Category Archives: Bible Studies

The Meaning of “Amen”

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Saying “Amen”

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Christians across all denominational boundaries use the biblical word “amen” to end their prayers or to express their agreement and enthusiasm to the wonderful promises and works of God. The word appears 78 times in the King James Version of the Bible. It’s an ancient custom that continues today.

When David had the recaptured Ark of the Covenant brought back to the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, he wrote a dedication Psalm which is recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36. It ends this way, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.”

When true and good things were said about God, his people showed their agreement by saying “Amen”. But what does the word mean? It’s one of the few Hebrew words that have survived into almost every language where the Bible has had an influence on it’s people.

“Amen” is the Hebrew word ahmaen (אםן). It means “to confirm, to support, to be firm, to be sure, to be true.” The Greek New Testament writings used the the same word but written in the Greek alphabet as, ahmaen (αμην). We’ve even brought this Hebrew word into English unchanged except for the pronunciation. People have Anglicized it to “aymen” or “ahmen”.

Since God is truth, “Amen” is often used as a name for God. Deuteronomy 7:9 uses a form of amaen (אםן) when it says the “Faithful God” hael ha-neahman (האל הנאמן). Isaiah 65:16 twice speaks of the “God of Truth”, “the God of Amen.” elohae ahmaen (אלהי אמן). In Revelation 3:14 Jesus Christ is called “the Amen” ho ahmaen (ο αμην).

When you put “Amen” at the end of your prayers, it keeps this same basic meaning. It’s not a required way to conclude our words addressed to God. Not all prayers in the Bible end with an “Amen.” When it’s there, it wraps up the prayer by saying the word “truth.”

When you close your prayer that way, you’re saying that everything in your prayer is offered sincerely and is true. It’s all spoken from the honest hope and desire of your heart. It means you’re confident that the promises your prayers rest upon are true. They must be because God’s word is a solid and certain foundation, and God cannot lie.

The model prayer our Lord gave us in Matthew 6:9-13 ends with the word “amen”. It places the exclamation of “truth!” after all seven petitions. It confirms that the God to whom you pray is the all powerful and eternal King, and that in Christ he loves you and redeemed you with an infinitely great price. What an amazing set of truths are set forth in that prayer. Our God can deliver on all the things for which you are told to pray.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Wouldn’t Badges Be Easier?

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Wouldn’t Badges Be Easier?

Characteristics of the Christian
by Bob Burridge ©2001, 2011

We are called upon to make the glory of our Creator’s Lordship known. He is the Maker and King over all that is. He is the standard that defines what is good and holy. He is the loving Redeemer of all his people in all ages. This is good news, so we call it the gospel.

There have always been those who claim to be his, who with spiritual pride do more to exalt themselves and judge others than they do to walk humbly in God’s ways and to make his glory visible.

How can we recognize the true believers and faithful churches? How does anyone know that he is not among those who are deceiving even themselves?

a warning from Jesus

Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”

Jesus warned his followers about these dangerous persons. He called them false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing. This means they won’t be easy to recognize by their claims, and by how they present themselves at first glance.

I never saw a wolf dressed up like a sheep. I think I would be able to pick him out of a flock. However, would the sheep, not being as skeptical as a human, nor as used to recognizing a costume when they saw one, be able to spot him? How can we, as the flock of Jesus Christ, identify those who under the wool have the cunning, claws, and teeth of a hungry fox?

If you asked the deceivers, they would openly claim to be one of God’s sheep. They would tell you that they know what is right and true. Like the Pharisees, they may constantly quote Scripture, but they are not honest with themselves or others. They either add to God’s word, or distort it to come up with different meanings for what it says. They use the Bible as a tool to manipulate others, and to excuse themselves from their accountability to their Maker. They don’t view Scripture as a source of absolute truth, and as an infallible guide for holy living.

but are they recognizable?

Jesus explained in Matthew 7:16-17,

“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Twice in that passage, in verses 16 and 20, Jesus said, You will know them by their fruits.

So, what are the fruits by which we can recognize those who are not the true children of God? The Bible specifically lists what should be exhibited in every believer. Galatians 5:22-23 itemizes them for us:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

The Apostle Paul expanded upon the characteristics of love as God sees it in the classic passage of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Jesus told His followers in John 13:35,

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

is there an easier way?

We might imagine some quick thinking marketing expert or promoter coming up with a fast and easy alternative. He might have asked, “Lord, wouldn’t it be easier if we wore badges? or a uniform? or maybe we could use bumper stickers and T-shirts?”

It certainly would be a lot easier if all we needed to identify ourselves was a T-shirt, a slogan, a badge, or a well placed bumper sticker. But that’s not God’s way.

How shall men recognize true disciples of Christ? They will be the ones who show these evidences of changed behavior in their lives. This beaming testimony is what Jesus pointed to in his Sermon on the Mount when he said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

No one in this life will exhibit these characteristics perfectly, but all believers ought to treasure these attributes and be working on developing them in themselves. They should openly and humbly confess when they fall short, and point to the grace that restores them though they deeply offend our Holy Lord.

This means that true believers have the Holy Spirit at work in them to produce a love for God’s ways, and a quick repentance when they fall short. They will recognize the amazing grace that cleanses their souls from the stain that reveals what would emit from their lives if not for the Sovereign Power of a loving Savior.

It should deeply concern us to know these characteristics of the Christian life well, and to know how God says we are to exercise ourselves in them to strengthen their visibility in our lives for his Glory.

Those content to be Christians by mere profession, by the outward benefits they enjoy, or their outward dress, are in grave peril of discovering the hide of a wolf under their white coat of wool.

Love, that all encompassing word, is what Jesus said would mark out his people from the world. This is the first exercise of evangelism: to cultivate the evidences of the gospel in our own lives so that the work of grace will shine as a light upon the Father’s transforming power.

An outward show of words, claims, pragmatic reasoning, and a tendency to argue his way to a verbal conquest have always been the markings of the wolf dressed up like a lamb. Sticking out from under the costume will be unrepentant moments of anger, impatience, pride, selfishness, rudeness, bragging, and jealousy.

tragically these wolves don’t know who they are

Jesus went on to say in Matthew 7:21-23,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “

The false prophets are ones who claim to be real spiritual believers. They cry out “Lore, Lord!” They testify that the God of Scripture is their Master. However, since they are not faithful to His ways, he is not truly their Lord.

To argue their way past the Judge, they list all the good works they believe they have done for him. They believe they have prophesied God’s word, spoken and acted in his name. They claim to have cast out demons and performed many miracles!

We should remember that even the magicians of Pharaoh’s court, and the cultists of Canaan, did things they and others believed were supernatural acts.

Today many are taken in by claims of miracles in Christ’s name. TV and radio preachers combine their wild and irresponsible notions about God with supernatural signs and wonders. They deceive many. Paul warned the Thessalonian believers about such as these in 2 Thessalonians 2:9,

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,”

Jesus will tell the self-deceivers, and deceivers of others, that he never knew them. He will tell them to depart from him. And he will expose the wolf under the costume as those who practice lawlessness. Jesus was quoting from Psalm 6:8 where David cried out to those tormenting him, to leave him alone. God is likewise offended, not impressed, with all their outward show.

The tragedy is that there are indeed false Christians who lead many astray. How are we to distinguish the true people of God? How do we become assured by the Holy Spirit that we are truly His? Not by their claims, badges, slogans, or bumper stickers. Not by their outward show, Not by their clothes, rules, or knowledge. It’s by their fruit, the evidence that the fruit of the Holy Spirit growing inside the heart, that we recognize the true sheep and the true shepherds.

The best intellectuals, the best showmen, the best looking, the most vocal, the most active, the most envied. are not always the true disciples.

The ones whose lives show evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, these are the ones who evidence that God is at work in their lives. These are the real evangelists who exhibit Christ’s glory and salvation to the world in which God has called them to live.

the mark of the beast

There are always people discussing the mark of the beast mentioned several times in the Book of the Revelation. Sadly many see its fulfillment in tattoos, body piercings, UPC codes, and other such physical markings. Intriguing speculations about conspiracies, hidden codes, and futuristic prophesy sells books, draws audiences to TV and Radio show (not to mention the donations they elicit), and packs huge crowds into seminars and convention halls.

Few of those pop-theologians and marketers of religion deal with the full biblical significance of the mark on the head and hand which characterizes those who are followers and worshipers of what is called the beast.

There is an ancient warning in God’s word found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It is found in the section instructing parents to teach God’s commandments to their covenant children. In verse 8 of that section it says,

“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

In the context the meaning is clear. God’s word must bind our hands, and be on our minds. In binding it on our hands, the word of God directs what we do. In binding it on our forehead, the word of God directs our thoughts.

In later times some of the Pharisees made this into a physical rule. They would tie straps around their hands and hang leather pouches over their forehead with the commandments written on them. But this outward obedience didn’t help at all in sealing their actions and thoughts with the binding power of the word of God. It was to be taught, not worn as jewelry.

The word of God must bind our lives. It should always direct our deeds and thoughts. When it does, it will produces evidences in our attitudes and lives. This is the mark of the true believer, the redeemed child of God.

Every person bears one mark or another. Either he evidences the binding of God’s word on his hands and head, or he evidences that he is still separated from God with a lost and deceived soul. The lack of the godly bonds to righteousness constitute the mark of disloyalty that brands and binds every lost soul.

Those who bear the mark of being a child of God have often been the victims of persecutions, shut out of business transactions, or denied jobs. It is increasingly difficult for young believers to find work if they determine to keep the Sabbath holy and refrain from labor as the fourth commandment requires.

Those whose acts and minds, whose hands and hearts, show that they are bound to a different standard, the standard of evil, of the beast, will find a welcome camaraderie in the world that is offended by Christ.

How much easier it is when we imagine the mark of the beast to be some futuristic tattoo or embedded computer chip in our hand or forehead. But how much it cuts to our soul when we realize that many have taken on that sign already by living and thinking according to the world, rather than as God’s word instructs us.

What then is the mark of the Christian? What characteristics set us apart and assure us that the Holy Spirit is truly at work in our hearts? It is to love the brethren which includes all the characteristics of biblical love as specified in God’s word. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”

We already saw our Lord’s words in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

If we take these words of Jesus as our starting point, we see that badges or outward claims will not satisfy the need of identifying the true children of God. It would certainly be easier if that’s all we had to do to show Christ to others. But then again, wolves can wear badges, and they do.

Note: The verses in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

No More Dark Trails

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No More Dark Trails

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

We appreciate having some kind of light to help us see where we’re going when it’s dark. People have used many ways to get light at night or in dark places. They have used torches, candles, lanterns, flash lights, flood lights, and many kinds of each. One of the great advantages of modern police and armed forces is their night vision capabilities. While the typical the enemy is blinded by darkness, night vision equipped forces can see where he is, and move in on him.

A few years ago there was a story in the Back To God Hour’s devotional booklet Today about a missionary in the Philippines who lost use of his headlights on his way home late one night in is old Jeep. He said, “Leaning out the side doors, we made it home by the dying beams of a couple flashlights.”

God’s word often uses light to teach about seeing our way in moral darkness.

Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

God’s information and comfort are there to guide us along the right path. In our fallen condition we’re unable to see the dangers or to recognize them effectively.

God gives us a powerful light in his word. It shows us what we need to know about moral dangers and warns us about the consequences of certain things if we do them. Without the light of God’s word we would stumble around morally and take the wrong paths.

Just having the light is not helpful if it’s not used. A Bible that’s never read won’t protect you from lies, deceptions, and temptations.

God’s word needs to be read regularly
A flashlight home on the shelf won’t help when you’re out on the road or away camping. God’s word needs to be in your heart and on your mind. You need to be filling your mind with it so that it’s there when you need it. You won’t have time to look things up for the first time when problems come along.

God’s word needs to be studied so that it’s properly understood.
This is why good Bible instruction is needed. Those God has gifted, and who develop good Bible study tools are the Lord’s provisions for his family. Those who claim to be Bible teachers need to be examined and approved by a sound church. We have the authority God gives to those he calls to office to help us discern the reliability of what we are taught. There are many who teach wrong things as if they come right from Scripture. Be familiar with what the Bible says so that you recognize the counterfeit teachers.

God’s word needs to be thought about and prayed about.
This is how you gain the ability to see the path it lights up for you. The Bible needs to be applied personally and practically. Let the light shine on your path, on the things you’re doing or dealing with, and think about what the light of the word shows you.

Though it doesn’t show us everything, it shows us what we need to know to make wise and godly decisions to the best of our ability for the glory of God. That is what we are created and redeemed to do. That is why God gave us his word and opens our hearts by the power of Christ so we can live by it.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted.)

Three Exercises For the Soul

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Three Exercises For the Soul

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

We would all like to be healthy and physically fit. To do that we need to eat well, get regular and sufficient sleep, and keep our bodies exercised regularly.

We also want to be spiritually healthy. We would like to be confident, comforted and, calm in the Lord as we live each day.

To become spiritually healthy believers we also need to do certain things. We need to pray, to feed on God’s word, to worship, and to fellowship with believers in Christ who can encourage us and help us correct wrong attitudes and behaviors. There are some good spiritual exercises that help us grow strong.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 gives us three good spiritual exercises to do daily. However, like exercise videos you won’t benefit by just reading about them, or by doing them rarely. They must be used regularly.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (KJV), “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Spiritual Exercise #1: Rejoice evermore.

Joy comes into a believer’s heart by God’s grace. It is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). To begin with, make your salvation sure. Hope of a real enduring joy without Christ is an empty dream.

Rejoicing is also something God commands his children to do. This verse is an imperative, a command. It says literally, “Always be rejoicing.” The grammar shows that this is an ongoing thing to be doing. It is a regular daily exercise, not just something you do when all is going well.

The world’s rejoicing is based upon outward circumstances. Anyone can stir up joy when things go well. The reality is: things don’t always go well.

The believer’s rejoicing is based upon spiritual circumstances. We know that in all situations God is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28). Don’t just rejoice when you get what you want. Trust that whatever comes is part of the greatest good. Rejoice in the assurances God gives you. Circumstances change and are not always pleasant, but his promises and faithfulness are changeless.

Even when the Thessalonians were going through persecutions, even when the Apostle Paul was arrested and beaten for his faith, he told us that he had good cause to rejoice.

God’s spiritual blessing that is found when you look to the reality behind what you see outwardly.

Spiritual Exercise #2: Pray without ceasing.

Being engaged in prayer is a continuing obligation. “praying without ceasing” doesn’t mean going around with closed eyes. It doesn’t mean that we are always consciously talking with God. That’s not the way those who are our examples in Scripture prayed.

It means that God should never be out of our thoughts. It means that we are constantly aware of him, and that we regularly turn our thoughts to him to call out to him in prayer. The healthy soul lives in continuing appreciation of God’s presence, assurances, and power.

    Be quick to turn to the Father …

  • to praise him for his wonders
  • to thank him for his blessings, and daily provisions
  • to ask his help for yourself and for others
  • to admit your moral failures and weaknesses
  • to express your trust in the Savior and his promises

Spiritual Exercise #3: In everything give thanks

Nothing is exempted from thankfulness. We need to learn to see all things as they relate to God’s plan. The healthy soul learns to thank God even when it doesn’t understand the good he’s doing.

The Thessalonian believers were being treated very cruelly by pagan neighbors and persecutors. Even in all this there was reason to thank God.

The Christian’s thanksgiving doesn’t come from what he understands is happening. It comes from his confidence in the Lord who loves him so.

Thank him continually, all the time, every day. Paul had suffered false arrest, beatings and a long jail term. He had been sent as a prisoner to Rome and held there for trial. While under arrest he wrote to the church in Philippi, saying;

Philippians 1:3-4, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy”

Notice that all three spiritual exercises are present in this comment by Paul: He was rejoicing, he was praying, and he was giving thanks to God.

Even in hard times, the believer who exercises himself in these things will be spiritually strong.

Paul ends this section by reminding us that these things are God’s will concerning us. It pleases God when we keep up with these three exercises. To be spiritually strong and to please God, we need to make regular use of these exercises.

We need to remember that our exercise must be done from our position “in Christ”. Before someone gets into a physical exercise program he should be sure he is physically able. People often check with their doctor to be sure that they can safely do what’s required in the program without danger. If someone is unfit or has a respiratory or cardiac problem some exercises might be harmful.

Before you can expect to benefit from these spiritual exercises, you need to be fit for them. You can not do them while depending upon yourself in pride and self-confidence. You need to draw your ability and strength from the promise of God as a person redeemed in Christ. Only those confidently trusting in God’s provision of grace are fit to engage in these exercises.

When you recommend these three exercises to others, don’t imply that they are able to become strong by them without Christ. The first advice you need to give them is to make sure they are trusting only in the atonement for sin accomplished by the Savior. As we and others rest in him, God’s three-part exercise program will make us stronger.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Infallible Compassions

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Infallible Compassions

by Bob Burridge ©2011

People are notoriously unreliable at times. Sin causes them to go back on their promises and to break contracts and agreements. It makes the hopeful light of the seeming compassion we saw in their promises fade quickly into the shadows of self-centeredness.

In contrast to lapses in the assurances people so easily offer us, God’s promises and God’s compassions are always reliable. In Lamentations 3:22-23 it says,

“It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

God’s care for us and his promises come from his mercies. We deserve to be consumed, but his mercy provided the Savior. His mercies flow from his compassions which never fail. They are continual. They are there every morning.

Therefore those who are redeemed by grace can say to God, “Great is thy faithfulness”.

One of the best loved hymns is Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Verse one is based upon this passage in Lamentations. (The lyrics printed here are for study purposes only.)

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father,
There is no shadow of turning with thee:
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been thou for ever wilt be.

The words were written by Thomas O. Chisholm. He was born on July 29th, 1866 in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky. After finishing grade school, instead of going to college, he became a school teacher in Franklin at the age of 16.

After teaching for a few years, at the age of 21 he was made associate editor of the town’s weekly newspaper, The Franklin Favorite. It wasn’t for another six years that Thomas became a true Christian.

He moved to Louisville to work as an editor and business manager of a religious publication. In time he was ordained to serve a brief Pastorate, but had to resign for health reasons. He eventually settled in Vineland, New Jersey selling insurance. He retired in 1953 to the Methodist Home for the Aged in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. He died there in 1960.

During his life he wrote over 1200 poems, many of which were widely published in periodicals like the Sunday School Times, the Moody Monthly, and the Alliance Weekly.

In 1941 Thomas wrote these words, “My income has never been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”

The music usually published with his lyrics was written by W. M. Runyan. He was a musician who worked with Moody Bible Institute, and Hope Publishing Company. He received some of Chisholm’s poems in 1923 and particularly was moved by the words of this hymn based on Lamentations 3:22. Runyan tells of how he prayed that God would direct him to write a fitting tune for such a profound and important message. The Hymn as we know it was completed within the same year.

Not only is God infallibly compassionate. His compassions also make us able to be compassionate too by our redemption in Christ. We ought to show this attribute of God as something that grows in our redeemed heart.

Be faithfully compassionate — It’s what God redeemed you to be.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Brief Note for the Impatient

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Brief Note for the Impatient

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Generally people are not very good at waiting for things. It’s a quality we all have to work on. It’s one we are impatient to see develop in those around us.

The events of a normal day bring uncomfortable reminders that patience is a skill we cling to with a loose grip. It might begin with waiting for the water to get hot in the shower, watching bread slowly turn into toast for breakfast, sitting stalled in traffic, or waiting on lights to turn green at intersections. People roll their eyes and shift their weight as if that will help the person ahead of them in the check out line find the right change or dig out the appropriate store discount card.

This is an obvious fact: God didn’t make his universe to provide things fast all the time. His promises were not intended to be fulfilled right away. Though the promise of redemption was made in Eden in the moments after our first parents sinned, it took all the millennia up to the death of our Savior to see it fulfilled. God wants us to learn patience. In his written word to us he provides important principles that can save a lot of agony in learning the lesson of waiting.

Psalm 27:14 is a good verse to memorize and to repeat to ourselves often.

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

The lesson is taught all through Scripture. The Greek word used most of the time for “patience” in the original text of the New Testament is makrothumei (μακροθυμει). It’s made up of two root words:

1. “makro-” (μακρο-) means something large. Macro-economics is when we study the larger things that effect on the economy in a society. Macro-evolution is the theory that all things evolve from lower life forms. In contrast, micro-evolution refers to the little changes in races and breeds within created forms. A “macro’ in computer programming refers to a group of commands that do some larger job.

2. “-thumei (-θυμει) is from the root word that means “passion, emotion,” and sometimes it’s used to describe the way emotions break out in a display of “anger”.

When these two words come together they mean the ability to keep passions under control for a long time.

This word for “patience” is the first attribute of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4 where it says, “Love is patient … ” This means, “Love puts up with things for a long time” (the King James Version uses the word, “longsuffering”). Love doesn’t give up. It endures annoyances, the selfishness of others, and long seasons of waiting.

Patience (longsuffering) is the 4th element in the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. It’s the 5th item in Colossians 3:12 of those things with which to clothe ourselves as the elect of God.

They key to learning patience it is to improve our understanding of God’s power, wisdom and goodness.
We’re not just told to wait. We’re told to wait on the Lord, on Jehovah.

Good Courage
Psalm 27:14 tells us that we are to wait on him with “good courage.” The word use is khazaq (חזק) . It relates to being strong, courageous, and resolute. Our confidence that God is in control and is able to do all he desires to do helps us see beyond the moments of waiting. We know that there is an infallible plan at work. Our moments of waiting are part of that plan.

God has the wisdom to know what is best. He lays out the best path to take to get to that which is best for us. This confidence is what Job lacked when he cried out to have God explain the sufferings he had to endure. It’s what Habakkuk was forgetting when he demanded an answer from God about why evil was being permitted to surround his people. God answered the impatient prophet with those well known words in Habakkuk 2:4, “… the just shall live by his faith.”

The knowledge of God’s power and faithfulness even in times of prolonged difficulty was what gave confidence to King David when he was pursued by Saul.

God is always good, which means that his plans are always aimed at the right goals. He has the power to fulfill his plan exactly when it should be fulfilled.

Psalm 135:6 Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Strength of Heart
The Psalm the assures us that the strength of heart we need in those times of anticipation comes from God our Creator, our Loving Redeemer. It is his promise.

Based upon our knowledge of God’s wisdom, power, and goodness we can learn to have the courage and the strength we need to wait patiently for God’s timing.

In the little things where you have to wait, you need to remember that if you have to wait God has ordained it to be. Your duty is to use the waiting time well. In the large things where waiting can be very hard and trying, you have the same promise. God knows what he’s doing and nothing can hinder him in it.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

The Valuable Bible – 2 Timothy 3:16

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The Valuable Bible – 2 Timothy 3:16

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

2 Timothy 3:16

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

This is one of the Bible verses people commonly memorize and quote. It’s simple, straight forward, easy to learn, and not hard to understand. Yet it summarizes one of the great and most basic truths of the Christian Faith. It tells how the Bible came to be, and how useful it is.

It begins with a profound fact: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”

The original Greek word for “Scripture” is graphae (γραφη). In the verse just before this (3:15) Paul is talking about the same writings, but there he calls them “The Sacred Writings”, ta hiera grammata (τα ιερα γραμματα).

He doesn’t mean just any writings. He used expressions common in his day to refer to the books of the Old Testament. These were the writings that were known by Timothy growing up as a Jewish child. These terms were consistently used by the Rabbis then to refer to the whole Canon of the Hebrew Scriptures. Those words were used the same way we use the word “Bible” today.

The Bible didn’t come from some church council or a group of editors. It was given to us from God himself by the act called “inspiration“.

The word “inspiration” translates the Greek word theopneustos (θεοπνευστος) which literally means “God-Breathed”. More exactly the word means “to expire” or “to breathe out” since the sounds of speech are made by the expiration of air through the larynx. In English the word “expire” also describes something that is outdated. An expiration date tells when something has gone past its effective date like an expired driver’s license. Since God’s word never becomes ineffective with time, “expiration” would not have been a helpful translation. The amazing fact is that Scripture originated as if it was breathed out of the mouth of God himself. It is his word spoken to us who read it.

Some who refuse to accept everything in the Bible as being true have tried to change this verse to make it say something different. They translate it as, “Every scripture which is God inspired …” as if there are some parts of the Bible that are human words and are not “God-inspired”. Technically the difference in translation depends on how you understand the adjective. It may be taken as a predicate adjective or an attributive adjective. Both are grammatically possible. But it doesn’t change the meaning of the verse either way it’s translated. It’s always the context that shows how an adjective is to be understood. Clearly Paul was using well established terms referred to the books of the Old Testament. These are the books Timothy had studied from his youth, and that are profitable for all the things the Apostle lists here. It’s not consistent to assume that Paul was saying that some Scripture was not inspired and profitable. The debate over the two grammatical possibilities is overrated at best.

Since the Bible is God’s own word to us, it is fully authoritative and reliable. Scripture is said to be, “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”

The Bible is “profitable” [ophelimos (ωφελιμος)]. Literally this means that God’s word is helpful and gives an advantage. Then it lists the things that follow from this important fact:

The Bible teaches [didaskaliean (διδασκαλιεαν)] us what is right and true. We call teachings about what we believe “doctrine”. What the Bible teaches is absolutely true and reliable always. What the Bible doesn’t address is just theory. What contradicts the Bible is absolutely false and misleading.

The Bible “exposes” and condemns [elegmon (ελεγμον)] false beliefs and bad behaviors. The idea here is to give evidence that shows what is true and good so that by contrast it reveals what is not true and good.

The Bible “corrects” [epanorthosin (επανορθωσιν)] deviations from God’s path. It makes the crooked path straight again.

The Bible tells the “way of righteousness” [paideian taen en diaiosunae (παιδειαν την εν δικαιοσυνη)]. That’s how we know what pleases God. It points out what ways are good for us to follow. If we don’t learn the right ways, we are bound to go in the wrong ones.

This verse is God’s own word about his word. It’s very unwise, even dangerous, to neglect this good advice. God’s people must be a people of the Book. It is our connection with God’s truth that tethers us to the immovable rock. How sad when Christians neglect such an important tool and gift.

For more information about the inspiration of the Bible see Unit One of our Syllabus.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

In Perfect Peace

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In Perfect Peace

by Bob Burridge ©2011

Peace is a powerful word. We understand it to mean that which is left when things that disturb us are taken away. Depending upon what disturbances we have in mind, peace can mean different things.

Commonly speaking, peace might be those times when we can relax with nothing demanding our attention. It’s when there are no unwanted noises, no interruptions, no nagging issues on our minds that disturb us. It’s when we can read or work on something without annoying phone solicitors asking us to take what they prefer to call a survey. It’s when you settle back to watch a movie and your neighbor doesn’t decide to make that his time to mow the lawn.

Peace can be those treasured moments when we’re free from conflicts. It’s when there’s no yelling in the home. It’s when nations aren’t waging war with one another.

On another level, it’s that rest of the soul when our worries and anxieties are gone, or at least forgotten for the moment. It can be the security we feel when we aren’t being personally threatened by things around us, or by fears that come from deep inside.

God our Creator promises a very special kind of peace which he grants to the person who rests confidently in his all powerful love, redemption, and care.

In Isaiah 26:3 we have God’s promise to those who trust in his promises and provisions:

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

This verse is part of a song, a poetic section about God’s promise to protect Jerusalem, particularly the citizens of that holy city which at that time represented the church of God.

The expression “perfect peace” is actually one word repeated twice in the original Hebrew text. It says that God will keep the person in “peace, peace” shalom shalom (שלום שלום). In Hebrew repeating a word in that way intensifies it, almost as if it was saying, “peaceful peace”.

Not everyone is promised this perfect peace. It comes to those whose minds are focused on God. This is how our minds were designed to work.

That which fills our minds shapes our attitudes, values, and thoughts. Fill the mind with bad things, and all that it does will be molded to the shape of what is bad. Fill the redeemed mind with good things, and its work will be conforming to what pleases God.

In Philippians 4:8 Paul says:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

When the mind is restored to fellowship with it’s Creator through Christ the Redeemer, it’s a work of grace. By it a person is enabled to trust all that God has said. By steadfastly keeping God-honoring things at the center of his thoughts he experiences this perfect peace.

Those who steadfastly focus on the wonders of the Living God reveal his grace at work on their hearts. It demonstrates that they trust in him. His promises and power have taken over the center of their awareness. They know that no enemy can turn the Creator’s eternal plans around. Nothing is too hard for God, and he does all things well.

This filling of the mind with God-centered thoughts is no mere psychological exercise. It’s not a power that lies in our positive thinking. What the Bible speaks of here is not the result of the person’s own efforts. It is God himself who keeps that person in perfect peace. By the infallibly successful work of grace the turmoil of the soul is settled into a secure assurance that circumstances and conditions are part of a larger purpose, a good purpose.

Through hard times as well as in times of blessing, there is peace for those who trust God. These are the thoughts behind the 23rd Psalm’s verse 4,
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

God may at times bless us with peaceful circumstances and surroundings. But even in the times when sin’s deformations make our enemies oppress us, even then there is that peace that surpasses the world’s comprehension. This is the promise of God to those he rescues from the bondage of darkness, and sets them free to walk in the light. When we focus on that assurance and the power and grace behind it we grow in our realization of the peace our Creator provides for his children.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted.)

Words of Love

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Words of Love

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

In John 21 Jesus and Peter had an interesting conversation. Two different words in the original text are translated by the one English word “love”. To understand the main point of this important passage it is helpful to look at the setting in which the conversation took place, and to find out how the original words were used in that place in history.

The setting was the shore of a lake after the resurrection of Jesus. He appeared to his disciples after a disappointing night of fishing on the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus told them to lower their nets on the other side of the boat they miraculously caught more fish than they could haul in.

After a breakfast Jesus had prepared for them, Peter was asked a series of questions. The conversation is recorded in our Bibles in John 21:15-17.

1. Jesus asked, “… do you love (agapan, αγαπαν) me more than these?”
Peter replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love (philein, φιλειν) you.”

2. Jesus asked, “… do you love (agapan, αγαπαν) me?”
Peter replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love (philein, φιλειν) you.”

3. Jesus asked, “… do you love (philein, φιλειν) me?”
Peter replied, “Lord; You know all things; you know that I love (philein, φιλειν) you.”

The events at the time of the death of Jesus left Peter with an awareness of his own weaknesses. At the Passover supper Jesus predicted that his disciples will all be offended by him. The word translated “offended” is the word from which we get our English word, “scandalized”. Peter objected and said that he would never fall away (Matthew 26:33). Jesus then told Peter that before that night was over he would deny him three times. Peter pridefully contradicted the Lord and said, “I will not deny you”. Of course we know that he did. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that, “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”

That background is important because Jesus started off by asking Peter if his love was greater than the others. The Apostle seemed to believe he was stronger than the rest on that night when Jesus was arrested.

The fact that two different words for ‘love” appear in the original text has caused some to focus upon the synonyms without a good understanding of what they meant at that time. This has caused a misunderstanding of the main point Jesus was making.

Clearly John had some distinction in mind when he translated the Aramaic conversation into Greek under the oversight of the Holy Spirit.

First it needs to be pointed out that these words are not as far apart as some well meaning interpreters have said.

The New Testament often uses these two primary Greek words for love to refer to the same thing. The following chart is helpful to see the similarity of these synonyms.

Both are used to express philein, φιλειν agapan, αγαπαν
God the Father’s love for God the Son John 5:20 John 3:35
God’s love for his people John 16:27, 1 John 4:19 Galatians 2:20
The disciples love for God John 16:27 Mat. 22:37, Romans 8:28
Our love for one another Titus 3:15 Matthew 22:39
Both are used of misdirected love Matthew 6:5, 10:37 2 Timothy 4:10, 1 John 2:15



It is clear that these two words were used to refer to the same kind of love, but they also have some subtle differences. They were not used in a completely interchangeable way in common speech at that time.

The word philein (φιλειν) describes the tender concern and care we have in our close personal ties. It’s a very personal and heart felt compassion. The Greek word for “kiss” (philaema, φιλημα) is derived from this word. This is the warmer and more intimate word for what is in a person’s heart. For example it was used in the Bible to describe the love between parents and their children (Matthew 10:37). It was used by John in his Gospel to describe God the Father’s love for us and our love for Jesus (John 16:27).

The word agapan (αγαπαν) is the more common word for “love” in the Bible. It is used many more times than philein. It’s the word used in the Bible for commands to be loving. The focus is upon the outward behaviors that our love produces. It’s the word used when we are told to love our neighbors, to love God with all our hearts, to love our wives, and to love our enemies. The Bible also uses this word when we are told not to love the world.

The Bible never uses philein (φιλειν) for a command to love. Commands are always agapan (αγαπαν). An action or behavior can be commanded, a feeling or inner devotion cannot be.

It confuses the point when some have imagined that Jesus was asking if Peter loved him with a higher love (agapan, αγαπαν), and Peter kept lowering the standard to use a word for a lesser love (philein, φιλειν). That’s not what the words mean. Nor is it consistent with the character of Jesus to keep lowering the standard to accommodate Peter’s lesser love.

So often we hear well meaning but poorly instructed Pastors and teachers speak of “agape love” as if it is a far superior kind of love than “phileo love”. Aside from the fact that they usually use a noun form in one case and a verb form in another, their understanding of the Greek language spoken at the time of Christ is sadly lacking. The Bible itself does not support that kind of distinction.

Jesus used the more general and common word for love when he first asked Peter “do you love me?” Peter probably felt the sting of the question since he had boasted that though the others might fall away, he would not. His failure that night exposed his underestimation of his own imperfections and corruption. So his answer was to point deeper to the tender and devoted love he felt for his Master. Peter used the word that meant that inner compassion.

Jesus again asked Peter if he loved him, but this time he didn’t make the comparison. He didn’t add, “more than these.” Peter again persisted in pointing to that inner devotion he believed was in his heart for his Lord. He seemed to think this answered the question. However, instead of responding about this general and inclusive type of love, he kept assuming that the devoted love in his heart would satisfy the Lord that he would be obedient. That was the same assumption he made at the Last Supper when he could not imagine that he would turn away from the Lord, but he did.

Finally Jesus revised his question using the same word Peter was using. He asked Peter if he really had the inner-affection he was claiming. Without that, the love of obedient devotion and action would be unstable. Peter was grieved at this third question. Perhaps he did not grasp the totality of what Jesus was asking. Likely Peter was deeply convicted about his past assurances and failures, so he persisted in his affirmation of tender affection.

After each question and answer, Jesus commanded Peter to do something. He told him to feed his people. The command was worded in a slightly different way each time.

After the first question in verse 15 Jesus said, “Feed my lambs” (βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου).
After the second question in verse 16 Jesus said, “shepherd my sheep” (ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου).
Finally, after the third question in verse 17 Jesus said, “Feed my sheep” (βόσκε τὰ πρόβατά μου).

This is the focus, the reason for the questions: the obedience to which Peter was being called.

Feeding the sheep is the prime task of shepherding. When Paul wrote to Timothy about the work of the Elders he repeatedly emphasized the work of teaching God’s word. This is how God’s sheep are fed. It’s how heretics were to be silenced. It’s how hurting sheep would find comfort. It’s how sin in the church would be handled. We are all lambs in the sense of being dependent children of God. We are all sheep in that we are members of his flock.

Love is the foundation of all godly obedience and service. That is why the Bible says,

John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

John 15:14 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”

1 John 5:2-3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

So love isn’t just a feeling. It is a disposition that compels us to real moral obedience. In each of these verses just quoted the word used is agapan (αγαπαν). This is a love that evidences itself as legitimate because it acts in ways that honor God. It is what can be commanded of us. It does what we claim is in our hearts. It shows that it is really what we think it is. Peter needed to be reminded that his devoted love and affection for his Lord should motivate him to action. He must feed the sheep, the people redeemed by grace.

This is a good question to ask ourselves. We say we love God, but does our love for him authenticate itself in our actions toward our neighbors, toward our spouses, our children, our enemies? Does our presumed “love” do the hard things God calls us to do? Do we love God sincerely so that we seriously abandon the things that we know are wrong in our lives? Do we love so much that we set aside time every day to search God’s word? to pray? to encourage other believers? to worship faithfully and to engage in all the elements of worship with all our heart?

Note: The Greek words, agapan (αγαπαν) and philein (φιλειν) are used here in their root verbal infinitive form. The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.

Love in the Bible

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Love in the Bible

by Bob Burridge ©2011

We hear the word “love” used in so many ways. It can be used in a casual way when we speak of how much we love pizza or a good movie. It is used of that special devotion and care that unites a man and woman in marriage. It can be used profoundly when we express our devotion to our God as Creator and Redeemer.

It’s popular to talk about God’s love and our love for one another without a good definition of what it means. To some God’s love means that he could not hold us accountable for our sins, or that he would not uphold justice in the eternal punishment of those of us who remain unredeemed by the work of our Savior. Some believe that loving your neighbor means being easy on law breakers, but shows a disregard for their victims.

1 Corinthians 13 contains familiar words, but it teaches a profoundly different kind of love than what the world understands.

In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus was asked what was the foremost of all the commandments. His answer, quoting the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, was this …

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

If Jesus said that love is a summary of all the law and prophets, then we need to know what it means to love, what love looks like when it is present, and how to develop love in our lives.

Some years ago I was challenged to piece together the main elements of love in the Bible. To summarize what I found, I put together this definition of love as it appears in God’s word:

“Love is a disposition implanted into needful human hearts by the prevailing grace of God whereby we are enabled joyfully to obey the revealed desires of our Creator; both toward the Lord himself, and toward others.”

As fallen creatures, the disposition of legitimate love is missing from our souls. It needs to be implanted in us by a work of God’s grace. As fallen people we are separated from God’s fellowship by our guilt. In this alienated condition love is replaced by selfish attitudes and behaviors. Until we’re changed by the work of Christ, we do things that offend God, harm ourselves, and take advantage of others.

Even passing civil laws can’t keep us from doing unloving things. Laws don’t stop law breakers. Crimes continue even though there are statutes against them. Laws can’t make us love, or stop us from being unloving. We need them to restrict lawlessness, punish crimes, and to protect victims, But laws haven’t ended racial bigotry, theft, lying, pornography or other vices. Laws and national policies don’t stop bad people from doing horrible things. It’s our fallen nature, alienated from God, that makes us do unloving things.

Biblical love begins when spiritual life is implanted in regeneration. The Bible says, “we love because He first loved us.” If God hadn’t first sent his Son to redeem us, love, as God reveals it, would be completely unknown in our world. The only thing that can change the way people behave is by a change of heart that impels them to do right rather than to do wrong.

Galatians 5:22 says that love is a fruit produced in believers by the Holy Spirit. In fact, love is the first item in the list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Only when the fallen creature is restored by grace through faith in Jesus Christ can anyone begin to realize love as the Creator intended it to be. Unless a person in born again, regenerated by grace, he can’t produce the fruit of the Spirit. What he calls love is a tragic imitation.

Even after the Spirit implants love into our redeemed hearts we need to nurture it the way God tells us so that the fruit grows. The same grace that implants love enables us to grow in our obedience to God’s word. This means that the redeemed have to know what God tells us is right. They need to act trusting in his promises as their only hope of success.

The Bible tells us that the disposition of love produces obedience. Obeying what God’s desires toward himself, and toward others involves a lot.

In one word, love summarizes the way the Bible says believers should live. We need to know how to be loving at home, at school, at work, at play, in worship, socially, while shopping, and when we’re fixing things … in every situation. It needs to become a part of what we are and what we do all the time.

The Bible directly defines love as doing what God has commanded:

John 14:21 Jesus said, “He who has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is who loves Me”
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”
John 15:14 “You are My friends, if you do what I command you”

So love isn’t just a feeling. It’s a disposition that compels us to real moral obedience.

1 John 5:2-3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.”

God’s word tells us specific things to work on to encourage love to grow in us. It defines what we do when we love God and our neighbors.

In the next section of this chapter, in verses 4-8, Paul mentions 16 qualities of love:

“Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; Love does not brag, and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; It does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things Love never fails.”

People who are loving in these ways are bearing Love’s fruit. They show that it has been implanted in their hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit.

In God’s covenant promise he tells us that when redeemed people obey, he will bless them richly with inward satisfaction and joy. The general form of his covenant promises is this: “Do and be blessed.”

It is this effect of love, the feeling, that the world craves but can only imitate. They want the feeling without first having a changed heart. So they expect that the feeling comes first, then the obedience. When they feel love, they decide to act lovingly toward a particular person.

But that’s backwards and self-centered. It confuses love with our normal sexual urges, with the emotion involved in romance, with the benefits a person gets from being with certain people. It’s no wonder then, that when the benefits fade away, and when challenges come, the feelings a person thought was love also disappear.

This kind of love only lasts as long as the person gets what he wants. When challenges come along, or when the companionship is disrupted, there’s no inner cause producing kindness and patience so it ends.

This is just an imitation of the love lost in the fall of Adam. It’s the artificial substitute that can be experienced in broken fellowship with God. Until that sin barrier is removed by trusting in Christ, a person is isolated from the source of real love, he’s separated from God.

So fallen man tries to replace the real thing by conjuring up feelings. He runs from church to church, from job to job, from marriage to marriage, community to community, club to club — looking for love, but finding only disappointment.

Outside of what God provides for his redeemed children, love is only an illusion, it’s not real. But this kind of love isn’t just artificial, it is a cruel costume for selfish evil.

Love isn’t just an added benefit believers in Christ hope to find in their lives. Jesus said in John 15:17, “This I command you, that you love one another”

It is a necessary obedience that either shows that a person is redeemed by grace, or the lack of it makes us doubt that our faith in Christ’s work is sincere. It is an essential evidence of regeneration Jesus spoke of in John 13:35 when he said, “by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves. He commands husbands to love their wives. He commands us all to love one another.

If love is implanted by the work of the Holy Spirit, it’s fruit can grow in us. This is good news! It means that for those who trust in Christ, they can grow in love.

The excuses used by the world fade into meaninglessness. You can’t say, “I just can’t love that person”. — Yes, you can. But you need to love them in the way the word love is used in the Bible.

Maybe you can’t accept some of their rude and sinful ways. Love doesn’t mean you have to approve of every imperfection you see in others. No one is perfect. But you can treat them in a way that honors God. You can understand the sin that holds them captive. You can discover the peace that God gives you when you obey him in how you treat others.

First the disposition of love needs to be implanted by grace through Christ. Then it needs to be prayerfully and diligently nurtured into obedience by the means God has given us, and enables in us. It can not be just an outward obedience. It needs to be one that comes from a changed heart. When we treat others so that they are helped to benefit from God’s promises, we also receive the blessing of inner joy that only a true and active love can bring.

There’s a moral crisis in our world today. It does not come from the music industry, or from the drug peddlers, or from pornographers. Those businesses wouldn’t be profitable if there was a change in the consumer’s hearts.

The real crisis underlying the moral crisis is a deficit of the real biblical kind of love. Without a love for God and a true love that does what pleases God toward our neighbors, there are no laws or political solutions that can stop the disease of immorality.

We have a gospel that can implant love and obedience into fallen souls. We who say we’re born again in Christ can stop that crisis at our own doors. If our love for God is genuine, we will be impelled to do something about it. If we don’t care, then we should first of all make our own salvation sure. We need to diligently work on nurturing the love Christ puts into us.

Note: The Bible quotations in this syllabus are from the New American Standard Bible (1988 edition) unless otherwise noted.