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- Hebrews, Part 18Hebrews 13:4 - Divorce and remarriage
- Definition of terms:
- Married – relationship between man and woman
- Bound – relationship between man, woman, and God
- Divorce – See Matthew 5:31. Divorce is when the marriage is severed.
- Loosed – When one is freed from a marriage. One may be either loosed by God’s law or civil government or both.
- Galatians 5:22
- Marrying someone who is bound to another is adultery.
- Three things that prevent divorce:
- Love and respect for God’s law
- Love and care for the wellbeing of your spouse
- Doing your part in the marriage – don’t ask if you are being treated right.
- I Corinthians 7:15 – Some argue that a person is left unbound and can remarry in this case, but that’s not what this verse is saying. It’s referring to spousal duties. If the other spouse leaves, those duties cannot be performed.
- Some teach that the alien sinner is not amenable to God’s marriage law. WE don’t see such a distinction anywhere in the Bible. God’s marriage law is for all mankind.
- Some teach that because all sins are forgiven at baptism, one can stay in an adulterous relationship after he is baptized. This is false. We cannot continue in sin just because we are baptized!
- Some teach that if one spouse is loosed, the other is also. This is not what the scripture teaches.
- Matthew 19:9 – Divorce for the cause of adultery is the only way marriage is allowed. Some teach that adultery after the divorce allows the other spouse to remarry, but this does not match what we see in the scriptures.
Hebrews 13:5-6- Hebrews 13:5-6 – Let us live without covetousness. Putting anything ahead of God is equivalent to adultery with God.
46 min - Reasons We Fail to ObeyPride
- Matthew 23:2
- Acts 2:41; 3:7, 26; 4:1-3, 16-17 – The miracle had taken place and could not be denied, but out of pride they tried to stop the spread of the truth. Acts 5:17; 2:37
- Acts 7:54 – Pride makes us look at truth and deny it.
- Maybe something about obeying God hurts our pride.
- Every great question got that way swallowing their pride!
I like things the way they are- Acts 19:1-10, 19-20, 23-32 – The gospel threatened their way of life! The temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
- Romans 13:13 – These are things we must give up when we turn to Christ.
- I Timothy 5:16
I won’t get past the “almost”- Acts 26:4-11, 18-20, 26-29 – King Agrippa was almost persuaded to be a Christian.
- Maybe we know the truth but are too laid back about applying it.
- II Peter 3:10
- There won’t be a worse feeling in the universe than not being prepared for the afterlife!
28 min - Deeds of the Flesh, Fruit of the Spirit, Part 6Chara – joy
- Philippians 2:29; James 1:2-4 – Joy is commanded, so clearly it is something that can be developed!
- I Peter 1:3-9; Acts 22:4; 18:2; Hebrews 10:32-36 – Joy Is not the absence of trouble! We can have joy even in persecution and tribulation. Christians have a long term, abiding joy.
- Ecclesiastes 1:14; 2:1, 10-11, 18 – Solomon explored everything looking for pleasure and joy, but he did not find it in earthly things.
- Acts 8:38-39; 16:33-34 – People rejoiced when they were baptized.
- Psalms 51:8-14 – There is no joy without God’s salvation.
- Philippians!
- Joy in salvation
- Philippians 1:25 – joy in the faith
- Philippians 2:17-18
- Philippians 3:1 – rejoice in the Lord
- Philippians 3:20 – our citizenship is in heaven
- Philippians 4:4 – rejoice in the Lord
- Joy in fellowship
- Philippians 1:3-5 – joy in fellowship
- Philippians 2:2
- Philippians 2:28-29
- Philippians 4:1 – brethren should give us joy
- Philippians 4:10
- Joy in helping others be saved
- Philippians 1:12-13, 18
- Acts 13:52; John 11:35; Philippians 2:27; James 1:2 – Even the most spiritually-minded people will be sad sometimes. Being sad doesn’t necessarily mean you are doing something wrong.
39 min - Psalm 139Introduction
- Psalms 139
- This psalm begins and ends with “searching.”
Omniscience, v1-6- God knows everything about me.
- Genesis 3:8-13 – You can’t hide from God! God already knew what happened with Adam and Eve before he asked them.
- Genesis 4:8-10 – God already knew what Cain had done.
- Psalm 139:3 – God knows all about our ways!
Omnipresence, v7-12- God is everywhere.
- Jonah 1:1-6, 17; 2:5-6 – Jonah tried to run from God, but God was everywhere, even in the deep.
Omnipotence, v13-16- God is all powerful. He wove us together. He knew us before we were born.
God’s thoughts, v17-18- How many thoughts has God had?
- I Kings 4:29-34 – All of this was just a gift from God!
- Psalm 136 – “for His lovingkindness is everlasting”
- God’s thoughts are precious!
God’s enemies, v19-22- James 4:4
- I John 2:2
- We are at war with sin and Satan.
- Our God will never side with evil.
Search me, v23-24- David volunteers himself to be searched by God. This took bravery!
- David had plenty of sins in his past, but he knew that God was merciful. We all need God’s grace!
25 min - Hebrews, Part 17
- Hebrews 12:12-3:4
- The purpose of the book of Hebrews was to provide correction and forestay further apostasy.
- Hebrews 12:12-13 – Since the word of God is correcting you, respond! Don’t fall from grace (in this case, leave the New Covenant and return to the Old Covenant) like your brethren!
- Hebrews 12:14-17 – Don’t disregard the New Covenant like Esau disregarded his birthright. Esau found no chance to repent, just as we won’t if we don’t turn back to God before the end.
- Hebrews 12:18-20 – The kingdom they had come to was a heavenly kingdom – one that could not be shaken.
- Hebrews 12:21-24 – Angels here is probably better translated “messengers.” It may not be referring to celestial beings here.
- Hebrews 12:24 – See Hebrews 10:22. The way they had been sprinkled with blood was by being baptized into Jesus’ death.
- Hebrews 12:25-29 – Our purpose in life is to serve God acceptably, in reverence and awe. But we can look forward to great blessings in God’s kingdom if we do!
- Hebrews 13:1 – Without brotherly love, we cannot see God. See I John 4:7-8; 5:1.
- Hebrews 13:2 – Lot was an example of this. He didn’t know the men he took into his house were angels.
- Hebrews 13:3 – Remember those that are in prison. As they have suffered for truth, you may suffer also.
- Hebrews 13:4 – God created the marriage relationship for man’s benefit.
45 min - "That OFFENDS Me!"Introduction
- Romans 12:18
We must be kind- Romans 12:10-21 – We shouldn’t be trying to pick fights in the world.
- Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:12 – God commands us to be kind and forgive each other.
- Romans 14:13, 19; 15:1-2; 14:3 – Seek peace and try not to put stumbling blocks in front of others.
- Acts 15:1-2, 7, 22-23, 31 – There was great disagreement and debate, but the truth of the matter was found, and peace resulted.
- I Timothy 5:1-2; II Timothy 2:24-26 – Don’t ignore the problem but be kind in addressing it.
- Disagreement doesn’t mean you’re not a Christian!
But the sad fact is, God’s truth will always offend people.- Matthew 15:2-3, 12-14 – People get offended at the truth! The most loving thing Jesus could do was correct them in their sin.
- Luke 11:42-46 – Jesus was accused of insulting them, but He refused to back down.
- Have we forgotten the definition of love and kindness?
- Ephesians 4:29-32
- Speaking the truth out of love is not sin, even if it gives offense.
- Ephesians 4:15, 5, 13-14; 5:3-6, 11-12 – There’s only one truth! It is worth standing up for!
- Ephesians 5:11 – “expose”
- See also Matthew 18:15; Jude 1:15; John 3:20; I Timothy 5:20; II Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9, 13; 2:15; Revelation 3:9
- Galatians 5:14-16; 5:4, 7-8 – Paul told them about their error directly!
- Which book of the Bible could we read that would not offend people?
33 min - Deeds of the Flesh, Fruit of the Spirit, Part 5Agape – Love
- Matthew 22:36-40; I Corinthians 13:1-3; I John 4:7-8
- Love should be the basis for our actions. If we aren’t acting out of love, we are wasting our time.
- II Samuel 13:1, 14-15
- This was not true, benevolent love.
- John 3:16; 15:12-13; Romans 5:8; I Corinthians 13:1-8
- Love is not just a human emotion. It emanates from God. God loves us in an unselfish way. The greatest love you can show is lawing down your life for another, which is exactly what Jesus did.
- Definition of love:
- “Affectionate regard, benevolence” (Zodhiates)
- “Deep concern for the wellbeing of another”
- “Deep regard for others that is shown in action.” (David)
- John 13:34-35; 17:26
- Showing love for others is an identifying mark of Christians. Jesus showed love in many positive actions (healing, teaching, weeping with the sorrowful, dying for our sins, etc.).
- Romans 13:8-10
- I John 4:7-11
- Love involves two things:
- Initiative – people who love take the initiative in doing what is right. God took the initiative in showing love for us.
- Sacrifice – be willing to sacrifice of yourself to show love for others.
- John 3:16-18 – Jesus laid down His life for us!
- Love acts. It is not just a feeling!
39 min - Against All the Gods of EgyptIntroduction
- Exodus 12:12
- The plagues were specifically directed against the gods of Egypt, to show God’s power over them.
- Moses and the Gods of Egypt by John J. Davis
- The Egyptians had somewhere around 80 gods. Pharaoh himself was considered deity.
- Exodus 7:5 – It was important that the Egyptians would know about God and not just Israel.
- Exodus 8:19; 9:20; 18:11
- Numbers 33:4 – God had executed judgment on the Egyptian gods.
The ten plagues1st plague – water to blood- Exodus 7:17
- Egyptian gods:
- Hapi – god of fertility
- Khnum – guardian of the Nile sources
- Osiris – god of the underworld
- Hymn to the Nile
2nd plague – frogs- Exodus 8:3
- Egyptian gods:
- Frogs themselves were deified.
- Heqt – frog-headed goddess
3rd plague – gnats (lice)- Exodus 8:16-18
- Egyptian gods:
- Set – god of the desert
- Priests – physical purity ruined
4th plague – flies- Egyptian gods:
- Uatchit – associated with one type of fly
5th plague – death of livestock- Egyptian gods:
- Cows were sacred
- Hathor – goddess represented by cow
- Apis bull – sacred bull – god Ptah
- Mnevis – sacred bull – god Ra
6th plague – boils- Exodus 9:8-12
- Egyptian gods:
- Sekhmet – goddess of epidemics
- Sunu
- Serapis
- Imhotep
7th plague – hail with fire- Exodus 9:24
- Egyptian gods:
- Nut and Hathor
8th plague – locusts- Exodus 10:15
- Egyptian gods:
- Isis and Seth – gods of crops
9th plague – darkness- Exodus 10:22
- Egyptian gods:
- Ra – god of sun, king of gods
- Horus – another important sun god
- Aten – the deified sun disc
- Atum – god of the setting sun
- Nut and Hathor – goddesses of the sky
- Thoth – god of the moon
- A universalist hymn to the sun
10th plague – death of firstborn (people and cattle)- Exodus 12:29-32
- Egyptian gods:
- Pharaoh – son of Ra
- Pharaoh’s son – born of the gods
- Anubis
- Min – god of procreation
- Isis
- Hathor
- Apis bull – sacred, firstborn animal
ApplicationDo I give God the honor He deserves?- Exodus 20:1-6
- God must be my priority!
Do I truly repent, or fake it?- Exodus 8:8, 13-15
- Six times Pharaoh quickly turned back to his ways when the immediate panic was over.
- Do I forget God when times are good?
Have I accepted the salvation God offers?- Exodus 8:22-23; 12:7, 12-13; I Corinthians 5:7; Romans 5:8-9
31 min - Hebrews, Part 16
- Hebrews 12:1-11
- Hebrews 12:1-2 – The witnesses are those that were just described in Hebrews 11. We can only run with endurance if we look to Jesus. He authored and finished our faith through the written word. Jesus endured what He did because of the joy that was ahead of Him – the joy of the salvation for Christians. When we walk by faith, we produce joy in God.
- Hebrews 12:3-4 – Evidently some of the Hebrew Christians had suffered persecution but had not yet had to give their lives for the faith.
- Hebrews 12:5-11 – The idea in this context is of correction. God disciplines and corrects people by Hi word.
44 min - Deeds of the Flesh, Fruit of the Spirit, Part 4
NOTE: We had some technical difficulties with the audio for this lesson. The first few minutes were lost and we had to change microphones part way through the lesson. My apologies. -MRW
Hairesis – factions, heresies, divisions- I Corinthians 11:19; II Peter 2:1; Acts 5:17; 15:5; 24:5, 14; 26:5; 28:22
- All these groups had their own interpretations of the law.
- There should be no “church of Christ” doctrine. There is only the gospel. We always have to go back to the one source of truth.
- Ephesians 4:1-6
- II Samuel 15:1-6 – Absalom carefully converted people to his cause. Don’t allow this behavior in the church!
Phthonos – envy, envying, envyings- “… pain felt and malignity conceived at the sight of excellence or happiness” (Zodhiates)
- “… envy desires to deprive another of what he has, jealousy desires to have the same or the same sort of thing for itself” (Vine)
- Luke 11:53; 19:35-40
- Matthew 27:17-18
- How do I deal with envy within myself?
- How do I help others that may be envious of me?
Methe – drunkenness- Luke 21:34
- Romans 13:12-14
Komos – carousing, revelings, orgies- The idea is that of wild, out of control parties, often associated with drunkenness.
- I Peter 4:1-5
- We are to be soberminded, looking for good things to do.
“and things like this”- These things will keep up out of heaven!
- Galatians 5:4 – We can fall from grace!
- Galatians 3:26
34 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…
and additional resources for Bible study.