A former Speech and Language Pathologist for nearly 20 years, I began educating our 3 children full-time in 2015 and have cherished every gifted moment (even the challenges). But what is interwoven into all aspects of daily life (as a wife, via motherhood, teaching, friendship, fitness, etc.) is Christian Apologetics (1 Peter 3:15)… which is why this blog exists.
Per the ESV Study Bible (highly recommend), the letter written by Jesus’s half-brother was penned in the mid-60’s A.D. This is only 30 years after the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The theme of this letter centers on the church’s need to “contend for the one true faith once and for all delivered to the saints (v.3), and people of faith must persevere to the e d by resisting the false teachers and following truth.”
Scriptures speaking of Jude:
Matthew 13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.”
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James:
To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.3 Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faiththat was delivered to the saints once for all.4 For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago,have come in by stealth; they are ungodly,turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
5 Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe;6 and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day. 7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones. 9 Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
12 These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
14 It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.” 16 These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit
But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. 22 Have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time,now and forever. Amen.
“…a new study has come out showing how profoundly fathers influence their kids. The Communio Nationwide Study on Faith and Relationships found that for passing on parents’ religious convictions to their children, fathers matter even more than mothers.”
Nancy Pearcey
Professor, author, and Christian Apologist, Nancy Pearcey, advocates for biblical manhood via her impactful new book, “The Toxic War on Masculinity.” The quote above is a part of an article (here) adapted from Chapter 11 of her book. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book! Now, let’s follow Nancy’s lead, and dig-into what God’s Word shares about Fathers…We need God’s words most.
Scripture Pertaining to Fathers
Please utilize these scripture references as places to begin…Not as an ending. What I mean by this is what Christian Apologist, Greg Koukl, often articulates: “Never read a Bible verse.”It’s critical that we head this hermeneutical advice as we all can fall prey to reading our own perspective into a verse (“eisegesis”) instead of learning what is the intended message (“exegesis”) when we read a verse in isolation. Instead, we need to read the ENTIRE verse in it’s given context. We need to read the entire chapter, at minimum. With this in view, please take these scripture references as bookmarks for further study.
Psalm 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 23:24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
Malachi 4:6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Joshua 24:15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Proverbs 20:7 The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Hebrews 12:7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Deuteronomy 1:29-31 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’
Matthew 7:9-11 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Matthew 23:39 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
1 Corinthians 16:13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Luke 15:20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
Genesis 18:19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
Ephesians 5:25-33 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, …
1 Chronicles 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Proverbs 13:24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
Luke 15:20-24 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Proverbs 19:18 Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.
Proverbs 15:5 A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
Ephesians 6:11-18 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. …
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; …
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Proverbs 17:24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Ephesians 6:1-4 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Proverbs 17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Matthew 15:4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
2 Corinthians 6:18 And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Proverbs Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
1 Corinthians 8:6 Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Job 1:4-5 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
Philippians 4:20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 Timothy 3:2-5 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 10:28-30 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
Matthew 26:53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Proverbs 1:1-33 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, …
Romans 12:17-21 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Psalm 103:1-22 Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. …
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Proverbs 3:32 For the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.
Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Matthew 6:17-18 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
1 Timothy 5:1-25 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, …
Exodus 34:6-7 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Proverbs 4:1-4 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
Psalm 128:3-4 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
2 Samuel 7:14-15 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
Deuteronomy 1:31 And in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’
Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Deuteronomy 5:16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Proverbs 1:8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Luke 1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Proverbs 3:11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Ephesians 6:2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),
Proverbs 4:1 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man.”
– John Stott, The Cross of Christ
The humble character of our God astonishes the human heart. To conceive of a Holy God coming low to save a rebellious creation is “a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Why would God leave an environment of perfect peace, joy, and love to enter into a place of hardship, betrayal, and suffering?
To be absolutely clear, Jesus remained 100% God throughout His incarnation and earthly ministry. Jesus added on humanity but never stopped being God (2nd Person of the Trinity). It’s also crucial to understand that Jesus did NOT become a sinner upon the cross but took OUR sin UPON Himself. Jesus was the sinless lamb who paid the debt we couldn’t pay (John 1:29), and gave us the righteousness we couldn’t earn. Only God could do both. That was the plan from eternity past within the Godhead. Jesus was willing to enter into humanity and was set as flint toward completing that mission all the way up to quoting the psalm of victory, Psalm 22, on the cross (Mt 26:21).
Written by the Apostle Paul while imprisoned in Ephesus, then it was sometime between 52–55 AD, Philippians 2 is an incredibly vivid demonstration of the humility of God. It contains a song or a creed sung by the early church just weeks or months after Jesus’s bodily resurrection around 30 AD called the Carmen Christi (Philippians 2:5-11). This song was one of many sung at that time, which pointed to the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Acknowledging these teachings (creeds/songs) is also important because they provide evidence that the stance of the Christian Church from the very beginning was that Jesus was/is not only the promised Messiah (Christ) of the Scriptures, but was/is God as well.
The holy humility of God is a characteristic we need to be thankful for daily, friends…Especially throughout the month of June, when the word, “Pride,” is lifted high all around us. For without the humility of our God, there would be no cross.
“For without the humility of our God, there would be no cross.”
Philippians 2
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Lights in the World
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
The West ordains June as “Pride Month,” but God directs that His people to humble themselves. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, “To whom are we to serve? To whom do we obey?” Friends, we need to remember that we are slaves to who or what we obey. This is crucial (Romans 6:15-23).
For additional scripture references, please visit the OpenBible webpage.
Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.“
Colossians 3:12 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,”
James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Ephesians 4:2 “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”
1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,”
Proverbs 18:12 “Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.”
Proverbs 15:33 “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”
James 4:6 “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
Luke 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”
Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Psalm 149:4 “For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.”
Proverbs 29:23 “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”
John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
1 Peter 3:8 “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”
Psalm 25:9 “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”
Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Philippians 2:3-11 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
1 Corinthians 1:28-29 “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
Daniel 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Isaiah 66:2 “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Jeremiah 9:23 “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,”
Zephaniah 2:3 “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.”
Romans 11:18 “Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”
Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”
Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Luke 22:42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, bedone.”
2 Corinthians 11:30 “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”
Proverbs 16:18-19 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.”
Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
“James the Just” (per Flavius Josephus), was known for having knees like a camel— calloused and tough. He was a man devoted to prayer, and his knees reflected that fervency! James knew the genuine joy of reliance upon Christ (as opposed to a self-reliant heart).
Prior to the Resurrection in AD 30 or 33, James, Jesus’s half-brother, was not a follower of Jesus. But he couldn’t deny the miracle he had witnessed…Jesus had risen bodily from that tomb! James’s life changed dramatically in response to this event! He not only became a leader of the Jerusalem church but he also was martyred for this commitment around AD 62.
“Remarkably, James didn’t believe in his brother during Jesus’ earthly ministry, an embarrassing detail the Gospel writers wouldn’t have made up. In fact, John 7:5 just states, ‘For even his own brothers didn’t believe in him.’ But we also know as a matter of history that James becomes a leader in the early church (Galatians 1, Acts 15), worshiping his brother as messiah and Lord to the point of eventually dying for that belief.” Price, C. 2015. Making Sense of Resurrection Data.Available
James 2
1 My brothers,a show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7vAre they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what goodb is that?17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”
James
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Footnotes: a 1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 14 b 16 Or benefit
What Leviticus 20:5 refers to as, “Spiritual prostitution,” the American Heritage Dictionary describes as “the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief.” Spiritual or Religious Syncretism most prominently occurs in domains of philosophy and religion, and typically results in a new/different teaching or belief system. Per GotQuestions, “this cannot be reconciled to biblical Christianity.” GotQuestions continues:
“Religious syncretism is simply not compatible with true Christianity. In fact, any modification to biblical law and principle for the sake of a ‘better’ religion is heresy (Revelation 22:18-19).”
The Enneagram is an excellent example of how synchronization can occur. Please bear with me as I explain…
To summarize briefly, the Enneagram is currently viewed as an ancient, Christian tool used for personality analysis. But is it truly ancient? And most importantly, is it Christian?
The Enneagram, specifically, was initially created by a Russian mystic named, George Gurdjieff, around 1906. Gurdjieff’s nine-pointed shape was constructed with his Law of Three in mind as a way to glean spiritual wisdom from the Cosmos (divination). Approximately 60 years later, Chilean psychiatrist, Claudio Naranjo, claimed in this interview to have contacted Spirit Guides in attempts to formulate personality types which could apply to the 9-points. In light of these factors, we can debunk both claims that the Enneagram is either ancient or Christian.
2 minutes
Regarding its ancient roots, the Enneagram is nearly 40-60 years old in its current (personality) form. However, the component which is legitimately ancient is practice of seeking the help of disobedient spirits. Divination and soothsaying certainly IS ancient. And, sisters, God warns us about these practices in all of the Scriptures. Example passages include Leviticus 19-20, Deuteronomy 18, Acts 19, and Galatians 3:1. The fact that something could be ancient doesn’t automatically mean it’s safe! By no means!
A New Age tool by design, the Enneagram is taught by numerous churches as an ancient tool which can be redeemed for use with hiring, disciplining, marriage health, etc. The problem with this is that the Enneagram isn’t Christian. And even though we are living after the Cross, idols are not redeemed. Only idolators. As Marcia Montenegro articulates, “The Enneagram is not like meat sacrificed to idols. The Enneagram IS the idol.”
“The Enneagram is not like meat sacrificed to idols. The Enneagram IS the idol.”
Marcia Montenegro
Not only is the Enneagram not Christian, but the theology which most often accompanies the Enneagram, is propagated by a plethora of Enneagram books praising the virtues and insights of Friar Richard Rohr. Rohr, while claiming the title of a Christian, equally identifies as Perennial (nearly identical with Universalism). And while Rohr utilizes Christian terminology, he demeans the Book (Bible) which defines them, as well as denies the essential, foundational beliefs (doctrines) of Christianity. Rohr is a textbook example of syncretism…and that should raise majo red flags!🚩
Here are some examples of Rohr’s views :
Jesus is an exalted creation, not God.
The Christ is a separate being who entered Jesus.
Christ is in all things (Panentheism).
All things are made in the image of God.
Christ’s first incarnation was the “Big Bang.”
Sin is our ignorance to never having been separated from God (we’ve always been Divine/“True Self”).
Sin does not need atonement, and therefore Jesus’s crucifixion was needless.
Defines God as a He, She, or It…as a “dynamic motion” or “flow” in all things.
Encourages Spiritual and/or Religious Syncretism.
Friends, if anyone encourages you to integrate other worldviews into Christianity, please prayerfully and gently ask questions regarding his or her Christian beliefs. God’s Word (Scriptures) calls the synchronization of idols as “spiritual prostitution” (Leviticus 20:5). We need to take this statement seriously! The Jewish exorcists documented by Luke in Acts 19 took the sin of synchronization VERY seriously! Instead of incorporating their old magic into their Christian faith, their burned what the ESV Study Bible estimates as $6 million dollars worth of magic materials! They didn’t slap Christian terms upon their old practices (“Gospel-Centered Magic”), they abandoned them and followed Jesus!
Gals, let’s intentionally invest time to dialoguing respectfully with our friends and/or family members, pertaining to the Gospel as presented by God through His Word (Bible). And please know that it’s ok not to have all of the answers. That’s where study, research, prayer, and community comes in! Keep pouring into your friend what your being taught in the Scriptures as well as through apologetics. Resources are shared below for your convenience! Praying alongside you!
Essentials of Christianity
47 minutes with Greg Koukl
47 minutes with Kevin Lewis
60 minutes with Alisa Childers and Krista Bontrager
Enneagram and Richard Rohr
56 minutes with Alisa Childers and Marcia Montenegro
56 minutes with Cultish and Marcia
10 minutes
Leviticus 20
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring (“spiritual prostitution” NET) after Molech.
6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.
Punishments for Sexual Immorality
10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 14 If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to make naked one’s relative; they shall bear their iniquity.20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
You Shall Be Holy
22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
Friends, God doesn’t change. This characteristic about God’s steadfastness is termed, “immutability.” And it’s a quality for which we need to be thankful, daily.
James 1:17 also teaches the immutability of God: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.” The “shadow of turning” refers to our perspective on the sun: it is eclipsed it moves and it casts its shadow. The sun rises and sets, appears and disappears every day; it comes out of one tropic and enters into another at certain seasons of the year. But with God, who, spiritually speaking, is light itself, there is no darkness at all; there is no change with Him, nor anything like it. God is unchangeable in His nature, perfections, purposes, promises, and gifts. He, being holy, cannot turn to that which is evil; nor can He, who is the fountain of light, be the cause of darkness. Since every good and perfect gift comes from Him, evil cannot proceed from Him, nor can He tempt any to it (James 1:13). The Bible is clear that God does not change His mind, His will, or His nature.
There are several logical reasons why God must be immutable, that is, why it is impossible for God to change. First, if anything changes, it must do so in some chronological order. There must be a point in time before the change and a point in time after the change. Therefore, for change to take place it must happen within the constraints of time; however, God is eternal and exists outside of the constraints of time (Psalm 33:11; 41:13; 90:2-4; John 17:5; 2 Timothy 1:9).
Second, the immutability of God is necessary for His perfection. If anything changes, it must change for the better or the worse, because a change that makes no difference is not a change. For change to take place, either something that is needed is added, which is a change for the better; or something that is needed is lost, which is a change for the worse. But, since God is perfect, He does not need anything. Therefore, He cannot change for the better. If God were to lose something, He would no longer be perfect; therefore, He cannot change for the worse.
Third, the immutability of God is related to His omniscience. When someone changes his/her mind, it is often because new information has come to light that was not previously known or because the circumstances have changed and require a different attitude or action. Because God is omniscient, He cannot learn something new that He did not already know. So, when the Bible speaks of God changing His mind, it must be understood that the circumstance or situation has changed, not God. When Exodus 32:14 and 1 Samuel 15:11-29 speak of God changing His mind, it is simply describing a change of dispensation and outward dealings toward man.
Numbers 23:19 clearly presents the immutability of God: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” No, God does not change His mind. These verses affirm the doctrine of God’s immutability: He is unchanging and unchangeable.”
As you and I witness through God’s words to us (Scripture), God’s character is not contingent upon His creation, but stays the same. In other words, His holiness is NOT dependent upon us, but our holiness certainly is dependent upon Him. With this being said,we ought be careful not to change to fit the narrative of the culture around us, by mixing-in what is popular and in vogue, spiritually…But instead, we need to place our complete identity upon the unshakable, unchangeable rock of the Gospel. For God alone is God, and His work upon the cross was something only He could do.
As He (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) has been for all eternity. God’s holiness was represented by the instructions He gave to His people through commands and laws, as written down for us in the Scriptures (not the laws added on by men/Pharisees). To view them as oppressive is to use sin-stained emotionalism as the straight-edge. Therefore, what is provided in Leviticus 19 is still for our good…as it was the day it was written. And by the strength of the Holy Spirit, through the sacrifice of Jesus, we can rest in them. Sisters, let’s rejoice in being His!
“Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. Have you ever considered the deeper implications of the slightest sin, of the most minute peccadillo? What are we saying to our Creator when we disobey Him at the slightest point? We are saying no to the righteousness of God. We are saying, ‘God, Your law is not good. My judgement is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me. I am above and beyond Your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what I want to do, not what You command me to do.’”
R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God
The Lord Is Holy
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
You Shall Keep My Statutes
19 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.
26 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.27 You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:[c] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Resources:
3 minutes with Mary Jo Sharp
Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 18 apply to avoiding the synchronization of of spiritual experiences, as these are not from God.
70 minutes w/ Steven Bancarz
10 minutes regarding the Enneagram. Please remember that God redeems His creation, not our idols. He saves and sanctifies the Sinner, not the sin; the Adulterer, not the adultery; the Magician, not the magic; and the Psychic, not the divination. Test all things (1 John 4:1), and hold fast to what is good (1 Thess 5:21)…putting aside any tool which seeks the advice of other spirits!
When defining Christian terms, the Christian dictionary is necessary (Scriptures).
Friends, be careful not to readily accept any claim made about Jesus without checking the Scriptures first. Even if it’s someone with a popular podcast, a New York Bestseller, or a place up on stage preaching. Check to see what God says.
We can’t mold Jesus into a likeness which fits our preferences. He is who He is. Therefore, let’s read His words.
Professor Walt Russell’s free, online courses pertaining to Bible Study.
Alan Shlemon introduces us to Hermeneutics.
2 Timothy 3
But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self,lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.Avoid these people.
6 For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth. They are men who are corrupt in mind and worthless in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be clear to all, as was the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.
Struggles in the Christian Life
10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, 11 along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch,Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. 12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work
It’s not about what we do or have done. It’s all about what Jesus has done.
Galatians 2
1Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Paul Opposes Peter
11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.a13And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Justified by Faith
15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet we know that a person is not justifiedb by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!18For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousnessc were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Footnotes: a 12 Or fearing those of the circumcision b 16 Or counted righteous (three times in verse 16); also verse 17 c 21 Or justification
Apologist Nancy Pearcey, in her book Finding Truth, describes a worldview as an “explanation of those inescapable, unavoidable facts of experience accessible to all people, in all cultures, across all periods of history.” The Christian worldview explains that God has chosen to make himself known to humanity through all he has made. “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).
The gravity that holds us to the earth isn’t a social construct. The sun, which gives us light and warms our faces, is not an illusion. And the desire for wrongs to be made right isn’t derived from a test tube. The purposeful design of creation points to an intentional creator. And the implication is that the Creator is our moral authority as well. As Pearcey notes, “No matter how hard people work to suppress their knowledge of God, creation itself keeps challenging them.”
One worldview that suppresses the knowledge of God’s authority is secular humanism. Secular humanists view issues of morality and justice as problems to be solved apart from God’s intervention. Such people are predominately unified in their belief that the critical intelligence of humanity is enough, without seeking any aid from God or the Scriptures. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Rom. 1:22).
“The tragedy of the last hundred years has been due to the fallacy of imagining that you could shed Christian doctrine but hold on to Christian ethics.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones summarizes it this way: “The tragedy of the last hundred years has been due to the fallacy of imagining that you could shed Christian doctrine but hold on to Christian ethics.” As seen in human secularism, borrowing from God entails just that: the dismissal of God and a denial of biblical authority. Foregoing God’s authority means abandoning his leadership. And neglecting God’s leadership equates to choosing a counterfeit option of justice and freedom.
15 minutes with Nancy Pearcey about the numerous “God substitutes” which exist in various worldviews.
Romans 1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Longing to Go to Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
While the word, “Trinity,” is not found in the Bible, the reality that God is one WHAT, represented as three WHO, is found within both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. You could also say that the Trinity is one God existing in three Persons.
It’s imperative to understand that when we talk about the Trinity, we are in no way suggesting three Gods. Dr. James White, author of The Forgotten Trinity, has provided another helpful definition of the Trinity: “Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Below is an incredible teaching from “The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy: Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testament,” which examines how Jesus, the Messiah, and the Angel of the Lord are connected (pages 151-153).
Friends, God has spoken to us through the Scriptures in a way that’s both accessible and understandable, especially with the help of the Holy Spirit. We just need to be diligent to read what each book or letter of the Bible is intending to say (Exegesis), not what we want them to say (Eisegesis). For more on the “clarity of Scripture,” here is a wonderful article from The Gospel Coalition (click here). With the clarity of God’s Word in mind, it’s unmistakable that Jesus claimed to be the only promised Messiah, as well as God incarnate.
Now, let’s dig in!
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14
The Angel of the Lord
“The incarnation of the second person of the Trinity was not the first time that God came into the world He created. God walked in the garden of Eden (Ge 3:8). Enoch(Gn 5:22) and Noah (Gn 6:9) walked with God. God appeared to Abraham and had lunch and an extended conversation with him (Gn 18). There are many more examples. A particularly intriguing category is those stories in which a figure, identified as the Angel of the Lord, appears on earth and engages with a human. Who is this figure? Is He merely an angelic messenger or is He God Himself?” (p.151)
There are more examples pertaining to “the Angel of the LORD identifying Himself as God” on page 152, such as to Hagar (Gn 16 and 21) and to Jacob in (Gn 28 and 31), but we will continue to page 153 for more scriptural attestation of the Trinity in the Old Testament:
“Goldberg surely overstates the case when he asserts: ‘The connection between the angel of the LORD and the appearance of the Messiah cannot be denied.’ Many have, in fact denied such a connection. But the testimony of the early church is compelling. Norwood explains: The early church ‘Fathers exhibit a consensus exhibit a consensus that Yahweh is manifested through all of the Old Testament theophanies (Anel of Yahweh, burning bush, cloud and fire, Sn of Man, and others) by the preincarnate Word, just as God is made visible in the New Testament through the incarnate Word (Jn 1:1, 14).’ For example, Justin Martyr insisted, ‘Neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Jacob, nor any other man, saw the Father and ineffable Lord of all, and also of Christ, but [saw] Him who was according to His will His Son, being God, and the Angel because He ministered to His will; whom also it pleased Him to be born man by the Virgin.’”
“The Angel of the LORD is called ‘wonderful’ in Jdg 13:18, the same designation the Messiah received in Isa 9:6. Further, the Angel and the Messiah are linked in Zch 12:8: ‘On that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD, before them.’ Two verses late, the speak is identified, ‘Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced’ (Zch 12:10). Only the Messiah the second person of the Trinity, could be in view here.”
“The Angel of the LORD is a Messenger who has come from the Lord who is the Lord Himself. The differentiation between the Lord and the Angel implies plural in the Godhead, early evidence of the Trinity. That the Angel is the second person is further indicated when Jesus the Messiah explicitly identified Himself as one sent from the Father (Jn 13:20; 17:18; 20:21). The Lord sent the Angel; the Lord sent Jesus.”
God is so good.
“O Lord God almighty . . . I bless you and glorify you through the eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be glory to you, with Him and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever”
Please note that the earliest Christians acknowledged the Triune Godhead. This fact therefore *debunks* the premise asserted by the Divinci Code that the doctrine of the Trinity began at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 (video resource here). Instead, the Triune Godhead has been true from eternity past.
Another important note: The fact that Jesus is the only Messiah (Christ) spoken of by Jesus Himself, as documented in the Scriptures (Lk 24:44), also debunks the proclamation by Richard Rohr and New Age authors (i.e., Deepak Chopra) that Jesus is merely human, with the Christ as a separate being, inherently in all things (Panentheism). This heretical teaching put forth by Rohr and others is termed either the Universal Christ or Christ Consciousness.
Zechariah 12
A pronouncement:
The word of the Lord concerning Israel. A declaration of the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him.
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s house by itself and their women by themselves; 13 the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself and their women by themselves; 14 all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.
2 “Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her. 4 On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. 5 Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Armies, their God. 6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord, before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
When we read not to follow the “desires of the flesh” in Galatians 5:16-26, it’s incredibly necessary to understand that Paul is not blaming the physical body. We were made human, by God, as a body and soul (Genesis 1). Both are important!
To quote Christian Apologist, Francis Schaeffer, from his book “Escape from Reason:”
“The soul is not more important than the body. God made the whole man & the whole man is important. The doctrine of bodily resurrection of the dead is not an old fashion thing. It tells us that God loves the whole man & the whole man is important.”
Francis Schaeffer
Paul isn’t blaming our bodies as the source of our sinful nature, but instead points out that our bodies and thoughts either follow the direction of the Holy Spirit, or we choose the old sinful nature by which we, as Believers and new creations in Jesus, are no longer controlled. With this in view, the flesh in this chapter most often refers to “sinful desires,” not the body. Please check this out for yourself.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine powerto demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Friends, God wants to renew our minds, not bypass them. This is critical! Our feelings shouldn’t lead our thinking, but should rather follow right thinking about God and relation to Him. We are not to lean upon our own understanding (Proverbs 3), nor are we to follow our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9). We are to walk by the guidance of God through His Holy Spirit. And friends, the Holy Spirit will never contradict God’s Word (Scriptures). If you have a vision or experience which is emotionally significant…Check it alongside the Scriptures (1 John 1:4; 1 Thes 5:21). Emotions are fickle and the heart is a deep, deep well. Please don’t build your life upon the shifting sands of fickle,…following every whim, and appeasing every desire. Slow down. Pray. And bathe your mind in Truth (Scripture). What you know to be true is the One Who is True (John 14:6). Follow Him… His Word points to Him, and is all about Him (Luke 24:44-47).
Galatians 5
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Keep in Step with the Spirit
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Hold Fast Apologetics 