Are You Confirming Scripture or Conforming it?

Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly – and indeed you do bear with me. As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows! For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11: 1, 10-14

Commentary:

First get your Bible and read chapter 11 entirely. In this chapter Paul felt foolish rehearsing his credentials as a preacher of the gospel. The Corinthians, like some of us today, fall for smooth talk and messages that sounded good and seemed to make sense. We have with us today great eloquent speakers with an authoritative sounding voice who contradict God’s word. Beware! Satan and his servants can deceive us by appearing to be attractive, good, and moral. Many unsuspecting people follow smooth talking, Bible quoting, leaders into false worship. Don’t be fooled by external appearances.

Our impressions alone are not an accurate indicator of who is or isn’t a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ask questions of yourself, like does the speaker confirm scripture or conform scripture? Does he or she proclaim that Jesus Christ Messiah came into the world to save us from sin, died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, His Father, and will come and judge us. A false teacher teaches for his own glory, not the glory of God.

God Never Abandons

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4: 14, 17, 18

Commentary:

“For we walk by faith, not by sight,” 2 Corinthians 5: 7.

We have not seen Jesus, but we know he lives. We feel the wind, but we do not know where it comes from. The disciples had Jesus with them and at times even they didn’t understand. When we go through this life with all the ups and downs, at times we ask why. Paul reminds us that though we may think we are at the end of the rope, we are never at the end of hope. Our perishable bodies are subject to sin and suffering, but God never abandons us. All our risks, humiliations, and trials are opportunities for Christ to demonstrate his power and presence in and through us. No matter what happens to us in this life, we have the assurance of eternal life, when all suffering will end and all sorrow will flee away. (Isaiah 35: 10)

The Power of the Tongue

Scripture: James 3: 1-7

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider that a great forest is set on fire by a spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison.

Scripture Commentary

What you say and what you don’t say are both important. Proper speech is not only saying the right words at the right time. But it is also controlling your desire to say what you shouldn’t. Before you speak, ask, “Is what I want to say true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”

Hold on to the Everlasting

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

1 Peter 23-25

Commentary:

We were in the world living what we believed was a good life, doing what we wanted to do. We were in some cases lost because we were not living as God intended. But through the Grace of God we were reborn. That seed in us that was in sand is now planted in Our Lord Jesus Christ, in good spiritual soil. Now, with God’s love, we can take our eyes off of ourselves and see and do for others. God loves us so much, that he sacrificed his son for us. We are no longer a slave to sin. Peter reminds us in these verses that everything in this life – possessions, accomplishments, and even people – will eventually fade and disappear. Only the word of God is permanent. Stop grasping the temporary things and focus on Jesus Christ.

Don’t Be a Slave to Sin

In the same way, count yourselves dead in sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6: 11-14

Commentary:

“Count yourselves dead to sin” means that we should regard our old sinful nature as dead and unresponsive to sin. Because of our union and identification with Christ, we are not longer obligated to carry out those old motives, desires, and goals. So let us consider ourselves to be what God has in fact made us. When we were under the law, sin was our master – the law does not justify us or help us overcome sin. We have a new start, and the Holy Spirit will help us become, in our daily experience, what Christ has declared us to be. Without Jesus we would have no choice, we would have to apprentice ourselves to sin. The results would be guilt, suffering, and separation from God. Thanks to Jesus, we can now choose God as our master.

Jesus Freed Us

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions, that were under the first testament they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Hebrews 9: 13

Commentary:

When Jesus went to the cross and died and was raised from the grave. The need for sacrificing animals was removed. As well as the need for someone to ask the Father to forgive our sins. In the Old Testament this was done once a year by the high priest for the people. But Christ, through his death, freed us from the slavery of sin forever. His sacrifice is infinitely more effective than animal sacrifices. With the dead of Christ there is no point in returning to the sacrificial rituals. Christ shed his blood for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to experience spiritual death and eternal separation from God. Jesus is our source of life, not death. With what Jesus did for us, death has no hold on us. We are free.

Faith Has Greater Worth Than Gold

Scripture: 1 Peter 1: 3-7

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Scripture Commentary: Our faith has greater wealth than gold!

Do you need encouragement? Peter’s words offer joy and hope in times of trouble, and he bases his confidence on what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. Our faith has greater wealth than gold!

We’re called into a living hope of eternal life. Our hope is not only for the future. Never-ending life commences when we trust Christ and join God’s family. No matter what pain or trial we face in this life, we know that it is not our final experience.

Christians can look forward to a family inheritance in the eternal city of God. God has reserved the inheritance; it will never fade or decay; it will have no stain of sin. The best part is that you have an inheritance if you have trusted Christ as your Savior. Place yourself in the Hands of Jesus Christ and see His glory.

Read the Entire Chapter:
1 Peter Chapter 1

Recognize God’s Work in You

By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the last of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.

1 Corinthians 15: 2-9

Commentary:

Churches contain people who do not yet believe. Some are moving in the direction of belief, and others are simply pretending. The Good News about Jesus Christ will save us if we firmly believe it and faithfully follow it. Paul had been an enemy of the Christian Church even to the point of capturing and persecuting believers. Thus he felt unworthy to be called an apostle of Christ. He knew that he had worked hard and accomplished much. But only because God had poured kindness and grace upon him. True humility is not convincing yourself that you are worthless, but recognizing God’s work in you. Because Christ rose from the dead as he promised, we know that what he said is true – he is God. Because he rose, our sins are forgiven, as he forgave Paul’s he will forgive yours. Put yourself in the hands of Christ and trust him.

To Know the Gospel is Different From Living it

Today

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow? What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do, but doesn’t do it, sins.

James 4: 13-17

Commentary:

It is good to have goals, but goals will disappoint us if we leave God out of them. Do not make plans as though God does not exist, the future is in his hands. Christians make great claims but are often guilty of belying them with their actions. Professing to trust God and to being his people, they cling tightly to the world and its values. Possessing all the right answers, they contradict the gospel with their lives. It is not enough to talk the Christian faith, we must live it. What good is it if we claim to have faith but have no deeds? Genuine faith will inevitably produce good deeds.

Spread the Good Truth

Scripture: Matthew 28: 11-15

The Guard’s Report

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Scripture Commentary: Jesus Lives

Jesus’ resurrection was already causing a great stir in Jerusalem. A group of women were moving quickly through the streets, looking for the disciples to tell them the amazing news that Jesus was alive. At the same time a group of religious leaders were plotting how to cover up the resurrection. They were bribing the guards to give a false report.

Today there is still a great stir over the resurrection, and there are still only two choices; to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, or to deny, ignore, or explain away the truth.

God gave Jesus authority over heaven and earth. With this same authority, Jesus still commands us to tell others the Good news and make them disciples of the kingdom.

Matthew Chapter 28