And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17

THE
SPIRIT’S
SWORD

Volume XIII, Number 03 February 14, 2010

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

Elders
Morris Bass
Rick Holt
Joe Price

Deacons
Aaron Bass
Rich Brooks
Mike Finn
John Hague
Dan Head

In this issue:

• Resisting the Devil

  The Progression of Sin

  Sermon Outlines:

  • The Power of Godliness (1 Timothy 4:6-11)
  • Filled with all the Fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19)

  Noteworthy News: Ancient Hebrew Text Discovered

Resisting the Devil
Joe R. Price

Through James, “a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”, the Holy Spirit said “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:6-7). While God resists the proud, it is only the humble that successfully resist the devil. We must accept it is by the power of God and not our own that Satan is defeated. Only then will we have the humility to successfully resist him “steadfast in the faith” (1 Pet 5:9).

Humility before God is required to resist the temptations of the devil. We must yield our hearts to the word and will of God rather than the enticements of sin. The world’s allurement to satisfy the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life draws many Christians into sin and death (Jas 1:14-16).

Pride prevents us from seriously considering that we too can be tempted with and be guilty of sin. The pride and self-righteousness of Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7:36-50 prevented him from acknowledging his need for mercy and forgiveness. His pride kept him from seeing himself as a sinner. It will prevent us from seeing, our sin, too. “Pride goes before destruction”; the humble spirit heeds the warning (Prov 16:18).

Pride clouds a person’s judgment of himself and his ability to resist temptation. The fact that evil companions corrupt good morals is minimized by the arrogant attitude that says, “It cannot happen to me!” (1 Cor 15:33) The truth of the matter is the one who “thinks he stands” is boastful in heart and on the precipice of spiritual disaster (1 Cor 10:12). This is the person the devil has little trouble drawing into sin.

The humble person resists the devil by resisting the sins of the world. Humility sets its affections on heavenly things rather than this earth (Col 3:2). The humble heart is submissive to the Lord, not to the allurements of the flesh. The humble arm themselves with the whole armor of God and withstand sin while the proud arrogantly befriend the world (Eph 6:10-13; Jas 4:4). The humble are strong in the Lord; the arrogant are weak and remain powerless as long as their pride prevents them from yielding to the Lord (Jas 4:7-10).

The Progression of Sin
Joe R. Price

In Romans 1:18-32 the Holy Spirit inspired apostle described the progression of sin in the Gentile world that placed them under the wrath of God. Sin always places the sinner under God's wrath and it will always “proceed further in ungodli­ness” unless the sinner repents (Rom 2:1-5; 2 Tim 2:16). [Since “all have sinned” there is a universal need for all to repent and obey the gospel to be saved (Rom 3:23; 1:16; 6:1-4).] The degradation of the Gentile world as reviewed in Romans 1 is a sobering reminder of the raging, soul-destroying effects of sin.

Sinners who ignore God and sin against Him are without excuse because the evidence of God’s eternal power and deity is “clearly seen” (Rom 1:20). Not only has God revealed His presence in His creation He has revealed His mind through His word of truth (Rom 1:16-19). Yet, many people refuse the evidence and reject God. This is when the destructive power of sin takes over in the sinner's life. Things have not changed to this present moment. The progression of sin still occurs and also stands as a warning to Christians: “And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Rom 2:3)

Notice the progression of sin (Rom 1:18-32):

1) One chooses to disregard God and live in unrigh­teousness. Sin begins to occupy a place in his life (Rom 1:18-20).

2) The sinner stops worshiping and thanking God. His heart becomes darkened, producing only futile thoughts (Rom 1:21).

3) The sinner turns to human wisdom which invariably changes the glory of God into profane things. Man becomes an idolater, worshiping his own creations rather than the true and living God (Rom 1:22-23).

4) Exchanging the truth of God for a lie, the sinner is led by the lusts of his heart, producing unclean and dishonorable conduct (Rom 1:24-25).

5) Sin continues to consume the sinner, often leading him into shameful, vile and unnatural passions (Rom 1:26-28).

6) As the sinner refuses to have God in his knowledge and refuses to be guided by the truth of God, his life is increasingly filled with all sorts of unrighteous activities (Rom 1:28-31).

7) The person who lives in sin is worthy of death yet continues to practice it while approving of it in others (Rom 1:32).

Left unattended, sin overwhelms one in the depths of wickedness. Sin does not turn a person toward God; it produces eternal death. It is God’s “goodness, forbearance and longsuffering” that leads sinners to repent (Rom 2:4). We cannot provide a remedy for our sins, but God has through Jesus (Jer 10:23; Acts 4:12). Christ alone saves us from “the wrath to come” as we believe, repent and obey His gospel (1 Ths 1:10; Rom 3:21-26; 1:16-17; Matt 7:21-23; Heb 5:9).

If you see yourself in this picture of sin’s progression then repent. Do it now. Start obeying God instead of living a life that leads to your eternal death. Do not allow sin to destroy your soul.

You can find the complete outline of this sermon plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at BIBLE ANSWERS

The Power of Godliness

Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 4:6-11

1. Power drives many people (1 Jno 2:15-17).
2. Power of godliness drives us, 2 Tim 3:5.
3. 1 Tim 4:7-8; 6:11: Godliness has the ability to affect the individual and society for God. The power of godliness upon…

I. THE CHRISTIAN, 2 Pet 3:11.

A. Power of Spiritual Growth, 2 Pet 1:6-7.
B. Power to be Content, 1 Tim 6:6-10; Matt 6:24.
C. Power to Endure, 2 Tim 3:11-12.
D. Power for Moral Living, Tit 2:11-14
E. Shows in our Clothing, 1 Tim 2:9-10.
F. Power over Hypocrisy, 2 Tim 3:1-5.

II. UPON DOCTRINE.

A. Truth Accords with Godliness, Tit 1:1; 2 Pet 1:3. (Jno 8:31-32)
B. Our Doctrine must Agree with Godliness, 1 Tim 6:3; 2 Tim 2:15-18.

III. THE HOME, 1 Tim 5:4 (2 Tim 3:1-5).

A. Obedience to Parents, 2 Tim 3:2; Eph 6:1-3; Prov 1:8; 23:22.
B. Thankfulness of Children is a Mark of Godliness, 2 Tim 3:2.
C. Godliness Shows Natural Affection, 2 Tim 3:3; (Love of kindred); 1 Tim 5:4.

IV. SOCIETY, 1 Tim 2:1-2.

A. Nations fail and fall when Godliness is Extinguished, Prov 14:34; Psa 144:15 (Dan 2:21; Mat 5:13).

Conclusion

1. We must be driven by the power of godliness. Its power begins with the individual, which strengthens the church, the home and the nation and the world.
2. A life devoted to pleasing God can make a difference.

You can find the complete outline of this sermon plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at BIBLE ANSWERS

Filled with all the Fullness of God

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3:14-19

1. Eph 3:19: “...that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Col 2:10
2. Christ expects to find our works full (complete), Rev 3:2; Phil 2:12.
3. We ought to be both “full” and “empty” of certain things.

1. Full: Knowledge of God’s will, Col 1:9.
Empty: Doctrines of man, Mt 15:7-9; 1 Tim 2:3-4; Jno 8:31-32; Rom 15:14.

2. Full: Wisdom and grace, Lk 2:40.
Empty: Earthly wisdom, Jas 3:13-16.

3. Full: Obedience, 2 Cor 10:6; 7:4.
Empty: Disobedience, Eph 5:6.

4. Full: Holy Spirit, Eph 5:18.
Empty: Satan, Jno 13:2, 27 (Jas 4:7); Acts 13:52; Eph 5:18; 1 Pet 4:1-4; Prov 23:31-32.

5. Full: Righteousness, Phil 1:11; Matt 3:15
Empty: Rom 1:29; Matt 23:32.

6. Full: Joy, peace, hope, Rom 15:13.
Empty: Sorrow, conflict, doubt, Jno 14:1; Rom 15:13.

7. Full: Ministry, 2 Tim 4:5; Col 4:17.
Empty: Selfishness, Gal 2:20; Lk 12:21

8. Full: This region with the gospel, Rom 15:19.
Empty: Darkness of sin and error, Acts 5:28; Rom 15:19; 2 Cor 4:3-4.

9. Full: God’s law: Love others, Rom 13:8
Empty: World’s law: Love yourself, Matt 5:43; 1 Cor 13:1-3; Matt 5:46.

Conclusion

God will supply all we need in order to be full in Him, Phil 4:19.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the light of Scripture)

Ancient Hebrew Text Discovered
Joe R. Price

Hebrew writing was recently discovered on a piece of pottery dating from the 10^th century B.C. (the period of King David’s reign). Modern textual critics of the Bible had said the Old Testament was not written before the 6^th century B.C. – a date that conflicts with the Biblical text and its claims of early authorship (and therefore, its inspiration).

“The ancient text is written in ink on a trapezoid-shaped piece of pottery about 6 inches by 6.5 inches (15 cm by 16.5 cm). It appears to be a social statement about how people should treat slaves, widows and orphans. In English, it reads (by numbered line):

1' you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].

2' Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]

3' [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]

4' the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.

5' Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.

“The content, which has some missing letters, is similar to some Biblical scriptures, such as Isaiah 1:17, Psalms 72:3, and Exodus 23:3, but does not appear to be copied from any Biblical text.” (Bible Possibly Written Centuries Earlier, Text Suggests, Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience.com)

If there was no Hebrew writing before the 6^th century B.C. then the Bible is false and Moses did not write “all the words of the Lord” and read “the Book of the Covenant” (Exo 24:4, 7; cf. Deut 31:24). Likewise, Old Testament claims of inspiration are false and New Testament statements that Moses wrote the law – including those attributed to Jesus – are equally false (Mk 12:19; Jno 1:45; 5:46).

This discovery is an important piece of external evidence that supports the credibility of the Bible. By showing the Hebrew people wrote long before the 6^th century B.C. it supports the Biblical claims of inspiration and authorship. You can believe the Bible!

The Spirit's Sword is a free, weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA
Send all questions, comments and subscriptions to the editor at: ssword@bibleanswer.com