And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17
THE
SPIRIT’S
SWORD
Volume 23, Number
46
12/12/2021
Published
by
Mt. Baker
church of Christ
Location:
1860 Mt. Baker HWY
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 30821
Bellingham, WA 98228
(360) 752-2692
Sunday:
Bible Classes..........9:30 AM
Worship..10:30AM; 6:00PM
Wednesday:
Bible Classes.........7:00 PM
All sing last Wednesday
Web sites:
Mt. Baker church
Bible Answers
Editor......Joe R. Price
In this issue:
Grace and Faith in the Bible By
Chris Reeves
What do the scriptures teach about God’s grace and man’s faith?
“By grace”
Divine grace (χάρις) is the favor, blessing, or kindness that God freely bestows upon man in saving him from his sin (Rom. 3:24; 5:15, 17). Grace is the opposite of works of merit or debt. Man can do nothing whereby God owes him something or is indebted to man to save him. God’s grace is unmerited (Rom. 4:4; 11:6) and is not granted through the works of man (Eph. 2:9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:5-7). Divine grace is available to all mankind (Titus 2:11) through the death of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4; Gal. 2:21; 5:4; Eph. 1:6-7; 2:5-7; Heb. 2:9; 10:29) and the preaching of His word (John 1:14, 16-17; Acts 14:3; 20:24, 32; Gal. 1:6; Eph. 3:2, 8; Col. 1:5-6; 1 Pet. 1:10).
“Through faith”
While God’s grace is unmerited, it is not unconditional. Access into God’s grace is conditioned upon man’s faith (Rom. 3:21 – 4:25; 9:30; Gal. 2:16; 3:1-14, 26; Phil. 3:9). The room of God’s grace is accessed by the door of man’s faith (Acts 14:27; Rom. 5:1-2).
Man’s faith (πίστις) is the belief, conviction, or trust that one has in God to obey what God said to do to be saved. Believers must be “obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). That is why we sing “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way…” In order for sinful men to be saved by God’s grace, faith must be active and obedient (Rom. 1:5, 17; 16:26; James 2:14-26). True faith obeys (Heb. 11:8); true faith works righteousness (Acts 10:34-35; James 2:22-26).
Man’s faith will work the works of God in believing (John 6:28-29), and it will work righteousness in being baptized (Acts 10:35, 43, 48; Col. 2:12). Man’s faith will also result in repentance (Acts 20:21; 26:18) and confession (Rom. 10:6-10). God’s grace can be “seen” when man’s faith is active and obedient to the gospel (Acts 11:23).
Peter agreed with Paul when he preached in Jerusalem that hearing the gospel (faith comes by hearing the gospel, Rom. 10:17; 1 Cor. 2:1-5; Gal. 3:2, 5), faith and grace all work together to save mankind (Acts 15:7-11).
(Excerpt from “Recent Controversies Involving Grace vs. Faith,”
Truth Magazine, April 2017, 10-11)
Joe R. Price
I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled (Luke 12:49, NKJV)!
The portrait of Jesus as a passionless, passive person is not the portrait emblazoned on the pages of inspired Scripture.
His passionate heart bursts open in this passage as He testifies of the conflagration His word and work would have (and was already having) on the world. As Plummer commented, “Christ came to set the world on fire, and the conflagration had already begun” (cited by A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament). Soon, Jesus would be immersed in personal suffering and death, the sacrifice for our sins (Luke 12:50).
His redemptive work would (and continues to) divide families. Do you suppose it would be otherwise (Luke 12:51)? Not at all. Families would be (and still are) divided by the truth of Jesus Christ, as some believe and follow Him while others reject His truth and oppose those who choose Him over them (Luke 12:52-53; Matt. 10:34-37).
Jesus
continued His thunderous proclamation by calling out the hypocrites who
could read the weather signs but refused to see the signs that He is the
Christ, the Son of God (Luke 12:54-57; Matt. 16:1-4). No, Jesus was not a
shrinking violet. Followers of Jesus understand and accept the cost of
discipleship. They pay the price of allegiance to Him, putting Him above and
before anyone or anything else (Luke 14:25-33). The fire of trials will test
and purify the Christian’s faith and produce genuine faith that results in
eternal salvation (1 Pet. 1:6-9). -Sword
Tips #2363
Joe R. Price
He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
Isaiah lifted his eyes above Jerusalem’s mountain (upon which sat Solomon’s temple) to visionary heights of “the mountain of the Lord’s house,” to which “all nations” would flow in the latter days (Isa. 2:2; Acts 2:16-17; Heb. 1:2). His prophecy of “the mountain of the Lord,” the “house of the God of Jacob,” foresees the church Jesus built (Isa. 2:3; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:19-22; Heb. 3:3-6). The “word of the Lord” would go into all the world from Jerusalem, which began on Pentecost after Jesus’s ascension (Isa. 2:3; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8; 2:1ff). God’s house “shall walk in its path” as we “learn His ways” (Isa. 2:3).
Isaiah describes the effect of the gospel in hearts and lives. The good news of Christ replaces conflict with cooperation, animosity with amicability, and war with peace (cf. Isa. 11:6-9; Eph. 2:14-18). This verse does not describe a futuristic millennial kingdom on earth; Far from it (John 18:36). It describes Mount Zion’s habitation of holiness, the heavenly Jerusalem, the “general assembly and church of the firstborn” (Heb. 12:22-23). Sowing the seed of the kingdom in hearts brings peace and advances the kingdom of Christ. Jesus is “our peace,” our King who has come with salvation and speaking “peace to the nations” (Eph. 2:14; Zech. 9:9-10).
Learn
His ways and walk in His path. You will have peace with God and with other
like-minded souls “in one body through the cross,” His church (Eph. 2:16;
4:4). -Sword
Tips #2305
You can find the complete outline of this sermon plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at BIBLE ANSWERS
Counted Worthy
Joe R. Price
Scripture Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
1.
Without dispute, there is a sense in which we are all unworthy before God,
Isa. 6:5; Rom. 3:23; Luke 15:21 Rom. 4:1-2).
2. But in Christ we are found worthy before God, reconciled to God by His
blood, Eph. 2:12-13, 16; Rom. 8:14-18.
I. SOME ARE NOT FIT FOR THE KINGDOM.
A. The
Double-Minded, Half-Hearted, Luke 9:62 (James 4:8); Heb. 3:14; 4:11.
B. The
One Who Rejects God and Christ, Matt. 22:7-8; John 12:48; Rom. 1:32.
C. The
Willful Sinner, Heb. 10:26-31 (29).
II. WE ARE COUNTED WORTHY BY GOD:
A. If
We Receive His Gospel Message, Matt. 10:11-14a.
B. If
We Love Jesus More, Matt. 10:37-38.
C. If
We are Contrite, Luke 15:19-21.
D. If
We are Watchful, Luke 21:36.
E. If
We are Willing to Suffer Dishonor for Christ, Acts 5:41.
F. If
We Walk Worthy of our Calling, Eph. 4:1; Phil. 1:27; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess.
2:12.
G. If
We are Patient and Keep Our Faith (in persecutions and distresses), 2 Thess.
1:4-5.
H. If
We are Pure in Heart and Life, Rev. 3:4 (Matt. 5:8; James 4:8).
III. THE LAMB OF GOD IS WORTHY.
A. To
Fulfill God’s Plan of Redemption and Deliverance from Evil, Rev. 5:1-7,
8-10.
B.
Jesus is Worthy of our Worship and Complete Allegiance, Rev. 5:11-14 (4:11).
Conclusion
Psalm 18:1-3; 2 Thess. 1:11-12 (5); 2 Cor. 13:5
Top
You can find the complete outline of this sermon plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at BIBLE ANSWERS
Now Abide Faith, Hope, Love (Part 1)
Joe R. Price
Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-5
1.
Faith, hope, and love define and explain who we are in Christ Jesus (1 Cor.
13:13).
2. This triplet urges us to remain faithful and receive the crown of life, 2
Tim. 4:7-8 (Rev. 2:10).
a.
Maintain a faith that will not fail, 1 Pet. 2:6.
b.
Maintain a hope that perseveres, Titus 1:2.
c.
Maintain a love that permeates, 1 Cor. 16:14.
3. Studying faith, hope, and love in passages where they are combined builds
our faith and protects us in God’s love as we live in hope of eternal life
(Jude 20-21).
I. THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE, Rom. 5:1-5.
A.
Faith’s Victory Over Sin (justified, peace, grace, 5:1-2); 1 John 5:4.
1.
Justified: Rom. 3:21-26 (26); 4:5-8.
2.
Peace: With God, over sin, Eph. 2:14-18.
3.
Grace: In which we stand, Eph. 2:8-10 (3:24).
B.
Hope’s Victory Over Sin’s Despair, Rom. 5:5 (Col. 1:27).
1. Hope
does not disappoint, 5:5 (cf. death, 1 Cor. 15:19-20); Phil. 1:20; Col. 3:4.
C. Love
in Our Hearts is God’s Victory Over Sin, Rom. 5:5.
1.
Grace of Christ, love of God, and fellowship of the Spirit is with us, 2
Cor. 13:14 (Rom. 8:9-11, 16-17).
2. More
than conquerors, Rom. 8:37-39.
3.
Obedience in God’s love, 1 John 5:3.
Conclusion
Jude 20-21: Build your faith, maintain (guard) yourself in God’s love, and
hopefully wait for the eternal life Christ mercifully gives.
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the light of Scripture)
Calling Good Evil
Joe R. Price
Truth is not evil, but good (Exod. 34:6; Prov. 14:22; Eph. 5:9). Yet, many reverse the moral distinctions revealed in God’s word of truth. God pronounced destruction on “those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isa. 5:20).
Last Tuesday, USA Today had a headline that read, “Is math racist? As many students of color struggle with the subject, schools are altering instruction — sometimes amid intense debate.” After being ridiculed online for saying math is racist, they changed the headline to, “Is math education racist?” Educators called out the headline and the article’s content (educationviews.org). Math is neutral; It brings no color bias into the classroom (unlike, apparently, some teachers and educators do).
That headline got me thinking of other “headlines” that turn good into evil. We can imagine the following:
“Bible Condones Homophobia.” The LGBTQ+ advocates hate what the Scriptures teach about the sin of homosexuality, so they distort the truth to gain acceptance (Rom. 1:24-28; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Jude 7). God loves sinners, includes LGBTQ+, and calls them to repentance like all other sinners (Acts 17:30-31; 2 Pet. 3:9).
“Apostles Despise Women.” Feminists have said this for years. They reject the God-ordained arrangement of headship and the God-revealed roles of women and men (Gen. 3:16; 1 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:11-12; Eph. 5:22-33).
“Jesus was a Winebibber.” This statement was used disparagingly of Him during His ministry (Matt. 11:19). Even Christians try to justify social drinking, something Jesus never did (Prov. 20:1; 1 Pet. 4:3).
Good is
not evil, and evil is not good. That’s the truth.
Created by Chuck Sibbing, last updated. 12/13/2021
The Spirit's Sword is a free,
weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA
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