Religious Ambition is Worldly Ambition

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Judges 9:54-55
Then he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, ‘A woman killed him.'” So his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place.
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Men of this world live for this world all the way until the end. Abimelech wanted to guard his reputation after his death. What would his reputation matter while he was burning in hell?! And the reality is that when so-called “great” men perish, people just return to their daily business like those who heard that Abimelech had died.
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Psalm 49:11-12
Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.
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The wealthy worldlings of Psalm 49:11 named lands after themselves in hopes that future generations would honor them after their demise. Of course these wicked souls wouldn’t be able to hear the praises of the living while they themselves were weeping & gnashing their teeth in the lake of fire. And in their ambitious insanity they failed to realize that such human praise would soon cease anyway when their admirers died and faced the same judgment they received.
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1 John 2:15-16
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. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
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This filthy ambition is alive and well in the hearts of worldly ministers in our day. Such men strive to build vast religious organizations as monuments to their own worth & so-called megachurches which they fill up with goats to promote their own glory. Men of this world who use the name of Christ to establish a legacy for themselves in this world will soon awake in hell to find out that they & the world they loved so much are perishing together under God’s wrath.
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Philippians 2:3
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
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Be warned Christian, those who love this world do not have the love of the Father in them. Do not allow yourself to stumble into the same sin of ambition or you will perish with them! Seek the praises of the unseen and eternal God, and despise the praises of seen and perishing men. Don’t be ambitious for this world or your own name, but deny yourself and take up your cross daily; renounce everything that you are, and that you hope to be, & follow Christ wherever He leads!

The Deception of Moralism (Human Sinfulness – 3)

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John 3:18

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Isaiah 64:6

But we are all like an unclean thing,  And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;  We all fade as a leaf,  And our iniquities, like the wind,  Have taken us away.

Those who have not been saved through Jesus Christ are without God and without hope in this world. They are willfully alienated from God and wicked through and through. This is the shameful truth about humanity apart for God’s saving grace. But there is something still more terrible about mankind’s situation; they are condemned under the wrath of almighty God. Continue reading “The Deception of Moralism (Human Sinfulness – 3)” →

Willful Rebellion & Lenient Christianity (Human Sinfulness – 2)

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Romans 8:7-8

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Titus 2:11-12

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age

Everyone without Christ is lost in sin. But we must not imagine that this means they deserve any kind of pity. It is true that God pities them and that He calls His people to pity them as well, but that is not because they deserve it, but because God is kind and merciful. They are not lost because they have to be, but because they want to be. They are separated from God because they hate Him, His will and His ways. Though they might not admit to themselves that they hate God, the Bible teaches that all people are enemies of God until they are transformed by His saving grace. Every unsaved person has silently declared war on God. Every day they oppose His will and set themselves up as their master and lord.

Continue reading “Willful Rebellion & Lenient Christianity (Human Sinfulness – 2)” →

Lost Souls and Idolatrous Evangelism (Human Sinfulness – 1)

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People are saved when they are reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. In this sense salvation is not a process but something that happens in a moment. Though this is true, it is also true that there is a process that leads up to that moment. If we desire to be useful to God in the salvation of others, we need to understand how God leads people to Jesus Christ so that we will be able to work with God every step of the way as He leads people to the Savior. In these lessons we will cover the following steps in the conversion process:

  1. Human Sinfulness
  2. Conviction by the Spirit
  3. Repentance from Sin
  4. Faith in Christ
  5. Baptism into Christ
  6. Reconciliation with God
  7. Transformation by the Spirit

Ephesians 2:12

…at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Continue reading “Lost Souls and Idolatrous Evangelism (Human Sinfulness – 1)” →

Psalm 25:6-8

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Psalm 25:6-8

Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

The psalmist asks God to magnify his mercy by forgetting the psalmist’s sins & remembering His own mercy and goodness instead. God is by no means required to do this. In fact, in most people God magnifies His justice & wrath as Romans 9:22-23 teaches. God’s wrath is right and just, but our earnest request to Him is that in His wrath He would remember mercy for His name’s sake (Hab. 3:2). It is foolish to imagine we will receive anything from God by appealing to our goodness, but when we appeal to His goodness we can have confidence that we will receive the mercy we are pleading for.

The psalmist recognizes his sinfulness before a holy God. We too must approach God in humility and honesty. But when we despair because of our corrupt humanity we must hope in & magnify God’s mercy. We don’t only ask Him to remember His mercy and forget our sin, we also must magnify God’s mercy by setting our hope on His goodness which is greater than our sinfulness. His mercy is our only hope, there is nothing in our nature or heart that can give us hope; all is fallen & corrupt. He is our hope, righteousness & salvation.

But we should also magnify God’s mercy by learning His ways as in vs 8. We know we are sinners but trust that God in His goodness will lead us in paths of righteous for His name’s sake (Ps. 23:3). In view of God’s mercy we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1). One who does not turn away from sin has not set their hope on God’s mercy, but they have deceived themselves into thinking that God can be mocked (Gal. 6:3). Those who have truly trusted in the kind forgiveness of God will reveal it in their lives by hungering and thirsting after righteousness (Mat. 5:6).

Brief Intro to Content of the Bible

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The Bible is made up of two main sections. The first is called the Old Testament. It focuses on the history of the nation of Israel and God’s covenant with that nation based on their obedience to the Law of Moses. The second section is the New Testament which focuses on God’s covenant with the followers of Jesus Christ based on their trust in Christ as Savior and their submission to him as Lord.

The Old Covenant was given for a certain people and was limited to earthly commands, punishments and promises. Though it no longer directly applies to those under the New Covenant, God sovereignly guided the writing of the Old Testament, along with the history which it relates, for the purpose of teaching His New Covenant people through examples, analogies, prophesies and symbols, as well as giving a basic doctrinal understanding of the nature of God and His moral law.

The New Covenant is not limited to one nation but is open to people from any nation who will place their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The New Testament is a collection of the writings of the Apostles (i.e. original disciples of Jesus) and their companions. The New Testament presents the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ as well as the teaching of the Apostles. It shows not only the way in which Jesus Christ saves people from the guilt and power of sin, but also gives us the standard of what Christians should believe and practice. Through these New Covenant writings we learn how Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant and how Christians should read and understand the Old Testament. Continue reading “Brief Intro to Content of the Bible” →

Daily Time in God’s Word (Christian Practices)

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Read (Being Informed by God’s Word)

Deuteronomy 17:19-20

And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

Continue reading “Daily Time in God’s Word (Christian Practices)” →

Evidences of the Renewal of the Spirit (Post-Baptism Lesson)

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This lesson is to be taught after the disciple has been baptized.

Lesson Goal: Help the disciple understand what the evidences are for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that they can be confirmed in their faith as they see the influence of the Spirit at work in their life. Also help them understand that if they do not eventually see the effects of God’s Spirit manifested in their heart and life they should accept that absence of spiritual fruit as a serious warning that something is wrong with their profession of faith. 

Justified and Renewed

Instructor’s Notes: Help the disciple understand the positional and experiential aspects of salvation. Help them understand the difference between our justification and adoption which is received through our faith in Christ’s work on our behalf, and our sanctification and renewal that is progressively worked into our lives as we submit to the transforming grace of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Our status before God is changed through conversion (repentance, faith and baptism), but our experience with God is changed by the renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5, John 3:5). Our justification is foundational, but it is not all we need. We do not only need forgiveness for our sins, we also need power from God to be free from the bondage of sin. We need forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39).   Continue reading “Evidences of the Renewal of the Spirit (Post-Baptism Lesson)” →

Practical Instructions for Baptism

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 The Baptism Ceremony

Read the following notes to the disciple one point at a time, making sure they understand what to expect during baptism.

  1. At the time of your baptism you and the person baptizing you will go into the water. You will be asked “What is your faith,” to which you will respond by reciting the Apostles’ Creed to those who have gathered to witness your baptism.
  1. After reciting the Apostles’ Creed you will be asked to answer three questions to affirm your personal repentance and trust in Christ:

– Are you determined to submit every area of your life to Jesus Christ and learn to obey all of His commands?

– Do you acknowledge that there is nothing you can do to save yourself from the just wrath of God and the power of sin?

– Do you believe that Jesus, through His death on the cross, His resurrection from the grave, and His ascension to the right hand of God has the authority to save you from God’s wrath and sin’s power? Continue reading “Practical Instructions for Baptism” →

Be Baptized

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Lesson Goal: Help the disciple understand the nature and meaning of Christian baptism, and determine whether or not they are ready to follow the Lord Jesus into the waters of baptism.

Instructor’s Notes: The word “baptism” is a word that has an unclear meaning in our English Bibles. The Greek word from which we derive the English word “baptize” is “baptizo.” This Greek word means, “to immerse.” This is why Jesus went into the Jordan River to be baptized (i.e. immersed) and why Philip and the eunuch “went down into the water” for the eunuch’s baptism (Mark 1:9-10, Acts 8:38).

The examples of Jesus and the Ethiopian eunuch, along with the definition of the Greek word “baptizo,” show us that Christian baptism is by immersion, but this conclusion is also confirmed by the biblical significance of baptism. Romans 6:3-4 teaches that through the act of Baptism we are identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ by being “buried with him through baptism” and walking in “newness of life” after baptism. Baptism is an acting out of the Christian faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection by being immersed in water and then coming up out of the water. In baptism we are reenacting a death, burial and resurrection; if one were “baptized” by the sprinkling of a little water on the head this would not express the meaning that is intended by Christian baptism.  Continue reading “Be Baptized” →