge can be dangerous.
Some spiritually dead religious people sadly have a track record of using the Scriptures to go hurt people, even driving them away from God, His church, and His kind-hearted people.
It is so important to experience Jesus and His love firsthand along with the principles of the Word rather than merely letting them sit idle in our minds. It is not only a matter of what we know but an issue of what we do with what we know.
A babe is a gullible individual. They can be susceptible to spiritual infections or diseases so to speak. We must keep the false teachers away from them.
Yes, the babes are also weak and not able to stand against the winds of false doctrine. See Ephesians 4:13,14. God uses the same contrast of a mature person (teleios) and a babe (nepios). The babe often does not have the strength to stand during times of temptation or trial. They each can be blown about hither and thither where the crazy wind may go.
..till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
The Apostle Peter basically taught that newborn babes should get and stay motivated for the milk. That’s normal.
Liney and feel blessed. We now have six grandkids, three girls and three boys. And one is brand new. We used to live in Augsburg Germany and so his name is August Oliver v. Schleicher. Guess what. He has an intense craving for his mother’s milk as any growing baby would!
The time of day or night doesn’t matter at all, real early or real late it simply doesn’t matter. If li’l Augie gets hungry, the thumb and his blankie will no longer do! He will start to get loud.
He lets everyone in the entire house know about it too, and Augie won’t stop letting everyone know about it until he’s satisfied. It’s that important.
If his parents temporarily stick a finger in Augie’s mouth.. he’ll suck on it for a small fraction of a minute (and what powerful cheek muscles he shows off). But then he realizes that he just isn’t getting any nutritious milk, and so the baby's screams of total disapproval will soon follow.
Mr. J.I. Packer reported that a Puritan preacher named Laurence Chaderton had once apologized to his congregation for preaching for two hours. How did they respond? They said, “For God’s sake, sir, Go on, go on!” I’ve felt like that before. When they know what they’re doing, I don’t want em to quit for this is fairly rare in our world.
At 82, after preaching for 50 years, Mr. Chaderton decided to retire. But then he received a small pile of letters from 40 clergy professionals begging him not to. They were testifying that they owed their conversion to God and were grateful for his good ministry of the Word. People are hungry for the Gospel. They are craving the Word of God, He fills the empty void inside, and there is such a leadership vacume too — it’s not always so easy to find on fire godly leaders who really care for God’s flock.
On-fire Bible teachers and Christians are NOT TO BE hot-headed. Let the Word and Spirit of God both fill and control you!
Part of being a biblical witness for Jesus is not being all religious, spooky, or acting like a jerk towards saints or sinners. You and I were blessed to be a blessing.
What can I learn from the lives of leaders and various other people mentioned in the Bible?
Got some general Bible questions today? ..or some topical Bible questions?
What about regarding those interesting Old Testament individuals?
Why are there so many different Christian interpretations? If all Christians have the same Bible, and the same Holy Spirit, should not Christians believe the same? We do believe the same regarding all the Essentials, yet we graciously give each other freedom with all the periphery non-essentials. It’s simply, it’s absolutely, it’s definitely.. unloving not to.
“In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, and in all things charity.” ~ Rupertus Meldenius AD 1627
“Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.” 2 Tim. 2:14
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men [and ‘all’ in the original language here actually means: all], apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves…” 2 Tim. 2:24–25
“We put up with anything rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ.” 1 Cor. 9:12
Believe in the living word of God — Jesus Christ. He is the only way in where you want to go. I’m talking about entrance into God’s forever home, with His forever family.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:16,17
“There is no sin that shall damn the man who believes, and nothing can save the man who will not believe (in the Jesus of the Bible).” — Charles Spurgeon
Listen, you can be saved by Him right here and now (click).
What is the history of the Bible in English?
What are the different English Bible versions?
What does it mean that people will not endure sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3)?
Is there a good way to study the Bible?
How is a study Bible different from a regular Bible? In what ways can a study Bible be valuable?
What are the most well-known Bible verses about certain subjects? ..or got any miscellaneous questions?
What are the most frequently asked Bible questions?
Why should I care what the Bible says? Why should I trust that the Bible is true?
Apply the Bible to your life. Dare ya to request of God: “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law” (Ps. 119:18). Sure, pray this verse daily, before you sit down to read. Cry out to the Lord, “Please speak to me, turning some of Your logos into rhema for me today, Jesus. I need Your Word more than my next breath.”
Expect God’s Spirit to speak to you from His written Word, giving direction and peace. After having read some passages in God’s Word, ask some questions to glean further understanding.
Humbly in faith ask God: What does it mean to me personally?
What does it say for me to do personally?
Lord, if you were in my situation today (and You are right here with me now), how would You apply these Scriptures.. how should I? What do I do here?
How should I adjust my attitude, behavior and words to please God?
Commit yourself to obeying God’s Word. Unlike the new age meditating in the world, our meditation is Word-focused, and the Word is that special object we look at. After reading the Bible prayerfully, rephrasing it into your own words will help you meditate upon its rich truth. Righteous meditation has to do with reflection, pondering and visualizing yourself doing it.
This verbal process causes the Word to sink deep into your spirit-man where it explodes with fresh illumination and overcoming power.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
Success or failure in the Christian life is dependent on how much of the Word of God you take in on a regular basis and how much of it you obey in the right way! Jesus is God’s way for us, and He has a righteous way for us to walk out His word.
The Authority of the Scriptures has been clearly established. However, many religious people today teach contrary to the Bible and they call themselves Christian leaders.
So why was the Bible in two covenants new and old?
Augustine once said about the Bible: “In the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New the Old is revealed.” The canon of Scripture is not meant to be approached like a television series: “Man, I liked season 5 of that series so much better than season 2 cuz the actors were changed out.”
The true story of the Lord’s grace through his chosen people Israel to bring salvation to humanity in this fallen world ..as the light of the world is a story that began not with the “in the beginning” of John 1 (the gospel) but with the “in the beginning” of Genesis 1 in the Old Testament.
Pause and muse on how John began his NT gospel with those words (“in the beginning was the Word” — who is Jesus). Well, John was intentionally echoing the creation account of Genesis there. Through Jesus, the good creation that God began in OT Genesis is being transformed into a new creation by means of a new exodus led by a new type of Moses who brings us not out.. not merely out of the slavery in Egypt (a type of the world system), but out of the slavery and bondage of sin, of satan, and out of death.
Jesus Christ is the new Adam if you will, who can and delights to forgive repentant people to come and believe in Him. He basically recalibrates humanity from a trajectory of decay and death (from the first OT Adam) toward the path of redemption, reconciliation, and eternal life!
Without the Old, we cannot understand the New, and without the New, we have an incomplete understanding of the Old.
“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little” Isaiah 28:9,10
How does the new covenant complete and fulfill the old covenant?
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect” Hebrews 10:1
“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4
The Old Covenant sets forth beautiful types and shadows for the New Covenant so that we can gain insight for a functioning church life that positively impacts the world. We are to be world-changers. We are to witness, plant seeds and win souls.
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” 1 Corinthians 10:11
Family talk: What should our love and attitude be like? I say it should be childlike simple as A, B, C:
A. Obedience to Authority. Once we have knowledge of God’s gospel message and the Scriptures, we must wisely apply God’s Word, I mean righteously put some shoe leather to the pavement so to speak. We are to be living it out in love, doing what it says, and not doing what it says to avoid. Otherwise, we forfeit the right to name Jesus as Lord. We are to love God most, to love and practice righteousness, and love people too. We are to hate and forsake sin.. due to our love for Him.
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:46
B. Humble subjection of all our personal opinions and feelings to scriptural Authority. Our preconceived ideas must line up with the Bible, or we should simply forsake them.
“Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5
C. Holy desire to become more like Jesus — let’s have that more and more with every passing day. God’s word is His will, and His will is His word. As we see the will of God, our former doctrines, ideas, and imaginations are then changed.
What's not to love about God and the veracity of His Scriptures? Zip! We are transformed by the power of the word.
We become increasingly more like Jesus Christ as the Spirit does His sanctifying work on the inside of us believers.
Does God reward us for being obedient to His Word?
How can I meditate on God’s Word?
The worlds were framed by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3)!
How can the Word of God divide soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12)?
What does it mean to be doers of the Word in James 1:22?
What does it mean that the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12)?
Why is obedience to the Word of God important? .. Even a young believer can cleanse his way by the word (Psalm 119:9).
How can I have God’s Word hidden in my heart (Psalm 119:11)?
How is hearing by the Word of God and how is that related to faith (Romans 10:17)?
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” 2 Corinthians 3:18
