Podcasts about old testament israel

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 12:26-31 With the daily reports of warfare in almost every corner of the world, we may not expect or desire to come to the Bible and read about wars.  But the stories of Old Testament Israel are filled with accounts of the fierce fighting between the Israelites and their enemies.  This is especially true of the reign of King David, who was described as a “man of war” (1 Chron 28:3).  2 Samuel 12:26-31 describes the battles between Israel and the Ammonites.  It was the Ammonites that Israel was fighting when David committed his sin of adultery (2 Sam 11:1).  One question for us is this: what are we to learn for our own lives from Old Testament passages like this, recounting the wars of Israel? One truth revealed in this passage is the faithfulness of God to His promises.  He had promised, "By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies" (2 Sam 3:18).  God's promises and warnings are all true and utterly reliable.  God's faithfulness to His word is illustrated in this passage. Second, God's holiness and justice are revealed in this passage.  The Ammonites were a detestable, idolatrous people.  Their main god was Molech (or Moloch or Milcom) and people offered their children as sacrifices to this god (Lev 18:21; 20:1-5; 2 Kgs 23:10).  So when the Israelites defeated the Ammonites in war, this was God's judgment on the wickedness of these idolaters.  God used war as an instrument of His justice.  These Old Testament stories have relevance to us in that they reveal attributes of the living God who never changes.  This is the same God who reigns over his world today.  Let us come to know Him and rejoice.

Introduction: Why Should the Old Testament Matter to Me? (Matthew 5:17-20) Because That's Where We Learn About Jesus. (Matt 5:17) John 5:39 – You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me... Luke 24:27 – And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Because It's Still Relevant. (Matt 5:18) Because You Will Be Evaluated Based On What You Do With It. (Matt 5:19) Romans 8:2-4 – For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Because Your Salvation Depends On It. (Matt 5:20) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 5:17-20What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Tell of a strange or goofy trend you've heard churches being involved in. Why do churches latch on to such things?What are some things you've heard taught about how Christians should regard the Old Testament? How do these compare with what Jesus said?How do you know what parts of the Old Testament Law were just for Old Testament Israel and what is still relevant for Christians today?In your own words, explain what Jesus meant in Matt 5:20 about how our righteousness “must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.” What results if it doesn't?BreakoutPray for one another.

One of Christianity's perennial debates is whether the Church has taken on the role of Old Testament Israel. In this episode, we examine the use of the term “replacement theology,” review historical examples of replacement language, and explore the key issues at the heart of the discussion.Time Stamps:00:00 Intro03:18 Sources that Use Replacement Language10:53 Defining Supercessionism13:22 Punitive Supercessionism16:25 Economic Supercessionism19:26 Structural Supercessionism21:46 Summary of Supercessionism Views23:48 Question 1: With whom did God make the Abrahamic covenant?30:46 Question 2: What are the promises within the Abrahamic covenant?52:48 Question 3: Was the Abrahamic covenant operative during disobedience?59:47 Question 4: When did God stop dealing with Israel as a nation?01:04:35 Summary ThoughtsHelpful Links to Study More:Vlach's Video on the Seed of Abraham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpne06TuOJIVlach's Article on SupercessionismVlach's Book: Has the Church Replaced Israel?Leave a Review or FollowIf you have found the podcast helpful, consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leaving a review on Itunes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rating it on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also find ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bible Sojourner on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Consider passing any episodes you have found helpful to a friend.Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petergoeman.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information on the podcast or blog.Visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ shepherds.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more on Shepherds Theological Seminary where Dr. Goeman teaches.⁠The Bible Sojourner Merchandise

Listen along as we begin our series through Exodus. Notes//Quotes: Exodus 1:7-22 Books do not usually begin with the word “And.” But Exodus does, in the Hebrew text, and so do Leviticus and Numbers: the second, third, and fourth books of the Bible. You would not know this from most modern English translations, presumably because it is not considered good literary style to begin a sentence, never mind a whole book, with “And.” In Hebrew, however, although these are clearly whole books in their own right, each of them begins in a way that clearly connects them altogether as part of one long story that began in Genesis and stretches to the borders of the promised land by the end of Numbers. Deuteronomy, however, begins with a fresh telling of the same story and ends where it started, so does not need the connecting and forward-moving opening word “And.” - Chris Wright The Pentateuch as a whole—the Torah—constituted the foundation of Old Testament Israel's faith and identity, and the book of Exodus sets in place some of the largest theological blocks within that foundation. It showed Israel who their God was, who they were as God's people, how God's desire was to dwell in their midst, and how the grace of God was the only guarantee that their journey with God (or rather, God's journey with them) could continue - Chris Wright “Ironically, Genesis presents the mother of all Israelites oppressing an Egyptian slave, while Exodus presents an Egyptian king oppressing Israelites as slaves. To that degree, Sarah foreshadows pharaoh's role, just as Hagar's story prefigures Israel's story” - Victor Hamilton “The pogrom has reached its height. All Egypt has been recruited to destroy the population explosion of the enemy” Brevard Childs The first exodus comes in the midst of a plot that should be familiar to anyone who has read the garden story in Genesis. The people of Israel are fruitful and multiply and fill the land, but the serpent-like king is tricksy, and he attacks the women, with a view to destroying their male descendants. Yet in contrast to the garden story, the women outmaneuver him. - Alastair Roberts The unmissable proclamation heard in the openings of all four gospels, then, is simply this: “God is doing it again!” The God of Abraham is keeping his promise. The God of Moses is confronting the world's pharaohs. The God of the exodus is on the way to save his people. Except that the ultimate confrontation and victory will not come about by God sending plagues upon the Romans but by God the Son becoming the Passover lamb, his flesh broken and his blood shed on the cross for the redemption not only of Israel but of people from all nations who put their trust in him. From this point on, the New Testament is replete with echoes of exodus and new-exodus themes, along with its references to the covenant and law given at Sinai, and the tabernacle - Chris Wright

Today, most 18 year olds could walk into just about any bank and be entrusted with thousands of dollars of credit. We as Americans take debt and its accompanying, exorbitant interest for granted. But this wasn't always the case. Old Testament Israel, the ancient philosophers, the early church, medieval societies, and the reformers all enforced strict prohibitions on any usury, or at the very least, capped interest rates and prohibited their use to exploit the poor. What changed and why? This episode is brought to you by our premier sponsors, Armored republic and Reece fund, as well as our patreon members and donors. You can join our patreon at https://patreon.com/rightresponseministries or you can donate at https://rightresponseministries.com/donate Get your tickets now for our 2025 Conference. Christ Is King: How To Defeat Trash World at ⁠⁠https://rightresponseconference.com⁠⁠ *MINISTRY SPONSORS:* *Private Family Banking* How to Connect with Private Family Banking: 1. FREE 20-MINUTE COURSE HERE: ⁠https://www.canva.com/design/DAF2TQVcA10/WrG1FmoJYp9o9oUcAwKUdA/view⁠ 2. Send an email inquiry to ⁠chuck@privatefamilybanking.com⁠ 3. Receive a FREE e-book entitled "How to Build Multi-Generational Wealth Outside of Wall Street and Avoid the Coming Banking Meltdown", by going to ⁠https://www.protectyourmoneynow.net⁠ 4. Set up a FREE Private Family Banking Discovery call using this ⁠link: https://calendly.com/familybankingnow/30min⁠ 5. For a Multi-Generational Wealth Planning Guide Book for only $4.99, use this link for my affiliate relationship with "Seven Generations Legacy": ⁠https://themoneyadvantage.idevaffiliate.com/13.html⁠ *Reece Fund.* Christian Capital. Boldly Deployed ⁠https://www.reecefund.com/⁠ *Dominion: Wealth Strategists* is a full-service financial planning and wealth management firm dedicated to putting more money in the hands of the church. With an education focused approach, they will help you take dominion over your finances. https://reformed.money/

Defining the World (Part 1) Old Testament Foundations “The Nations ” in the Old Testament Israel among the Nations Israel is unique among the other nations of the world. Her origin and development is a product of God's miraculous activity. What were some of the miraculous ways God brought about the nation…

Send us a textWhat if the true essence of God's promises lies not in a geographical location but in a spiritual transformation? Join us as we unpack the profound themes of idol worship and divine fulfillment in the book of Joshua, questioning the modern Christian fascination with the physical land of Israel. We explore the scriptures that declare God's promises to ancient Israel already fulfilled, and challenge the notion of territorial affiliation, urging believers to focus on spiritual teachings. This episode is an invitation to reconsider what it truly means to be part of God's chosen people beyond ethnic and national boundaries.Throughout our discussion, we turn to the teachings of Paul in Galatians and Romans, revealing that the spiritual essence of being part of Abraham's family transcends ethnicity and rituals. We emphasize inward transformation and spiritual circumcision of the heart as the true markers of Jewish identity in Christ. With insights from Ephesians, we highlight the inclusivity of Christianity, where all believers, regardless of background, are welcomed into the body of Christ as one unified family. The narrative of a spiritual Israel, or new Jerusalem, emerges, underscoring the unity that Christ brings to both Jews and Gentiles.Finally, we reflect on the powerful imagery in 1 Peter 2:9, where all believers are seen as a royal priesthood and chosen generation. We draw parallels between the Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church, celebrating the dismantling of divisions made possible by Christ's sacrifice. By reexamining the origins of salvation and urging a deeper engagement with scripture, this conversation challenges misconceptions and inspires a renewed understanding of unity in the body of Christ. Listen and discover how spiritual identity transcends physical locations, uniting all believers in a shared spiritual journey.Support the show

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN  The Lord's Prayer says Our Father who is in heaven holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we say your Kingdom come, we are not talking about the afterlife but about God's Kingdom being experienced here on earth. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:19  The Kingdom of God rules over all other kingdoms on the earth and God desires that his rule and order in heaven is expressed in the earth. However, most people are living only under the rule of one of a multitude of different kinds of kingdoms in the earth, ranging from dictatorships through democracies and on to superstitious religious or tribal cultures. And most people only see an earthly kingdom in action and are not aware that a heavenly Kingdom even exists let alone its being in command of all that happens on earth. I believe we are living in days when God is opening peoples' eyes to see his Heavenly Kingdom being displayed on earth. A kingdom is a governmental rule of order presided over by a ruler. There are thousands of political kingdoms in the world and there is a multitude of ‘rules of order' and different ways to protect and enforce that rule of order.  Australia is a parliamentary democracy that is directly and indirectly under a Monarchy that has vowed to honour and serve God as the overarching rule. America is a republic that has declared ‘In God we trust' and that they are ‘A nation under God'. As to how faithfully those two governmental systems serve that Godly rule depends on the integrity and sincerity of the political leadership in maintaining those spiritual and cultural foundations. At the moment those foundations are being eroded, and God is holding everyone to account.  If Australia became a republic, who would designate what would be the overarching rule and value that we upheld, and who would protect and enforce what that overarching rule and value would be from that time on for our lives, and who would appoint the leader? Maybe just leave it to the politicians? - think about that when there's a referendum. But for us the Bible says ‘pray for rulers and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence'(1Timothy2).   Our constant mindset of prayer remains as ‘Your Kingdom come'. People today also create their own personal kingdoms of rule and order over whatever overarching ideologies they choose to embody, so there is a lot at play when it comes to discussing whose will gets done on earth as it is in Heaven. In the Old Testament Israel saw much evidence of the rule of a Heavenly Kingdom in the earth through miraculous interventions of God in their life. Things were seen being done in Heaven that were also being done on the earth.  Elisha saw into the heavens that God's angels were defeating the Syrian army that were fighting against Israel at the place where Elisha and Gehazi were staying, so he said to his terrified servant Gehazi ‘Fear not: for greater are they that are with us than they that are against us. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray that you would open his eyes, that he may see. (2Kings 6:1) God opened Gehazi's eyes to see the Heavenly battle. Daniel was praying to God and saw the four winds of heaven in turmoil churning up the seas (Daniel 7). Daniel saw four great beasts that prophetically symbolise powerful earthly kingdoms that still exist today also disrupting the churning seas, and the seas symbolise the global population. And in the Book of Revelation chapter 13 this same vision of kingdom disorder and disruption gets prophetically amplified as something yet to occur globally in the nations of today's world. There is much that needs to come to pass in history yet, but we could be seeing the beginnings of this unfolding before our eyes at this time. We are living in a time of the clashing of kingdoms. ‘All things are being shaken and the things that are man-made will be removed, so that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, and are given grace, by which we may serve God' (Hebrews 12:27) In the New Testament we need eyes of faith to ‘see' the Kingdom of God. Jesus always saw the Kingdom of God and he also saw the kingdom of the earth and lived in both. He did not live a secular life that was separate from his spiritual life, but the Kingdom of God was his true reality. He saw what was done in heaven being done in the earth. He put God first and he did what he saw his Father do. One day Jesus said to the listening crowds “Truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son does also.  For Jesus things happened twice – God did it in Heaven and Jesus did it on earth. God's will was done on earth as it had been done in heaven. He teaches us that in the lord's Prayer.  The Father showed Jesus how Lazarus was to be raised from the dead when everyone was telling Jesus to come and heal him. The Father showed Jesus through the Holy Spirit the multitudes being fed with the miraculous loaves and fishes. Jesus saw the lame man take up his bed and walk at the pool of Bethesda and then spoke it into being. How do we see the Kingdom of Heaven and live a life that expresses the Heavenly Kingdom of God in the earth? Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, unless one is born from above (anothen) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).  When people ask when we will see the Kingdom of heaven being active in the earth the only answer is – when it starts to be seen in our lives – as the love and compassion and the justice and mercy and truth that is in Christ. If we ask for the Holy Spirit to become active in our lives we will be guided by the Holy Spirit to hear what God is saying to us and see with eyes of faith what he showing us to do. We will pray prayers of surrender to receive God's answers and get his results rather than our demands for our own wishes. Paul says that the devil's strategy is to blind people's minds to see the things that God is doing from Heaven -The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the message of the glory of Christ (2Corinthians 4:6) But the Bible also says that ‘Greater is he who is within you than he who is in the world (1John 4:4).  When we have faith in the work of the Kingdom of God in Heaven, we begin to understand the spiritual reality that God's will in Heaven is waiting to happen on earth in our lives and that becomes our new reality for everything we aspire to.  We may not see the spiritual battles going on in the heavens like Elisha, but we can often sense the spiritual oppression and know that there is an activity of darkness happening and we can have faith that God is at work in the world of the unseen to overcome that darkness and to shield us from it. We can trust that the Holy Spirit will bring his word alive to us as we read the Scriptures and that things will unfold in our lives that we realise only God could have arranged for us, and things on earth will start to become what is being done in heaven in front of our eyes.  There are things happening on the world stage that reveal the disorder and disruption by ungodly religious and cultural and Marxist dictatorships that defy the rule of law and seek to demolish democratic principles that honour the God of the Bible. This is happening in the Middle East where Israel is being attacked from all sides, and it is happening in too many other democratic nations from within. Godly foundations are being eroded through weak national leaderships that grasp for worldly power through corrupt and deceitful means. We live in a nation that has been given the Gospel but it has become indifferent to it over the years in its preference for the ‘good life'. But the good life is fast becoming the not so good life, and the tide is turning on the failed social and political experiments of recent times. This coming year will be a defining year for our nation as we take hold of What Jesus has already won for this nation. God is raising up his Kingdom in this Great South land of the Holy Spirit and we can personally expect to receive his grace for his Kingdom to be on display in our lives. Israel had to possess Canaan the Land of Promise (Numbers 34) which measured 300,000 square miles which is 777,000 square kilometres of territory (300,000X2.59) but the land of Promise that God wants possessed today is the territory of people's hearts to believe and ‘receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ (Gatatians 3:14). God has gone before us to ‘Go in and possess the land'. Your heart of faith and love can be a window for the hearts of others to see the Kingdom and a door for others to enter into the Kingdom.

Our text is from Psalm 114: “Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills like lambs? (Psalm 114:5-6). Psalm 113 asks: “Who is like the Lord our God?” Answer: No one. Nothing. Our God is utterly unique. And in his Son Jesus Christ, we get an even better look at him. He did not consider equality with God as something to be used to his own advantage but instead became nothing. The highest of the high, the utterly transcendent, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God was born into this world as the lowest of the low: the baby out-of-wedlock of a poor peasant couple from the unremarkable town of Nazareth. Why did our God take such a lowly path? To raise us up to the highest heights with him, that's why. “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). It was Israel who was first brought up from their poverty and need in Egypt: they were set free and made into a people. Among Jews, Psalms 113 & 114 are recited at the beginning of the Passover meal. Why did God's people choose these Psalms to remember the victory of their God? Because it puts the eaters smack dab in the middle of the great saving acts of God. With vivid simplicity Psalm 114 proclaims what happens when God shows up. Showing up in power, his first act is to choose Israel both for His sanctuary and His kingdom. Thus, if anyone else in all the earth wants to meet God or observe life in his realm, all they need do is show up in Israel. All contrary powers are driven from the field by His appearance. The chaotic powers that put salvation in question must flee before Him. In His presence the mountains--the symbols of all that is solid, durable--quake. God's mighty salvific work is proclaimed by all the facts that are brought together in this weighty hymn. When Israel is thirsty, God offers her water from the rocks and desert sands. When she is hungry, she can pluck birds out of the air and bread from the ground. God provides for those who are near Him. The elements of creation react to the powerful appearance of God. Because they move before God's coming, Israel's passage into the Promised Land stretches out before her. All this and more are remembered as the Jews sit down to eat the Passover meal. The early Christians choose to worship on the first day of the week rather than the Jewish seventh because they saw Easter as our Exodus. As much as the Exodus from Egypt shaped the imagination, the memory, and the living faith of Old Testament Israel, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, shapes the imagination, the memory, and the living faith of the church. As much as the Exodus was the birth of Israel, so Easter is the birth of the church. And as much as Israel was God's dominion and sanctuary in the Old Testament, we believe the church is God's kingdom and sanctuary today. Thus, if anyone else in all the earth wants to meet God or observe life in His Kingdom, all they need do is find the church of Jesus. These Psalms are recited as the opening of the Passover meal. They helped the eaters enter the story of God, their story. We worship Jesus today and gather at his table to enter the story of Easter, to make it our story. As you journey on, go with the blessing of God: May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

Deception is simply taking a piece of the truth, and twisting it. That's what makes it so convincing. It sounds right... sort of. Almost. I believe I first read in one of C.S. Lewis's books, probably in several of them, that evil defines itself by the absence of God, just as darkness defines itself as the absence of light. Satan cannot create anything; all he can do is pervert something that God made, and intended for good.   The introduction of Jonathan Cahn's most recent book, "The Dragon Prophecy," puts this extremely well, so I'm going to just quote him. He writes, "If God is good, then how could there be evil? And if God is evil, then how could God be good? But if God did not create evil, then how could evil exist? Or how could God be God?... If evil was created, it would not be a problem, nor would it be evil. Evil is a problem for the very reason that it was not created. It should not exist, because it was not created, and yet it does. The existence of evil defies the created order. It is not of the creation and thus exists in opposition to the created order. Evil exists in defiance of existence... evil is not simply a force, like that of an earthquake, a hurricane, or a fire. All these bring calamity and destruction. But none would constitute true evil. Serial killers are. Why? The hurricane is an impersonal force. It acts without consciousness, will, choice, volition, or intent. But the serial killer commits his acts with conscious intent, will, an volition--and so is evil. And so evil is not an impersonal force--but a personal one, requiring consciousness, volition, will, and intent. Thus in our search for an answer to evil, we are led to personhood... Evil is an inversion--an inversion of truth, of reality, of existence. Evil is, by nature, inverted and, by nature, inverts. It twists, bends, and turns existence in upon itself. It exists as anti-existence. Its being is anti-being, and its nature, anti-nature. It is a negation and therefore seeks to negate, a nullification that exists to nullify. It has no true, ultimate, or absolute existence and therefore acts to bring that which exists into non-existence... Possessing no absolute or true existence of its own, evil is, as well, by nature, parasitic... Evil must use the good. And so though good can exist without evil, evil cannot exist without good. Truth can exist without falsehood, but falsehood cannot exist without truth. Laws can exist without crimes, marriage without adultery, and life without murder. But crimes cannot exist without laws, adultery without marriage, nor murder exist without life. Destruction requires structure, immorality requires morality, and sin requires the holy. The good is primary. Evil is the parasitic inversion of the good. And so the existence of evil inadvertently testifies not against the existence of the good--but for it. It bears witness, unwillingly, to the existence of the good--the existence of God" (9-10). So if evil itself is an inversion of something created to be good, then nearly everything God created for our pleasure and enjoyment can also become evil... but because it contains the seeds of something that was originally good, Satan can also use that kernel of goodness, or truth, to convince us that the twisted version is actually good and true, too... and if we don't know the truth well enough to tell the difference, we'll fall for it.  The Syncretism Trend According to Dr George Barna's research with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, the dominant worldview of Americans (92%) now is syncretism (https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CRC-Release-AWVI-2-April-23-2024.pdf): that is, an amalgamation of disparate and contradictory beliefs, pulled from multiple religious or philosophical ideologies, according to an individual's personal inclinations and emotions. Syncretism is therefore not a single worldview, but a mishmash of beliefs--hence the common phrase, "your truth" and "my truth." The implication is that these can be mutually exclusive, without any logical contradiction. This strategy of Satan's is nothing new. He is a liar and the father of lies by nature (John 8:44). He sticks with this approach because it works.  Syncretism in the Old Testament Syncretism has  been around since the days of the Old Testament, and was the main reason why the Israelites couldn't seem to stay on the "blessing" side of God's covenant (Deuteronomy 28). Literally the first of the Ten Commandments was "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex 20:3)--and al, the Hebrew word translated "before", also means "by" or "beside." So God wasn't saying they simply had to worship Him the most, but it was okay if they occasionally sacrificed to Baal or Molech or Asherah--so long as He was the most important. No; they were to have no other gods besides Him. Period. The entire Old Testament history is a cycle of the Israelites' disobedience of this one commandment. The first example after the Ten Commandments were given is the golden calf that Aaron made with the spoils from Egypt while Moses was up on the mountain receiving God's law (Ex 32). These Israelites had spent their entire lives in Egypt, where a pantheon of gods were worshipped (many of whom God specifically humiliated by the plagues chosen to eventually force Pharaoh to let them go). When they made the golden calf, the Israelites declared that this was God--the One who had delivered them from Egypt (Ex 32:4). So they weren't exactly abandoning Yahweh for some other god; rather, they were mixing Him with the gods they had grown up with. Then, the Israelites tended to mix worship of Yahweh with worship of the gods of neighboring nations, even before they ever got to the Promised Land. Israel's enemies feared God, and one of them (King Balak of Moab) sent for Balaam, a local seer, to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24). God wouldn't allow Balaam to curse Israel, but Balaam wanted Balak's money... so instead, he told Balak how to get the Israelites to curse themselves, by placing themselves on the "cursing" side of God's covenant (Deuteronomy 28). Numbers 25 shows the result: the Moabite harlots used sex to entice the men of Israel into idolatry. The issue in this case wasn't so much the sex, as it was that sex was used in worship of false gods.  The cycle repeats throughout the Old Testament: Israel falls into idolatry, they fall under the 'cursing' side of God's covenant as a result (bringing themselves out from under His protection, and subject to Satan's machinations), they get oppressed by their enemies, they cry out to God, and God delivers them. They renew their vows to and worship of the One True God in varying degrees, but then they forget again, fall into idolatry, and the cycle repeats. God had laid out very clearly that they would be blessed if they followed His laws, and cursed if they didn't (Deut 28), and the very first commandment was no gods before Him. It was the first for a reason: God knows that we were made to worship something, and we treasure what we worship. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:21), and our hearts guide the course of our lives (Prov 4:23).  Eventually Israel split into two kingdoms (Northern and Southern, or Israel and Judah) over this very issue. Most of the subsequent kings of both nations perpetuated idolatry, though a few tried to purge the nation of idolatry to varying degrees, and enjoyed the 'blessing' side of the covenant for a time as a result (Deut 28). But God sent prophet after prophet to the Northern and Southern nations (writers of most of the major and minor prophetic books of the Old Testament), warning them of impending destruction if they did not repent of their idolatry. They ignored the warning, and eventually both nations were taken into captivity because of their idolatry: Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon. (Though of course, God was not done with Israel, and His promises to them still stand--Ezekiel 37 prophesied their restoration to their own land as a resurrection of dry bones, which miraculously took place on May 14, 1948. And the nation of Israel takes center stage throughout most of the book of Revelation, from chapter 5 on.)  Syncretism in the New Testament  Syncretism was around during the time of the early church, too, particularly in Paul's ministry. God sent him as the apostle to the Gentiles, who practiced varying forms of pagan beliefs already. They attempted to mix Jesus with these beliefs, until Paul's preaching convicted them to follow Jesus only, burning their books of magic arts and getting rid of their idols of Greek and Roman gods (Acts 19:11-20--which turned into a big riot in the city, v 21-41). Paul described the end times as being a time of "unrighteous deception among those who perish" (2 Thess 2:10), so we can expect that as we approach that day, this will only increase. Jesus told us that in the last days, "if possible, even the elect" would be deceived (Matt 24:24). The Greek work for deception in these verses is planao, and it means "to lead away from the truth, to lead into error." This inherently means that there is such a thing as truth. If you believe something contradictory to that truth, that is deception. We're living in an age that largely borrows from postmodernism as part of the syncretic worldview. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Postmodernists deny that there are aspects of reality that are objective; that there are statements about reality that are objectively true or false; that it is possible to have knowledge of such statements (objective knowledge); that it is possible for human beings to know some things with certainty; and that there are objective, or absolute, moral values." Holders of this worldview are therefore confused about even observable or mathematical truths, let alone those that are not observable (such as whether or not there is a God, and if there is, how many, and which one, how do we get to Him, etc). So before we even approach the topic of how to avoid being deceived, we have to establish that there is such a thing as objective truth. If there isn't, then there is no such thing as deception, either, since deception derives its definition from truth (just as darkness derives its definition from light, by the absence of it). What Is Truth (i.e. Is There Such A Thing As Objective Reality?) The best argument I've heard on the topic of whether or not there is an objective reality comes from Dr Jason Lisle's "The Ultimate Proof of Creation" (which is a book, but here is his lecture on the argument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_UxcV-xcM). While there is an abundance of apologetic evidence for the scientific and historical accuracy of scripture (here's the first in an apologetics series I did on the subject, https://www.drlaurendeville.com/anthropic-fine-tuning/), Lisle points out that none of these arguments can be definitive, because someone who holds a different worldview can simply invoke a "rescuing device" to explain away any evidence that seems to contradict his own position. We all do this, and it's not necessarily a bad thing--for example, if someone points out an apparent contradiction in scripture, my first reaction isn't, "Oh, I guess the Bible is wrong!" Rather, I assume there's additional information I don't happen to know about yet, which resolves the apparent contradiction, and then I go look for it. Even if I can't find it at the time, I am still certain it exists, and someone will find it eventually. That's a rescuing device, to preserve an otherwise deeply held worldview without logical contradiction. The real key to establishing which worldview is correct lies in that last statement: "without logical contradiction." There are laws that govern the way the world and the universe works--laws that we all have to believe in and abide by in order to know anything at all. C.S. Lewis expounded on this concept in "Mere Christianity" (https://www.authorcagray.com/posts/mere-christianity/) with respect to morality, in particular--the idea that we all know that there are universal laws of decency and conduct, and we further know that we don't live up to them. But, that being the case, who made those laws? Where did they come from? He argues that their very existence necessitates a lawgiver. Lisle takes this argument further--the existence of non-moral rules that govern how the material world works, such as the laws of logic, and principles of math and science, are the presuppositions upon which all knowledge is based. Everyone has to abide by these, no matter what their worldview is, or it would be impossible to know anything at all. But who made those rules? Where did they come from? Why does math work? Why do we all assume the laws of logic in order to have a coherent conversation? This, too, necessitates a creator. Many who abide by laws of math, science, and logic (and morality, for that matter) don't happen to have a theistic worldview, but that in and of itself is a logical inconsistency; they can't account for those rules in their worldviews at all. They have to borrow from the theistic worldview in order to make any of their other arguments.  This is the very place where postmodernism diverges, though. If there is no objective reality, then knowledge of any kind doesn't exist. Most of those who hold this worldview at least believe in morality of some kind. Lewis's argument might be most relevant here--you'll never get someone persuaded by postmodernism and religious syncretism to argue that murder, or genocide, or racism are fine, for example. They know these are wrong because they "feel" them to be wrong--and they're not just wrong for them, they're wrong for everyone. Now we have at least one absolute... which necessitates a lawgiver not only for morality, but also for at least one logical law: that of non-contradiction. This already establishes the existence of an objective reality. If there is an objective reality, then necessarily, some statements about it must be true while others must be false. The world is round and not flat, for example. If a world exists at all, both things cannot be true about it at the same time and in the same way, simultaneously--that would be a logical contradiction. Which Objective Reality Is It? (Can Anybody Know?) If some objective reality does in fact exist, how do we know which one it is? How do we know that our senses are reliable, first of all, and that we're not living in a simulation a la "The Matrix," for instance--one in which the laws of morality, logic, math, and science are simply foundational to the code? This argument goes back to Descartes, who concluded that at the very least, he must exist after some fashion, because his consciousness told him he must. C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity" used a similar line of reasoning, arguing that if there were a deeper reality, one that created this reality, we couldn't possibly find out anything about it through our five senses. Of course we couldn't; those senses are of the physical world, and can thus only give us information about the physical world. Our consciousness, however, has no identifiable physical reality. (To this day, science cannot explain what consciousness actually is - https://www.drlaurendeville.com/electromagnetism-vital-force/.) So Lewis argues that, if there were anything knowable about the world beyond our own, the only place where we might possibly expect to find clues about it would be in our own consciousness. And there, in fact, we do find such clues: specifically, we all have a sense of right and wrong. While we might quibble about the details therein--someone might say that under such and such a condition, killing someone is not murder, for example--no one will seriously argue that murder is morally fine. One might have different rules surrounding the morals of sex, but nobody is going to say you can just have any person you like anytime you like. This establishes several things, according to his argument: the existence of a moral law outside of our reality, of how we ought to behave (even though we know we don't, or at least not always, and certainly not perfectly), which necessitates the implied existence of a law-giver. The very fact that we do not keep the law (even though we know we should) is the whole point of the law of the Old Testament, too (Romans 7)--but even those who didn't know the Old Testament were aware of the moral law to this extent, so that no one is without excuse (Romans 1:18-2:16). Once we know that there is a moral law, and that we're incapable of keeping it on our own, that narrows down the possible religions considerably. We must choose one that hinges on the concept of grace, not works. There is literally only one of those. (More on that in this podcast: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/relational-apologetics/). That's why we call Christianity the gospel, which means good news: the good news is that, while you can't make yourself righteous no matter how hard you try, you don't have to make yourself righteous because Jesus did it for you. All you have to do is accept what He did on your behalf. Once you've gotten to this place, now all the scientific apologetics (start here: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/anthropic-fine-tuning/) can fall into their proper place: as corroborating evidence for the Bible. But the Bible has to be philosophically established as authoritative first. Once we've established that the Bible is truth (John 17:17, Psa 25:5, Psa 91:4, Psa 96:13, 100:5, 117:2, 119:142, 151, 160; 138:2, Prov 3:3, Col 1:5), we've got to learn what it says--well enough that Satan can't take it out of context and feed it back to us, or add a tiny bit to it to change the meaning. That's exactly how he works, though. He even tried that with Jesus (Luke 4:1-13). Fortunately Jesus was the Word made flesh (John 1:14), so He didn't fall for it... but the less we actually know the scripture, the more vulnerable we'll be to this strategy. Knowing the Truth Well Jesus warned us that as the last days approach, Satan will double down on this strategy: that false prophets will rise up and deceive many (Matt 24:11), claiming to be Jesus returned (Mark 13:6), some with signs and wonders. At the same time, Revelation suggests that in the last days, the church will become apathetic, so prosperous materially that we will be unaware of our spiritual emptiness (Rev 3:14-22). (This sounds a lot like the seeds choked by thorns in Jesus' parable of the sower: the seed is choked by "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, and he becomes unfruitful", Matt 13:22). Peter tells us that "scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'" (2 Peter 3:3-4). Paul tells us that the last days will be accompanied by a great "falling away" (2 Thess 2:3). Deception comes in many forms, but one thing they all have in common is that they act almost like a vaccine against the truth. There's just enough truth to them, mixed with a lot of untruth, that it's hard to tease apart the good from the bad. In that way, they can deceive "even the elect, if possible" (Matt 24:24, Mark 13:22). We protect against this, in a nutshell, by knowing the truth really, really well. This is the way bankers are trained to recognize counterfeit money: they don't study every possible counterfeit (there will always be a new one). Rather, they learn what the real thing looks like so well that they'll know when something seems off, even if they can't articulate what it is. In the same way, we're to renew our minds with the Word (Romans 12:2); that's how we will recognize truth from lies. Otherwise, it's all too easy for Satan to take a sliver of truth, mix it with a lie, and so deceive us. An Old Testament example of this is found in 2 Kings 18. The back story: in Numbers 21:6-9, the people had sinned, had come out from under the protection of God's covenant, and were dying from bites from poisonous snakes. God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent on a pole, and told the people that if they would only look at the serpent, they would be healed. We know with hindsight that this was a type and shadow of Jesus, who was made sin for us, and became our substitutionary sacrifice ("by His stripes, we are healed," Isaiah 53:5). But the Jews didn't realize that; all they knew was that God ordained healing through looking at the pole, so the pole became a symbol of deliverance. But over the centuries, they made looking at the pole into a formula: the shadow without the substance of Jesus behind it. It became an idol, which they called Nehushtan. Back to 2 Kings 18, centuries later: verse 4 tells us that King Hezekiah had torn down the high places and broke Nehushtan in pieces. Later in the chapter, Judah is threatened with destruction by a messenger from the King of Assyria, Rabshakeh. This would have been especially terrifying, since Israel (by this point they has become two nations, Israel and Judah) had already been carried into captivity by Assyria, in punishment for the fact that the people kept falling into idolatry and had forsaken God. So when Rabshakeh threatened the people with destruction, he said, "You broke down God's symbols of worship! Why would He come through for you?" (2 Kings 18:22). The people of Judah had to know God and His word well enough to know that what Hezekiah did was actually right in God's eyes (2 Kings 18:5-7). God had originally ordained the serpent on the pole, yes, but the people had made it into an idol, which broke the first of the Ten Commandments. Hezekiah's actions had placed the Jews on the right side of God's covenant (Deut 28), so they, unlike their sister nation of Israel, could trust that God would come through for them. But if the people had not understood all the back story, they might easily have believed Rabshakeh's taunts. They could have lost faith that God would come through for them, convinced that they would go the way of Israel before them, and turned against Hezekiah, thinking he'd brought them out from under God's protection. This is how the enemy works. The serpent is subtle and cunning (Gen 3:1, 2 Cor 11:3-4). Satan tried to deceive Jesus not even by misquoting scripture, just by quoting it out of context (Matt 4:6). This happens to us today all the time. One common example is the teaching that God causes or (directly) allows sickness in order to discipline us, or to teach us something, or for the "greater good". This sounds so spiritual, and a host of out of context scriptures even seem to back it up--yet Deut 28 makes it clear that sickness is always considered a curse. Jesus became a curse for us and redeemed us from the curse (Gal 3:13-14), and even before that, He healed all who came to Him (Matt 15:30, Matt 4:23-24, Matt 8:16, Matt 9:35, Matt 10:1, Matt 12:15, Matt 15:30, Luke 4:40, Luke 10:9). Jesus He was a perfect representation of the Father (John 5:19, 5:30, 8:28, 12:49). So this cannot be right. He may take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good (Gen 50:20), but that doesn't mean He caused the evil in the first place. Not even close. (For more on this, see https://www.drlaurendeville.com/why-bad-things-happen-from-a-biblical-perspective/). Truth is the foundation of the spiritual armor (Eph 6:14)--it must go on first, before anything else. The Bible can testify to us that not only is the Word truth, but God is the God of truth (Isa 65:16), that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). Only knowing the truth will make us free (John 8:32). If we focus on knowing the truth, we will recognize deception. It's important to also rely upon the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13, 1 John 5:6), to guide us, rather than on our own understanding (Prov 3:5-6), or the wisdom of the world (1 Cor 1:20-2:7), or any other spirit besides the Holy Spirit. The world is confused about what truth is (John 18:37-38) because they don't hear His voice--but we do. This shouldn't be a problem for us.  Cross-Reference What You Hear Along those lines, just because we hear a doctrine preached from the pulpit doesn't mean it's so. It's our responsibility to be like the Bereans in Acts 17--when Paul and Silas preached the word to them there, Luke writes of them, "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed" (Acts 17:11). They didn't just take Paul and Silas's word for it; they went straight to the source text to confirm it. Paul later wrote to the Galatians, "even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:8-9). He repeats himself, because this is so important. Forget him--even if an angel preaches it, let him be accursed! We are not to blindly follow any person simply because of his or her authority. (We're to respect authority of all kinds, Romans 13:1-7--that's a different issue. But when what someone in authority says comes in conflict with God's word, we obviously go with God's word, Acts 4:19). There are plenty of warnings about false teachers in scripture (though one important note here--there's a difference between a false teacher, and a good person doing his or her best who is simply flawed. None of us is going to get everything right. This is the reason why James says that not many should become teachers, as they will "receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things," James 3:1-2.)  A false teacher, though, is one who will distort the truth (Acts 20:29-30, 2 Peter 3:16), by mixing it with myths/fables (Titus 1:14) or "merely human commands" (Matthew 16:1-12) or the traditions of men (such as forbidding to marry, abstaining from certain foods, 1 Tim 4:3), according to the principles of the world (Col 2:4-8). They will pretend to be godly or moral, though (2 Cor 11:13-15, 2 Tim 6:5)--so we must use discernment. There are a few criteria we're given to distinguish a false teacher from just a flawed human being, in process like the rest of us: Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a false teacher (1 John 2:22-23, 4:2-3) Some may lie intentionally for their own gain (Deut 18:20, Ezekiel 13:9, Jer 14:14, Jer 23:16, Titus 1:10-11) or in hypocrisy (1 Tim 4:2-5), using "godliness" as a means of their own selfish gain. Others may be so blind that they truly believe they are doing God a favor in persecuting His true followers (John 16:2). Romans 16:18: Paul said in this verse that these individuals use good words and fair speeches and deceive the hearts of the simple. This means that they flatter people (2 Timothy 4:3) and appeal to the same selfish desires that they themselves have, to draw people after themselves (Acts 20:30). We can't judge another person's motives (Matthew 7:1-3), but we can, and should, judge the fruit of their lives and ministries (Matthew 7:15-20, 1 John 3:7-9). There are many who claim to be believers but aren't (Matthew 7:21-23) and they'll be among us until the end of the age, when God will finally separate them out (Matthew 13:24-30). Truth, "Signs," and Our Emotions We are the gatekeepers of our hearts (Prov 4:23), and have to guard its boundaries, careful of what we allow in. I always thought the parable of wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30) only referred to evil people sown amongst the good people of the church. But what if it also means good and bad ideas from good and bad spirits within a given individual-- in other words, we can bear good fruit and bad fruit from different 'trees' even within our own hearts? This might be why Jesus could tell Peter "get behind me Satan" (Matt 16:23) and James and John, "you don't know what spirit you are of" (Luke 9:55), but the men themselves were still His. This also probably goes along with the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:3-15)... the 'tares' we allow into our own hearts are part of what can choke the word and render it unfruitful. Truth of course must correspond to an accurate description of reality (Gen 42:16)--which should negate any postmodernist philosophy, or syncretism, blending contradictory descriptions of reality. Once we know the truth, we are to continue in what we were taught (Col 2:6-7, 1 John 2:24), not mix a little Christianity with a little of some other contrary message. Paul rails against this practice in many of his letters. In 2 Cor 11:3-4, Paul is angry that the Corinthians' minds may be corrupted so that they receive the one preaching a different Jesus or gospel from the one he preached. In Galatians 1:6-9, as mentioned earlier, the Galatians are falling prey to a perverted gospel, and Paul curses those who preach such a gospel. In Eph 4:14, he writes that only "children" in Christ are tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine, taken in by trickery and craftiness and deceit. We're supposed to guard against not just what we hear from other humans, but to test what the spirits say too--hence Paul's angel comment (Gal 1:8-9). John also tells us, "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). In a lot of denominational churches that don't believe in the supernatural gifts of the spirit (1 Cor 12), this may not come up much. But in those that do, or for individuals who might ascribe to varieties of syncretism (believing in "signs from the universe" if they seem especially coincidental, perhaps), this will become important. Just because a prophet seems to be speaking from a supernatural source doesn't mean what they're saying is from God. It might be, but we have to test it. Just because an idea out of left field pops into our minds doesn't mean it was the Holy Spirit who put it there. Just because a black crow perches on a tree doesn't mean it's an omen foreshadowing our future. Just because we see the same state license plate on every car doesn't mean God is telling us to move there, etc. Solomon writes, “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps” (Prov 14:15). Elsewhere "simple" is used as a synonym for "fool" (Prov 7:7, 8:5, 9:13). We have to remember that the physical world is a battleground. Until the earth lease is up, Satan is still technically the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). So God can send us signs in the physical realm, yes--but so can Satan. God can whisper thoughts to our minds--but so can Satan (in fact, this is his primary tactic, 2 Cor 10:3-6). Peter writes that the scriptures are a "more sure word of prophecy" even than hearing an audible voice from heaven (2 Peter 1:19-21), probably for this exact reason: anything using the physical realm has the potential to be counterfeited. That doesn't mean God can't use physical means to communicate with us, but it's clear that the primary means He uses for His own are the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit (John 14:17, 26), who also often speaks to us by bringing the scriptures we know to our remembrance. He also will speak through the prophets (1 Cor 12:1-11), dreams and visions (Acts 2:17-18), but we have to check all of this against the Word. Scripture will divide between soul and spirit (what originates with us vs Him, Hebrews 4:12), as well as what might originate with a malevolent spirit sent to lead us astray. David tells us it's the scriptures that make the simple wise: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7). What if an idea comes to us as an idea, a dream, a vision, a prophecy, or a "synchronicity" moment that seems supernatural, and it's something that isn't addressed in scripture at all, though? How do we know if it's from God, from us, or from the enemy then? The first thing to check there is whether or not the message is consistent with God's character. Jesus said we can ask anything in His name and He will give it to us (John 14:14). What's in God's name (https://www.drlaurendeville.com/names-of-lord-psalm-9-9-10-meditation/)? He is Jehovah Nissi (the Lord my Banner), Jehovah-Raah (the Lord my Shepherd), Jehovah Rapha (the Lord that Heals), Jehovah Shammah (the Lord is There), Jehovah Tsidkenu (the Lord our Righteousness), Jehovah Mekoddishkem (the Lord who Sanctifies You), Jehovah Jireh (the Lord who Provides), Jehovah Shalom (the Lord is Peace), Jehovah Sabaoth (the Lord of Hosts).  The next thing to check is the fruit that message produces (Gal 5:19-23, Romans 8:6-8). God won't lead us into anything producing negative fruit--if the fruit is bad, it's from the flesh or the enemy, and not the Spirit. If it passes those tests, though, then as we continue to pray about the message (dream, vision, prophecy, idea, etc) then it's also biblical for us to ask for additional confirmations of the message--Paul says in 2 Cor 13:1 that every word should be established by two or three witnesses. If the message is from God, He'll make sure you know it. His Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16:13). And as you continue to seek Him and pray about it, peace (a fruit of the Spirit) should grow, confirming that the message comes from God (Col 3:15). Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week, Dennis Allan talks through the ways Jesus' "city on a hill" language has been co-opted by American political leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, to ascribe to America a divinely mandated role in the world similar to Old Testament Israel. But, Jesus wasn't talking about Israel, and he certainly wasn't talking about any modern nation-state, including America. He was talking to His closest followers, the disciples, about their individual and communal lives. He was talking about how they were to live out their faith in a way that every person could see. He was inviting them to live distinctive, counter-cultural, revolutionary lives rooted in the Kingdom's subversive ethics outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. We must never ascribe to America (or its political leaders) divine mandate Jesus never gave to it. Instead, it's the church who is now supposed to be like a "city on a hill" for all the world to see because Jesus is the hope of the world, not America.

We have the Old Testament Israel to see that those with unbelief, lack of trust in God, not having faith which without is impossible to please God, they could not enter into His rest. We have to take earnest heed unless we, fall short of the grace of God in vain, not having our faith that's increasing causing us to be overcomers to sin seeking God while He still may be found, our hearts being hardened by not have faith in Our redeemer we fail to obtain the promise left for us.

https://www.maynardvillefellowship.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Carr-10-20-24.mp3 What is the nature of the promises to Old Testament Israel with regard to their city and temple? Many mistakenly apply these promises to the “end times”, but pastor Carr shows in this sermon why these promises were fulfilled initially in Zechariah's time and finally in Christ.

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 10 - Worshipping in the Sanctuary This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 9 This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

In today's show Dr. Anders responds to questions about: Just war and the morality of soldiership, the moral obligation to take a treatment, Israel today vs. Old Testament Israel and more.

In today's show Dr. Anders responds to questions about: Just war and the morality of soldiership, the moral obligation to take a treatment, Israel today vs. Old Testament Israel and more.

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 8 - Worshipping in Spirit This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

If God commanded Old Testament Israel to observe the Sabbath day on Saturday, why on earth do Christians worship on Sunday? If you find benefit from these devotions we'd encourage you to support our ministry. You can donate by visiting: https://peacedevotions.com/donate Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeaceDevotions/ Website: https://peacedevotions.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2pFo5lJV46gKmztGwnT3vA Twitter: https://twitter.com/peacedevotions Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peace_devotions/ Email List: https://peacedevotions.com/email --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peace-devotions/support

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 7 - The Pilgrim-ways to Zion This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 6 - Worshipping in Zion Above This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 5 - The Future of Worship This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 4 - A Worship Link Between Heaven and Earth This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 3 - The Old Testament Place of Worship This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

In a society often characterized by distance, isolation, and indifference, hospitality stands as a beacon of warmth, love, and hope. From the Old Testament Israel to the early church, hospitality has been a cornerstone of faith and the strategy for advancing the frontlines of the Kingdom. Join us as we delve into biblical narratives highlighting hospitality's significance and how it can transform our lives and communities. To support this ministry, visit www.waynesborofm.com/give  

Songs of Zion - An Exploration of Biblical Worship: Part 2 - Worshipping in Service This is a valuable series for anyone who is interested in the worship of God according to the scriptural pattern. Bible teacher Brian Johnston traces how Old Testament Israel worshipped their God - the God of Zion - including via the 'songs of Zion' in drawing near to worship at the house of God, and as pilgrims drew near on their upward journey to Jerusalem ('earthly Zion') in the 'Songs of Ascents.' Brian explains from John 4, 1 Peter 2, and Hebrews 3, 10 and 12 how this drawing near to God's physical house has a wonderful counterpart in the New Testament - a spiritual house in which it is possible for obedient believers to draw near in faith to God week by week to worship Him in spirit and in truth in the heavenly Zion.

The Bible is anything but clear when it comes to God. Within the text, God is not a consistent and defined character, and after thousands of years of debate and interpretation, God is no less a mystery today. In this episode, one of my favorite Biblical scholars, Dr. Rolf Jacobson joins me to discuss the character of God in the first 11 chapters of Genesis and how the stories of Creation and the crisis of sin give a narrative account of the human predicament before a loving God. If you enjoy the conversation, go grab the entire series now and join our upcoming live Q&A sessions where we walk through the entire Biblical story, asking the question of God. PS, it is donation-based, including 0, :) WATCH THE CONVERSATION HERE ON YOUTUBE Dr. Rolf A. Jacobson is the Professor of Old Testament and the Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Scripture, Theology, and Ministry at Luther Seminary. Known for his humor and faithful biblical interpretation, Jacobson is an in-demand preacher and teacher. With Craig Koester, he developed and supports the Narrative Lectionary. He enjoys collaborating with other teachers and pastors. His collaborative projects include The Book of Psalms (NICOT; with Beth Tanner and Nancy deClaissé-Walford), Invitation to the Psalms (with Karl Jacobson), Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (with five fellow Luther Seminary graduates), and Crazy Book: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Biblical Terms(with Hans Wiersma and Karl Jacobson). He is also the author of The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Old Testament: Israel's In-Your-Face, Holy God. His scholarly interests include the Psalms, prophets, biblical theology, biblical narrative, and preaching the Old Testament. His voice can be heard on two weekly preaching podcasts, “Sermon Brainwave” and “The Narrative Lectionary,” as well as singing the high lonesome with a Lutheran bluegrass band, “The Fleshpots of Egypt.” A childhood cancer survivor, he is a double, above-the-knee amputee who generally wears a bicycle and a smile. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his beloved wife Amy, their children Ingrid and Gunnar, and a cat who thinks he is a dog. He is a loyal friend, a lifelong sufferer of Minnesota sports, and a committed board-game geek The God of the Bible (an Open Online Class) Are you ready to unravel the enigmas of the divine? Or perhaps, just revel in the glorious complexity that is the God of the Bible? Join Dr. Rolf Jacobson and Dr. Tripp Fuller for an online class that's sarcastically (or is it?) titled, "The God of the Bible: An Absolutely Clear and Final Guide to Ultimate Mystery." Because if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that the nature, character, and vision of the God of the Bible are anything but simple! This class will take you on an unforgettable journey through the Biblical narrative, from Creation to Consummation. Our mission? To present the nature, character, and vision of the God of the Bible. Our method? Overcoming the hesitations of (post)modern, critical scholarship to highlight the aesthetic power of the divine as revealed in scripture. ASYNCHRONOUS CLASS: You can participate fully without being present at any specific time. Replays are available on the Class Resource Page. Previous Episodes with Dr. Jacobson Five Offensive Things… you learn in Seminary The Five Most Offensive Bible Things… you Learn in Seminary Israel's In-Your-Face, Holy God Join my Substack - Process This! Join our upcoming class - THE GOD OF THE BIBLE: An Absolutely Clear and Final Guide to Ultimate Mystery ;) Come to THEOLOGY BEER CAMP. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Confessing the Faith Conference – April 2024 recordings: https://www.confessingthefaith.ca/2024 Submit your own question and see previous topics: https://www.freegrace.ca/ask-fgbc-anythingThere is an option to do it anonymously. Videos are available on SermonAudio, Youtube and Facebook.Transcripts are available in our blog: https://www.freegrace.ca/blogPlease like & share on our social media profiles as well to get the word out and distribute further.

OPENING ILLUSTRATION: Let me ask you to do a little math… Everyone divide 1 by 3. What's the answer? .3 repeating, right? Now, what's .3 repeating times 3? It's not 1! It's .9 repeating. Somewhere we lose .1 repeating… [mind blown]. Math doesn't work! this is why bridges fall down eventually! Lol… Have you ever discovered that something you believed your whole life was wrong? like Math… ;) I know you've felt this before -I've had friends who found out the people they thought were their birth parents had adopted them -I've seen families torn apart finding out that the person who was supposed to be faithful had a secret life It's almost never good when you discover that what you've believed was wrong… Today, I want to take you into a struggle I had with this, and then walk you through my study in the story of God to find a way out of it.. To start, we have to go back into the story of God back to a prophet Isaiah. When we covered Isaiah, I mostly told you about how his prophecy impacted me and brought me back to God… Isaiah was prophesying right before the fall of the Southern Kingdom into the hands of the Babylonians… b One of the key themes in Isaiah is what scholars have called the “Servant Songs” (Song 1 - 42:1-4; Song 2 - 49:1-6; Song 3 - 50:4-9; and Song 4 - 52:13-53:12.) b Christians say the Suffering servant in Isaiah is Jesus… If you've been a Christian for a long time, you've probably heard a sermon on some of these verses about Jesus… Except, the Suffering Servant isn't a person, it's the nation of Israel… ILLUSTRATION: Heard Rabbi's say this and thought they couldn't be right, I've read these passages over and over again, listened to pastors preach on it and never heard one of them once say that it's not referring to Jesus but Israel. The problem is, their right - Isaiah clearly identifies the suffering servant as Israel. I'm not going to read these all, but I will show you quickly on the screen that this is the case… [Anthony, can you get these references all on one screen] Isaiah 41:8-9 (NIV):"But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen…I said, ‘You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you." Isaiah 44:1-2 (NIV):"But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen…” Isaiah 44:21 (NIV):"Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant…” Isaiah 45:4 (NIV):"For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen…” Isaiah 48:20 (NIV):“…'The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.'" Isaiah 49:3 (NIV):"He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.'" Here's the problem… The prophecies about the suffering servant are some of the clearest prophecies of what Jesus would do & He fulfills them… b If the prophecies are talking about Israel (Jacob) and not Jesus then what do we do? Look, let me set this straight - even if these prophecies were not directly about Jesus, it would be ok, wouldn't be the end of faith in Him, but would be difficult… Let me read something to you that on first blush will seem innocuous: John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. b Jesus says, “I am the true vine" b That's a weird thing to say, why does He say it that way? He could have just said “I am the vine” and not have to qualify His metaphor… To answer, we have to go back to the OT and to Isaiah… Isaiah 5:7 7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Or Jeremiah 2:21 [God speaking of Israel] I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? b In the Old Testament Israel was called “the vine” and now Jesus is saying, “I am the True Vine…” b Jesus is saying He is replacing Israel as the vine… b But what about Israel is He replacing? We've been in the story of God for a long time now, and have covered a lot of ground… Do you remember the promise that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed" b Israel was meant to be a blessing that would bring relationship with God back to all nations… and they failed… -Instead in the Story of God, we see them bringing division, war, pain, selfishness, and idolatry (with little moments of blessing) It's not their fault, not sure any group of people could do it, I actually think that was God's point, to show us “this” had to be the way… Jesus is the new Israel - He comes to redo their story and become the blessing… b Let me show you… Jesus will start His ministry by being baptized… he even says… Matthew 3:15 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this tho fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. b John's baptism was a baptism for forgiveness of sin and repentance (Mark 1:4). Jesus is being baptized not for sin and repentance, but because Israel began in a baptism of the red sea… b Jesus gets baptized, immediately goes into the desert and is tempted by the devil for 40 days (1 day for each year the Israelites were in the desert). b I believe the righteousness He's fulfilling is redoing Israel's story… He is redeeming their failure to follow God b As a matter of fact, Jesus does a TON of things Israel does or that happen in Israel's History… [Anthony, I will not read all this - will you put a caption for people to take a picture and schedule to post it on FB on Sunday at 1pm as well - I'll reference a few things, but that's it] Jesus does this over and over again: Baptism > Red Sea Crossing Temptation in Desert - Grumbling and abandoning the worship of Yahweh Water to wine > Moses will bring water from a rock Jesus multiplies loaves > Moses gives manna in the desert Jesus is the vine > Israel is the vine Jesus walked on water > Elisha made an axe head float Jesus fed multitudes (both Jews - 5k, and Gentiles - 4k) > Elisha fed 100 (2 Kings 4:42-44) Jesus raises woman's son to life, Jairus' daughter, & Lazarus > Elisha raises Shunammite woman's son Jesus came to serve not be served > Rehoboam - "you'll be my slaves" 12 Disciples > 12 Tribes Jesus heals lepers > Elisha healed Naaman of leprosy Jesus is in a turbulent sea following God's mission asleep in a boat, stands up and rebukes the storm > Jonah in a boat running from God's mission, asleep in the boat, asks to be tossed into the sea Jesus blood and body take becomes the new passover, quotes Moses "this is the blood of the covenant", Jesus will rescue us from the authority we gave over to the enemy "the god of this world" > Passover is given to the Jews as rescue from slavery Jesus goes up on a mountain, his face and clothes become brilliantly white, like light > Moses goes up to meet with God and get the 10 commandments and his face glows Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a Donkey > Solomon rode a donkey to be coronated King b What does all this mean? It means that when we read Isaiah, we are reading a prophecy written hundreds of years before Jesus came into the world that describes Jesus perfectly… b Jesus came to become the blessing to the whole world… A blessing to you… CLOSING: Isaiah 53 I want to close by reading Isaiah 53 to you… Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b] 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e]; by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g] and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h] because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

A new MP3 sermon from Liberty Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Why New Testamate Christians Support Old Testament Israel Speaker: Matthew Teis Broadcaster: Liberty Baptist Church Event: Midweek Service Date: 6/12/2024 Bible: Galatians 4 Length: 51 min.

Psalm 129 addresses 2 groups of people: Israel and those who hate Zion. What of those who stand in the way of ascent? What should the nation do If Israel's enemies assail the peace and livelihood of the land thereby disrupting temple worship? Ps 129 acknowledges the weakness and hardship the nation has endured and lifts a rallying cry of worship inspired by the power and authority of a righteous God to judge His enemies as the hope for His people's endurance. The faith of God's people is strengthened by this worship song and the bigger picture of God's purposes and providence in the story of His people. This is true of Old Testament Israel and the New Testament church. Spurgeon writes: "Persecution is the heirloom of the church.of God and the ensign of the elect ... " he continues ... "The earliest years of Israel and the church of God were spent in trial.. Babes in grace are cradled in opposition. No sooner is the man-child born than the dragon is after it. It is, however, "good tor a man that he bear the yoke of his youth", and he shall see it to be so when in after days he tells the tale.

There are Christians today who say that because Old Testament Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God has canceled His promises to Israel. They say God's promises do not apply to the Israel of today. But is that really what the Bible teaches? That's our topic now, on Foreshadows Report.Learn more about Steve and his books at https://SteveMillerResources.comProduced by Unmutable™

“Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. . . .” — Isaiah 1:16-17 Justice is an important attribute of God. Justice lies at the heart of God's character. Because God is just, justice is a hallmark of his kingdom. In the Old Testament, God's people Israel were meant to serve as a physical, earthly representation of God's kingdom that would one day fill the whole earth. As a result, we find countless calls for Israel to be a just nation because God is just. Judges were to rule impartially. Neighbors were to treat each other justly. Foreigners were to be treated justly and fairly always (Exodus 22:21; Deuteronomy 24:17-18). But Israel failed again and again to exercise justice. That brought God's discipline on them, and he sent them into exile. However, leading up to and during their exile, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to urge the people to change their ways. Isaiah also delivered songs of hope and praise describing what the kingdom would look like if the children of God would truly embrace justice in the land. (See Isaiah 2:1-5; 4:2-6; 9:2-7; 11:1-12:6.) The God of the kingdom of heaven is the same God who led Old Testament Israel. His name remains synonymous with justice. And as citizens of God's kingdom, we too are called not only to act justly but also to love justice. We bow before you, Lord and King, to praise you for your justice. Empower us by your Spirit to truly love justice and to live by doing justice in this world. Amen.

Psalm 58 Psalm 58 is another Trouble and Trust Psalm within the series of 8 complaint Psalms from 52-59. Psalm 58 has some of the most difficult Hebrew to understand in the Psalter, both in how specific words should be translated and the understanding of certain phrases. Vivid description of what the wicked are like V. 1-5 The first hard to translate word is in verse 1, translated by the New King James as “silent ones.” It is the Hebrew word elem, and is only found here! In cases like this, we have to be humble as to the meaning of the word, and make sure we make much of how the words around it and the context help us understand what is meant. Instead of living by God's truth about what is right, the wicked people David is referring to think that they are right because they have gotten away with what they have done, and nobody has stopped them. They embraced pragmatism, “the end justifies the means” and did not reallt believe God would hold them to account one day. Psalm 58 has elements of chiastic structure in it. Chiastic structure has parallel words and/or thoughts at the beginning and end, and the verses unfold with parallel thoughts with a middle thought. Notice the progression of wickedness in verse 2 – first wicked plots are made in the head, and then carried out with the hands. According to verse 2, the sinful actions people think are okay because they get away with them are actually wickedness in God's eyes! We need to judge things using His standard of right and wrong, the Holy Bible – First for ourselves, and then as we call the wicked to repentance. Verse 3 goes right along with what David taught in Psalm 51:5 – we all have a sin nature that leads to sin choices early in life. Instead of turning to God, the perpetually wicked keep living in sin. Imprecatory prayer for the destruction of the wicked V. 6-11 A toothless snake or lion can still lash out and try to bite you, but can't do you lasting damage. So David prays that God will de-fang the wicked, make them only able to ‘gum' at the saints instead of devour them! Notice David is turning vengeance over to the Lord, and not taking action himself. The Lord may lead us to fight in a just cause and defend ourselves and others, but Old Testament saints weren't just looking to take matters into their own hands. Interestingly, teeth are featured in almost all the Psalms in the Psalm 52-59 series – 52:2; 53:4; 55:21; 56:1-2; 57:4; 58:6; 59:7,12. What do you think he has in mind by the figures of speech in verse 7? What do you think he has in mind by the figures of speech in verse 7? What do you think he has in mind by the figures of speech in verse 7? Taken together, David is obviously praying for the wicked's plans to be frustrated, his resources wasted, his instruments of harm to be rendered ineffectual, his movements to be stopped in their tracks, and for their judgment to come. Verse 10 reminds us of the difference between the spiritual dispensation we are now living in compared to the age of Old Testament Israel. Israel had physical enemies that would do them harm, and it was a good thing when God gave His people victory over them, and the blood on their feet was the enemy's blood, not their own. During this age of grace, Christians pray for their enemies to find the same salvation in Christ that they have. This is also a good place to say that Baptists have always been right to reject the idea of the state and church being tied together in supposedly “Christian” countries. Christians may serve their country to stop the Adolph Hitler's of the world, and rejoice when they stop him. But we are leaving the physical defense of Christ's honor to Christ Himself for when He returns to earth, and as Revelation 20 tells us, the blood of His enemies will again flow.

As Peter explains in 2 Peter 2, just as there were false prophets in Old Testament Israel, so also will there be false teachers among the church. This chapter is filled with many wise and practical words that are just as helpful today as they were when Peter wrote them. Stay engaged with new and up-to-date content, including devotionals, articles, podcasts, etc. Download the Teach Me the Bible App from any app store or Apple TV/Roku device.

The First Sunday in Advent: Jesus Changes Everything Romans 13:8-14 and St. Matthew 21:1-13 by William Klock Advent reminds us that Jesus has changed everything.  The world around us celebrates the beginning of the new year on January 1st, but for the Church the new year begins today, the First Sunday in Advent.  Again, because Jesus has changed everything.  As we approach Christmas, when we recall and celebrate Jesus' birth, Advent calls us to reflect on what Jesus has done: in his incarnation, in his death, in his resurrection, in his ascension.  Advent calls us to count the cost of discipleship, of following King Jesus.  Advent comes, like John the Baptist, and calls out to us: Repent, for the kingdom of God has come.  Let go of everything that is not Jesus, then take hold of him in faith with both hands and follow him into God's new creation.  Let him set you to rights so that you can be part of this new age in which he—through the gospel, through the gospel, through the Spirit—is setting the world itself to rights. The Gospel this morning stands as a signpost to the kingdom.  St. Matthew shows us Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the King, and he gives us a glimpse of his kingdom.  Look at Matthew 21:1-6.   When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead.  “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied up, and a foal with it.  Untie them and bring them to me.  And if anyone says anything to you, say, “The Lord needs them needs them and he'll send them back straightaway.”   This happened so that the prophet's words might be fulfilled: “Tell this to Zion's daughter: Look now!  Your king is coming to you; Humble and mounted on a donkey, And on a colt, a donkey's foal.”   So the disciples went and did as Jesus had told them.  They brought the donkey and its foal, and put their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them.   Matthew draws on the scriptures and on Israel's story to give depth to what he writes.  Specifically, here, he draws on Zechariah's prophecies that look forward to the Messiah and to the day when the Lord would come in judgement on Israel's enemies.  When Matthew says that Jesus came to the Mount of Olives, this isn't just a casual geographical reference.  Jesus' ministry was full of acted out prophecies and here he chooses this spot knowing that it was the spot, according to Zechariah, where the Lord would stand when he brought judgement.  And Matthew draws on Zechariah again to explain Jesus' strange command to the disciples to fetch a donkey.  This was not how kings made their triumphal processions.  At least, not ordinary kings.  They were carried by their servants or they rode on horseback or in a chariot.  But Zechariah, hundreds of years before, had highlighted the humble nature of the coming Messiah.  He was the one who would ride to his coronation on the back of a humble donkey. So Matthew makes it abundantly clear who Jesus is.  He is the Messiah whom the people had hoped for.  But he also highlights the nature of Jesus' rule.  The people expected a king who would come to overthrow the Herodians and the Romans with violence.  Matthew reminds them, by showing how Jesus fulfilled Zechariah's prophecies, that Jesus will take his throne by a very different sort of path.  Yes, he is the judge.  Yes, he will deliver Israel.  Yes, he will set his people and this broken world to rights.  But it's not going to happen the way people thought, at least not yet. As the crowds gather to line Jesus' way into Jerusalem, Matthew continues to draw on Israel's story.  Look at verses 8-11: The great crowd spread their coats on the road.  Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road.  The crowds who went ahead of him and those who were following behind shouted out, “Hosanna to the son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”  And when he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up.  “Who is this?” they asked.  And the crowds said, “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”   The crowds surround Jesus and sing royal hymns.  They hail him as the “son of David”.  Here was the Messiah, the Lord's king.  And in telling the story, Matthew again draws on two events in Israel's story that the people would have known well.  First, as he tells how the crowd was spreading their coats on the ground, it would have been hard for his Jewish readers to miss the reference to King Jehu's anointing.  In 2 Kings 9 we read about Jehoram.  He was King of Israel, the son of the wicked King Ahab.  And in Jehoram, the apple had not fallen far from the tree.  He was as wicked as his father, so the prophet Elisha ordered that Jehu, instead, was to be anointed King in his place.  He announced that Jehu would bring the Lord's judgement on the wicked house of Ahab.  As Jehu was anointed by the prophet, the men who were gathered cast their coats on the ground before him and blew a trumpet.  Matthew uses the imagery not only to make sure we know that Jesus is the Lord's anointed King, but also to hint that Jesus is also the King who will bring the Lord's judgement on the wicked. But the other grand image that Matthew draws on here and that leads into the next scene is that of Judas Maccabeus.  2 Maccabees 10:7 describes the people hailing Judas as king by laying wreathes and palm branches at his feet.  Judas had not only defeated Israel's enemies, but he had purified the temple from its defilement by the Greeks.  Judas' kingdom inspired hope, but it did not last.  And now Matthew shows us Jesus, following in Judas' footsteps to the temple.  This time it's different.  This time is for real.  Look at verses 12-13 And Jesus came into the temple and drove out all who were buying and selling in the temple.  He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  “This is what the scriptures say,” he said to them, “‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers.”   Jesus' purification of the temple had at least as much to do with rebuking the people for what the temple had become ideologically as it did with the buy and selling.  The selling of animals for sacrifice was a necessary part of what the temple was and, since the temple used its own currency, someone had to be there to make change.  The more serious issues was that the temple had become a symbol of the violent revolution—a revolution like the one Judas Maccabeus had led—that had become the hope of the people.  But that's not how God's kingdom would come.  That wasn't what Jesus was about. What was really important about this was that Jesus' disruption of the temple put a temporary stop to the sacrifices that day.  This was another acted-out prophecy that brought to a culmination all of his declarations of forgiveness and healing that had bypassed the temple, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood.  This was Jesus' announcement that the temple's days were numbered.  God was about to do something not only new, but better.  Jesus points here to a coming new covenant in which he would take on the role of the temple himself, in which he would be the mediator between God and human beings, he would be the one in whom forgiveness of sins would be found, he would be the one to bring God and man, heaven and earth back together. So the Gospel today shows us this vignette from Jesus' ministry, showing us that in his first advent, Jesus was revealed to be the King whom God had promised to his people.  It also hints at the fact that, while Jesus has inaugurated something new, even now, two thousand years later, we await its final consummation. We still wait for Jesus' second advent.  And this leads us into our Epistle.  Let's look at Romans 13, beginning at verse 8: Don't owe anything to anyone, except the debt of mutual love, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this saying: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; so love is the fulfilment of the law.  (Romans 13:8-10) A shockwave went out across the world that first Easter morning when Jesus burst from his tomb.  The work of new creation was begun that day.  And yet, except for Jesus' followers, no one else seems to have noticed.  It's often remarkable to me these days, that even though the gospel conquered an empire and transformed Western Civilisation, that even in a post-Christians age, our world is still shaped by ideas like grace and mercy that were foreign to those pre-gospel civilisations, most people seem oblivious to it all.  The present age rumbles along, its rulers go on ruling, and people carry on with their business.  The old gods remain, even if we aren't so crass as to build temples with statues of them.  We may not worship Caesar or Aphrodite or Mammon, but we still worship money and sex and political power.  St. Paul knew that it's surprisingly easy for even Jesus' own people to forget that the kingdom is breaking in and the old powers have been stripped.  It's easy for us to fall back into the ways and priorities of the present age and to give half-hearted allegiance to Jesus.  That had been Israel's problem all along.  Brothers and Sisters, it should not be ours.  Jesus has filled us with his own Spirit.  The law that was once external and written on stone has now been inscribed on our hearts and our hearts have been turned to God.  As Israel had the Exodus behind them and an annual Passover celebration to remind them who they were and the glories that the Lord had done for them, we have the cross and the empty tomb behind us and the Lord's Supper to remind us—and as Jeremiah prophesied for us last Sunday, the Exodus pales in comparison to the glory revealed at the cross.  Problem solved!  Or so you'd think.  But we still need nearly constant reminders, we need to recall Jesus, his death and resurrection, we need God's word and we need his grace.  And so Paul reminds us that, as Jesus' people, it is essential to live the law of love that the Spirit has inscribed on our hearts. Paul puts all of this in terms of the torah and, specifically, the second table of the Ten Commandments: Don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't covet—just don't wrong your neighbour.  To love is to fulfil that law.  Paul uses the Greek word agape, which describes the sort of love that gives of oneself as it puts others first.  This is the love that Jesus showed us on the cross as he took on himself the sins of the very people who had rejected and despised him.  This is the love that defines the kingdom and that the Spirit has poured into our hearts.  Be in debt to no one, Paul writes, except to know that for the sake of Jesus and his kingdom, you owe everyone you meet a debt of love.  Imagine how effective the Church would be if we truly lived this way, coupled with being faithful proclaimers of the good news about Jesus. Instead, though, we're too often like the man who knows he's going to be late for work, but keeps hitting “snooze” on his alarm clock, rolling over, and going back to sleep.  Paul goes on: This is all the more important, because you know what time it is.  The hour has come for you to wake from sleep.  For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is at hand.  (Romans 13:11-12) Paul knew that Jesus would return.  Jesus had promised that the Lord would come in judgement on an unrepentant Jerusalem within a generation.  I think, too, that Paul saw another horizon beyond the destruction of Jerusalem.  After the Lord judged unrepentant Israel and vindicated his faithful people, a time would follow in which the gentiles would come streaming in, having seen the faithfulness of Israel's God.  While the other apostles were carrying the gospel to their fellow Jews, Paul had received a calling to carry it to the gentiles—so that they would hear the good news about Jesus, so that in that good news they would know the faithfulness of Israel's God, and ultimately that they would come to the God of Israel to give him glory.  The time was coming for the King's return in judgement, first on the Jews, and eventually on the gentiles.  He would finish what he had started.  The present evil age and its false gods and false kings would be done away with and God's new creation would be born.  Jesus' first advent was the alarm going off.  Jesus had announced a coming judgement, but in his life, death, and resurrection had established a means of reconciliation with God.  That day the first rays of the sun had begun to peek over the mountaintops.  And now, Paul's saying, the full day will soon be upon us.  So get out of bed and get dressed for work! And then he shifts the metaphor.  From “Get out of bed you sleepy-head” he takes a more serious tone.  It's one thing to sleep in when you should be getting ready for work.  It's a far worse thing to be out carousing all night when you know you've got work to do in the morning.  He goes on: The night is nearly over; the day is at hand.  So let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.  Instead, put on the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and make no allowance for the flesh, to gratify its lusts.  (Romans 13:12-14) Laziness is bad and there are too many lazy Christians, but even worse are people who know they should be living for Jesus and the age to come, but are instead living for the present wicked age and its false gods and kings.  Paul makes a list of the wicked things people do under cover of darkness: they indulge their appetites, they get drunk, they get involved in all sorts of sexual sins.  But Paul doesn't stop there.  Because most Christians don't do those sorts of things, so Paul goes on with the list, from orgies and drunkenness to quarrelling and jealousy.  I think Paul puts it this way, because we're rightly horrified by those “really bad” sins, but then he follows up with sins that are all too common amongst Christians.  He puts these “respectable sins” in the same category with those unthinkable sins.  It's another wake-up call.  Some churches have self-destructed because of sexual immorality.  Many of us came from one of those churches.  But far more are torn apart by things like quarrelling and jealousy.  Christians get angry with each other, their relationships break down, sometimes churches even split.  These are the works of darkness and they're just as bad and just as unbecoming the people of God as drunken orgies are.  Going back to the first part of the Epistle, people who love their neighbours don't fight and don't become jealous any more than they get involved in sexual immorality. Instead, as befits living in the day, we put on the “armour of light”.  Paul hints at the fact that living as people of the day when we're surrounded by people of the darkness is going to be a struggle and, some days, a downright battle.  We put on the armour of light.  What is that?  Paul goes on to put it in terms of putting on the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.  But then what does that mean?  Paul uses this put on/put off metaphor a lot in his epistles and the gist of it is that we need to remember that we belong to the Lord and that he has made us new. Think of the Israelites.  Pharaoh had claimed them as his slaves, but the Lord had freed them.  But it wasn't freedom for freedom's sake.  The Lord freed Israel from Pharaoh's cruel bondage so that the people could serve him.  They went from belonging to a cruel king to belonging to the King—a king who loves his people.  The Lord would live in the midst of his people, that was his promise.  And, for their part, the people would live as befits people who belong to and fellowship with the Lord—that was the torah and the tabernacle. Brothers and Sisters, the same goes for us as Christians.  Through Jesus, the Lord has delivered us from our bondage to sin and death and has made us his own.  We once were in bondage to the darkness, but now have the privilege and joy of serving the light.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Don't you know that the unjust will not inherit God's kingdom?  Don't be deceived!  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor dunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers—none of these—will inherit the kingdom of God.  That is, of course, what some of you were!  But you were washed clean; you were made holy; you were put back to rights—in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah and in the Spirit of our God. Brothers and Sisters, as Jesus changes everything, he has changed us.  We're not just the people who live camped around the tabernacle, like Old Testament Israel.  We've been united with Jesus, who is himself the tabernacle, Emanuel, God with us.  He's redeemed us from our bondage to sin and made us holy.  And he's made us, his very people, a temple into which he pours God's own Spirit.  It is astounding what Jesus has done for us, but somehow we're still prone to forgetting.  We hear the alarm sounding, we see the sun peeking through the curtains, and we roll over and go back to sleep.  We do that because we've forgotten the joy of our salvation.  We do that, because we've failed to steep ourselves in God's word.  We do that because we've neglected the fellowship and worship of the saints.  We do that because we've forgotten that God has made us stewards of his grace and of his good news.  We do that, because we've failed to think on and to meditate on the amazing and gracious love God has shown us in Jesus. Brothers and Sisters, the Lord knew we sometimes we would forget these things.  That's why he's given us means of grace to “stir us up” as we prayed in last week's collect.  He's given us each other.  Friends, the Church is a place where we confront each other in our sins and exhort each other to love and good works.  He's given us his word to prick our consciences when we go astray, to remind us of God's faithfulness when we're struggling to trust, and to show us the incredible depths of his love when we're tempted to take a ho-hum approach to our faith.  He's given us the sacraments.  In our baptism he has washed us clean and plunged us into his Spirit.  In that water he made each of us his own, just as he made Israel his own when she passed through the Red Sea.  And in the Lord's Supper he gives us a means of participating in the very events—in the death and resurrection of Jesus—that mark our exodus from the bondage of sin and death. Friends, be prepared.  Knowing that that King has come and that he will come again, avail yourselves this Advent of the means of grace.  Whether you've been carousing as if it were night, or you've been sleeping in while the alarm beeps away, or even if you've been busy about the work of the kingdom, steep yourselves in God's word, be reminded of the sinfulness of sin and of the love and the grace and the faithfulness of God towards us sinners.  Meditate on the cross and on the empty tomb.  Remember the baptismal water through which you once passed and find assurance that you belong to Jesus and that he has called you to the life of his kingdom.  And, finally, come to his Table.  Here is not only the manna in the wilderness for a hungry people.  Here is the bread and wine by which we participate in the death and resurrection of the King and find our identity as the people of God. Let's pray: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Now all these things happened to them (Old Testament Israel) as examples (types), and they were written for our admonition (the New Testament Church), upon whom the ends of the ages have come.1 Corinthians 10:11One of the greatest keys to unlocking biblical revelation and the intimate connection between the Old and New Testaments comes with an understanding of how God uses 'types and shadows' in scripture. Yet precious few possess that understanding."Type"An actual historical event, person or object that in some ways symbolizes or anticipates a later occurrence or fulfillment; an Old Testament "foreshadowing" of a New Testament person, event or spiritual truth. Baker's Concise Dictionary of Theology.We hope you can be with us this weekend as Pastor Ray presents a second powerful principle for recovering a comprehensive Christianity and building a biblical worldview: an understanding of "Types and Shadows".Please plan to attend and bring a friend!...Join us for a new message each week with Ray McCollum, recorded live from Celebration Church in Nashville, USA.Share the link and invite a friend to join this service.Subscribe to receive our latest content: https://tr.ee/2b6XuDKlaSTo support the ministry of Celebration Church and invest in the lives of others through giving click here: https://subsplash.com/celebrationchur......FOLLOW US►► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwmccollum/►► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rwmccollum/►► Twitter: https://twitter.com/rwmccollum#celebrationchurchnashville #online #jesus #celebrationchurch #church #onlinechurch #sermon #nashville

An important theme of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ is our eternal High Priest. In chapter 7 we hear that His priesthood is not after the order of Levi as in Old Testament Israel. His priesthood is in the order of Melchizedek by His Father's decree in Psalm 110:4. What does this mean and what are the implications of this? Today we discuss this mysterious figure-Melchizedek.

How can you negotiate with people who are intent on your destruction and are even willing to commit demonic acts to do so? The world watched in horror as the terrorist organization, Hamas, carried out the brutal attacks against innocent and defenseless Israeli citizens this past weekend, mercilessly slaughtering entire families, raping women, and dismembering young infants and children. Can these heinous crimes that we've witnessed offer any insight as to why God ordered the "utter destruction" of the enemies of Old Testament Israel? In light of the recent terror attacks in Israel, Dr. Paul Copan sits down with Frank to reflect on this centuries old conflict and how it relates to some of the events that took place in the Old Testament. Paul will also talk more about his latest book, 'Is God a Vindictive Bully: Reconciling Portrayals of God in the Old and New Testaments,' which was written to help Christians better understand the biblical and historical backdrop of the hostility between Israel and the surrounding nations. During the episode, Paul and Frank answer questions like: Why won't Palestinians make peace with Israel? Why would God order people groups to be killed in the Old Testament? Isn't that 'ethnic cleansing?' What's going on with Frank's Israel trip that was planned for November? What are imprecatory prayers and what do they reveal about the human condition and the nature of God? How long did God wait before He brought judgment to Israel's enemies? In the words of New Testament scholar, N.T. Wright, "If God is not wrathful, then He is not loving." As Christians, we should pray for the peace and safety of Israel, pray for the innocent civilians caught in the middle of the war(s), and pray for the salvation of those involved in these attacks. But if God is truly as loving and as just as the Bible describes Him, can He allow such wickedness and evil to go unpunished for those who don't repent? Absolutely not! To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It's the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. You can also SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE. Dr. Paul Copan's website: http://www.paulcopan.com/ Dr. Paul Copan's books: https://amzn.to/3RRjXe0

"Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”This ancient hymn captures three eras of worship: as it was in the beginning—the worship of Old Testament Israel, as it is now—the worship of New Testament Christianity, and worship in the world without end—the worship of heaven. In one sense separating worship into these three eras emphasizes their discontinuity; yet, while there are certainly discontinuities between the worship of Israel and the New Testament church, for example, there are also important continuities, and where we find an emphasis on the continuity is in that little phrase, “and ever shall be.”Yet Christians have long wrestled with the continuities and discontinuities of worship, and confusion in this area has often led to problems with theology and practice of worship. The solution is found in a proper understanding of the foundations of biblical worship.Understanding properly how worship as it was in the beginning and worship as it is now relate to worship in the world without end helps us to recognize what shall ever be, the center of true worship and, consequently, the purpose of what we do as we gather for worship now.Scripture presents us with two extended descriptions of the worship of the world without end that provide the foundation for our discussion, notably one set in the context of worship in the Old Testament and the other set in the context of worship in the New Testament. In both cases, these descriptions of heavenly worship were presented during a time of problems with earthly worship, revealing the fact that problems with our worship now are corrected when we bring our worship into proper relationship with the worship of the world without end.

Where in the New Testament do we find anything like building Christendom? Where do we find anything like pursuing full nations explicitly referring to themselves as Christian? Where do we find anything like pursuing a civil order modeled after Old Testament Israel? Where do you see anything like the pursuit of establishing Christianity as the established religion of a nation? Surely if this were God's intent for us, we would see even a hint of it in the New Testament epistles. Put simply, the New Testament prescribes Christian Faithfulness, not Christian Nationalism. As I noted at the beginning, Christian Nationalists want Christian Faithfulness, but they want more than that. Read this essay here: https://g3min.org/christian-faithfulness-the-biblical-alternative-to-christian-nationalism/ __________________ Scott Aniol's blog: https://g3min.org/blogs/scott-aniol/ Article, audio, itinerary: https://www.scottaniol.com/ Podcast: https://anchor.fm/scottaniol Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottmaniol Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottAniol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottmaniol/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scottaniol/support

Have you ever considered that the majority position of the modern church today is to hold readily to the Ten Commandments with the exception of the fourth commandment to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy? We live in a culture that is self-centered and chronically distracted. It is an unpopular message to preach that an entire day is to be set aside to worship the Lord and rest from our earthly cares. We make the case that a command rooted in Creation is above any covenantal or cultural arguments. The call to Sabbath rest is more than just a suggestion, because in Old Testament Israel the punishment was death for not observing it. This is a command to take seriously. Listen in as Caleb and Lindsey discuss the theological basis for Sabbath rest, alternative views concerning it, as well as some practical tips to guide you and your family as you intentionally observe this command. Are you enjoying the Reformed Faith and Family Podcast? If so, we have a quick favor to ask of you. Please consider leaving us a 5-star review to let other people know how it has been a blessing to you. Also, please consider sharing an episode with your friends. This might seem like a small gesture, but it is so helpful to us in order to spread the word about Reformed Faith and Family. Thank you! Keep Up with Reformed Faith and Family in the Following Ways: Never miss an episode, article, or a new FREEBIE by joining our weekly newsletter here: https://reformedfaithandfamily.com/subscribe/ Build your library with our recommended resources: https://reformedfaithandfamily.com/recommended-resources/ Read the latest articles: https://reformedfaithandfamily.com/blog/ Download your FREEBIES in our store: https://reformedfaithandfamily.com/store/ Check out the Swag Shop: https://reformedfaithandfamily.com/swag-shop/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reformed-faith-and-family/message

By Mario Seiglie in Orange County, CA - April 6, 2023 - The Old and New Testaments contain many complementary attributes, similarities or parallels. In this message, we review eleven parallels between the Israelites of the OT and Jesus' disciples in this present age. These qualities further include a personal application and their future meaning in the Kingdom of God.

Sacrifices were a vital part of worship in Old Testament Israel because they foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. What we forget sometimes is that God still challenges us to offer sacrifices to Him. These days, the offerings aren't sheep, bulls, and goats. Instead, God expects us to surrender our very lives to Him. This week's podcast marks the beginning of a series on Romans 12. As we dig into the incredible passage of Scripture, we'll see what it means to be a living sacrifice—and the practical impact that can have on our lives as men, husbands, and fathers.   Not sure where you're headed as a dad? Take the Godly Dad Quiz: https://bit.ly/GodlyDadQuiz   What is Manhood Journey? We help dads become more intentional and biblical fathers. Get equipped to lead without regrets: https://bit.ly/FreeDadTools

Romans 9:4-5 - It is significant for the Christian to know how to approach God, to enter His presence, to take petitions and prayers to Him, and how to render service to the true and living God. Unlike the Gentile nations, Israel was given specific instructions on this. God had shown them special favor, despite their small number and unimpressive abilities. Moreover, God gave them promises. Through the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David), the children of Israel were children of promise. Unlike their pagan neighbors who worshipped idols, the apostle Paul says they were brought into a covenant. Why is the apostle Paul emphasizing this unique privilege of the children of Israel and what is his purpose? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer this question in this sermon on Romans 9:45 titled Children of the Promise. There is a tragedy in the story of the Jews, one that the Christian must acknowledge. They were a people of such hope and promise and yet they missed it all. Despite that, Christ's coming was abundantly clear in the Scriptures, most of the Jews could not see it. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones traces the promises made to Old Testament Israel and the tragedy that followed. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29

Romans 9:4-5 - It is significant for the Christian to know how to approach God, to enter His presence, to take petitions and prayers to Him, and how to render service to the true and living God. Unlike the Gentile nations, Israel was given specific instructions on this. God had shown them special favor, despite their small number and unimpressive abilities. Moreover, God gave them promises. Through the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David), the children of Israel were children of promise. Unlike their pagan neighbors who worshipped idols, the apostle Paul says they were brought into a covenant. Why is the apostle Paul emphasizing this unique privilege of the children of Israel and what is his purpose? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer this question in this sermon on Romans 9:45 titled Children of the Promise. There is a tragedy in the story of the Jews, one that the Christian must acknowledge. They were a people of such hope and promise and yet they missed it all. Despite that, Christ's coming was abundantly clear in the Scriptures, most of the Jews could not see it. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones traces the promises made to Old Testament Israel and the tragedy that followed. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29

Guest: Dr. Peter Gentry | Dr. Arnold interviews Dr. Gentry about the Biblical prophets and their role in understanding modern social justice. Topics of conversation include, 1) How to define the terms justice and righteousness in the Old Testament, 2) The role of covenants, and how they affect how we understand the differences between Old Testament Israel and the church today, 3) Errors people make in applying the Old Testament to modern circumstances, 4) Encouragement for pastors teaching on these issues, and 5) Resources for learning more about Biblical social justice. Dr. Peter Gentry is distinguished professor of Old Testament at Phoenix Seminary, having previously served for 22 years at Southern Seminary. Dr Gentry is the author of many books, including Kingdom Through Covenant (Crossway, 2018), and How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets (Crossway, 2017). Find full show notes here: https://ps.edu/what-do-the-biblical-prophets-say-about-justice/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.