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Alms, Prayer, & Fasting 6:1-18 Temptation and The Evil One v. 13 Let’s be clear right off the top. God never entices us to do evil. Biblically and historically (until about the 17th century) “tempt” meant “test”. In the Old Testament scriptures we see God testing men and (a non-starter) men testing God. A test […]

Key Verse: Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” At first reading in the context, it looks a bit like over-kill. Paul was concerned about petty personal quarrels which were disrupting the Philippian church (2:1-4). He certainly needed to give a fatherly word of correction. Instead, he breaks […]

Key Verse: Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment…” There is a remarkable observation made by Paul in Romans 10:2. He is talking about his fellow Israelites when he says, “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, […]

Key Verse: Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Jesus didn’t come to make people nice: He came to make them new. Mind you, people who are new in Christ also tend to be nice, but niceness is no antidote […]

Key Verse: Ephesians 5:5 “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (NIV) An idolater is a worshipper of idols. He is someone who by his action denies the great foundation […]

Key Verse: Ephesians 4: 11-13 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge […]

Alms, Prayer, & Fasting 6:1-18 Forgiveness v. 12 (see also vv. 14 & 15) – Part 2 “As we forgive” is more accurately translated “as we have forgiven”. The assumption is that in invoking the forgiveness of God we’ve already swept our house clean in terms of any dustup we may have had our injustice […]

Key Verse: Ephesians 3:12 “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence .” (NIV) What is the difference between “in Him” and “through faith in Him”? “In Him” means there is a highway to God — whether we accept its reality or not makes no difference: there is […]

Key Verse: Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Redemption means not only that we have been bought back, set free, and made new — it also means that we belong to the Redeemer. He paid the price, […]

Key Verse: Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sing, according to the riches of His grace…” The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines the word “redeem” this way: 1. Buy back, recover by expenditure or effort or by stipulated payment 2. Perform (promise) 3. Purchase the freedom of (another, oneself), […]

Key Verse: Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart”. Freedom and unfreedom ultimately betray themselves by their fruit. If, in the name of freedom, we “indulge the sinful nature” (5:13), the product will eventually manifest itself: “sexual immorality, […]

Key Verse: Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” Free means free — without qualifications. That’s why Paul says, in this discussion of freedom (vv.1-18), that “indulging the sinful nature” (v.13) is an option available to the truly liberated. But there is a strong caution […]