Two Infinitely Strong and Tender Truths

“ . . . declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:10)

The word “sovereignty” (like the word “Trinity”) does not occur in the Bible. We use it to refer to this truth: God is in ultimate control of the world from the largest international intrigue to the smallest bird-fall in the forest.

Here is how the Bible puts it: “I am God, and there is no other. . . . ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10). And: “[God] does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). And: “He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me” (Job 23:13–14). And: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

One reason this doctrine is so precious to believers is that we know that God’s great desire is to show mercy and kindness to those who trust him (Ephesians 2:7; Psalm 37:3–7; Proverbs 29:25). God’s sovereignty means that this design for us cannot be frustrated. It cannot fail.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, befalls those “who love God” and “are called according to his purpose” but what is for our deepest and highest and longest good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 84:11).

This is why I like to say that the mercy and the sovereignty of God are the twin pillars of my life. They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sicknesses, the remedy of all my discouragements.

And when I come to die (whether sooner or later), these two truths will stand by my bed, and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God.

John Piper 

 

Read it Through. Think it Out. Pray it In. Live it Out.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 TIMOTHY 2:15

 

PONDER THIS

You must prepare yourself to seek the Lord. When you have quiet time with God, do you prepare your heart, get away, close the door, grab a Bible and a notebook, seeking to put all other distractions away? Do you say, “God, I have but one business right now, and that is to prepare my heart to seek You”? It is not a casual, haphazard thing to seek the conscious presence of God.

Be ready in the morning. Open your Bible and read the passage through, then talk to God about it. When God shows you something in the Bible, talk to Him about it. Ask Him about it. Thank Him for it.

Read it through. Think it out. Pray it in. Then live it out. This is the way it really becomes real to you. This is how you can prepare each day. When you find something in the Word of God, the promises and truths are not museum pieces to hang on the wall; they’re checks to carry to the bank.

Do you prioritize spiritual preparation each day? Why or why not?

What does it look like to be prepared to listen to God and see Him move?

PRACTICE THIS

Take steps to prepare yourself spiritually each day with prayer, time in the Word, and an intentional step toward applying what you’ve learned.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Go on to the Meal

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)

To you who say you have never tasted the glory of God, I say, you have tasted many of its appetizers.

Have you ever looked up at the sky? Have you ever been hugged? Have you ever sat in front of a warm fire? Have you ever walked in the woods, sat by a lake, lain in a summer hammock? Have you ever drunk your favorite drink on a hot day or eaten anything good?

Every desire is either a devout or a distorted enticement to the glory of heaven.

You say you haven’t tasted God’s glory. I say, you have tasted the appetizers. Go on to the meal. Go on to God himself.

You have seen the shadows; look at the substance. You have walked in the warm rays of the day; turn and look at the sun itself — yes, through the protective and sharpening lens of the gospel. You have heard echoes of God’s glory everywhere; tune your heart to the original music.

The best place to get your heart tuned is at the cross of Jesus Christ. “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

If you want the most concentrated display of the glory of God, look at Jesus in the Gospels, and look especially at the cross. This will focus your eyes and tune your heart and waken your taste buds so that you will see and hear and taste the glory of the true God everywhere.

That is what you were made for. I plead with you: don’t throw your life away on shadows. God made you to see and savor his glory. Pursue that with all your heart and above all else. You have tasted the appetizers. Now go on to the full banquet.

John Piper 

Two Infinitely Strong and Tender Truths

“ . . . declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:10)

The word “sovereignty” (like the word “Trinity”) does not occur in the Bible. We use it to refer to this truth: God is in ultimate control of the world from the largest international intrigue to the smallest bird-fall in the forest.

Here is how the Bible puts it: “I am God, and there is no other. . . . ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10). And: “[God] does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). And: “He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me” (Job 23:13–14). And: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

One reason this doctrine is so precious to believers is that we know that God’s great desire is to show mercy and kindness to those who trust him (Ephesians 2:7; Psalm 37:3–7; Proverbs 29:25). God’s sovereignty means that this design for us cannot be frustrated. It cannot fail.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, befalls those “who love God” and “are called according to his purpose” but what is for our deepest and highest and longest good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 84:11).

This is why I like to say that the mercy and the sovereignty of God are the twin pillars of my life. They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sicknesses, the remedy of all my discouragements.

And when I come to die (whether sooner or later), these two truths will stand by my bed, and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God.

John Piper 

A Tiny Boat in a Vast Ocean

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” COLOSSIANS 1:9-12

 

PONDER THIS

Are you excited about truth? I had dinner with someone recently, and that person leaned over the table, and he said to me, “Pastor, what new truths are you learning?” That blessed me so much. May I ask you that question: What new truths are you learning? Are you still in bondage to prejudice, lies, pressures, and fears? It is because you’ve not understood the truth. Are you learning humility? A man who is learning truth doesn’t tell you how much he knows; he’s telling you how little he knows and how much he has yet to learn. The truth is, the more you learn, the more you realize that the ocean is vast, and your boat is tiny.

Do you read for enablement? I continue to read so I can keep growing. Would you like a pastor who never read; a pastor who was just drawing out of his own well? No! I could not stay and pastor this church for twenty-five years if I remained static and didn’t grow. I want my doctor to continue to read. If a man is going to work on my car, I want him to be up to date. Do you want to do your job better? You need to upgrade your skills. Reading alone will not change you, though. You need to apply what you read.

Do you long to keep growing as a person? How does that happen?

Who have you known to be a life-long learner? What is that person like?

PRACTICE THIS

Talk to someone you consider to be a life-long-learner. Ask that person how he or she made it an ambition to always be growing.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Lying to God?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?”

Psalm 139:7

 

PONDER THIS

It’s serious to tell a lie to a friend; it’s more serious to tell a lie to a judge. If you’re in a courtroom and you’ve sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and then you lie to a judge, you’re in trouble and arrested for perjury.

Even as serious as that is, it is unspeakably serious to lie to the Holy Spirit as we saw in Acts 5. You’re not going to fool Him. I read about a man who stole an alarm clock. He put it in his coat and tried to walk out but it went off before he got outside the door, and he was arrested because the alarm clock was ringing right in his chest. The enemy doesn’t want you to know God’s alarm clock is right there in your chest. How foolish to think that you can escape detection from the Holy Spirit of God. It was so serious and foolish for Ananias and Saphira to try to lie to God, who knows all things. It is serious for us as well. He convicts our hearts through the Holy Spirit, and He will expose our wickedness when we resist confessing our sin to Him.

What are some ways we might try and lie to the Holy Spirit?

When have you felt conviction in your heart for something you had done against God?

PRACTICE THIS

Confess before God any ways you have lied to yourself and to Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You a Channel of Truth?

Pray Over This 

“Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” Proverbs 23:23

Ponder This

 

As a Bible student, you need to measure and test everything you read by the Word of God. You have a grid that everything must pass through. You have a radar. All truth intersects, and one of the tests of any good book is this: When you put that book down, do you begin to think? All genuine truth intersects because all real truth is of God. God did not make you to be a reservoir of facts—He meant for you to be a channel of truth. If you’re growing in knowledge but not growing in grace, you’re going to be dangerous. I’ve met those people. They can split a theological hair into nine separate sections, but they’re not growing in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Some people just want to study methods. You will never get excited about methods unless you learn the truth behind the method. Why do you do this? Are you experiencing freedom? Real truth, as Jesus says, sets you free. In your study, ask yourself these questions: Am I learning humility? Am I sharing grace with others in the process? Am I being set free?

What is the difference between living as a reservoir of facts and as a channel of truth?

What truth have you learned recently? How has it impacted you?

Practice This

 

Speak with a friend in Christ about what you have been learning and discuss how it has affected you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Experience Freedom and Truth in the New Year!

PRAY OVER THIS

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31-32 

 

PONDER THIS

When you believe in Jesus and you continue in the Word, you know the truth and you become liberated. Many today believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are going to Heaven. But you are not a liberated person because you have never really absorbed the truth. You have never taken to the truth; you’ve never taken time to buy the truth. Do you know the word in that sentence that is key? Disciple. Do you know another word kin to disciple? Discipline. People don’t like discipline because they want to be free. They see truth and discipline as restrictive.

I read a quote somewhere. I don’t know who said it, but it stuck in my heart. “He who is a slave to the compass is the master of the oceans; the rest have to sail close to the shore.” The compass is what the ancient mariners used to guide their ships. That restriction gives them freedom and mastery of so much more than they could decipher on their own. Truth liberates you. Truth makes you free.

What are some guiding principles you want to take into this new year?

What is the difference between hearing the truth and absorbing the truth?

PRACTICE THIS

Spend time writing down some verses from God’s Word and consider how these truths apply to your life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How Can You Teach Children to Discern Truth?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:13–18

 

PONDER THIS

If a dog has a nasty bone in his mouth and you try to take it away from him, you might get bitten. But if you put a steak on the ground and the dog sees the steak, he’ll drop the bone to get the steak. That dog discerns. He looks: Here’s the bone, there’s the steak. There’s a discernment. He thinks, “That is better than this.” Then there’s a choice. He says, “I want the steak. I choose the steak.” Then he refuses the bone.

You’re going to have to spend some time with your children helping them understand what the values of life are. I would not trade anything for fellowship with God. The ability to have a godly family is valuable and precious. Don’t let them sacrifice these things. Lead them to Christ. Help them to see through Satan’s lies. All of their sin struggles are based on a lie. The lie is that this is somehow good, tantalizing, titillating, that it will somehow satisfy. It is all a lie. Satan is a liar. Show your children the One who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Who has taught you the most about discernment? How has that impacted you?

How do you seek to communicate the value of Christ to those around you?

PRACTICE THIS

Share with another person how precious and valuable Jesus is to you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Distinguish Between Truth and Untruth

PRAY OVER THIS

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” 1 John 1:1-2

 

PONDER THIS

There was a college professor who was an atheist, and he loved to ridicule his students. He asked his students, “Have any of you ever heard God?” Nobody answered. “Any of you ever seen God?” Nobody answered. “Have any of you ever touched God?” Nobody answered. He said, “So, there is no God.” All the students were amazed until one student lifted his hand and said, “Professor, may I ask a question to the class?” He said, “All right.” He said, “Have any of you heard the professor’s brain?” Nobody answered. “Have any of you touched the professor’s brain?” Nobody answered. “Have any of you seen the professor’s brain?” Nobody answered. He said, “Then we can conclude the professor has no brain, according to his logic.”

John said what we’ve seen and what we’ve heard, we declare to you. The Bible says if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. I don’t depend on speech or illustration or logic to convince you. Thank God the Holy Spirit of God is here to say what is true. That is the witness of God. Jesus is an eternal fact; Jesus is a physical fact; Jesus is a spiritual fact; and the Holy Spirit of God testifies to the Lord Jesus Christ.

How does God’s work in your life provide evidence of Him?

What do the Gospels teach you about what the disciples saw and learned about Jesus?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of things you can learn about Jesus from the Gospel accounts.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Do You Know the Whole Truth?

Pray Over This

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:8-9

Ponder This

The Lord has kept the door of mercy open for you. God is a God of mercy. And Peter answers the apostates with three things. He says, “There’s a memorable promise.” He says, “There’s God’s mighty power.” But there is also God’s merciful patience, “The Lord is . . . not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God is waiting for you to be saved. You say, “If God is so full of mercy, I don’t have to worry.” But in verse 10 Peter says the Day of the Lord will come. The wrath of God and the mercy of God are both attributes of God. If you see God as all wrath and no mercy, that’s only part of the truth. If you see God as all mercy and no wrath, that’s only part of the truth. When you make part of the truth all the truth, that becomes an untruth. God is not willing that any should perish, but the Day of the Lord will come.

What do you tend to focus on more: God’s mercy or God’s wrath?

Why is it important to understand both sides of God’s character?

Practice This

Write down the distinct characteristics that come to mind when you think about God. Assess where you see those things in Scripture.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Do You Act on God’s Truth?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6

 

PONDER THIS

Truth without power is deadening and depressing. If all you have is the letter of the law, you don’t have the Spirit. You have the words, but you don’t have the music. That’s a deadening truth. You see, knowledge without transformation avails nothing. All it does is increase your judgment. The Bible says it’d be better for you not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then not live by it. (See 2 Peter 2:21.) Maybe we ought to put a sign over the Church doors: “Warning: Attendance may be dangerous to your spiritual health.” It may be. It would be better for you not to hear truth than to hear truth, learn truth, and not act on truth.

What are some ways we might learn the truth but not act on it?

If we do this, have we really received the truth? Why or why not?

PRACTICE THIS

Take one step of action today regarding the truth of God’s Word.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Too Busy for God’s Truth?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” John 8:31

 

PONDER THIS

Discipleship is costly, but ignorance is far more costly. How do you buy the truth? How do you purchase the truth? First, it’s going to cost you precious time. That’s one of the costs you’re going to have to pay. You’re not going to get it by osmosis. Time is precious, but it is not as precious as truth. Hurry is the death knell of prayer and Bible study. You want to buy the truth? It’s going to cost you time.

Many won’t pay that price. This is evidenced by the reality that prayer and Bible study are one of the lowest things on our priority lists in the morning. We wake up a little late, hurry through the morning, check the day’s news, drink a scalding cup of coffee, rush out the door, and say, “Lord, bless this mess.” But discipleship is going to cost you time. Take time to be holy.

How willing are you to pay the cost of time for the sake of discipleship to Jesus?

How does your schedule and routine support or contradict this claim?

PRACTICE THIS

Pay the cost of time today to spend time with God in prayer and Bible study.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God’s Truth Sets You Free

PRAY OVER THIS

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

 

PONDER THIS

When you believe the Word, when you believe in Jesus, when you continue in the Word, and when you become a disciple, you know the truth, and you become liberated. There are a lot of people who claim belief in the Lord Jesus Christ but are not liberated people because they have never really absorbed truth. They’ve never aligned their lives with the truth. People don’t like discipline because we have a generation that wants to be free. Many see truth and discipline as restricting.

I read a quote somewhere. I don’t know who said it, but it stuck with me: “He who is a slave to the compass is the master of the oceans; the rest have to sail close to the shore.” Is that not great? “He who is a slave to the compass.” The compass is what the ancient mariners used to guide their ships with. Submitting to the compass actually gives freedom. This is also the case with truth. Truth liberates you. Truth makes you free.

How have you experienced the reality that the truth of Jesus sets you free?

What are some ways rejecting the truth leads to bondage?

PRACTICE THIS

Spend time in prayer thanking God for the truth about Jesus that sets people free.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Two Infinitely Strong and Tender Truths

“ . . . declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:10)

The word “sovereignty” (like the word “Trinity”) does not occur in the Bible. We use it to refer to this truth: God is in ultimate control of the world from the largest international intrigue to the smallest bird-fall in the forest.

Here is how the Bible puts it: “I am God, and there is no other. . . . ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10). And: “[God] does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). And: “He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me” (Job 23:13–14). And: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

One reason this doctrine is so precious to believers is that we know that God’s great desire is to show mercy and kindness to those who trust him (Ephesians 2:7; Psalm 37:3–7; Proverbs 29:25). God’s sovereignty means that this design for us cannot be frustrated. It cannot fail.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, befalls those “who love God” and “are called according to his purpose” but what is for our deepest and highest and longest good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 84:11).

This is why I like to say that the mercy and the sovereignty of God are the twin pillars of my life. They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sicknesses, the remedy of all my discouragements.

And when I come to die (whether sooner or later), these two truths will stand by my bed, and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God.

John Piper 

How to Avoid Appeasement

PRAY OVER THIS

“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.” Ephesians 4:14-15

 

PONDER THIS

Don’t practice avoidance, and don’t practice appeasement. It’s a very unhealthy marriage when one mate always gives in to have peace and appease the other. When one mate gets his or her way most of the time and seems to dominate, your marriage is in serious trouble. One man said, “I like to go to the seashore, my wife likes to go to the mountains, so we compromise and go to the mountains.” If that’s the kind of marriage you have, it’s going to end up on the rocks.

One of these days those smoldering rags that are down in your heart will burst into an open flame, and your home will be engulfed. And if it doesn’t erupt into a raging fire because you keep your feelings stuffed down inside you, you’re going to be a self-pitying person. You will be living—though you may not separate—with an emotional divorce.

Don’t practice avoidance or appeasement; instead, do as Ephesians 4:15 says and “speak the truth in love.”

What is your tendency in relationships: dominating or appeasing?

What does it look like to speak the truth in love?

PRACTICE THIS

Think through the last few arguments you have had. Consider where you need God’s help to grow in love during those times.

 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Passionate for God and Truth

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” (Romans 3:3–4)

Our concern with truth is an inevitable expression of our concern with God. If God exists, then he is the measure of all things, and what he thinks about all things is the measure of what we should think.

Not to care about truth is not to care about God. To love God passionately is to love truth passionately. Being God-centered in life means being truth-driven in ministry. What is not true is not of God.

Ponder these four sets of texts on God and truth:

1) God Is the Truth

Romans 3:3–4 (God the Father): “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar.”

John 14:6 (God the Son): Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 15:26 (God the Spirit): “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

2) Not Loving the Truth Is Eternally Ruinous

Second Thessalonians 2:10: The wicked will perish “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”

3) Christian Living Is Based on Knowledge of the Truth

First Corinthians 6:15–16: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?”

4) The Body of Christ Is Built with Truth in Love

Colossians 1:28: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

May God make us passionate for him and for truth.

John Piper 

The Bible is Perfectly Unified

PRAY OVER THIS

“and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

Revelation 22:19

 

PONDER THIS

Suppose we decided we were going to build a monument to the fifty states. And we decided to build it out of the native stone of the fifty states. We would get coral from my state of Florida. We would get granite from Georgia. We would get marble from another state. We’d collect gray stone, brown stone, red stone, and all kinds of stone. We would have these stones cut in the quarry in different shapes. Then let’s suppose they’re all shipped to our nation’s capital, and the workers begin to uncrate them. As they go, they find that all the stones fit together. Not one stone too many, not one stone too few. No stone needs to be built up. No stone needs to be shaved down. They all interlock. They all fit together. And when they’re finished there is a beautiful, symmetrical monument.

Now, would you say that happened by chance? Of course not. It would be absolutely, totally impossible. The only answer to that would be there was a master architect who designed the whole thing and sent the specifications to the quarry. How do you explain the unity of the Bible apart from divine inspiration? That’s one of the reasons we believe the Bible is the Word of God.

What examples can you think of that show how the Bible is unified?

How do these examples encourage your faith in the truth of the Bible?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out as many examples as you can think of that show how the Bible is unified in its message.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God's Unchanging Truth

There is but one truth.

God has laid that truth out in His word.

There is the Holy Trinity.

Father-God

God's Son-Jesus

Holy Spirit

Father God is, was and will be.

From the beginning He was.

There is only one way for salvation.

This way satisfies God's wrath toward sinful lost man.

Pray for mercy!

1 Timothy 2:8

[8] I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;

Romans 9:15-18

[15] For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” [16] So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. [17] For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” [18] So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Titus 1:2

[2] in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

1 Timothy 2:5-6

[5] For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

Galatians 3:20-26

[20] Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

[21] Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. [22] But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

[23] Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. [24] So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. [25] But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, [26] for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Apostates Ridicule the Truth

PRAY OVER THIS

“Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.” Jude 1:8

 

PONDER THIS

The word “dignitaries” is the word we get doxology from. It literally means “glories, glorious things, and majesties.” Jude was saying there is nothing too glorious or too holy that the apostate will not ridicule. Apostates receive the truth, refuse the truth, or repudiate the truth, and then they ridicule the truth. They have a way of speaking evil of glorious things. Most likely, Jude was writing about people there who were ridiculing and blaspheming the doctrine of the angels. (See Jude 1:9.) But you’ll find this about the apostates, they have quick lips. They know how to ridicule holy things and are not ashamed to do so. There’s nothing too sacred or too holy for them to revile and ridicule. And they don’t do so from outside the church, they do it from inside the church.

Why is it important that we have reverence for the holy things of God?

How is it a slippery slope when we are not careful about this?

PRACTICE THIS

Write down as many holy things of God you can think of that deserve our reverence and awe.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers