Skip to content
Text: 1 Pet 2:11-17
- Intro:
- In 1 Pet 2:11-17, Peter instructs us as Christians on how to conduct ourselves.
- Now that we are saved, we are “strangers and pilgrims,” [1 Pet 2:11] in the earth.
- Therefore, we are “not of the world,” [Jn 17:16].
- Yet we still live in the world.
- So, we must know how God expects us to live among those who are not his people.
- As Christians, we are to:
- Abstain from fleshly lusts – 1 Pet 2:11 –
- In the world, we all have fleshly lusts [1 Jn 2:16].
- They “war against” our soul.
- They lust against and are contrary to the Spirit [Gal 5:17].
- Therefore, we are to abstain from them. That is, we must choose not to do whatever the flesh wants.
- Don’t make “provision for the flesh,” [Rom 13:14].
- Have our conversation honest – 1 Pet 2:12 –
- Our conversation is our conduct, our behavior.
- That is, our conduct ought to be marked by integrity.
- We should adhere to a code of godly values.
- Of course, because the world is opposed to God, they don’t adhere to our values, at all.
- To them, we are “as evildoers,” when we don’t go along with their sin.
- Like Solomon said in Prov 29:27, we are an abomination to them.
- Nevertheless, in the “day of visitation,” [Acts 15:14], when some receive the gospel and believe, they will glorify God for the good works that they behold in us.
- Consider Paul’s great change in attitude toward Christians after he got saved.
- Submit to every ordinance of man – 1 Pet 2:13-14 –
- Though we are saved, we are not above the laws of men.
- We are to be “subject unto the higher powers,” [Rom 13:1], as Peter said, “for the Lord’s sake.”
- In other words, when you obey the ordinances of man, you are obeying God.
- The only exception to this is when the law of man is directly opposed to the clear command of God, as in Acts 5:28-29.
- Concerning the ordinances of man, “the king (is) supreme.”
- He sends “governors” to punish “the evildoers,” and to praise “them that do well.”
- With well doing put to silence foolish men – 1 Pet 2:15 –
- “well doing” is the will of God. It is not uncommon for men, who are ignorant of God, to bring accusations against Christians.
- Yet, when you do well, they have no legitimate accusation to bring against you [1 Pet 3:16-17].
- And, thus, they are silenced.
- They brought false witnesses against Stephen [Acts 6:10-15].
- The “well doing” of Jesus, Stephen and Paul has testified to this day; their false accusers have been silenced for nearly 2,000 years.
- Not use our liberty for a cloke of maliciousness – 1 Pet 2:16 –
- As Christians we have liberty [Gal 5:1].
- Nevertheless, we are not to use our liberty as “a cloke of maliciousness.”
- That is, we are not to use our liberty to justify doing something that is sinful or unlawful.
- We are “the servants of God.”
- Today, there are Christians who are mixed up in sin and justify themselves because of their liberty.
- Honour all men – 1 Pet 2:17 –
- The trouble with people is that they want to “receive honour one of another,” [Jn 5:41-44].
- Peter’s exhortation, Like Paul’s in Rom 13:7, is that we are to honour all men.
- Christians are to “each esteem other better than themselves,” [Phil 2:3].
- Love the brotherhood – 1 Pet 2:17 –
- This follows directly from the Lord’s command to his disciples to “love one another; as I have loved you,” [Jn 13:34].
- It is important for us to remember what John said in 1 Jn 4:20, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
- Fear God – 1 Pet 2:17 –
- This is perhaps the shortest sentence in the Bible.
- Yet it is undoubtedly the most profound.
- The fear of God is seriously lacking among professing Christians today.
- Paul and Peter definitely understood the duty to fear God [Ecc 12:13].
- Paul knew the terror of the Lord [2 Cor 5:11] and admonished us to “work out (our) own salvation with fear and trembling,” [Phil 2:12-13].
- Honour the king – 1 Pet 2:17 –
- The king reigning at the time Peter wrote this was Nero.
- Nero was very ruthless and very immoral.
- And he was responsible for Peter’s death.
- Nevertheless, Peter wrote, “Honour the king.”
- The reason is that we are to honor the office, because of its authority, regardless of the occupant.
- Conclusion:
- These are very clear instructions on our conduct.
- Examine your own life to see whether you are living according to these demands.
- If not, make the corrections and get in line with God’s word.
Text: Prov 16:20
- Intro:
- In this study, we’re going to talk about four results of trusting God.
- When you trust in the Lord:
- You’ll be happy –
- Prov 16:20, whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.
- You’re happy first from getting saved.
- Psa 144:15 says, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
- And then you’ll be happy from trusting God each day for direction (Prov 3:5-6), for correction (Job 5:17), for wisdom (Prov 3:13), and even for suffering (1 Pet 3:14).
- This is the first of the results of trusting God.
- You’ll be fat –
- Prov 28:25, he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.
- Fat is an expression of sufficiency.
- Psa 37:3 says, Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
- In Isa 58:11, after fasting properly, the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
- In the coming months and years, we may experience times of hunger and thirst like Paul did, 2 Cor 11:27.
- Nevertheless, spiritually we will be fat.
- Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled, Matt 5:6.
- When you believe on Jesus, the bread of life, you never hunger and thirst, John 6:35.
- When you believe on Jesus, you drink living water and you never thirst, John 4:14.
- Instead, “out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”, John 7:38.
- You’ll be safe –
- Prov 29:25, whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
- Psa 115:11 …trust in the Lord, he is their help and their shield.
- These times in which we live are getting worse.
- How vital it is for us to know that we can trust the Lord to keep us safe.
- For instance, our prayer for the servants of God who have remained in Ukraine is that the Lord will keep them safe despite the bombings and attacks.
- You’ll be blessed –
- Jer 17:7, Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
- Cursed is the man that trutsteth in man.
- It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man, Psa 118:8, or than to put confidence in princes, Psa 118:9.
- Men will let you down, betray you, hurt you, disappoint you, frustrate you, and many times this happens just because they are trying to protect themselves.
- In Jer 17:8, on the other hand, for the man that trusts in the Lord, his leaf is green in heat, and he’s not careful in drought.
- We covered this under “fat”, above.
- The verse goes on to say, “neither shall cease from yielding fruit”.
- Men who trust the Lord are fruitful in difficult seasons.
- They continue to bear the fruit of Spirit, the fruit of the word, and the fruit of souls led to the Lord Jesus Christ through their testimony and witness.
- Conclusion:
- These are four results of trusting God that we pray will encourage you to trust him or trust him more than you already do.
Text: Lev 24:10-16
- Intro:
- While the laws of man have certainly changed over time, God’s attitude toward sins that are now legal has not changed. We are going to study deadly sins today just as a reminder of what God thinks about sins that are not only legal but now commonplace.
- We are studying these deadly sins so that when you consider committing one or more of them, you won’t make your decision solely based upon its societal acceptance or its legality.
- You need to take God’s view into consideration because ultimately you will face him at a judgment.
- You will give account of your sin before him.
- Thus, you may decide, after hearing God’s side, not to commit the sin.
- And though you often see that the Lord provides forgiveness in the New Testament, his forgiveness and forbearance are the result of what Jesus did at Calvary and not the result of his changed attitude.
- Some of the deadly sins are these:
- Blasphemy – Lev 24:10-16 –
- Blaspheming the name of the Lord was a capital crime with immediate execution in the Old Testament.
- Taking the name of the Lord in vain is commonplace in Hollywood, among soldiers, in sports, in business, in comedy, in literature and so forth.
- Though Paul caused Christians to blaspheme before he was saved and the Lord spared him, he never once committed this sin or caused others to do so after he was saved.
- Adultery – Lev 20:10 –
- Adultery was a capital crime with immediate execution in the Old Testament.
- Though the Lord forgave the woman taken in adultery in Jn 8, he told her to go and sin no more.
- The young man fornicating with his father’s wife in 1 Cor 5 was removed from the congregation.
- He was not forgiven and received in again until he repented and quit this sin.
- So, do not even think about committing this sin.
- But if you already have, then thank God that you were spared and then cut it out!!
- Homosexuality – Lev 20:13; Rom 1:26-28, 32; and bestiality Lev 20:15-16 –
- These were capital crimes in the Old Testament.
- Romans 1 is clear in the New Testament that those who commit such sins are worthy of death. \
- Again, forgiveness for this sin is available in the New Testament [1 Cor 6:9-11], but the Lord does not approve of or condone this sin.
- If you are involved in it, stop it; if you aren’t involved in it, then don’t get started!!
- Pre-marital sex – Deut 22:13-21 –
- In this case, the man marries a woman whom he believes to be a virgin.
- After they are married, he realizes that she was not a virgin.
- When the evidence is presented to the men of her city she is stoned.
- Of course, in the New Testament there is forgiveness for this sin.
- But that is because of Christ’s propitiation.
- The Lord neither condones nor approves of this sin.
- Many commit it today thinking that it is either okay with God or that since he is going to forgive them they’ll just commit it anyway.
- Don’t do this and if you already have, stop!!
- Drunkenness and Gluttony – Deut 21:18-21 –
- This fellow’s trouble was mixed with stubbornness and rebellion.
- He didn’t live past his teen years.
- 1 Cor 6:9-11 shows us that many in Corinth were forgiven and cleansed from this sin.
- But they quit and that’s the key.
- If you are stubborn, yield.
- If you are rebellious, obey.
- If you are drinking, stop.
- If you are a glutton, learn to control your appetite!!
- Witchcraft – Ex 22:18; Lev 20:27 –
- Witches in the Old Testament were to be stoned.
- The Lord and the disciples cast these devils out of people in the New Testament.
- Someone in the New Testament who recognized the involvement of evil spirits in another person’s life would be foolish to think that God was fine with them being demon possessed.
- Conclusion:
- There are people and even professing Christians involved with these sins today and just because they haven’t fallen over dead doesn’t mean that God has changed his mind about their sin.
- If anything, his forbearance is a testimony to the power of the shed blood of Jesus and the Lord’s willingness to extend mercy to them.
- And if you haven’t gotten into one of these things, don’t!!
- Intro:
- We’re going to study the topic of deception.
- There are five things that can deceive you and you must defend yourself from each of these.
- Riches will deceive you – Mk 4:19.
- Our country’s problem is not an economic problem.
- Rather, it’s a righteousness problem.
- Righteousness exalteth a nation.
- Your problem is not an economic problem.
- It’s a righteousness problem.
- “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto thee”.
- In Laodicea, riches have deceived the church and the word is well nigh choked out.
- Defense:
- The love of money is the root of all evil.
- Trust not in uncertain riches. Live by godliness with contentment.
- Sin will deceive you – Heb 3:13, Rom 7:11. “
- Be not deceived God is not mocked, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap”.
- You cannot sin without paying the cost.
- You can’t just try it like one Lay’s potato chip.
- And you can’t even sit around and just think about it without a bad consequence.
- Your defense.
- Acknowledge what God calls sin and avoid it, refuse it, and run from it.
- Be quick to confess it and forsake it.
- The devil will deceive you – Rev 12:9, 2 Cor 11:13-14.
- He is the master deceiver.
- In Revelation he deceives the whole world and he deceives nations, Rev 20:3, 8.
- He is the author of religions, of evolution, of many scientific theories, of mythology, and even of modern translations.
- He’s involved in commerce, in governments [the authority has come from the Lord but the devil has usurped the kingdoms], in many churches, in most communication, and in the world.
- He is the god of this world.
- Defense.
- The best way to protect yourself from his deceit is to know the truth and believe it.
- Men will deceive you– Matt 24:4, Eph 5:6, 2 Thess 2:3.
- If you want to find out the truth about any man, go to the Bible and check him out.
- I checked out my old religion and I found out two things.
- One, it was man-made deception.
- My old religion used the Bible to reinforce its doctrines but it was not Biblical.
- The truth had been twisted.
- Two, it had a supernatural “hold” on people, though it was being propagated by men.
- Religious men are deceiving and being deceived.
- That’s true of all the religions of the world.
- The devil is behind them and men are out front pushing them.
- Your defense.
- Read and believe what the Bible has to say about your religion and its doctrines.
- You will deceive yourself – 1 John 1:8, Jas 1:22, Gal 6:3.
- You can easily be deceived about your motives, your judgment, and your will versus God’s.
- To avoid deception,
- You have to step back and see what you’re doing the way that God sees it.
- The thing you may be deceived about has to fit the Bible not just one or two verses in the Bible.
- You must be willing to receive reproof and rebuke, be willing to admit that you are wrong, and be willing to humble yourself.
