Sermons

HEBREWS

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, consider Jesus…

That is a powerful statement…this morning we’re continuing in our study of the Book of Hebrews…and for the next few minutes that’s all I’m talking about… just part of Hebrews 3:1.

It’s important to remember when reading the Bible that when it was originally written there were no chapter or verse breaks.

The problem when reading the Bible is that we assume that chapter breaks are implying a new thought or a change in topic…and because of that we often lose the meaning of the text.

The writer of Hebrews is stressing the supremacy of Jesus over every other created thing…which is one part of the universal theme in Hebrews…His once-and-for-all sacrifice of taking away the sins of the world is superior to Old Testament animal sacrifices and rituals.

As a reminder to his readers to reflect on what has previously been written, the author uses the word ‘therefore’ 7 times between 2:14 and 5:1…a word that is used extensively in the New Testament…with over 500 occurrences.

Anytime you see the word ‘therefore’ in Scripture always ask yourself ‘what is it there for’ …each one of these ‘therefore’s’ is looking back at previous verses to reinforce the importance of what is about to be said.

In 3:1 the writer says…therefore…desiring to make a summary conclusion from the preceding thought and the reason why we are:

1. Members of a holy brotherhood
2. Partakers of a heavenly calling
3. Why we should consider Christ

I’ll be talking about those three points this morning…as members of a holy brotherhood that includes Christian women in the designation as well…the author…by using the word ‘holy’ is implying separation from the world…being set apart by God…commonly referred to as being sanctified.

TWO THINGS—To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for use by its designer…every person in this sanctuary…if you’re a Christian has been set apart for use by God to fulfill an intended purpose.

BUT there’s more…the Greek word translated “sanctification” means “to make holy.” …in one sense only God is holy…no person shares the holiness of God…yet God calls on us to be holy as He is holy [1 Peter 1:16] …how do I do that?

You don’t because it’s impossible… BUT here’s something about Christianity that most people fail to take notice of…my job is to help you understand what becoming a Christian means…being a Christian doesn’t mean just sitting back and doing nothing…I’m just waiting on Heaven…that attitude will result in some serious repercussions.

Sanctification is the ongoing transformation into Christlikeness…it never stops …if you’re not becoming more spiritually mature through Bible study…going to Church…and being with other Christians then you’re not just stagnate…you’re actually moving backward in your spiritual growth.

Sanctification is not about perfection but persistence…fighting sin is a lifelong endeavor…sanctification, therefore, begins at the moment of conversion.

God will judge any person claiming identification with Christ who just lackadaisically sits back and is not actively engaged in pursuing sanctification.

The author then writes that we are partakers of a heavenly calling…one of the most controversial topics in the Bible.

How God calls people to salvation is a topic that has been and still is hotly contested within the Church…the idea is that God selects or elects certain people for salvation and everybody else loses out…more commonly referred to as predestination.

If this were Sunday School or a Bible study, I would pursue that fallacy further but I do want to share with you the danger this idea presents.

Scripture says by grace you are saved…because of your belief in Jesus’ death on the Cross you’re secure in your salvation…BUT…here’s what some would have you to believe.

If you’re a Christian you owe it to election…God’s selecting you to be saved… it’s the result of you being chosen…it’s called limited atonement…God has chosen you to be saved and you can’t reject it. …it’s called irresistible grace.

But if God only chooses certain ones to be saved…how do I know I’m one of the elected ones…maybe I’m not one of the chosen ones…so maybe I’m not saved after all.  

There’s not a person in this sanctuary that at some time in their lives has not questioned their salvation…it’s a natural occurrence.

This morning I want to share with you what it means to be a partaker of a heavenly calling…there is a lot of misinformation and questionable theology in understanding how God deals with His invitation for salvation.

As followers of Jesus…every one of us…are holy partners in a heavenly calling …the Greek word used for ‘calling’ is a form of the word κλῆσις (klay-sis) this word is key in understanding how God deals with sinners.

The word κλῆσις (klay-sis) used in Hebrews 3 is referring to God inviting all people to be partakers of a heavenly calling…to receive His free gift of salvation.

Here’s how simple this is…God calls (κλῆσις)…He invites all people to receive His gift of salvation with all His blessing that go with it [Rom. 11:29 / Eph 4:4 / 2 Pet. 1:10] …how you answer is your choice …if you answer yes…you are counted among the elect.

Paul defines how strong God’s desire is to have everyone accept Him:  

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God…who desires (θέλω) all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth [1 Timothy 2:3]

TWO THINGS

God’s intent is that everyone be saved…this idea focuses around the word desire…θέλω…Paul is clearly saying that it’s God’s desire that all men be saved…how can you accept the delusional idea that only certain ones are saved?

In English when someone desires something it means having a strong feeling of wanting something or wishing for something to happen…but doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen…it means I desire for it to happen.

Just because God desires something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen…He desires that there would be no sin…but there is…that’s the meaning of the word θέλω…a wishfulness that might not happen or that can be rejected.

God desires everyone to be saved…does anyone think that is going to happen? People die every day without knowing Jesus as Lord…because…free will says you can reject God’s calling…it’s your choice…God doesn’t force you to accept Him.

Which again exposes the errant view that God has predestined or chosen certain ones even before they’re born to salvation and you can’t say no.

The person who has most accurately identified how God calls people to salvation is John Wesley…it’s called Prevenient Grace.

The term may a bit confusing… “Prevenient” comes from a Latin term meaning “that which comes before.” …Prevenient grace means the grace of God that is at work in everyone before we even know or care about it. 

“Wesley’s Order of Salvation“:

“Human beings are totally incapable of responding to God without God first empowering them to have faith…this empowerment is known as ‘Prevenient Grace.’”

Prevenient Grace doesn’t save us…rather it comes before anything that we do, it’s God drawing us to Him…Prevenient Grace is Universal, all humans receive it…it enables them to come to Christ in faith but does not guarantee that the sinner will actually do so.

Goes back to the words θέλω and κλῆσις (klay-sis) …God desires (θέλω) that all people would receive His universal calling (κλῆσι)ς to everyone to accept His free gift of salvation.

When the word “predestination” is used…it’s not referring to who God selects to be saved…it’s referring to what we are predestinated to…nothing to do with salvation:  

NO WHERE in Scripture does it use predestination to mean that God has chosen certain people to be saved…and some eternally lost…a person is condemned because they refuse to trust in Christ. [John 3:18-21].

Because people reject God’s gift of salvation no way implies that God didn’t extend it to them…clearly Jesus Himself teaches that it is extended to all men.

Parable of the Marriage Feast… [Matt 22: 9] is the example…a King says … go to the highways and as many as you find invite to the wedding feast. Holman “invite everyone you find to the banquet” teaching Unlimited Atonement.

Each guest is then given wedding clothes…symbolizing the righteousness needed to enter God’s kingdom…Christ provides this garment of righteousness for everyone…but…KEY—each person must choose to put it on in order to enter the King’s banquet—symbolic of eternal life…God will not force…coerce …or strong arm anyone.

We can debate…discuss…argue…about predestination…BUT…what is clear…

He predestined a Plan before the foundations of the world that includes all people.

God’s purpose for people was not an afterthought…if you believe in Christ you can rejoice in the fact that God has a purpose for your life…Scripture attests to what Christians are predestinated to when you accept Jesus:

1) Eternal life for all who believe [John 3:16]

2) To be conformed to the image of His Son [Rom 8:29]

3) To a purpose in this life that only you can perform [2 Tim. 1:9 / Phil. 2:13]

4) Predestined to trials / troubles / hardships / suffering [Rom 8:17 / 2 Cor. 6: 4].

The second reason the writer says…therefore…in [3:1] is he’s marking a summary conclusion from the preceding thought to provide the reason for considering Jesus.

When looking at the word ‘consider’ in the Greek, we see the importance of what it is we are to consider.  

The Greek word translated consider κατανοέω …is implying not to simply look at or to notice a thing…anyone can look at a thing or even notice it without really seeing it…the word means to fix your attention on something intently.

Here the writer is making an earnest appeal to consider Jesus:

—Who was made a little lower than the angels [2:9]

—Who is the author of our salvation through suffering [2:10]

—Who rendered powerless him who had the power of death [2:14]

—Who became a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.  

—Who made propitiation for the sins of people [2:17]

—Who comes to the aid of those who are tempted [2:18]

—Who is the High Priest of our confession [3:1]

Want us to look at the biblical explanation of what ‘confession’ means… confession is more than, “Whoops! My bad!” …and repentance is more than, “I’ll try not to do it again.”

True confession is agreeing with God that we have sinned.

The Greek word John uses for ‘confess’ means “to say the same thing.” …to say the same thing as who? …to say the same thing God says…when we confess, we’re admitting that we are in agreement with what God says regarding the sin we have committed.

Here’s the problem…confession without repentance is only words…people confess to a sin when caught…their remorse is due to the consequences of their being caught…not the sin…with most having no intention of changing.

That’s why:

True repentance is changing the way we think and behave.

If you’re familiar with the story of Nebuchadnezzar…God punished him for his sin of pride by causing him to go insane…living like a beast in the field for seven years.

Then one day he lifted his eyes toward heaven as a sign of acknowledging that God controls human power and destiny, not him…his sanity was restored.

Nebuchadnezzar began to think differently about God and as a result he began to behave differently…that’s repentance.

That’s what separates Christians from unbelievers…they have not submitted their minds to God’s revelation of truth… not acknowledging Him as God…so they neither act differently or think differently.

In Nebuchadnezzar’s case…it was not until he began to think differently about God by acknowledging Him as the Most High God that he regained his sanity.

Here’s what’s interesting…despite being a pagan, God called Nebuchadnezzar His servant…if you are a servant of God, He will not let you get by with doing things that are disobedient to His character.

Here’s the difference…others may do things and get by with them because they are not His children…many times we make the mistake of seeing others getting by with stuff… and we think that we also can get by with it as well.

God will not allow that to continue…God owns you…at some point you’ll become like Nebuchadnezzar…God will discipline us.

It may be that we remain outside of God’s fellowship for years… until we change the way we think and behave.

Confession and repentance does five things in the life of a Christian:

1. It causes us to acknowledge before God and take responsibility for our sin.

2. It proves that we are not trying to hide our sin from God, it humbles us.

3. It shows that we are asking and relying on God’s strength to help us change.

4. It allows us to be continually healed.

5. It sustains our fellowship with God.

There’s a commonly mistaken idea regarding confession and repentance which is the result of bad theology.

It’s the idea that once we have a relationship with Jesus, we no longer NEED to confess and repent in order to obtain forgiveness…the idea that we have been made right with God and all our sins are forgiven, past, present and future. God doesn’t remember them anymore because we are “born again.”

NOWHERE in the New Testament is that idea suggested…or even hinted at…

we confess and repent because God wants us to be in continual…intimate fellowship with Him and unconfessed sin breaks that fellowship.

Although nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39), refusing to admit sin and to change will damage our fellowship with God.

We will still be a part of the family of God, but we won’t enjoy the benefits.

You see the intensity in just this one phrase…holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, consider Jesus…

FIRST…we are called “brethren” because we share the same spiritual relations …having the same Father…belonging to the same family…we are all the adopted sons and daughters of God…and of one another.

As such…we are “holy”, not by birth, but through sanctification of the Spirit.

SECOND…we all have received a heavenly calling from God…receiving His gift of salvation along with all His blessings that go with it.

THIRD…consider Jesus…not to simply look at or to notice Him or make an acknowledgement that He exists…to fix your attention on Him so intently and in such a way that you come to realize He was sent of God to be the Savior of sinners and lives to make intercession to God on our behalf.  

A book written 2000 years ago that still has relevance today…written for our benefit…and for us to realize as holy brethren of God we have been sanctified… set apart by God for His purpose.

This morning we’re continuing in our study of the Book of Hebrews… specifically Hebrews 2:10-18…a book that was written primarily to a group of Jewish converts who were suffering hardship and persecution because of their faith in Jesus.

When talking about suffering and persecution it’s important to remember that the idea that God achieves divine purposes through suffering can be taken in directions that is theologically problematic.

Could preach a whole series on suffering…there’s no shortage of people wanting you to know why God allows suffering…persecution…tragedies… everybody has an answer to justify why things are the way they are.

Read a man’s response to why his young daughter died of a cerebral hemorrhage: he accepted this as God’s will and plan…terrible theology…it’s terrible logic.

There’s always the temptation to assign sudden unexplainable suffering to the judgement of God or ‘it must have been God’s will for their lives.’

When people are unable to accept the reality that death happens…when they can’t cope with death especially if it was meaningless it’s easier to accept it if we can put an explanation for it…because honestly…humanly speaking…at times there is no reason or logic for why things happen.

As a pastor I can go into the whole theological discussion that sin ultimately results in death…that all have sinned and therefore everyone will at some time die…people hurting are not interested in my seminary answer.

They want to know the why and because there is no logical explanation, they produce one…people can live with an exclamation mark behind what has happened…but not a question mark…for many…a bad reason is better than no

 reason at all.

Read a story about a man whose family member died in a car accident…he came to the conclusion that God was punishing him for not going to church…

TWO THINGS:

ONE…God does not punish Christians…there is a difference between discipline/chastisement…and punishment. They are not the same…problem is people want to lump discipline and punishment under one term: suffering.

Suffering and discipline are not the same thing.

We are tempted to believe that suffering is a punishment for sin but the Bible is clear that the amount of suffering a person endures is not proportional to their sin…if it was you’d be in a whole lot worse shape that you are now…Christians need to know and accept that God has a purpose in all our sufferings.

There are a couple reasons why God does permit suffering, maybe even causing it because He has a purpose that has nothing to do with discipline…then why?

1. Show God’s Glory

In John 9, Jesus encounters a man who has been blind from birth. The disciples ask Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”

‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him’.

2. Bring Us Closer to God

It’s easy to become complacent in our relationship with God…suffering helps us to lean on God and improves our character…sometimes suffering is for this reason rather than as the result of any poor choices.

3. A Result of Following Christ

Here is the case of these Hebrew Christians. They are suffering as a result of their faith…John 15:18, Jesus says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” Christians face discrimination, persecution, and even death for their faith. In this case, the bad things that happen are because the Christian is doing something right.

BUT in the end…the Bible doesn’t give us any specific reasonsfor sufferings so in many cases it’s hard to put a reason for it.

Suffering is normal in a fallen world…the reality is the world is broken and we can see the effects of that brokenness all around us…the most obvious effect is death.

Many people—including Christians, adopt a distorted view of God and suffering …that God is out to wreck people’s lives…this is why we need to have an accurate theology of suffering.

Here’s the meaning and promise of Hebrews 2:10-18…the incarnate, crucified, and glorified Jesus is with us…to help us in everything that we go through, even when it makes no sense to us.

God gets credited for things He doesn’t do…and He gets blamed for things He doesn’t do

In the case of the Hebrews they were under intense pressure to turn away from Christ and return to Judaism to avoid further persecution not only from the Jews…the government… but from family as well.

For the past couple weeks, we have been looking at what the author has to say regarding Jesus’ supremacy over every other created thing…which is one part of the universal theme in Hebrews…His once-and-for-all sacrifice of taking away the sins of the world is superior to Old Testament animal sacrifices and rituals.

Beginning in [14] the author begins to make the defense for why Jesus is superior to angels.

 [Heb. 2:10-18] uses a collage of images to show Jesus’ superiority…there are four pictures in this collage:

First, it pictures Jesus as the pioneer of salvation (2:10)

In the Greek the phrase “founder of their salvation” ἀρχηγὸν τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν is difficult to translate…it’s translated a number of different ways depending on which translation you’re reading from:

…pioneer of their salvation (NIV)

…a perfect leader (NLT)

…author of their salvation (NASB)

…captain of their salvation (KJV)

The phrase carries the idea of Christ being our trailblazer, and our model…this analogy is seen throughout the New Testament [1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1; Col. 1:18].

Second picture is Jesus as our brother (2:12-13).

The image here is like when you’re a child and you have older siblings and they’re preparing to hang out with their friends and you want to come along …the result can be embarrassing to your older brother or sister who want nothing to do with having you around.

Jesus says…that’s not the case with Me… ‘He is not ashamed to call them brethren.’ [11]

Third picture is Jesus as a liberator (2:14-16).

Starting in [14] the author now introduces the ‘therefore’ statement…two times in the second chapter the writer uses the word ‘therefore’ …and as you know any time you see the word ‘therefore’ in Scripture always ask yourself ‘what is it there for’ …a word that is used extensively in the New Testament …with over 500 occurrences.

In the previous verses the writer of Hebrews explained that the Messiah could not be an angel because angels cannot experience human suffering so they can’t be an example for people to follow.

BUT…as a man Jesus therefore is able to do exactly that:

¹⁴Therefore since the children share in flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷ Therefore He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people—He might make propitiation for the sins of the people— (NIV) ¹⁸Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Want to talk about the word ‘propitiation’ …in Scripture there are a lot of words that are confusing to understand…redemption / sanctification / justification / regeneration / glorification / reconciliation / ordination / atonement / propitiation

Often times we gloss over these words because of not understanding the importance of the word in the context in which it is used…[v17] says:

To make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Propitiation…a word that is used only four three times [Rom 3:25; 1Jn 2:2; 4:10; Heb 2:17] in the entire New Testament… in the Greek it’s just one-word (ἱλάσκομαι) but it takes four words to translate into English… ‘to make propitiation for.’

Here’s the importance of propitiation…reconciliation is between God and us…it’s the restoration of friendly relations.

Propitiation is solely from God…it carries the idea of appeasing or pacifying God’s wrath toward the sinner…God Himself has provided the only means through which His wrath can be appeased…Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.

For those who recognize the name Jonathan Edwards he preached a sermon in 1741 that has become one of the most popular sermons in American history… “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”.

The preaching of this sermon was so convicting that it became the single catalyst for the First Great Awakening…aseries of Christian revivals that sweptacrossBritain and the thirteen North American colonies in the 1700s.

In this sermon Edwards paints a picture of God that is so angry at sin, and those that live in it, that He stands at the ready to cast men into hell at any moment should they continue down the path they are currently on.

That’s contrary to many in the church today…people not accepting the idea that when people sin they arouse the wrath of God [Rom. 1:18] …and actually become enemies of God [Rom. 5:10].

As result of the fall…there are three kinds of death: …spiritual death…physical death…and the second death…through Jesus’ death He rendered Satan who has the power of death powerless …and in doing so freed us from the slavery and fear of death.

That’s the significance and truth contained in [v 17] that cannot be over-emphasized.

God in the Person of the eternal Son became a man…sharing in our mortal, human make-up of flesh and blood…if Jesus had not become a man…by becoming mortal with human flesh and blood…our redemption would not have been possible.

The fourth picture is Jesus as the high priest (2:17-18).

Hebrews punctuates the idea that God has favored mankind above the angels… that is why Scripture says…He does not give help to angels [16] because angels are not human, they are unable to suffer temptations in the same way we do, that’s why angels are unable to make propitiation for the sins of people.

Christianity is the only faith that has a Savior, everything else relies on the good works of the follower.

 [v 17] presents the reason why Jesus had to become human…why He had to be made like His brethren in all things [17] …only in His humanity could Jesus experience the same things normal people do.

Because He himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able

to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18).

There are many differences between Christianity and every other religion in the world. But the main difference and the thing that makes Christianity far superior to anything else is Jesus. 

No other religion offers consolation such as this…Jesus stepped out of His home in heaven and into humanity to redeem mankind from the power of sin that held us captive.

He underwent suffering and temptation in this world which is a benefit to us…

TWO WAYS

ONE…because He has endured the same suffering…trials…and temptations… He is able to help those who are enduring the same things…He is equipped and able to empathize (or, feel what we feel) when we suffer in this world…because He too suffered.

TWO… [v. 10-18] offers four ways that ‘He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.’ [18] …these verses are looking at four different types of people and their needs:

…People in need of a future

…People in need of belonging

…People held captive by powers beyond themselves

…People who are sinners in need of atonement

Depending on your translation the word in [18] might be translated as ‘aid’ or ‘help’ …the meaning in the Greek has a much stronger flavor than the English.

The word ‘aid’ or ‘help’ in the Greek implies a deeper and more meaningful type of aid…the ideas of comfort and rescue are bound up in this word.

In the Greek we see Jesus’ response in coming to the aid during times of temptation…and to the aid of those four types of people I just mentioned.

It’s like describing the way a parent would soothe a crying child by providing exactly what is needed…Jesus doesn’t merely aid or help us when we are tempted …He offers us all of the comfort and support we could ever need.    

Everything goes back to [10] He is the perfect author of salvation through suffering…His suffering and death was the only way to restore people into a relationship to God.

This verse is both wonderful and troublesome. It is wonderful because we are told that God is going to bring many sons to glory…in the Greek word ‘son’ can also be anyone sharing the same nature as their Father.

These 18 verses are a glimpse of the marvelous hopes we have in Christ…God:  1) going to absolve us for our sins …2) grant us eternal life…3) we are going to be glorified…we are going to become radiant reflections of God Himself.

This morning we’re continuing in our study of the Book of Hebrews…what is unique about Hebrews is the theological arguments in this book are more complex than many of those found in the rest of the New Testament.

The universal theme in Hebrews is the doctrine of the person of Christ and his role as mediator between God and humanity…the writer sets out to show the supremacy of Christ…that His once-and-for all sacrifice of taking away the sins of the world is superior to any Old Testament ritual…as a result of His superiority He is:  

better than the prophets (Heb. 1:1–2),

better than the angels (1:5–14),

better than Moses (3:1–19),

better than the priests (4:14–5:10; 7:23–28),

better than Melchizedek (6:19–7:19),

better than all previous sacrifices (9:11–14; 10:19).

The author of the book of Hebrews was writing primarily to a group of Jewish converts who were suffering hardship and persecution because of their faith… they were under intense pressure to turn away from Christ and return to Judaism to avoid further persecution not only from the Jews…the government…and from family as well …take the easy way.

The writer of Hebrews was encouraging those early Christians to stand firm in their faith because the old sacrificial system…those things I mentioned…were out of date…they served no purpose…don’t go back.

Because of the pressure to return to Judaism, the book of Hebrews compares and contrasts the superiority of Christianity over Judaism…the writer to the Hebrews constantly compares the inadequacies of the Old Testament sacrificial system to the perfection and completion in Christ.

The writer starts off by establishing Jesus’ superiority over the angels [1:5].

To which of the angels did He ever say “You are My Son”?

It was imperative to show that Jesus has been exalted above angels both in power and authority…Jewish writings often exalted angels as powerful, glorious creatures who brought divine revelations to man…this honor given to angels raised a serious challenge for those who followed Christ.

Nowhere in the Bible are angels shown as authority figures, nor are they called to rule, and especially not given the privilege of sitting on the throne of God…he quotes from the O. T. to give evidence to support this.

Let all the angels of God worship Him (6)

To which of the angels has He ever said sit at My right hand (13)  

Verse 14 offers up some very interesting facts regarding angels:

they are ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. [14].

In addition to praising…serving…and worshipping God…they are busy in the spiritual battle that is going on in the heavens everyday…there is a cosmic war happening, and we are the battlefield.

All day, every day, an invisible war rages around you—unseen and unheard yet it impacts every aspect of your life…God’s angels are committed to helping us overcome the devil…working to protect, encourage, and strengthen believers. 

Hebrews gives us a clue how we can help ourselves in this spiritual battle…God gives us the necessary information to fight against Satan…it’s to be knowledgeable of God’s Word…hence…the importance of church attendance and Bible study…we are like Jesus in the desert…rebuking Satan involves knowing God’s Word… that is why:

 ¹We must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For if the message spoken through angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, ³ how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? [2:1-3]

The most basic means of holding to the truth of the Gospel is to pay close attention to it…the writer of Hebrews is saying there will be consequences when we drift away from the truth…when we do…we are guaranteed trouble [2:2].

Every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty.

Scripture is dispelling the common myth today that God’s love overrides all sin…that is not true…the word ‘received’ is an aorist participle…meaning it is going to happen…we will receive a just penalty when we violate God’s Word.

This is the first of three warnings given to those who drift away from the truth …who fail to pay attention to the message, and “I didn’t know” is not an excuse.

Therefore, to avoid the consequences of God’s judgement in our lives…and the resulting consequences that accompany drifting from truth into error [2:1]

we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it

In Hebrews the author is pointing out the consistency of God’s judgements… those who broke God’s commandments in the past were given exactly what they deserved…God is fair…in [3] the author points out that those who ignore the message of Christ have no real hope of avoiding the same fate.

How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

This is a sobering word for the world and for the church…because most people do neglect the greatness of salvation…even for Christians…how many Christians do you know give serious, sustained attention to the salvation accomplished by what Jesus did?

It’s astonishing how neglectful Christians are regarding the greatness of salvation…the worse sin a Christians can commit is ingratitude.

I want to talk a little more about the statement: neglecting so great a salvation’ …and the eternal implications of what that means…it means certain eternal separation from Jesus and all those who you loved [Jn 3:36].  

For the saved…salvation is secure…it cannot be lost [John 10:28 / Jude 1:24] BUT…when we neglect the truths and disregard the guidance of the Scripture, we have the potential of falling into sin…when we do, the consequences result in earthly problems…and to the loss of eternal rewards.

BUT…for the unsaved person the devastating results of neglecting salvation are eternal.  

I want to talk about that…specifically…ONE…about the resurrection of the dead and TWO…what happens after death.

This all comes back to the statement…How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? —YOU WON’T.

There are those who claim that when you’re dead that’s it…that’s the end…but what does Jesus say about those who have died [Matthew 33:31]?

have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

He is not the God of the dead but of the living.

God would not have said, “I am the God of Abraham…Isaac….and Jacob if He thought Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead…He would have said, “I was their God” …thus, from God’s perspective, they are alive.

God’s use of the present tense in speaking of His relationship to the patriarchs who had been long dead by the time God spoke these words to Moses shows God had a continuing relationship even though they were physically dead.  

God was speaking of dead men as though they were still alive; thus, Jesus reasoned, the men were not dead but living…God would not have a relationship with dead beings.

Secondly…what happens after death…for the unbeliever…How will they escape if they neglect so great a salvation?

I want to talk about what happens after death…and especially this thing called hell…in his seven-week study on Satan Larry talked extensively about where Satan and his band of angels are destined…but what about people…what about when people die …what happens…a lot of misinformation about that…first… what happens when we die.

Scripture reveals three kinds of death in relation to our body and spirit.

1. SPIRITUAL DEATH (Isa.59:2; Eph. 2:1)

This death is the SEPARATION of man from God because of sin…sin separates us from fellowship with God…it’s possible to be alive physically but dead spiritually (Matt. 8:22; I Tim. 5:6).

Before we became Christians, we were dead spiritually…a lost person may have a live body…a live soul…but is dead in spirit!  

2. PHYSICAL DEATH (Jas. 2:26; Gen. 35:18)

This death is the separation of the body—the OUTWARD man…our flesh—from the INWARD man, our spirit (Eph. 3:16; II Cor. 4:16).  

At death our fleshly body—the outward man—dies and returns to dust (Job 34:15) …the SPIRIT–the inward man—is immortal and continues to live.

At death the spirit goes one of two places…for believers it goes to Paradise to be with Jesus until we go to Heaven…for unbelievers to a place separated from God where they wait…the BODY may be physically dead but that’s not the end of everything [Heb. 9:27]

3. SECOND DEATH (Rev. 20:15; 21:8 Luke 16:19-21; Ezek. 18:4)

There is a third type of death in Scripture that is different from spiritual death and physical death…this is known as eternal death, or the second death.

The second death is only for unbelievers…after the Millennium every person who has ever lived will be physically resurrected and re-united with their spirits to face God in one of two judgments…the Judgment Seat of Christ for believers and the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers.  

At the judgment Seat of Christ, believers will be given rewards for their service on earth…then ushered into Heaven for the marriage supper of the Lamb.  

For unbelievers they will stand before the Great White Throne of God where they will be sentenced to be eternally separated from God and from everyone they have known or loved while on earth…this is the second death.

Those not found written in the Book of Life are cast into Hell…they have no second chance for salvation…with respect to Hell…again…a lot of misinformation…the thought that everyone goes to the same place as Satan and his demons goes…is not true.

The casting into the Lake of Fire (Matt. 10:28) was originally prepared for the devil and His angels (Matt. 25:41) as a place of punishment…it was never intended for people.

There are different levels of punishment in hell…not talking about Dante’s nine circles of hell…Scripture seems to indicate that Hell will be experienced differently for different people.

—There are those who will be judged ‘according to what they had done as recorded in the books’ [Rev. 20:11-15] possibly indicating how severe their punishment will be.

—Then there’s Scripture that speaks of comparative punishment…comparing the punishment of Sodom against the punishment that will be given to the Galilean town of Bethsaida…seems the level of punishment is tied to the amount of knowledge a person rejects.

— Then lastly in Luke 12 Jesus indicates punishment will be based on how much knowledge a person has…different than above which is based on how much knowledge a person rejects…the one who does not know much will receive a light sentence…the one who knew much will be dealt with more severely.  

Let me say again…there are different levels of punishment in hell…Scripture seems to indicate that Hell will be experienced differently for different people

BUT…it is a place that no one should ever want to be.

See the complexity involved in the statement: How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

One more thing…for those of you who may remember the name Rob Bell…and his controversial book…Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived…a book thatcast doubt about the idea of hell and where he suggests the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal… meaning …that “every person who ever lived” could have a place in heaven”…HE’S WRONG.

For those early Christians the challenge for them was the persecution and suffering associated with being a Christian…as twenty-first-century Christians in America persecution and suffering is not an issue…it’s coming.

BUT What is occurring in America today is having the same devastating effects…the endless distractions that compete for our loyalty to Jesus…that result in Christians having and doing more fulfilling things than going to Church.

Our world is increasingly becoming focused on materialism and on having the next best thing or shiny product.

According to the Hartford Institute of Religion Research, more than 80% of Americans who say they go to church weekly…don’t…as it turns out less than 20% are actually in church…here’s the tragedy…of those 80% who claim to be Christian…how many in the end will find out that their claim was false?

Satan gives false hope regarding Christianity by using so-called Christian preachers to tell you what the Christian life is supposed to be…easy … prosperous… and healthy.

They preach that the Christian path is easy…promising as little suffering as possible…being accepted by many…immediate gratification…the promotion of self…these are distractions that are more focused on your pocketbook than your spiritual maturity.

So how do we coexist as a godly person in a world where distractions leave us drained…tired…and stressed…how exactly does Scripture depict the life of a Christ-follower where the easy way is not the right way and the path is not easy?

How difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.” (Mat.7:14)

Your preaching is too hard…it makes too many demands on me…the problem is…it’s dangerously easy to be considered “Christian” by popular standards…as your Pastor…as a Church…if we are to be faithful as Christians…we need to be honest in our preaching and teaching of God’s Word…and about the life we’ve signed up for…we need to heed the words of [2:1]:

For this reason, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it.

HEBREWS 1:1-3

The challenge that faced the author of the book of Hebrews is that he was writing primarily to a group of Jewish converts who were suffering hardship and persecution as a result of their conversion…there were two well-known times of persecution for Christians during the first century.

…in A.D. 49, the Roman Emperor Claudius prohibited Roman Jews from meeting in synagogues then later expelled them all together from Rome

…then around A.D. 64, Emperor Nero initiated the first systematic state-sponsored persecution of Christians.

As we read through the book of Hebrews, it becomes evident that the original audience had already faced persecution in the past, some of them were suffering in the present, and the author’s expectation was that for most of them they would suffer even more in the future.

As a result, they were under intense pressure to turn away from Christ and return to Judaism to avoid further persecution…take the easy way so to speak.

In chapter 10 we are given a brief description of the kinds of issues these Christians were experiencing:

Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insults and persecution…you sympathized with those (Christians) in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property (Hebrews 10:33-34).

This type of suffering really doesn’t resonate with us in America…because it’s nonexistent…BUT… last year worldwide:

• Over 340 million Christians are living in places where they do experience high levels of persecution and discrimination.
• 4,761 Christians were killed last year for their faith
• 13 Christians are killed for their faith every day
• 4,488 churches and other Christian buildings were attacked
• 4,277 believers were detained without trial, sentenced or imprisoned

Because of the pressure to return to Judaism, the book of Hebrews compares and contrasts the superiority of Christianity over Judaism and the superiority of Christ over angels…the Torah…Moses…the Promised Land…priests…

Melchizedek…sacrifices…and the covenant…they were offered as a fulfillment of Biblical commandments.

The late Dr. Walter Martin, writer of the best-selling book Kingdom of the Cults, states the reason for the book of Hebrews…a book written by a Hebrew to other Hebrews telling the Hebrews to stop acting like Hebrews.

Here’s another issue regarding Christians in Rome…Jewish communities in the Roman Empire were free to observe their faith…in fact in most cases when Rome occupied a new territory, they would adopt the gods of that territory as part of their gods…and because Christianity was closely identified with Judaism early on, they allowed Christians to exercise their faith.

But as time passed because of Christianity’s view regarding Judaism… Christianity’s identification as a Jewish sect began to disappear.

In Acts it’s noted that Jewish synagogues began rejecting Christians even encouraging local authorities to mistreat them…in all likelihood, this was the kind of situation facing the original audience of Hebrews.

As a result…many of the early Jewish believers were slipping back into the rituals of Judaism in order to escape the mounting persecution not only from the government but from family as well…this letter is an exhortation…an encouragement to those believers to remain in their faith and to not fall away.

The goal of Hebrews was for at least three reasons:

…ONE…for the converts to reject local Jewish teachings

…TWO…to remain faithful to Jesus as the Messiah.

…THREE…to show the supremacy of Jesus over Judaism. 

The Book of Hebrews begins with no mention of the author…therefore…we don’t know who wrote the book of Hebrews…many people have been credited as the author but in reality…no one knows.

In every book Paul wrote he starts off in the first verse giving his name…in every other New Testament book expect for John’s the authors start off by giving their name…so we’re pretty confident who the authors were of most New Testament books except Hebrews.

The author, whoever that was…was a master of the Greek language…in addition he was thoroughly acquainted with the Septuagint, which he regularly quotes. there are 29 quotations and 53 allusions to the Old Testament.

As a result…the theological arguments in Hebrews are more complex than many of those found in the rest of the New Testament.

Hebrews is a book deeply rooted in the Old Testament…the author spends the first ten and a half chapters of this thirteen-chapter book (1:1 – 10:18) emphasizing the superiority of Christ and the new covenant over Moses and the old covenant…he starts off establishing Jesus’ superiority in the first 3 verses.

Hebrews 1:1-3

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

In the opening verses the author highlights the supremacy of Jesus by establishing Him as:

… the Person who created the world

…the Person who is the exact representation of God

…the only Person able to make purification for sin

…the only Person qualified to sit at the right hand of God.   

People know God because God has chosen to communicate with them…God spoke through two eras…first—He spoke to our fathers the prophets—secondly—He spoke to us by His Son—that is how we separate the Old and New Testaments.

The difference can be likened to the difference between receiving a letter in the mail about a visitor coming one day…and actually receiving that visitor on your doorstep.

In the first verse the writer states…Long ago at many times and in many ways… [πολυμερως και πολυτροπως] …A key feature both of Judaism and Christianity is God’s general revelation to humans through nature.

That is why people will be without excuse on Judgment day…God has spoken to humanity at many times and many ways…the cosmic eloquence of God is deafening.

The author begins by focusing on God’s methods of communication…He spoke to the fathers by piecemeal …giving portions of revelation at different times…in different ways to different people.

BUT…no one single person received all the information

—God spoke DIRECTLY to people as he did to Abraham (Gen. 12:1) and Moses (Ex. 3:5).

—God spoke to Jacob (Gen 31:10 and Nebuchadnezzar through DREAMS (Dan. 2:1)

—God spoke to Ezekiel (8:3 / 11:24 / 40:2) and Daniel (10:8) through VISIONS

—God sent ANGELS to deliver his message (Gen. 16:10-11).

—God spoke through the PROPHETS.

—God spoke through the TORAH.

But under the New Testament…He has spoken to us by His Son…God’s message is a consistent message…God spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament but now all is done by one person…Jesus fulfilled the prophets…God now speaks through Jesus…when Christ came, all was brought to perfection.

In the next verse the author gives support for the divinity of Jesus…introducing an idea which is fundamental to the Christian faith—Jesus is God— [v. 3] He is the exact representation of God…the exact imprint of his nature.

That is a powerful statement…the word we translate as the exact representation in verse 3 is the Greek word from which we get the English word character χαρακτὴρ (khar-ak-tare’).

Here’s the importance of that word…originally that word was used for a stamp to make an impression on a coin…with each coin looking the same…here meaning…Jesus is not some created being…not some form of angel…Jesus is not another God… He doesn’t resemble any other gods…Jesus is not from God…He is The God…He is the exact imprint of the nature of God.

BUT…at the same time…Jesus is distinct from God…God the Father sent Jesus the Son and the Son now sits next to the Father…giving further evidence of the Trinity…back to John 1:1…the Word was with God and the Word was God.

After establishing Jesus as God’s exact representation and heir of all things he reveals God’s purpose in sending Jesus to earth…having made purification for sins [3].

I want to share with you the intensity of that statement…some may be saying I’m not sure what that means…I think most people can make sense of it but I want to show you what that statement means in the Greek because it is such a powerful statement.   

The words ‘’having made’ or ‘had made’ depending on the translation is one word in the Greek…it is an Aorist Participle middle voice verb…if you were a first century speaking Greek you would clearly understand the significance of that word.

Here’s what that means…the aorist tense indicates a once-for-all-time completed action as suggested by Jesus’s words on the Cross ‘it is finished’ [John 19:30].

The middle voice signifies that the subject…here Jesus…indicating He both initiated the action and participated in the results of the action…when Jesus made purification of sins, He did so by Himself…He willingly of His own accord went to the cross…offering Himself as the sacrifice for sin.

Then the word ‘purification’ indicates the act of separating and removing anything which is impure… it means cleansing from physical stain or contamination.

This word would have a much deeper meaning to a Jewish audience going clear back to the time of Aaron and the cleansing ritual on the Day of Atonement.

Here’s how I would explain the phrase having made purification for sins…the work of purification was done by Jesus personally…of His own free will…not something which He designated to be done by some other agent …it is a once and for all action that never needs to be repeated.

If you notice the writer sketches out a journey…following Jesus from death making purification for sins…to His reign with God…He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…a place that is above the angels.

Notice in [v 5] the writer establishes Christ’s superiority over all created beings …he begins by showing that Jesus was superior to angels…

          To which of the angels did He ever say “You are My Son”

it was necessary to show the superiority of Christ over the angels, because the Jews regarded them as the most exalted of all God’s creatures.

The worship of angels was a problem in the early church…Paul condemns it [Col. 2:18] …it’s still a problem today…we like to imagine them as appearing as cute babies or little children…but there is no description given in the Bible of what they look like in their true form.

Ezekiel attempts to give a description of angels in his vision but the use of metaphors and analogies along with some Hebrew phrases makes it difficult to translate. 

But angels can and do appear at times in human form…that is the way they are most often depicted on television and in movies…in human form…my all-time personal favorite angel is Clarence.

As harmless as that may seem…they have the potential to segue into a form of idolatry…some churches have statues of angels in their church…as Southern Baptists that is why we do not have statues of any kind in our churches…they have the potential to be viewed in an inappropriate manner.

Angels are:

—part of the created order…and not the creator (Colossians 1:16).

—God’s messengers (Heb. 1:14 / Rev 1:1).

—subject to judgment for wrongdoing (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).

—Paul says that humans will judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3).

—they deserve respect (1 Cor. 11:10; 1 Tim. 5:21) because in the created order, people were created “a little lower than the angels” (2:7, 9) but Christ is far superior to angels (1:4-13; 1 Peter 3:22).

—To worship angels is prohibited in the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 2:3; Matthew 4:10).

That is why right up front the writer of Hebrews establishes that God…the first word in verse one…then immediately points out that Jesus is not an angel or any other created being because He has been appointed heir of all things, something God would never delegate to an angel.

That as heir He didn’t pre-exist as a spirit child as Mormons suggest…or as the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Paul’s statement in Colossians 1:15 that He is the “firstborn of all creation” means that Jesus was a created being…or that He is separate from God the Father or the Holy Spirit.  

This was an especially important distinction to make because the common Jewish thought was that angels would rule the world one day.

The author of Hebrews responded to this local Jewish teaching by demonstrating from the Old Testament, and from Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and His return in glory, that he is actually superior to the angels.

It was imperative to show that Jesus has been exalted above them both in power and authority…so he quotes from the Old Testament to give evidence to support this.

          Let all the angels of God worship Him (6)

To which of the angels has He ever said sit at My right hand (13)  

Jesus…the Promised One is given descriptions which cannot match any angel… in chapter 1 which is mostly made up of Old Testament quotations…he quotes from Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 for two purposes:

FIRST…as evidence to prove that Jesus is above and beyond any angel or any other created thing.

SECOND…using these Old Testament verses to reveal the warning and danger of rejecting Jesus.  

So, what’s the application for me…a book written to encourage Jewish Christians living 2000 years ago…how does that affect me?

For most American church goers, they see no relevance of this book to their current status… other than Jesus is God’s Son who did make purification for our sins…BUT…for those 340 million Christians around the world who are experiencing persecution and discrimination it’s very applicable.

I think if we were all honest with ourselves, we’d see Hebrews is speaking to us as well…for many Christians living in America they do have the same fears as those first century Christians…asking the same questions that relate to their life.

Do you see me Lord? …Do You know what is going on? …Do You even hear what I’m saying? …Do You care about what’s going on in my life? …Are You blind to all I’m facing? …if You do care why the silence?

On a less severe level…I doubt there’s a person in this room who at some time in their life has not asked those same questions…So…is Hebrews is applicable to me…yes it is.

This morning you may be going through a season of rejection, loss, grief, or uncertainty…there is good news…God’s faithfulness will never waver.

Things will happen in our lives that are out of our control…despite how you may feel or the circumstances that you are in we have God’s promises that:

1) God is not blind to our circumstances.

2) God has been faithful before, and He will be faithful again.

There are no notes this week, but the audio is available on the Listen Online tab, and the YouTube is available HERE.

46 Then they came to Jericho…Jesus and his disciples…with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus…was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man,

“On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” [Mk. 10:46-51]

An almost identical account is given by [Luke 18:35-43] except the name of the blind man is not given…Matthew records a similar account but he mentions two blind men [Matt. 20:29-34].

Jesus was on His way to attend the Feast of Passover…Jesus was one among the thousands of Jews heading toward Jerusalem…for Jesus it would be His last trip to Jerusalem.

He had to pass through the old town of Jericho which was only about fifteen miles from Jerusalem…sitting by the side of the road was a poor, miserable, blind beggar named Bartimaeus.

He possibly heard from the people passing by that the famous Prophet about Whom everyone was talking about was a part of that procession…and would soon be coming by as well.

Bartimaeus must have heard about the miracles that Jesus had done and was determined that if Jesus ever came his way that he would do whatever it took to get His attention.

He was desperate…Jesus was his only hope of changing the miserable circumstances of his life, so he began to cry out…. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” …and he kept shouting even though people tried to shut him up.

Up to this point in Mark’s Gospel, no one had ever called Jesus by the title…the “Son of David.” …for the first century Jew, the term, “Son of David” was a title reserved only for the Messiah.

As Jesus was hurrying along Bartimaeus yells out this messianic title. Jesus doesn’t stop him…at this point in Jesus’ ministry He would no longer keep his messianic identity a secret.

Before this Jesus would not allow people to divulge who He was…in a conversation with the disciples Jesus asked them

Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. [Mark 8:27]

In the Gospel of Mark more than any of the other Gospels…Jesus explicitly conceals his messianic character and power until the closing period of his ministry…as seen here in the case of Bartimaeus.  

So you know…theologians call this The Messianic secret…why was Jesus so intent in keeping His identity secret…the reason why still remains a mystery.

So Jesus stopped and invited the beggar to come to him.

What do you want me to do for you? …it’s an extraordinary moment …the entire crowd waiting breathlessly to hear Bartimaeus’ response…their attention focused on someone who just minutes before they were trying to shut up.

It’s not the first time Jesus asks that question of someone…what do you want me to do for you? …it’s the same question Jesus asked of James and John who wanted Jesus to grant that one sit on His right and the other on His left when He came into His glory [Mark 10:37].

James and John wanted Jesus to fulfill their selfish request to sit in the seats of power when Jesus came into his Kingdom.

Jesus asks this same question in His dialogue with the rich young man…and while Jesus didn’t initiate the conversation with the rich young man, the man did want something from Jesus. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

In both cases Jesus refused their self-centered requests…both James, John, and the rich young man went away with their requests unfulfilled…and yet, the request of blind Bartimaeus was fully granted on the spot…this healing is the last recorded healing miracle in Mark…so what can we learn from this poor, blind beggar?

At the start of His ministry, Jesus had taught the importance of prolonged persistent prayer…that whoever asks and keeps on asking, seeks and keeps on seeking, and knocks and keeps on knocking, will be answered.

Bartimaeus answers Jesus…I want to receive my sight…notice that when Jesus asked this man what he wanted, the man didn’t say, “Well, Lord…I just really need your help…I have an unspoken request…you know my heart, and uh well… I just need your help with my situation.”

I’m not against unspoken requests…sometimes, it’s the most appropriate way to ask for prayer in public when wanting to conceal what it is you’re praying for… that’s why I don’t share our prayer requests with anyone but those who come to Tuesday night prayer service because some of those requests are personal.

Let me share with you the danger when we don’t ask God specifically what it is we desire…because God deals in specifics…praying for world hunger or world peace…or that all Covid-19 people are healed doesn’t get the attention of God.

If you are asking God for something in prayer…two things you need to do: –Tell God exactly what the problem is

–Tell God exactly what you need done about it.

This man was unwilling to give up in his quest for healing…he chose to believe in Jesus and was determined if at all possible, to meet with Him despite the crowds being unsympathetic about his situation.

He was persistent in his desire to be healed and was not going to be deterred in his efforts to be seen by Jesus…so he continued to cry out.

Maybe the disciples had also become too accustomed to Christ’s healing ministry that they had grown callous of the miracles Jesus was performing so they became unsympathetic to this poor blind beggar as well.

They had witnessed the faith of the Centurion, whose servant was healed, and the Samaritan woman, whose demon-possessed daughter was delivered.

Jesus never touched either one…instructing many people to, “go in peace, your faith has made you whole,” and told others, “according to your faith be it unto you.” All being healed by only having faith.

Bartimaeus had probably heard these stories…people being delivered from sickness… from demonic possession…blind being healed…crippled walk…and although for those they only knew Jesus as Jesus of Nazareth…Bartimaeus knew him as the Messiah, the Son of David.

What a joy it must have been for Bartimaeus when Jesus stopped and told the crowd to, “Call him here.” …imagine the anticipation that must have rippled through the crowd when they heard Jesus ask the beggar, “what do you want Me to do for you?” and heard the blind beggar’s request “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Bartimaeus made his faith in Christ very clear, for he addressed Him as “My Lord” – “My Master”… Bartimaeus not only received the desire of his heart – but was given so much more.

Bartimaeus demonstrated that it was not only his physical sight that would be affected, but that his spiritual eyes of understanding had been opened, and he acknowledged Christ as the Lord of his life.

For many of the men and women who approached Jesus for healing…there was also the evidence that they needed not only physical healing but a spiritual awakening – they needed salvation.

People ask me…ask the church…pray for a family member…my first concern always is…are you a Christian…because if you’re not a Christian God will not hear your prayer.

The only prayer God hears from an unsaved person is the prayer for salvation.

Second…I ask them…when’s the last time you prayed for them…these are the concerns we should have when praying for someone else.

That not only bodily health is restored, but that the spiritual needs are also met and spiritual eyes are opened to see Jesus as Lord.

Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/mark-10-51

In just eight verses the Bible tells the story of how a blind beggar was healed. From this we learn four lessons that can help us to be more successful in life:

Be Ready to Take Advantage of Opportunities

Bartimaeus teaches that we should not allow the opportunity of a lifetime to pass us by.

This was a road Jesus had passed down many times before…and yet we know from this account it would be His last time passing down this road…He was on His way to the cross to die.

Here’s the tragic lesson…ONE…not preparing ourselves for what God has purposed for us…I’ll wait to go to school…I’ll wait to get that training…I’ll do whatever is necessary or whatever is required of me after I get the job…then I’ll get serious about preparing myself.

You need to be prepared when the call comes…that is not the time to be getting ready. Be ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself.

SECOND…being hesitant to take a job because you feel you lack the necessary skills…thereby missing out on an opportunity that may not come around again…this was Bartimaeus’ only chance…Jesus would not come down that road again.  

THIRD…here’s the tragic lesson to be learned, particularly for sinners who have never trusted Christ – everyone hears the gospel for the last time at some time…there will be a time when an unbeliever will hear the offer of salvation for the last time…there will be no more opportunities.

I don’t know how many people listen to us on YouTube…I don’t know if there’s someone listening to this message right now…it could be that this is your last time…your last opportunity…the last time Jesus will pass by you – never to pass by again…don’t miss this opportunity.

Bartimaeus is a lesson…he was determined that he would not let Jesus pass by him this last time. He wanted to lay hold on Christ by faith – that’s exactly what he did…he cast aside his cloak that he used to collect money…got up and approached Christ and was healed.

As soon as Bartimaeus was made well he turned and followed Jesus…the blind beggar on the roadside becomes a disciple…he could have easily faded quietly back into ‘regular’ life like 9 of the 10 leapers who were healed did, who did not even give thanks for being healed.

Don’t Let People Keep You from Pursuing Your Dreams

Bartimaeus did not let the opportunity of a lifetime pass him by…he didn’t let peer-pressure distract him from his only opportunity for change…Bartimaeus had a need and he wasn’t about to be silenced by people.

Too often we tend to think of all the things that could keep us from getting to the end…it’s too hard…it’s too expensive…it takes too long…I’ll be too old… persevere…these thoughts can paralyze us by keeping us from ever beginning the journey.

But with the knowledge of where you want to end up, you should start moving immediately with each step making the next step possible…don’t let the opportunity of a lifetime pass you by.

Bartimaeus exercised faith:

…First…he cried out to the One Person He believed could heal him;

…Second…he kept calling out even after everyone tried to shut him up;

…Third…he made his request believing it would be given to him.

Do we have that kind of faith? …Do we really believe that God can and wants to respond to our cries? …Do we really believe that He can meet our needs? …Do we have the faith to keep praying and continue praying until God responds?

Start Working Towards Your Dreams Even When You Can’t See How You Will Achieve It

Our present condition does not have to be our final condition…often times in life, we try to work out all the details before we start working towards our dreams…it’s just human nature.

Here’s the frustrating part…here’s how God works…see it countless times in the Bible…seen it in my own life…FIRST…when God purposes you to do something, He may call you before you have any skills in that area at all…even when there doesn’t appear to be any way that is going to be accomplished in your life time.

SECOND…He never gives you all the details up front…He just says go

…then He waits to see if you’re going to debate about it

…or make your decision based on how workable you may think it is

…or accept the fact it will never happen in your life time and so you do nothing

…or…are you going to step out in faith and begin to work toward the purpose He predestined for you?

Get Rid of All That Hinders You

Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak…he got rid of whatever it was that would hinder him from getting to Jesus…throwing aside his cloak demonstrated:

He was leaving his old life…the cloak defined who Bartimaeus was…he positioned his cloak over his knees to catch the coins people threw…he wouldn’t need that cloak anymore…he would never be a blind beggar again.

Like Bartimaeus we need to throw off our ‘cloaks.’

That cloak represents dependencies that bind us to our circumstances…many times, we want to come to God but not wanting to let go of the things that hold us in bondage.

We need to throw off our failures…our weakness …our depression…our sinful habits… our old life…things that define who we are.

In order for us to move forward we must learn to throw off our old cloak…get up and move…we can’t grow and remain in the same spot we were in.

When Jesus healed Bartimaeus, Jesus told him to “Go, your faith has healed you” but instead of leaving when he received his sight, the Bible tells us that Bartimaeus followed Jesus. Bartimaeus did not just want the healing, he also wanted the healer.

Every person seated here this morning…those watching on YouTube…our lives parallel that of Bartimaeus…we may not have the physical issues he had but every one of our lives is reflected in how Bartimaeus acted.

Everything he did to receive his sight is what is required in receiving salvation:

He saw his need.
He cried out for help.
He would not be deterred by those who tried to silence him.
He knew what he wanted Jesus to do for him.
He asked for what he needed.

No one puts “Blind Beggar” on their list of career choices…in the case of Bartimaeus he made a decision to do something…to change his circumstances …when Jesus showed up this man’s life changed forever.

Whether it’s a decision to become a Christian…or a decision to pursue your dreams and purpose God has called you to…at some point YOU are the only person that can initiate that action…like Bartimaeus you have to ask…and when Jesus shows up…your life will change forever.  

The Resurrection story of Jesus is full of confusion…just read it…a lot of people not understanding what was happening:

…how is it that the stone was rolled away from in front of the tomb?

…Mary thinks Jesus’ body has been stolen

…the disciples aren’t accepting Jesus’ resurrection

…when Mary realizes who Jesus is and reaches out to touch Him, she is told not to.

You couldn’t find a more jumbled-up…mixed up…story in a couple of paragraphs if you tried…even the name ‘Easter’ is confusing.

One of the holiest days of the year is named after a Babylonian goddess Ishtar… that’s where the name Easter comes from…we are referring to the day Jesus rose from the grave by the name of a Babylonian idol who later was known as Queen of the Universe.

So…Jesus’ Resurrection day is named after a Babylonian idol…appropriately symbolized by a bunny…which has become a prominent symbol of Christianity’s most important holiday.

As a side note…in 1964 the Second Vatican Council proclaimed Mary the mother of Jesus also as the Queen of the Universe…giving her the same title as an idol who was known as keeper of the prostitutes…and the day of His birth isn’t much better…symbolized by Santa Claus and Christmas trees.  

A Barna poll showed that only 42 percent of Americans said the meaning of Easter was Jesus’ resurrection…we have put so much emphasis on the name Easter that almost half of America doesn’t even know what the real meaning is…credit that to the rabbit.

See how Satan works to destroy anything associated with Christianity? …just 2 percent of Americans identify it as the most important holiday of their faith.

Maybe that’s why the confusion regarding the Resurrection strains our credibility with the rest of the world…and even with Christians.  

It’s actually the confusion surrounding the Resurrection of Jesus that gives creditably to the story…it’s how I know the Resurrection of Jesus must be true…think about it.

If someone had been wanting to make this all up…as many have suggested… wouldn’t you think it would be written as a nice bedtime story you could tell your children…no conflict…no flaws…no irregularities.

If you were wanting to make up a story about the Resurrection why would you put so much confusion in it?

First of all…no first-century writer would have put the women at the tomb first because women weren’t considered reliable witnesses…so right up front Mary’s testimony regarding Jesus’ body being gone would have been unreliable.

Second…nobody would put so much detail about the cloth around Jesus’ head being folded up in a place by itself…it’s insignificant…what does it matter?

Third…if this is a story about Jesus coming back from the dead…in the same body…why was He not immediately recognized…what’s up with that confusion?

All four gospels agree on the fact that no one was prepared for what had happened … nobody had the slightest idea of what had occurred…not even those closest to Jesus ever expected to see Him alive again…they weren’t looking for a resurrection.

Not one of the disciples were expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead. Mark’s Gospel makes a point of telling us of the repeated unbelief of the disciples:

Mark 16: 11: ”they would not believe”
Mark 16: 13: ”they did not believe”;
Mark 16: 14: ”they had not believed.”

BUT…here’s what’s interesting to note…all the witnesses did agree that the tomb was empty…there’s no confusion on that…the disciples…the Jews…the temple guards…the Romans…all knew that the tomb was empty.

Each group viewed the facts differently, but no one disputed the basic assertion that on that first Resurrection Sunday morning Jesus was no longer in the tomb.

It’s an historical fact…whether He walked out…or His body was stolen…one thing was for certain… His body was not in the tomb…the whole city of Jerusalem and the whole Roman Empire knew about it…it’s an historical reality.

There are historical references to Jesus meeting people after His Resurrection… talking with people… eating with them… after His Resurrection He appeared to as many as 500 people proving that He was indeed alive. 

The authenticity of the Resurrection is crucial to the Christian faith…our eternal future hinges on this story…Paul writes: (1 Corinthians 15:14-15, 17, 19)

if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…If only in this life we have hope in Christ, (then) we are to be pitied more than all men.

During the time in our study of John we looked at the most important countdown in the history of the world—the final 94 hours that led to the empty tomb…94 hours that changed the world.

During the countdown we followed Jesus through the Last Supper…to the Garden of Gethsemane…through His trial and torture…the six hours He hung on the Cross …then His death…His three days and three nights in the tomb…then to His Resurrection on Sunday morning.  

The four gospel writers describe the resurrection morning with each one providing a different detail…John’s account starting in John 20:10…

“Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, Woman, why are you crying? she said, they have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put Him.

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus. Woman, He said, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? Thinking He was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him. Jesus said to her, Mary.

She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabbi.’  Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to My brothers and tell them, “I am returning to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.”

“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’

Mary had to answer two questions that day.

1. Why Are You Crying? [John 20:13]

Inside the tomb are two angels…so deep was her grief that even the appearance of two angels couldn’t shake her out of her distraught state…the angels ask Mary a question that seems totally unnecessary… “Why are you weeping?”

You can tell these angels never took a course in Christian counseling, because you’re never supposed to ask someone who is crying… ‘Why they are crying.’

The angels probably asked the question out of curiosity…possibly thinking… “This earthly creature should surely know Jesus is alive, so why is she crying?”

Mary didn’t respond to the angel by saying, “How dare you ask me that question, can’t you see what I’m going through?” …Instead, she simply said, “They’ve taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they’ve laid Him.”

Then Mary turned around and saw a Man she assumed was the gardener. This stranger asked the same questions the angels had asked, “Woman, why are you crying?”

Jesus asked the question out of compassion…He loved Mary, and His heart was moved by her tears. “Why are you crying?” He knew the answer.

What about you this morning…when you think about your own life situations there could be as many different answers to “Why are you crying?” as there are people seated here today.

While there is plenty to grieve in the headlines, the deepest kind of pain is always personal…you may be familiar with this rating scale.

Depending on what is occurring in our life at any given time…we can put ourselves in one of those circles.

Maybe like Mary you may still be stinging from the death of a loved one.

Maybe you’ve made some terrible mistakes in the past and the pain of those mistakes has blurred your vision so you can’t imagine the possibility of living a resurrected life with Jesus…feeling God hasn’t forgiven you.

Maybe you’re hurting because of a recent diagnosis you or someone you love has received…you may be hurting because of problems with your children. The list is endless.

Even for those of us who know the Lord, tears are part of our existence. None of us are immune to tears.

But just like with Mary…if you listen you will hear a familiar voice…at that point Jesus couldn’t conceal His identity any longer…when He saw the love Mary had for Him…He simply spoke her name “Mary Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Jesus knows your name, too. He knows everything about you. You could easily imagine Him calling your name right now.

Jesus then asks Mary the second question…one that every person who has ever lived has asked themselves at one time or another.

• For Whom Are You Searching?

Now…that question was never put to Mary in that form…it was always in the indicative as a statement of fact… you are looking for Jesus…but it could have very well been an Interrogative clause.

Bewildered by what she’s discovered, Mary quickly takes off running…she finds Simon Peter and the other disciple and tells them what she has found…they race to the tomb and Mary follows.

Luke adds that when the women came and told the apostles what the angel had said, They did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” [Luke 24:11

…the two disciples see the body of Jesus is missing and do nothing…they return to their homes while Mary remains in the garden crying.

Is that not a sad situation? … the disciples went away to their own homes… [John 20:10] and Mary’s left there alone crying… sympathy was not a strong point.

Not completely recognizing Jesus…thinking Him to be the gardener, Mary said, Sir, if you have carried Him away, please show me where you put Him and I will get him.

Really? …Mary maybe weighed 110 pounds…let’s assume Jesus weighed 165 plus He was wrapped in an additional 75 pounds of spices…so this woman was going to lift 250 pounds and carry it back inside the tomb…don’t know how realistic that may be…but…Mary’s actions showed the deep love she had for Jesus.

Problem was…Mary was seeking a dead Jesus …her hopes were shattered…her faith was wavering…lost her passion for life…Marys like the countless people today who are in the same situation…everybody is searching for someone or something that they don’t know.

Fundamentally that reflects a lack of meaning in life…a lack of purpose…a deeper sense of meaningfulness…possibly possessing everything I need but still being unsatisfied…never finding what they’re looking for.

So many people are like the Billy Joel song…River of Dreams…everybody is looking for someone or something. 

In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep
now I’m tired and I don’t want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn’t take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I’ve been looking for

For some these are more than words to a song…for those young people who were raised in the faith but are ready to walk away from their faith because of a cynical professor or friend who asked them questions for which they have no answers for…never finding what they’re looking for.

Some have gone through tragedies that have caused them to question everything and so they hopelessly walk away never finding what they’re looking for.

Some, in their intellectual development, have come seeking questions for which they can’t find answers for…they hopelessly walk away not finding what they’re looking for…want to share with you two contrasting preachers who emphasize this idea.

Charles Templeton…a friend of Billy Graham whose peaching was on a par with his… he spoke regularly to stadium crowds of up to thirty thousand people…but he doubted his faith and the validity of the Bible…eventually he walked away from his church…his calling…his ministry…and from God.

As opposed to Billy Graham, who also struggled early in his ministry with his theology and the validity of the Bible…here’s the difference…Graham confessed his lack of understanding but professed he was going to allow faith to go before his intellectual questions and doubts by trusting the Bible as God’s inspired Word.

For some who for years have been nominal, cultural Christians, attending church because that is what you did where they were raised…everybody went to church… and every Wednesday was visitation to talk to new prospects…but for many, going to church was an exercise…you did it because most everybody else did.

They claim a “born-again” experience with Jesus but always thought that church attendance was on a level of joining a service club, like the…Lions…or the PTA.

Subsequently…they never made a commitment…never finding what they’re looking for.

There are those who have totally dropped out of church; they don’t have time for religious organizations…never finding what they’re looking for.

Jesus’ question to Mary is the same one God asks everyone…but for us the question takes on a different application… both for those who claim to seek Him and for those who are just stumbling through life … ‘what are you looking for?’ …what is your goal in life?

So, what does His resurrection mean? It means three things:

(1) Jesus is who He claimed to be;

(2) Jesus has the power He claimed to have; and

(3) Jesus did what He promised He would do.

Resurrection Sunday is important…without the resurrection there is no hope… without the resurrection, there would be no reason for us to be here today or any other day.

Jesus’ teachings and life would be nothing more than just a bunch of inspirational ideas on how to live a better life…even more, Jesus’ death would have been in vain.

Resurrection Sunday is God’s promise that not only has Christ risen from the dead, but that we, through His power, shall also rise victorious from the grave.

Here’s what the Easter Bunny won’t tell you:

Only in the Christian religion is our belief based on the actual physical resurrection of its founder [Acts 1:3].

Only in Christianity does its spiritual leader rise from the dead—something only God could do. 

…Buddha was cremated, and his ashes spread among seven cities.  
…Muhammad’s tomb is in Medina.
…Jesus’s tomb in Jerusalem is empty.

All this adds to the legitimacy and credibility of Christianity above all other religions–all based on the person of Jesus.

Either Jesus is true and all other religions…cults…sects…are false, or other religions are just as true as Christianity…and Jesus is false.  There are no other options.  I choose to follow the risen Jesus.

God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name – Philippians 2:9–11

Throughout history, God has sought to build strong relationships with His people…long before He sent His Son to earth, God began revealing Himself to mankind in other ways…one of the first was sharing His personal name.

According to the Torah, God’s name is a four-letter word – Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey(YHWH) is the name of God in the Jewish Scriptures.

When Moses ask God, who shall I say sent me when told to go back to Egypt and seek the release of the people, God’s response was tell them the I AM אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה (YHWH)sent you.

People often pronounce these four Hebrew letters as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” but the truth is that we don’t really know how to pronounce it.

We have lost the correct pronunciation of God’s name…because the Jews were so worried about taking God’s name in vain, they quit speaking it…only the priests were allowed to speak God’s name but when the priesthood collapsed in 70 A.D. with the destruction of the Temple there was no one left to accurately pronounce it.

Even today the name ‘God’ is not written by most Jewish writers because of the danger of violating the fourth commandment so it’s written G-d…also there is the danger in writing God’s name down to avoid it ever being thrown away, erased or destroyed.

This led them to begin substituting other names in Scripture and in spoken prayer…most Bibles translate God’s name as ‘LORD’…when reading it in Hebrew, it’s pronounced ‘Adonai’.

The name in Hebrew indicates ownership…from this, we see God’s outright ownership of all things in Heaven and Earth, including Mankind.

The idea is not of slavery…we need to remember that the concept of Adonai has to do with God’s position of leadership…not oppression…it’s referring to our submitting to Him…showing God has sovereignty over us.

What Paul is referring to in his epistle to the church at Philippi is…as the result of Jesus’ willful submission to death:

at the mention of His name every knee will bow…of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father (Phil. 2:9b-11)

Here’s what’s crazy about this…Jesus has been raised from the dead and is ascended to the right hand of God…a statemen of fact…and yet millions of people bet their eternal destiny against an outcome that God has declared to be absolutely certain.

What the text is saying is that God has highly exalted Jesus to such a degree that at the name of Jesus…when you hear the name Jesus… every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that He is Lord to the glory of God.

OK…a little confusion…the name spelled Jesus is common in some parts of the world…although it’s not pronounced as Jesus…it is written as Jesus…so how does that apply when someone calls a person by their given name of Jesus.  

Jesus’ name in Hebrew is ‘Yeshua’… meaning “the Lord is salvation” … which translates into English as Joshua…so then how did we get the name Jesus?

In the late 4th century, the Bible was translated into Latin…a manuscript known as the Vulgate…in the various translations that appeared, the English Bible eventually changed the Y sound to the letter J, which we now have in Jesus.

So, from Yeshua – Jesus’ name in Hebrew to the Greek transliteration that was later transliterated again into Latin then later becoming the English name Jesus.

The name both Mary and Joseph were told to give to the baby before Jesus was even born [Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:21].

Paul is saying…that we must acknowledge by whatever name or names the Persons of the Trinity call themselves…and there are over 200…that these names are immeasurably and infinitely glorious. 

And because those names are an indication of the character and attributes of God…and because they reflect His character…God is at pains both to protect the integrity of His name and promote His honor…as reflected in the first four commandments of the Ten Commandments.  

Here’s the importance in knowing what some of the many names God has given Himself means.

One of those names is the name Elohim…the first words in Genesis 1 in the Bible are: בראשית ברא אלוהים – In the beginning, God created…the word used for God is ‘Elohim.’

An interesting word…Elohim is a masculine plural noun…right up front we see that God is not a woman or a mother.

Something else strange about this word…it’s a plural noun but it is always used with a singular verb when it speaks of the true God…it defines God as being more than one person which validates the decision to create humanity was made by more than one person:

Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”

The second word is Adonai whose syntactic usage is normally interpreted as plural as well.

There they all are – all three of them together…God the (Father)…the Son who was with God from the beginning…and His Holy Spirit.

Now this is where the controversy starts…there are those who argue that the name Elohim does not indicate more than one person…I’m not even going to address those who argue otherwise because they use evidence from sources that are not even Christian in their attempt to discredit the Trinity…so obviously their argument is invalid.  

God invites us through Scripture to see how His name declares who He is…in researching the names of God we see how He not only reveals His character, but also His promises to us by what He calls Himself.

It is possible to know God through His name…but because God is way beyond our human concept…one way to know what God is really like is to know what He reveals about Himself.

That is where the Bible comes in…the Bible reveals God and His ways.

Just thinking out loud…have you wondered how to get something—anything— from the Bible? …it seems so complicated and so big…so to know the true God seems like an impossibility.

BUT…by researching and understanding His name you’ll have greater insight into who He really is.

Here’s what’s important to know regarding what a name meant in biblical times… something entirely different from what it does to us today.

In our culture a name rarely reflects the hopes we have for a child’s future or its character…even if we name a child ‘Hope’ or ‘Destiny’ it’s usually not a reflection of ethnicity, culture, or parental preference.

The only exception to that may be for those of you who remember Scott and Melissa Murphy…after two sons they finally had a daughter…Melissa named her ‘Praise.’

A name in the Bible is rich with purpose and meaning…the giving of a name or the changing of a name suggested a positive or successful future…a new phase of life…a new destiny…or a new relationship for that person.

For example, God changed Abram’s name… meaning ‘exalted father’ in Hebrew to his new name, Abraham, meaning ‘father of a multitude’ because he was the founding father of the Jewish nation of Israel…the name Abraham represented what God would perform through him as the father of Israel.

God gave Jacob a new name when he was a middle-aged man [Gen.32:27-28] …symbolizing his new nature…his name change reflected his new inner character from the (“deceiver”) Jacob…to Israel (one who interacts with God).

Here’s what’s interesting…God reveals His names in specific situations…in the Old Testament when someone had a specific need, the name that God would reveal Himself as was related directly to the solution to the problem that the person was facing.

Example…Abraham/Sarah expels Hagar…the Egyptian maidservant from the camp…she’s on her way back to Egypt…in the wilderness with no food and no water…God appears to her.

Hagar marvels that God even knows who she is let alone knows about her and cares about her at all…in her joy she becomes the only character in the Bible to actually name God…El Roi, the God Who Sees.

It is one thing to know in theory that God knows you and loves you…but it’s an entirely different thing to be aware of God’s presence and personal care over you…that He knows us and loves us — that he sees me, not with judgment, but with love and care…that is the meaning of one of the names of God.

Now if you’re interested in doing a study…you can look at the over 200 names of God in the Bible…He has so many names because no one name tells you everything there is to know about His character…each name puts the spotlight on one of His attributes.

The more you know about His names, the more you will understand His complex character.

In fact even the writers of both testaments stress the importance of God’s name by using the phrase…‘for His name’s sake’ [1 John 2:12 / Psalm 106:8 / Psalm 23:3 / Isaiah 43:25 / Isaiah 48:9 / Isaiah 66:5 / Jeremiah 14:7].

What does that phrase mean, for His name’s sake? Clearly the phrase means ‘for the sake of showing His abilities and His character’.

God made for Himself a great and glorious name in redeeming Israel when He poured His plagues out on Egypt then drowned the Egyptian army in knee deep water as some insist.

God made for Himself a great name when He brought His people through the wilderness and led them into the Promised Land…You lead Your people, to make Yourself a glorious name [14].

God gets a name for himself in turning those who have been rebellious of Him into believing Christians…those who for years have been in opposition to God and finally come to an acceptance of Jesus as Savior glorifies God.

God has made a name for Himself by taking millions of departed saints into Paradise with Him.

God gets a name for himself in forgiving the guilty…removing our sin as far as East is from the West remembering them no more…who casts all our sins into the depths of the sea.

God glorifies his name in preserving the tempted…every person here today has a story about themselves…how God has kept them during a time of great temptation.

God gets a great name for himself in using weak instruments…people who may not be the best…the most eloquent…the smartest…including the feeble or the insignificant…but are willing to be used by God for His glory…ever thought about what mighty works God can do with such poor instruments?

God’s great aim in creating and governing the world is that He be glorified. “I created you for my glory. I formed you, I made you.”

Now when God says that He created us for his glory, it cannot mean that he created us so that He would become more glorious…because God’s glory is the perfect harmony of all his attributes into one personal Being.

Even though this text deals with God’s Old Testament people Israel…His motives do not change from era to era and so we can apply at least that aspect of this text to the people of God in our day.

When God says He made us for His glory, it means that He created us to display that glory.

As Christians our desire should be to glorify the name of God by the way we live…that His glory might be known and praised through… our actions…our motives…our desires…that our interests align with God’s purpose for us.

That’s why one of the many attributes of God is jealousy…but different than human jealousy…human jealousy is nearly always rooted in sin…but in God’s case He has a right to desire our praise…our worship…our attention…and our hearts.

It is right for God to be a jealous God in the sense that He wants you to remain faithful in putting Him before everything else…God hates arrogance. He hates it because we haven’t done anything to be arrogant about.

For those who follow Jesus as Lord and Savior two things need to be stressed:

First, our salvation is for God’s sake…For My name’s sake I withhold my anger for the sake of My praise I restrain it for you [Isa. 48:9].

To be sure, God will save his people, He will bless us infinitely! …but it is for His name’s sake…for Hispraise…for Hisglory that He does it.

The second thing that needs to be stressed is God will not allow his name to be profaned indefinitely.

Though He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, He will not tolerate forever those who do not give him glory…or regard something else as more glorious or more worthy of allegiance.

“My glory I will not give to another.” [Isa. 48:11] …That’s why it’s a fearful thing to be cross ways with your maker.

There is a judgment day coming…and the issue for every one of us will be… have we been with God in His efforts to glorify Himself so that every people…nation…and language have the opportunity to know Him and the gift He offers to be a part of His kingdom that will never pass away…or has His glory been a matter of indifference to us?

The word of the Lord came to me [Jer. 2:1]

Last week we looked at ‘How do I know the Bible is true?’ …one of the ways is that no other religious writings profess to be inspired by God…of the five major religions in the world… Buddhism… Hinduism…Islam…Judaism…and Christianity…only Christianity claims their writings are divinely inspired…that they were received directly from God.

Here we see the proof of that…Jeremiah writes…the word of the Lord came to me…then to add emphasis to that he makes the statement…this is what the Lord says [2] leaving no doubt as to who is doing the speaking.

Only in the Bible is such a statement made…at least a dozen times Jeremiah makes that statement…no other religious cult…organization…or sect can in any of their writing state that claim…Jeremiah continues:  

“I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me [Jeremiah 2:1–3]

Thus says the Lord, what injustice did your fathers find in Me that they went far from Me…they went after the worthless and became worthless themselves [Jer. 2:5]

God is telling Jeremiah that He is concerned because the people of Judah had allowed their hearts to drift apart from Him.

A little history…because Israel had forsaken God and had deviated so far from His laws God withheld His blessings from them…as a consequence Jeremiah was called to prophesy regarding God’s decision to destroy Jerusalem.

Let me say something about that…because it needs addressing…today there is no shortage of preachers prophesying God’s coming judgment on the United States because of Americans’ disobedience to God’s laws…SO, is there any truth to that?

A messianic rabbi in New Jersey writes in his book The Harbinger explaining the mystery of what’s behind 9/11, the war in Iraq, the crash of Wall Street, and much more.

That 9/11 was a warning to America regarding God’s impending judgement.

He attempts to make a comparison between the United States and the September 11 attacks to the destruction of Israel by taking two verses out of Isaiah and applying them to the 9-11 attack…problem is… these verses were about the Assyrians attacking the northern tribes of Israel…they have nothing to do with America or the world.

Back in 2015 Billy Graham’s daughter predicted God’s judgment is coming to America…her assessment was: ‘it’s going to be ugly.’

Then there was the four blood moons hoax preached by a pastor in Texas who predicted if not the end of the world at least the Second Coming, or the beginning of an apocalyptic tribulation event…nothing happened.

Just so you know the same messianic rabbi who preached a warning about 9/11 was also preaching the four blood moon hoax as well…as a Jew he obviously failed to read what God said about false prophets…but he is much richer.

Then enter Covid-19…God’s obvious judgment against America.

Just look at history regarding world pandemics: 

HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC Death Toll: 36 million

FLU PANDEMIC (1918) Death Toll: 20 -50 million

THE BLACK DEATH (1346-1353) Death Toll: 75 – 200 million

BUBONIC PLAGUE (541-542) Death Toll: 25 million

That’s obviously not all of them…so, was that God’s judgment on those people as well?

If social media serves no other purpose it reveals how dumb people are… conspiracy theorists proclaiming ‘the day of reckoning has begun’ …basing their reasoning on Jesus’ statement regarding certain events that will occur before He returns…with one of those signs being pestilence…but not in this case.

The Coronavirus…9/11…four blood moons or any other thing is not the beginning of the end of the world or God’s judgment on American…here’s the importance in studying the Bible…some of these guys should try it.

I want to share with you three Greek words that dispel any attempt to tie what is happening in America or anywhere in the world to God’s judgment so you’re not taken in by these pontificators who want to scare people.   

FIRST…is the Greek word judge(κρίνω) (kree’-no) that word or a derivative is used 182 times in the New Testament…there is no instance of that word or word group referring to judging nations in the Church Age.

There are no passages stating that nations are being judged by God during the period of time in which we live.

If God judges nations during the Church Age, why didn’t the New Testament writers mention it?

Stephen’s statement in Acts 7:7 regarding the judgment of nations is a quotation from the Old Testament. He was reciting Israel’s history. In several instances Jesus speaks of judging cities like Chorazin or Bethsaida (cf. Matthew 11:21–24; Luke 10; 13–14). The main subject however in each passage is illustrating the Great White Throne Judgment. Each foreshadows the future Great White Throne Judgment (cf. Revelation 20:11–15) which is explicitly directed toward individuals not nations. This judgment will take place after the Church Age.

2. The Greek word for nations (ἔθνος) (eth’-nos) in the 168 occurrences in the New Testament is never used in the context of judgment.

3. The Greek word for repentance (μετανοέω) is never used in reference to nations…no nation during the Church Age is ever called to repent—individuals are.

When Jesus called the disciples to proclaim repentance to the nations in Luke 24:47, it is clear from the parallel passage and context of Matthew 28:18–20 that nations refers to all the individuals within a nation. https://capmin.org/is-god-judging-america-today/

People take words from the Bible out of their context, and “sound bite” them giving them an entirely different meaning than when they were originally spoken…our task is to discover what the text means, and to settle for nothing less than the correct meaning so the Bible can’t just mean anything.

It’s not up to us to redefine those meanings to fit our own interpretations; it’s our task to understand what those words meant when originally uttered.

When we look around today,

…Do we see the proliferation of sin to be more abundant?

…Do the sins of people today seem to be done in a “bolder” manner?

…Do we see things occurring we never would have imagined a few years ago?

I would say ‘YES’ to all those…but it doesn’t mean God is ready to invoke his judgement or wrath on America or the world.

A cursory study of the Book of Revelation and Matthew 24 reveals the beginning of the end…here’s the key… nothing that happens in Revelation or any of the horrors spoken of in Matthew 24 occurs during the Church age…it all occurs after the Rapture.

People have this mistaken idea that somehow America is center stage for how God deals with the rest of the world…even claiming that the United States has replaced Israel as God’s chosen nation because in the past we have aligned ourselves with God, even claiming to be ‘one nation under God’…But here’s the difference.

The difference between God’s covenant with Israel and America’s relationship is just exactly that…God initiated His covenant with Israel…God chose Israel… Israel will always be God’s favorite…liked you best…America on the other hand chose to be called a nation under God. America has not replaced Israel.

Back to Jeremiah…because Israel had forsaken God and had deviated so far from His laws God withheld His blessings from them…and as a consequence Jeremiah was called to prophesy regarding God’s decision to destroy Jerusalem.

In fact, to show God’s love for Israel…a third of the Old Testament…or seventeen of the final books of the Old Testament, repeats a call for Israel to return to their worship of the One True God.

Jeremiah refreshes their memory but not in giving them a play by play account of all that God had done for them but by simply stating…He remembers them.

Is anything more pleasing to hear than to have someone come up to you and say: ‘I remember you’ …possibly because of something memorable you did in their life…here’s God telling Israel… “I remember” …the Lord never forgets his people…He remembers!

God knows who we are…where we are…and what we need…He remembers His promises…He remembers His covenant with us…even when we sometimes don’t think He does.

How can we know for sure God is thinking about us today? …there are so many people in the world, why would He be personally interested in me?

David asked the same question thousands of years ago in Psalm 8:4… ‘what is man that you are mindful of him’… it’s an amazing feeling to realize God has our name engraved on His hand [Isaiah 49:16] …that He really sees us…cares about us… and knows us by name!

The problem is never with God…it’s always with us…knowing all the things that God did for Israel, what would cause the hearts of the people to drift away from Him…with all that God did for them why would they want to separate themselves from Him?  

Jeremiah gives them a history of their relationship…He starts off reminding them of the pleasant honeymoon period they at one time enjoyed ‘The devotion of your youth’, ‘Your love as a bride’.

Ever think about the time when you first came to know Jesus as your Savior… He’s reminding them of the early times when they followed the LORD.

But Jeremiah quickly turns to the inconsideration and ingratitude of the people:

5 What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went (away) from me,

What we’re seeing here is not just isolated to Israel…this is the history of religious defection in every age.

The overwhelming influence of worldly interests and concerns coupled with the lusts of our own sinful nature whereby we render ourselves worthless by not appreciating the good things of God.

   They went after the worthless and became worthless themselves [5]  

God is sharing His frustration with Jeremiah…for those whom I have done so much for…yet they turn away from Me…preferring other things which can do them no good.

How easily the people forgot the miracles of mercy which God had performed on their behalf:

—when after 400 years in captivity He brought them out of Egypt

—how He killed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea

—how He sent them manna from the sky, and water out of rocks

—how He guided them by a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night

—how He defended them from those who messed with them

What would cause people to so easily forgot those types of blessings…the book of Jeremiah is essentially a long essay on apostasy…people falling away from God…here’s the key…Jeremiah makes mention of it…of particular interest is the evidence of the incredible power leaders have to influence people for good or for bad.

The inconsideration and ingratitude of the people was a result of those who professed to be the spiritual leadership in Judah: [2:8]

The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?” The experts in the law no longer knew Me, the rulers rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by (another god) and followed useless idols.

…when Divine blessings are abused

…when Sacred things are desecrated

…when those who ought to be leaders and examples are worse than those they’re trying to lead

…when those who are called to be servants of the Most High God lose sight of God’s guidance and become the greatest law-breakers

…When pastors who ought to guide and feed the flock become like the blind it ultimately affects the church

One reason people are being led astray: the power of personality…gone from the pulpit is the scholar-saint whose priority was with books and learning …whose focus was on the shepherding of the flock God entrusted to him.

This has all changed. In its place is the new “celebrity” style of pastor…tall… wide…and handsome…a leader who works by manipulating the feelings of the congregation…whose charismatic personality is more focused on enhancing his own image through personal stories about himself than preaching.

The power of someone’s personality can easily override the authority of Scripture in the church.

Here’s the danger…people become so trusting in their pastor that they can’t discern when he’s leading them astray…as a result… people change their views on issues of morality based on their pastors’ ideals.

Because of the personal relationship and trust they’ve put in him they believe him…something I pray for is that God will give our church discernment so we can unmistakably know God’s voice.

When the church…referring to people…fails to recognize God’s voice over those misguided leaders then just like with Israel…the warning from God becomes just as powerful a warning to the church as it was for ancient Israel.

In Hosea [4:1] we see the same emphasis that God placed on His leaders as in Jeremiah…there is the same scolding:

Hear the word of the LORD… because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds…bloodshed follows bloodshed.

What was the reason? You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you [5] …everything starts with the leaders…it’s because the leaders go astray that the people go astray.

When pastors and leaders of the church go astray it is usually because they have rejected the knowledge of God…here’s the consequences:

“Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; [Hosea 1:6]

Not what you want to hear from God if you’re a pastor or teacher…that is why God is especially more judgmental on preachers/teachers:

Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment (James 3:1).

As a pastor I need to be careful to teach Scripture not from my personal beliefs …my desire and calling is to teach you what Scripture says…and if that means injecting Greek or Hebrew into my message to help you understand Scripture, I’m doing it.

So you can be aware of false teachings…like the foolishness regarding God judging America using COVID-19.

Second reason people are being led astray is because of the power of sin. People have become trapped by sin or living in a way they refuse to give up… the disappearance of guilt is a contributor to that…in reality we should feel guilty especially when we are guilty of sin but when pastors justify our actions that leads to complacency…for Christians that is a real danger.

Third reason people are being led astray is because of being preoccupied with other things.

There’s a difference between why people leave the church and why people attend church less often…why people leave the church is a whole different sermon…but…why people are less involved in church is simply because they became preoccupied with other things…as a result they fall out of the habit of going to church…they neglect the gift God has given them and their purpose as a Christian.

Fourth reason people are being led astray is because of discouragement

There’s an old story…maybe some of you have heard it…it’s about the devil having a garage sale…he’s auctioning off his tools…laziness, pride, hate, envy, and jealousy…demons came from all around to see what they could purchase to improve their shameful skill.

Some of the goods were useful but pricey…especially one old worn and tattered box priced far above all the other evil tools of the trade.

One demon asks Satan why is that old dingy box so expensive…Satan declared, “that’s the tool that I have used most often and with the greatest amount of success! That tool is called discouragement.”

When the trials of life cause a person to become discouraged, they often begin focusing on those problems and take their eyes off Christ because they don’t see any benefit in going to church.

At theother end of the spectrum is the Fifth reason that leads people astray from Church is abundance.

Americans are so fat with our own prosperity that we often make wealth our god…a recurring theme throughout the entire Bible…People struggle, God blesses them, they become prosperous, and then they depart from God.

The chances are great that you probably don’t feel like you are prosperous but the reality is that nearly all Americans are extremely blessed and have more abundance than the vast majority of the population of the planet.

If you are an American, you are most likely already a “One-Percenter” meaning you’re wealthier than 99% of the world’s population.

People of abundance often choose recreation over worship. Why go to church if you could be out golfing, boating, camping, or going to sporting events?

Satan wants us to be prosperous, because prosperity and abundance often lure people away from church.

So, we’ve come full circle…Jeremiah without necessarily saying it…has defined the root problem of Israel’s deficient relationship with God…it’s a term we use today called ‘backsliding’ …describing when we’re moving away from Christ rather than towards Him.

Thinking about your life…jobs going well…paying the bills…having a good relationship with my spouse…kids aren’t too much of a headache…and maybe if you’re younger you’re thinking…school life is good…academics are good…doing well with the opposite sex…so obviously God is blessing my life!

BUT…when everything is stripped from us can we stand in front of God with praise and assurance…even when everything in life is going South…still thank Him and proclaim…God is enough in my Life?

Jeremiah is reminding the people that the overwhelming influence of worldly interests and concerns coupled with the lusts of their own sinful nature renders them worthless by not appreciating the good things of God…then as a result:

   They went after the worthless and became worthless themselves [5]  

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true [Acts 17:11]

If someone…an unbeliever…came up to you knowing you’re a believer and asked you to tell them how you know the Bible to be true…what would you tell them?

“Well my Pastor says it’s true” …that’s a real credible source…but that doesn’t answer the question…what is there about the Bible that gives you the assurance that it’s true? I believe the Bible is infallible and inerrant but that doesn’t do much for the skeptic who’s saying show me the proof.

If anyone is remotely familiar with ‘religion’ they know there are literally thousands of different religions in the world…BUT…narrowing this down to what is considered the five main world religions will be enough confusion to start off with:

Buddhism…Christianity…Hinduism…Islam…and Judaism…with Christianity being the largest religion in the world, with more than 2 billion believers worldwide.

A further division of just one of those religions…Christianity…reveals two separate branches…Eastern and Western Christianity…breaking down just the churches in the Western branch results in six different layers of Christianity.  

Catholicism…Protestantism…Eastern Orthodoxy…Anglicanism…Oriental Orthodoxy…and Assyrians…with Restorationism sometimes being considered the seventh branch.

Then to further divide just one of those six down even further…Protestantism reveals there are well over a dozen different Protestant denominations…with some estimates as high into the hundreds.

So…you have the five major religions…then from those five you pull one out that has two divisions…then from one of those two divisions you have six more branches… then from that one branch you have at least a dozen different denominations…but possible exceeding a hundred.

Do you see the confusion that results…the number of different translations and interpretations that are possible?

The Roman Catholics have a valid point…if we are to go only by what the Bible says…which Protestant denomination…and you have at least a dozen…but possibly exceeding a hundred…which has the correct interpretation?

A major reason why many people have concluded …how is it possible for anyone to trust the Bible…it’s an incomprehensible book of mysteries…

unresolved conflicts…lies…and contradictions…who can take it seriously?

If you’re familiar with church history then you know that it is that question that led one of the layers of Christianity to believe that they are the one true church that God established as the infallible interpreter of Scripture.

Not to turn this into a history class, but if you’re familiar with world history that statement was what ultimately resulted in the Protestant Reformation & the 30-years war which resulted in the death of between 8 and 30 million Protestants.

It’s because of incidents like those…along with the continued divisions even today between denominations who cannot agree upon the Bible’s interpretations, that causes many “non-believers” to reject it…you guys can’t even agree among yourselves.

If those who supposedly believe the Bible can’t agree upon its interpretation…how is it possible for anyone to trust the Bible…let alone understand it?

Have you ever thought why there is so much religious division in the world?

Why can’t God write a rule book on how to live a godly life…how to worship… how to be saved…what is offensive to God…so that everyone alike can see it? The answer is, He has…the problem is we don’t read it.

As simple as that statement may be regarding reading the Bible…it’s true… here’s the KEY regarding reading the Bible…it’s understanding.

The terms “understand” and “understanding” are used more than three hundred times in The Bible…Jesus commanded the multitude to, “Hear and understand”. (Matt. 15:10)

That’s the mark of a Christian…it’s not works…it’s not going to church…not being baptized…it’s not discipleship…the mark of a Christian is understanding.

In Matthew 13 Jesus Himself uses the word ‘understanding’ six times to emphasize the importance between knowing what is written…and knowing and applying what is written… understanding is the key.     

We’re probably all familiar with at least part of Psalm 19…especially [verse 1].

The heavens declare the glory of God;

Part of Psalm 19 is dedicated to God’s revelation of Himself to humanity…the first six verses of this Psalm address the revelation of God in nature.

Here’s why that’s important…God is always about the business of revealing Himself to people.

Article 2 of the Belgic Confession states two ways God can be known.

Within the first 14 verses of Psalm 19 David confirms how God can be known from two different ways…in the first six verses God can be known through creation…then abruptly he shifts from praising God who reveals Himself in creation to praising the same God for revealing Himself in His word.

It’s as if David said, “Creation tells us much about God, but His word tells us much more.”

Again, that is why people are without excuse…no one can stand before God and claim they did not know there is a God…because He does reveals Himself… first, by creation and second, by His holy and divine Word…that is what is known as general revelation.

OK…if that’s God’s desire then why would He reveal a message that is so hard to understand? …because ultimately…it reflects upon God if the Bible cannot be understood…what good is it if He cannot make His word understandable?

We’re going to look at what the Bible tells us about itself and the role it plays in the life of the believer as revealed in verses 7-8 of Psalm 19…noticing several things this text tells us about the word of God.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are pure, giving light to the eyes.

The Law of the Lord is perfect…means it is without blemish…it’s complete …lacking nothing…some of the functions of God’s Word are:

…It tells us everything we need to know about who God is and who we are;

…It tells us about the devastating effects of sins and the sacrifice of our Savior;

…It tells us what we need to know about eternity;

…It tells us how we can come to be in fellowship with God.

The Bible contains God’s messages to us…if we fail to handle it properly, we’re destined to become confused…frustrated…paying attention to myths and endless genealogies [1 Tim. 1:4] that prevent people from understanding the Bible.

So, the question this morning is:

 Is the Bible the word of men or the words of God?

 [2 Tim. 3:16] All Scripture is God-breathed…the word(“God-breathed”) theópneustos …only used one time in the entire New Testament…a term coined by Paul, itexpresses the sacred nature of the Scriptures relating to its divine origin…it means inspired by God.

As Southern Baptists we hold to a generally held set of convictions called the Baptist Faith and Message. It’s part of our church constitution and by-laws that outlines what we as a church believe.

We claim that the Bible is the infallible and inerrant revelation from God… without the belief that the Bible is without error and incapable of being wrong. the Bible is nothing more than meaningless words like today’s newspapers.

Believing the Bible is infallible and inerrant is believing the Bible was given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit to human authors as a way for God to speak to us through it.

Here’s how that worked: God didn’t dictate to the writers what He wanted them to write down…He guided them in the choice of their words but without destroying their own individuality, literary style, or personal interest BUT still ensuring that what they wrote was precisely what He intended for them to write.

(John Walvoord, Major Bible Themes, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan, 1974, 16.)

God didn’t just reveal certain ideas to them and then leave it to them to express those ideas using their own interpretation.

Realizing that the Bible had numerous authors does not diminish our belief that the Bible was inspired of God in the sense that He personally guided each of the writers.

OK hold it…I can accept that…BUT…the Bible was originally written by over 40 different authors…over a period of thousands of years…and then copies were made from those…how do I know there were no errors when they copied them?

In addition, the New Testament was not even finalized until hundreds of years after Christ’s accession, which makes it further suspect to human error.

And just to muddy the waters a little more…who was it that decided what 27 books would make up the New Testament and what was the criteria used to determine which books would be accepted and which ones would not…because some books were thrown out.

If you compare the Bible to any other ancient writing such as Homer…Plato… and Aristotle, the Bible is light years ahead in terms of number of manuscripts and accuracy.

Just looking at the New Testament…there are nearly 5,700 manuscripts of the New Testament dating from the second century to the fifteenth century that all agree in content and substance.

Looking at the Old Testament…over 10,000 Old Testament manuscripts that have an accuracy that is unrivalled among other literature from the ancient world.

When comparing all the Greek manuscripts with each other, the accuracy rate is found to be 99.5%! This makes the Bible the best-preserved work of ancient literature.  

There is no variation in any of the manuscripts that has resulted in the slightest doctrinal change from the original writings…all manuscripts match identically with respect to doctrinal material…this indicates that the Bible has been accurately transmitted throughout the ages, far more so than other ancient documents.

I want to look at two other ‘sacred’ writings that appear to have a far more stable background…let me say again…I will on occasion point out errors in those cults who claim to speak on behalf of God but evidence clearly indicates they don’t.

The Koran…also believed to be the word of God…was given to only one man –  Mohammad…as opposed to the Bible who has 40 different authors…

Mohammad memorized it because he couldn’t read or write and taught it to others who memorized it.

Having a variety of people knowing it was a way to ensure its accuracy as opposed to the Bible that has too many variables which leaves it open for errors. A valid argument…well, kind-a.

The Book of Mormon…reveals the historical account of a group of Hebrews who migrated from Jerusalem to live in America. It gets wilder.

These accounts were engraved on gold plates written in “reformed Egyptian”, a language that only one person in the world could understand…it gets wilder.

These plates were hidden until revealed by an angel to Joseph Smith in 1823 who translated them…he later identified them as holy scriptures calling it another testament of Jesus Christ in addition to the Bible.

So, like the Koran…you have the testament of Jesus given to only one man to minimize any allegations that there might be mistakes…that would seem to remove any possible errors.

You have the Book of Mormon that was translated by just one man to minimize any accusation of it having errors…So, why should I believe the Bible which is subject to far more possible errors because of the number of people writing it? Especially since both the Koran or the Book of Mormon were given to just one man and are also the ‘word’ of god.  

If we are to accept the Bible…the Book of Mormon…and the Koran all to be inspired writing from God…there can be no difference in their content…they must all be in complete agreement.

Looking at the Koran, it denies…

— that Jesus is God’s Son 
— the crucifixion of Jesus.
— that He rose from the dead
— claims Mary the mother of Jesus was the sister of Aaron

It denies that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died and rose from the dead… God becoming incarnate in Jesus because of His love for us is not acknowledged.

That eliminates the Koran from having any divine inspiration because that goes against the whole purpose of God’s plan of reconciliation which must be through His Son Jesus…He is the only one who can renew our relationship with God.

The Mormons teach that Jesus was a spirit child of Adam and the brother of Satan…they teach that the Messiah who was the founder of the Christian religion was a Polygamist…who chose to marry many wives.

The foundational belief in the LDS church is that their Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible and God is not the God of the Bible.

By their own admission that eliminates the Book of Mormon from being inspired by God.

The writings from the Far East…the teachings of Confucius…Buddhism… Hinduism …and Islam do not make a claim to be God’s word.

No other writings claim to be divinely inspired from God.

Mohammad claims he received his revelation from Gabriel the angel…Joseph Smith received his from the angel or resurrected being Moroni.

In addition, to be the inerrant Word of God it must be found reliable by using historical analysis…archaeology…and fulfilled prophecies.

Looking at the Bible…its validity is confirmed…historically…geographically …scientifically…and through archeological proof that verifies…people… places…and events occurred exactly as recorded in the Bible.

The hundreds of prophecies found in the Bible…most were predicted hundreds of years in the past…but all happened exactly as predicted…all attest to the authenticity of God’s Word.

Looking at the book of Mormon…Since the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, Mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support its claims…regarding these immaculate cites that were constructed…but there has been no evidence to validate the cities… temples… towers…and places depicted in the book of Mormon ever existed.

That is some of the evidence that separates the Bible from the other religious books that claim to be inspired.

When it comes to properly understanding the Bible, there’s really no such thing as “my interpretation” and “your interpretation.” …yet there are millions today who are convinced that the Bible can mean just anything.

When individuals say things like, “You can interpret the Bible for yourself as long as you don’t force your opinions upon others” …they are in essence saying that the Bible can mean anything.

When someone says, “Well, that’s just your interpretation, no one really knows what this means, so let’s just agree to disagree” they are in essence saying that the Bible can mean anything.

When others say, “This is what the Bible means to me, but it has its own meaning for you” then they’re saying that the Bible can mean anything.

When comparing the difference between the Koran…the Book of Mormon or any other religious document, that’s why it’s important to examine the Scriptures every day…because

…only in the Bible can I learn firsthand who God is and what He values.

…only in the Bible do I see a God reaching down to sinners out of compassion.

…only in the Bible do I find a book that I can pattern my life after.

…only the Bible reveals a God who is truly concerned about me as an individual.

…only in the Bible does God truly reveal Himself.

…only in the Bible is found the revelation of God’s love for all men.

That is what makes the Bible so different from all other religious writings.