ScriptureStream

By Mark WatsonSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity Philosophy

ScriptureStream episodes

July 19, 2015Word of the Day, Part 10: Speak
Word of the Day, Part 10: Speak
Speak, continued:
God speaks (continued):
New Testament
Through His Son – Hebrews 1:1-3
Through His Holy Spirit – John 16:7-13
Through the writings of inspired saints
I Corinthians 2:1-7; II Peter 3:1-2; II Corinthians 13:1-3
Hebrews 2:3-4; I Thessalonians 2:13
Man also spoke, but not always inspired
The writer recording it was inspired
The person recorded might not be
The blind man Jesus healed – John 9:31
Job’s friends
Eliphaz the Temanite
Zophar the Naamathite
Bildad the Shuhite
Job 5:17; 42:7-8
Take care whether to speak
Takes contemplation – James 1:19
Takes caution – Ecclesiastes 5:2
Takes wisdom – Proverbs 10:19; 13:3; 15:2
Why?
Tongue is a dangerous weapon
Must be tamed – James 3:1-12
Can be unfitting – Ephesians 5:3-4
Can defile – Matthew 15:11
Brings evil back to life – Colossians 3:5-11
James didn’t say NOT to speak
Ecclesiastes 3:1
We need to take care how we speak
Take care how to speak
Things in “good taste” – Colossians 4:6
Things that are exemplary – I Timothy 4:12
Especially to brethren – Titus 2:6-8
There are things which must be said
Jeremiah 20:8-9
Be wary of how others speak
Romans 16:17-18
30 min
July 15, 2015Lessons on the Local Church, Part 3
Lesson 2, continued:
Individuals
Saints (Ephesians 1:1) – set apart from the world to the service of Christ.
Disciples (Acts 11:26) – learners of Christ
Christians (Acts 11:26; I Peter 4:6) – belonging to Christ
Citizens (Ephesians 2:19) – subjects of the King
Brethren (Galatians 6:1) – relationship to one another
The saved relationship is spoken of as the bride of Christ, thus is must be identified by His name (Ephesians 5:22-25, 28):
To wear the name of another will bring His disfavor.
The Bible does not speak of hyphenated Christians.
The Bible says nothing about Baptist-Christians or Catholic-Christians. We are to simply be Christians.
His name is above every name (Philippians 2:6-11)
Why would anyone want to be identified by an inferior name?
Let us always give preeminence to Christ by identifying ourselves by His great name. Colossians 1:18
Psalms 89:20, 27 – “Firstborn” refers to preeminence.
Martin Luther made an appeal to his followers to not call themselves “Lutherans” because they were not baptized in the name of Luther and Luther was not crucified for them. What a noble and scriptural appeal! I Corinthians 1:13
Christians belong to Christ because He purchased them with His own blood and they were baptized in His name; thus, they are identified by the name of Him to whom they belong.
30 min
July 12, 2015A Change of Heart
Psalms 51:10
Heart of sinner:
Heart of Christian:
Ignorance – Ephesians 4:17-19
Understanding – Matthew 13:15
Hatred – John 15:18-19
Love – I John 4:19; John 13:35; Matthew 22:37; I John 4:20; Ephesians 4:15
Evil thoughts – Genesis 6:5
Good thoughts – Philippians 4:8
Unbelief – John 16:8-9
Faith – Hebrews 11:6
Impenitent
Repentance – Acts 17:30-31
Disobedience
Obedience – Romans 6:16-17; Hebrews 5:8-9
What is changed in a change of heart?
The intellect – Proverbs 23:7; Mark 2:8; Matthew 13:15; Romans 10:10
The emotions – Matthew 22:37; Proverbs 6:16-19; Psalms 119:128
The will – Romans 6:16-18
The conscience – I John 3:20-21
A change of heart is essential for salvation. (Matthew 5:8)
Ezekiel 18:31
Acts 15:9
I Peter 1:22
30 min
July 12, 2015Romans: Five Life-Altering Points You Must Get
Romans 1:16
Admit it: you’re guilty of sin
Romans 3:23; 8:1
Romans 1:20-32
Romans 2:1-3 – Condemnation of hypocrites
Romans 2:17-24
You can be justified by faith (erasing your sinful past)
Romans 5:1-2, 9, 18-19, 12 – Adam opened the path to sin, but Jesus opened the path to salvation.
Romans 3:23-24
Romans 4:3
James 2:21-23
You can start a new life (creating a righteous future)
Romans 6:1-3, 11
Your daddy won’t save you
Romans 9:1-9 – Don’t confuse a good heritage with salvation!
Romans 3:1-2
Romans 11:1-2
God’s Word should direct your life every day
Romans 12:1, 10-13
Romans 13:13-14; 15:5
30 min
July 12, 2015Word of the Day, Part 9: Follow, Speak
Follow, continued:
Follower qualities, skills, traits (continued):
Courage – Ezra 10:2-4
Service – Luke 9:43-48; 1:38; James 1:1
Communication – II Kings 5:11-14
Competence – II Timothy 2:15
Confidence – I John 2:28
Stable/sober – Titus 1:8; 2:2, 4, 6
Engagement – I John 4:9; John 8:12; Matthew 5:14-16; Mark 16:15
Speak
Old Testament
354 time (spoke 431 times – history)
39 Jeremiah, 38 Psalms, 32 Numbers
New Testament
Speak or spoke 194 times
43 John, 32 Acts and I Corinthians; 15 Matthew
104 in the gospels
Old Testament words (Hebrew)
דָּבַר (d__ā__ḇǎr) – to arrange words; to declare; to promise; rehearse or say; to teach
Exodus 6:!1
אָמַר (ʾām__ǎr) – to say; to answer
Jeremiah 28:5
New Testament words (Greek)
λαλέω (lale__ō) – to talk; to utter words; to preach; to say
Matthew 10:20
λέγω (leg__ō) – to lay forth or relate, to call, describe, name or speak
John 18:31-32 (John 12:32; 3:14)
Eleven other words used; two twice
Mark 9:39 – two words in combination
Past tense vs. present tense
Scripture contains records of speech
Much of “speech” denotes God speaking.
Many passages record people speaking
Some record things spoken by angels
Much is in historical context
Some is in instructional context
God speaks
Old Testament
Directly – Genesis 8:15; 9:8
Through angels – Judges 2:1-4
Through prophets – I Kings 16:12
30 min
July 08, 2015Lessons on the Local Church, Part 2
Lesson 1, continued:
New Testament church – its creed (source of authority)
We must of necessity put aside all creeds that have begun since the days of the apostles (continued):
Augsburg Confession of Faith (1530 A.D.) – over 1400 years too late
Westminster Confession of Faith (1550 A.D.) – over 1500 years too late
All others of a later date
Paul tells us that their source of authority was the inspired Scripture (II Timothy 3:16-17)
II John 1:9. The Scripture makes the man of God complete and furnishes him unto every good work. Therefore, the teacher is fully equipped with the Scripture. He needs nothing more.
See also II Peter 1:3 and Jude 1:3.
No one who really believes the Bible is the all sufficient Word of God will feel a need for human creeds.
Conclusion: Regardless of what good traits a church may have, if its practice in whole or in part, is based upon the creeds of man, it is not the local church as described in the New Testament.
Lesson 2
Another identifying characteristic of a local church is the name or descriptive phrase by which it is identified.
The church universal (Ephesians 3:14-15; Hebrews 12:23)
Church of Christ – Christ’s church (Matthew 16:18)
Kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13)
Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:27)
Temple of God (I Peter 2:5; Ephesians 2:21)
House of God – Family of God (I Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 3:15)
Christ’s fold – flock (John 10:16)
The local church
Church of God (I Corinthians 1:2)
Church of Christ (Romans 16:16)
Church of the Lord (Acts 20:28, ASV)
Flock (Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2)
Note: Any descriptive phrase used in the New Testament to designate the Lord’s church always points ownership to heaven.
30 min
July 05, 2015The Supreme Court
II Corinthians 5:10
I Peter 1:16 – You shall be holy, for I am holy.
I Peter 4:2-5
I Corinthians 6:9-10 – Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Homosexuality has been shown to not be genetic by several studies.
Romans 2:21 – You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?
Romans 2:17-22
Romans 13:1 – Be in subjection to the governing authorities.
Romans 13:1-7
I Peter 2:13-14, 17
Romans 1:7 – This book was written during a time of corrupt governments that crucified Jesus!
Acts 2:23; 18:1-2
Acts 5:29 – We must obey God rather than men.
Acts 4:18-20
Acts 5:27-29
II Peter 2:9 – The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation.
II Peter 2:2-10
I Thessalonians 5:2 – The day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
I Thessalonians 5:1-2
II Thessalonians 2:1-2, 15
I Peter 5:12 – This is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!
I Peter 2:11; 3:9-11; 4:2-3; 5:12
Read your Bible!
30 min
July 05, 2015Word of the Day, Part 8: Lead and Follow
Follow, continued:
Follower qualities, skills, and traits (continued):
Courage – Ezra 10:2-4
Service – Luke 9:43-48; 1:38; James 1:1
Communication – II Kings 5:11-14
Competence – II Timothy 2:15
Confidence – I John 2:28
30 min
July 01, 2015Lessons on the Local Church, Part 1
Lesson 1:
The church universal and local
Church universal:
Made up of all saved people
General relationship
No organization
Independent function
No collective oversight
Church local:
Made up of people in a local area who agree to work and worship under a common oversight
Special relationship
Collective function
A joined fellowship
An overseen fellowship
Only authorized structure
The church
Universal
Local
Lord adds
Membership
Man joins
Vertical
Fellowship
Horizontal
Christ removes
Discipline
Church removes
Eternal
Duration
Time, death
Independent
Function
Joint action
Independent
Oversight
Elders
For a correct conception of a local church, two things are necessary:
Recognition of Bible authority
Respect for Bible authority
Religious institutions of men are founded upon the Bible plus human creeds.
Bible + Baptist manual will make a Baptist every time.
Bible + Methodist Discipline will make a Methodist every time.
Bible + Pope will make a Catholic every time.
Bible only will make a Christian every time.
Therefore, a church of the Lord is founded upon the Bible, which states:
There is one body – Ephesians 4:4
Only one body – I Corinthians 12:27
The body is the church – Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18
Therefore, there is but one church that exists with the approval of God. This one church is the saved relationship or saved people.
God has willed that His people who live in a locality agree to worship and work together in spiritual matters, under a common oversight, and pool their resources to finance the work He has assigned to be done under that common oversight. This is the local church.
Each local church is to teach and practice the same things – Galatians 1:2-9
Each local church is independent – Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2-3
New Testament church – it’s creed (source of authority):
We must of necessity put aside all creeds that have begun since the days of the apostles.
Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) – over 200 years too late
Apostles’ Creed (500 A.D.) – over 400 years too late
30 min
June 28, 2015A Guarantee That a Marriage Will Never Be Severed Except By Death
Genesis 2:18-24
I Corinthians 7:2
Once a man and woman are married, they are bound by God’s law. This law cannot be broken without sin.
God’s law is: One man and one woman for life.
God’s law
Have a deep respect for God’s marriage law.
Have a sincere love for one another.
Philippians 2:3
Rather than asking: “Is my mate treating me right?” ask: “Am I treating my mate right?”
With these three things in place, a marriage cannot fail.
Man has devised many schemes to try to circumvent the strictness of God’s law:
Alien sinner is not amenable to God’s law. – E.C. Fuqua; Homer Hailey
I Corinthians 6:11; 5:9-11
All sins forgiven at baptism. – Luther Dabney
Guilty party has right to marry another. – Lloyd Moyer
Matthew 19:9
Divorce is a sin, but no law against marrying another. – Jerry Bassett
Man marry man; woman marry woman.
Romans 1:26-27, 32
In spite of man’s schemes, God’s law stands: one man, one woman for life.
I Corinthians 7:1-11
30 min

About ScriptureStream

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Just the gospel, plainly spoken. ScriptureStream compiles lessons presented at the Benchley church of Christ, located just north of Bryan, TX. Visit ScriptureStream.com for full notes on each lesson…

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