Category Archives: Reformed Theology

Lifting Up the Humble

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Lifting Up the Humble

(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:28)
(watch our video)
by Bob Burridge ©2011, 2014, 2019

Humility is usually most appreciated when it’s seen in somebody else. Our fallen nature likes to feel self-important, and for others to see our importance too. But true humility is a mark of maturity.

In our last study the Apostle Paul used the example of Jesus Christ to teach us about being humble. In Philippians 2:5-8 he wrote; “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Jesus took on the form of one of his creatures, humbled himself to serve others, and took their abuse. He suffered insults, torture, and an unjust execution as if he was a criminal, but the guilt he paid for wasn’t his own. He did all that to pay for the sins of his people, to satisfy for their crimes against God.

This was the most astounding act of humility ever. Remember how this passage of Scripture started out, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” The Apostle’s point was to challenge us to be like Jesus in his humility.

As with Jesus, true humility is to set aside self for the advance of God’s Kingdom. It’s when we take our rightful place in the amazing drama of God’s unfolding plan.

There’s more here than just a lesson about humility. After his time of humiliation was over, when he had accomplished his mission, our Lord was exalted. When we humbly put God’s glory and Kingdom first, he promises to lift us up.

This promise is a sure thing because it’s based on the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. As his children we will be lifted up to be with the Savior forever in glory, yet we’ll always be humble before him.

But, we don’t act humbly in order to benefit from it. We do it out of a sincere thankfulness to God for his redeeming grace. The truly humble know they can’t lift themselves up. They admit that only the power of the Risen Savior can do that.

In the next section, Philippians 2:9-11, Paul continues his lesson. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Shorter Catechism 28 summarizes this:

Question 28: Wherein consisteth Christ’s exaltation?
Answer: Christ’s exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

After he had humbled himself,
Jesus was most highly exalted.


Verse 9 begins with the word, “Therefore”. It was because of his humble suffering and death that Jesus Christ received his restored position. After he accomplished exactly what he came to do, he was ready to show his true glory again.

Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”

Since his mission was completed, Jesus was again highly exalted. The word used in Philippians 2:9 means “Hyper-exalted” “huper-ups-O-o” (ὑπερυψόω). It’is only used this one time in the whole New Testament.

The exalting of Jesus Christ took place in three stages.
First was his Resurrection. Early that Sunday morning he rose from the tomb victorious over the grave. Sin’s penalty of death resulting in eternal separation from God was paid in full for all his people.

Next was his Ascension into glory. Forty days after his resurrection Jesus was received back into the full display of his glory in heaven.

Third, is what we call his Session. He returned to sit in his place by the Father where he shows his Sovereign Lordship over all creation. Hebrews 1:3, “… when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

And yet to come, he will return to judge the world at the last day.

The name of Jesus
was exalted above every name.


The mysterious eternal work of the Triune God restored the Son from his humiliation back to the open display of his glory. His name as referred to here is not just a word used to identify him. In the times of the Bible names weren’t just picked out of a baby book. They were given to describe the person. Sometimes names were changed as the person got older and took on his special calling. God changed the names of Abram, Jacob, Saul of Tarsus and others. The name of Jesus was given by God himself. It identified his mission as the Savior.

There are many titles we give to Jesus. His names tell us about his wonder and works. We call him Lord, because he is ruler of all his creation. He is Jesus, the one who came to save his people from their sins. He is Christ, the Anointed one, God’s promised Messiah. He is Wonderful, our Good Shepherd, Counselor, the Mighty God

This text in Philippieans tells us that all creatures are to be humbled before Him.
Philippians 2:10-11, “… at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The bowing of every knee and the confessing of every tongue includes every intelligent being. Those in heaven will be humbled before him to admit the wonder of all he is and has done. All redeemed humans, the cherubim, seraphim, the good angels and archangels. All those admitted into that special presence of God will honor him. Even those yet remaining on earth are humbled in subjection to him.

Those under the earth are included too. The word here is the ancient term for the “under-world”. It’s the place of the condemned (“ka-tach-THO-nios” — καταχθόνιος). It’s only used in this one place in the New Testament. It refers to the realm of the unredeemed humans and fallen creatures of the spirit realm.

The lost do not bow to confess him as their Savior and Comforter. However, even those who hate him won’t be able to deny his sovereign power and glory. All the powers that seem to be in control here on earth are not really in control at all. Jesus Christ is the real ruler of all things. He uses even rebellious earthly powers to carry out his plan, showing clearly the corruption of humanity. That further demonstrates his power to redeem his people by an amazing grace.

The Apostle Peter said in Acts 2:36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 10:9, tells us that salvation is only possible to those who, openly admit that “Jesus is Lord” and to those who believe that “God raised Him from the dead”.

The Apostle John wrote in Revelation 17:14 about the victorious Jesus as the Lamb of God, “… for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Christ’s humble work and exaltation is
to bring glory to the Triune God.


This is the purpose of all that God created, has done, and is. Everything is ordered to declare and to display the Glory of God. By his Covenant Promises the exaltation of Christ also benefits his people. Acts 5:31, “Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

The exaltation of Christ accomplishes both objectives as part of the same plan. His exaltation brings glory to God the Father, and brings repentance to his people, the true Israel, as he intercedes for them, and forgives all their sins.

As we fight the enemy of our souls, we don’t do it as individuals sent out to war alone. We’re redeemed to go out together – as an army, equipped and organized as a unit. We’re fellow soldiers, each lending his talent, resources, and time under the Captain of our souls who is victorious and exalted above all.

Remember how this passage of Scripture started out . Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, …”

Jesus is our example. His humility teaches us to put what God says and calls us to do first in our lives. Obeying our loving Savior should have priority over all our temporary comforts which only last a short while and are gone. Admitting that his grace is our only hope of being restored to fellowship with God.

The exalting of Christ encourages us that the promises God made can’t fail. He will lift us up. As his children we should trust our Heavenly Father to bless us by his grace and mercy.

Jesus is also the one who makes us able to do what God calls us to do. As our exalted redeemer, he lives and reigns over all things for the redemption and care of his people. He makes us able to live humbly for him, to know his peace, and to trust his promises.

Just as Jesus was exalted
we share in his victory as his children.


We who are redeemed by him should have this in mind. We have a victorious and exalted Savior who is always there to care for us.

Even now we have victory over the world, and a victorious Lord as our loving shepherd. We are nothing more than redeemed sinners who face challenges, pain, and imperfection. But those redeemed by that amazing grace are, and always will be, God’s adopted children.

As we live here going through our daily challenges and routines, we should humbly accept our place as the adopted children of the Living Creator. We leave the exalting part to him.

Our job is to serve him faithfully, obeying to the best of our ability as he strengthens us. We should remember that our failures were taken up by our suffering Savior almost 2000 years ago. Instead of letting our faults and failures discourage us, we bring them to the Risen Christ. We ask him to help us never to do those foolish things again.

We have God’s own promise in Matthew 23:12. There Jesus said, “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

There is also the exalting we are going to enjoy
when this life is over.


One day we too will be raised to glory when our work on earth is done. There in heaven we will live forever with our Redeemer and all the others who are redeemed.

We have no business taking on the defeated attitude of the world around us. We who are redeemed are God’s children.

Those without Christ value most highly those unsatisfying and fleeting moments of ease, comfort, and human glory. Our Savior humbled himself so that we could be adopted into the family of God, and enjoy the blessings of living humbly, serving God and others.

Our Savior was exalted when his work was completed. As reigning King he carries us along as his precious ones. He has prepared our place in heaven where we will spend eternity with him.

Our attitude should be one of confidence, instead of discouragement. We should be encouraged through whatever comes along, remembering that since Christ humbled himself and was exalted again to glory, we too should live humbly before God and others, and the One who redeemed us will always be there to lift us up.

(Bible quotations are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.)

Jesus Completed God’s Plan

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Bible Basics

by Bob Burridge ©2011, 2021
Lesson 5: Jesus Completed God’s Plan
(Two kinds of “imputation”)

When Adam sinned we all became sinners because that first human represented all who would descend from him. Jesus represented those who come to him trusting in his saving work on the cross.

1. Jesus suffered and died in place of those who woud sincerely trust in what he accomplished. The guilt of their sins was taken up by him according to God’s eternal plan. He was credited with the sinful thoughts, words, and behaviors of his people. We call this “imputation“. When he died, he completely paid the penalty for his people’s sins.

2. There is another imptation accomplished by our Savior. He represented his people in the life he lived perfectly. His own perfectly holy life is credited to them. Those who put their trust in what our Savior accomplished have the innocence and obedience of Jesus laid upon them. They are seen by God a righteous and innocent because of their representative’s innocence. They are credited with the truly good things he did during his life on earth.

God did not teach his people the whole lesson right away. He had his ancient people bring animals to sacrifice for their sins. The death of the animals did not take away their sins. When they sacrificed with a sincere trust in God’s promise that one day a sacrifice would be made by the promised Savior they were forgiven and counted as righteous. That sacrifice was the yet future death of Jesus Christ.

We don’t make sacrifices any more because Jesus has completed God’s plan. He was what the sacrifices were teaching about. God does not just ignore our sins. That would not be right. Sin requires death as its penalty. The only just way to forgive us for our sins was to pay for them by a special Redeemer. Jesus was the only one who could pay that penalty in our place.

Adam was our first representative. He brought sin upon all humans because of his one sin. Jesus was our other representative. He brought us forgiveness because he paid the penalty for the sins of his people.


Lesson 6: How do we become one of God’s people?
Index of our lessons on Bible Basics
(Bible verses are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible)

The Voice of Conscience

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The Voice of Conscience

Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Lesson 10: Romans 2:11-16

When people do wrong they feel guilty.

Guilt is not a pleasant feeling. It’s not supposed to be. It lets us know that we are accountable to a standard of right and wrong. It weighs on us when we do wrong, and reminds us of how much we owe to the grace of God.

For the person who has not experienced the renewed spiritual life God gives in Christ, this guilt is a terror to them. Guilt itself becomes the enemy. The world wants to live freely in its sin and not be troubled by feelings of guilt. So it should not surprise us that the world tries to do away with the idea of guilt feelings. They say our conscience is just a learned set of feelings that we need to overcome. They blame parents, teachers, and specially the church for creating guilt feelings in society.

The surprising thing is how many who call themselves Christians buy into this heathen idea. Awhile ago I read a review of the book by some well known “Christian” counselors. In it they say that believers should try to rid themselves of guilt feelings. They imply that guilt is a harmful thing, and when we sin we ought not to feel guilty about it. They use good sounding biblical language to justify their very unbiblical teaching. They say that since we are in Christ we should be living guilt free lives. They argue that guilt feelings come from bad upbringing instead of from God.

Of course this is what people want to hear. However, it is tragically wrong. It is directly opposed to what the Bible teaches about guilt and conscience. The feeling of terror and conviction is not just a result of bad parental or institutional training.

God made us in such a way that wrong thoughts and deeds are supposed to trouble us. For example, When Adam and Eve first sinned in Eden they felt guilty. They sensed that something was wrong. They became afraid and hid from God. Obviously they had not been taught to feel guilty by bad parents or by an overly conservative upbringing. They showed a very real part of fallen man that responds to sin by triggering guilt feelings.

Guilt has a good purpose. God put it into us, and it is a good thing to have. The conscience provides an inner testimony of moral rightness and wrongness. This does not mean that those redeemed should fear that their guilt is not fully paid for by Christ. It should remind them of how undeserving they are of God’s blessings, and of how much our Savior endured to restore us to fellowship with God. It also helps us grow in holiness so that we recognize behaviors and attitudes that are sinful and need to be not only forgiven, but also overcome.

In our previous studies we saw that the non-Jews who did not have God’s word are held accountable for not recognizing and honoring what God shows of himself in nature. We saw the pitiful hypocrisy of the Jews who criticized the Gentiles, but did the same things. The main principle is given in Romans 2:11, “For there is no partiality with God.”

The Apostle Paul brings the two groups together under one judgment. Everyone stands equally condemned before God. There are no favorites or exemptions.

Then Paul explains further how
one moral standard judges us all equally.

Romans 2:12-13, “For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;”

First: the non-Jews did not have God’s specially revealed law.
The words of the prophets and the written record of Scripture were basically unknown to them. The Gentile scholars were familiar with the Hebrew Bible in a general sense, but the people of the nations were unaware of what God’s word actually said. However, they are not considered innocent before God. Verse 12 says that they have sinned, and will perish because of it, even though they did not have the written law of God. They are held accountable for obeying the law even though they never heard it spoken. They are without excuse.

Second: those who sin having become aware of God’s law, are judged by the law. The Jews had received the warnings and teachings of the prophets. If the Gentiles, who had only received a general revelation from nature are held guilty, then so much more are the Jews held guilty who possessed God’s spoken word. Therefore, both groups, all humans, are inexcusable for their attitudes and behavior.

It is not those who hear the law who are justified before God. It is the doers of the law, those who actually obey and honor it. The Israelites may have had a knowledge of the word, but that was never enough. They had received the law, attended on its services, and were under the covenant, but some of the most well educated in the law are its worst violators. Law is not for mere curiosity, or for philosophy. It is for obeying.

Since the law demands full obedience, no one is innocent under its judgment. It is not just a guideline for better living. It is the absolute moral standard for God’s universe. The violation of one small part of the law condemns a person fully.

In Galatians 3:10 Paul quotes from Moses in Deuteronomy 27:26. Paul said, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ ”

This does not mean that there is a possibility of salvation if someone keeps the law. This means that salvation by human merit is impossible. No one has kept God’s law perfectly.

Can someone be held accountable who is unaware of the rules?

Romans 2:14-16, “for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

Ignorance of God’s written law is no excuse from moral responsibility. God has given us a conscience. Those who do not have the written law still see the need to do the things that are revealed in the law. Even heathen societies show that there is a moral standard created in the heart of man. The most ungodly of nations still have laws against murder, stealing, adultery, lawlessness, and other such things. Even though they pervert them or exempt some from them, they instinctively know they are wrong.

The fact that there are moral principles is inescapable. People may disobey them, confuse them, and reveal their sinfulness. Yet the idea of moral law emerges everywhere.

Humanism is the presumed religion of our modern society. Man is considered to be nothing more than an advanced evolving animal. They presume there can be no God, and therefore no moral laws.

In the Humanist Manifesto II , in the third section about Ethics, it says, “Ethics stems from human need and interest” — “Ethics is autonomous and situational.” It explains that the concepts of right and wrong do not involve god. Yet the document goes on to declare immoral any laws that restrict abortion, euthanasia, suicide, etc. It deplores the existence of separate nations, and provides a very long paragraph condemning any limitations upon sex as being morally “wrong.”

Even the extreme humanist believes that there is right and wrong. Even in their rebellion, they show that God made all humans with a moral sense. Of course, since they deny God’s word they have the moral principles all backwards.

We often hear unbelievers complain that you can’t “legislate morality”. It is true that law cannot make people obey. But the whole idea of morality presumes that some things are good, and some things are bad. The awareness of this principle persists even when it is perverted by fallen humanity with its inevitable errors about God and man’s depravity.

The reason that all men have laws is that the work of the law is written in their hearts. God implanted instincts and a moral sense into man from the beginning. The Bible calls it our “conscience”. That is the part of the inner man that responds to sin. It brings guilt feelings and misery when we do wrong.

The unbeliever struggles to silence and redefine it. Their own thoughts are busy testifying against them. They are constantly either accusing others to put the blame on them, or they are excusing immoral behavior. Without a redeemed heart, they appeal to a wrong standard. They blame their guilt feelings on the church, on parents, on society, on teachers.

Rather than admit to sin and submit to the true God, they are engaged in a life-long war with their own conscience. The battle takes its toll upon their own peace and sanity. They are always struggling to prove what is not, and to deny what is.

In contrast, the believer is brought humbly again and again to repentance by his conscience.

There is a moral awareness in all men. It makes them feel guilty. The truth of the situation will be made known in the Judgment Day. Men may hide evidences of their crimes from other men, but God does not need evidence. He knows the crime itself. Men must judge by evidence. God sees all the way to the heart. To him there are no secrets. There is no escape from the condemnations of God in the final judgment.

The conscience of man is part of creation. God made it to testify to moral truth. As Paul showed back in chapter 1:21, “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

When the conscience testifies about moral guilt, our fallen nature suppresses it. It begins looking for excuses. It tires to shift the blame, or to redefine right and wrong. But the crushing weight of truth presses down destructively upon man’s inner being. He cannot escape the truth for long. He runs to his psychologist for help. He buys books that tell him that he is really “OK.” He seeks out churches that preach against the reality of guilt and promise false hope. He goes to rallies, and loves the charismatic experiences that sugar coat the truth with euphoric feelings that make him believe his is special. However, deep in his heart are the seeds of frustration and madness. He is struggling against the way things really are.

The whole gospel deals with the problem, not it’s symptoms. It accurately diagnoses the disease and offers a radical cure rather than just killing the pain. It tells us that all of us are without excuse before God.

Creation and conscience condemn even the uninformed heathen. These witnesses testify clearly that everyone answers to God. The spoken word of God preserved for us in Scripture condemns even the church member when he sins. But those redeemed by the work of Jesus Christ are really set free from guilt.

Jesus suffered and died a criminal’s death to pay the moral debt of his people. He lived a holy life to earn righteousness for his people and to enable them to live for him. This is the good news; the gospel sets us free. By this gospel the conscience can be restored to do its holy and good work:

The conscience must first be made alive in Christ by reunion with God. Grace alone restores the conscience. The Father’s eternal love chose to redeem some who are totally unworthy. God the Son redeemed them by his life and death in their place. God the Holy Spirit applies that redemption and regenerates the dead soul.

Once made alive, the conscience begins to operate as it was originally designed. Instead of making up excuses, or changing the rules, it convicts us of our need for a Savior, and it keeps convicting us to follow him repentantly, trusting in his word and promises.

The redeemed conscience must be fed with the revealed truth of God. We face a constant influence of past ideas and worldly confusion. A misinformed conscience makes us feel guilty for the wrong things and excuses our sin. The Bible restores our understanding of what is really right and wrong. Our feelings are not enough. They are not reliable. However, a regenerated conscience fed with the truth of God’s word is a valuable witness to us as we strive to grow into Christ-likeness by Sanctification.

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

Back to the Index of Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans

The Difficult Quality of Humility

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The Difficult Quality of Humility

(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:27)
(watch our video)
by Bob Burridge ©2011, 2014, 2019

Some things are all turned around in the world we live in. Instead of being living witnesses of the greatness of our Creator, as fallen people we are arrogant, self-serving, and self-indulgent. The person most envied by the lost world is often the one who doesn’t put up with others, and always gets his way. He’s the most aggressive self-assertive person who often tends to be rude and disrespectful. Others better look out if they upset him. The great goal, even in some religious movements, is to increase our own self-importance.

That’s not the way God tells us to be. He made us to be considerate of others, to have a kind attitude, and to be humble before God. It’s the way we were designed to function best. It’s the only way our lives can be truly happy.

The quality we call humility is not very popular — except in bumper-stickers and trite wall hangings. In real practical daily living, maybe without admitting it to ourselves, it’s equated with weakness. In reality, as God sees it and as we should see it, it takes a strong mature person to be humble.

Humility is hard for us, because in our fallen condition it’s hard not to put our own interests first.

The most perfectly strong person was Jesus Christ. He humbled himself to save the unworthy and undeserving. He opens our eyes to behold his love, and to appreciate his work of redemption without which we would justly remain alienated from God forever. When we’re restored to fellowship with God by grace, we’re stirred to understand how we should love God first and to love others more than we do. We come to realize the magnitude of God’s mercy.

Paul wrote a most encouraging letter to the Christians at Philippi. It’s hard to remember that this letter was written from prison in Rome. Of all the things a prisoner could have asked for to make him happy, far above his own comfort, possessions, and freedom, Paul wanted to know that God’s people were dedicated first to the cause of Christ.

In his letter to the Philippian church he laid out some basic Christian principles. One of the most basic qualities is the one we call, humility. Humility is knowing our rightful place in the amazing drama of God’s unfolding plan. In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul said, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Next in that same chapter, verses 5-9, he reminds us of the example of Jesus Christ. In verse 5 he tells us how our own thoughts should be modeled after the attitude of our Savior. He writes, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”

He’s saying here that we should bring our minds into agreement with that of Christ in this matter of humility. Jesus is our perfect example of the right human attitude toward God and others. There’s an interesting connection between what God is and what we ought to be. He created us in his image so that we would fulfill a special part in how creation declares his glory.

Jesus is our example and enabler. He repairs that image of God in us. As we grow to be like him we also see better what God is like toward us. In his example, he shows us what we should be and what God already is.

Jesus laid aside certain things to redeem us.


Philippians 2:6-8, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

This is the message of the next question in our study of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Question 27: “Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?”
Answer: “Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, The wrath of God and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.”

The present participle “being” in Philippians 2:6 means that Jesus has always been God. He didn’t stop being divine when he was born into this world. He remained an eternal member of the Triune God. In order to effectively pay for his people’s sins, he had to be both fully human and fully God at the same time. Dr. Lenski said, “Even in the midst of his death he had to be the mighty God, in order, by his death, to conquer death”

It says he took on the form of a servant. Not just in name or in title. He actually served his creatures. He knelt down and washed the feet of the disciples. He patiently taught the ignorant, and took the insults of his enemies.

In his birth he took on a complete human nature, the characteristics of one of his own creations. He took on a true human appearance. That doesn’t mean he was just “playing human.” He really took on our nature. He is one person drawing from 2 natures (Human and Divine), a mysterious yet glorious union, “… yet without sin.” (as it explians in Hebrews 4:15)

He humbled himself to accomplish our salvation. The display of his glory, and the enjoyment of his heavenly environment were set aside. He took the place of depraved, convicted, and condemned moral criminals.

Isaiah 53 is a rich description of what Jesus endured for us his people.
Isaiah 53:3, “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”
Isaiah 53:6, “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him”
Isaiah 53:8-10, “… He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked — But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. …”

Why would he lay aside his display of glory and the privileges of deity? Why would he go through all that? He did it to take up guilt that was not his own, to suffer and to experience ultimate humiliation, execution as a criminal.

He took on the guilt of crimes not just against little local laws, not against federal laws, or those of international laws. He took on all the sins of his people, crimes against God, and against his holy creation order. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This was the most astounding act of humility ever. Fulfilling the eternal plan of the Triune God was greater than his personal comfort.

In 2 Corinthians 8:9 the Apostle wrote, “… though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

The Sovereign Creator and Preserver of all things had to borrow his birthplace, housing during his ministry, a boat to travel in and to preach from, a donkey to ride on, a room in which to celebrate the passover, and a tomb for His burial. What love! He gave up the display and enjoyment of his heavenly glory to rescue lost criminals!

Commentator Dr. Wuest said, “The only person in the world who had the right to assert his rights — waived them.” Yet how we cling to and demand all sorts of personal rights. We whine and cry when we feel our rights are in any way imposed upon. We crave self-glory and our own pleasures, but instead of glory we earn shame. We demand blessings, but we only qualify ourselves for cursings. Our personal goals and pride replace the cause of Christ’s glory

A false humility looks for pity, and for others to envy us for our humility. But as with Jesus, true humility is to set aside self for the advance of God’s Kingdom and Plan.

The point Paul is making
here in Philippians 2:5-9,
is that we should be humble too.


We need to have the same mind as did Jesus Christ in his humble coming to redeem us. Andrew Murray teaches that there are three great benefits to a properly motivated humility, “(Humility) becomes me as a creature, as a sinner, as a saint.”

1st — we need to humbly accept our part in God’s vast creation. We see the vast power, intricacy, and wonder of all that God made.

We can’t explain it all in our studies of nature. Science at best can only describe what it sees, and theorize about how it fits together. Psalm 8:3-4 exclaims, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”

We see how little and weak we are compared with all the universe surrounding us. We each live in only a tiny dot on an astoundingly long time line that streaches out into eternity.

2nd — we are humbled as sinners. In our fallen condition we can’t appreciate the truth of our own condemnation, or of our need for redemption. Aside from our savior’s supernatural work in us, we wander in a world we’re unable to understand. We want a god — but not the God of the Bible. We crave a false god who’s there to make us comfortable.

When our hearts are brought to a true saving faith in Christ it humbles us as we see what we really are. We are a fallen race, blinded by our prejudices and excuses. We are unworthy of being in the presence of the all-holy God. We are not able to repair the infinite damage in our souls. The truth of our fallen condition humbles us before the Eternal Sovereign Lord.

3rd — we’re humbled most by God’s grace. Andrew Murray wisely said, “it is not sin that humbles most, but grace, and that it is the soul — led through its sinfulness to be occupied with God in His wonderful glory as God, as Creator and Redeemer, that will truly take the lowest place before Him.”

This is the message we have here in Philippians 2:5-9. It’s not when we look up and are awed by the distant stars and galaxies that humbles us the most. It’s not when we look down and see our own wicked thoughts and moral failures that humbles us the most.

It’s when we look up at the Savior on the Cross, and appreciate how he humbled himself for us as mere unworthy creatures that we’re most humbled and bowed down in awareness of his most amazing and undeserved love.

The great Creator of all that is, is our Redeemer. He whom we have so constantly offended did so much to rescue us condemned rebels. He came into his own creation, took on the form of his fallen creatures, suffered human insults and torture, and who died in our place — these are the things which are most humbling of all.

Humility isn’t so much that we are nothing, but that given that, Christ is something amazing. This mystery of grace teaches us to lose ourselves in the overwhelming greatness of redeeming love. It humbles us and consumes us in the light of his everlasting mercy.

How can we who are redeemed in this way
justify our self-centered lives?


How can we continue to put our own comforts and pleasures above living as God tells us to live in every area of our lives? How can we disregard the sacredness of worship, withhold our offerings? treat others rudely? neglect learning what his word says? reduce our prayers to short moments, or to those times only when we’re in need?

True humility is to set aside self for the advance of God’s Kingdom and Plan. We need to take time throughout every day, from when we first wake up until we go to bed at night, to consider the amazing love and grace that redeemed us and adopted us into God’s eternal family. That’s the focus our souls were created to have.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

(Bible quotations are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.)

What is God’s plan for his people?

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Bible Basics

by Bob Burridge ©2011, 2021
Lesson 4: What is God’s plan for his people?

God was not suprised by the sin of Adam. He always knows everything that will ever happen. God made everything to show his glory. God shows his mercy, love, and goodness by rescuing unworthy lost sinners and changing their fallen hearts. He shows his justice and power by punishing and defeating evil.

Way back in Eden, right after Adam sinned, God told this first human that he would send a child to crush Satan. The promised child would not be born for many thousands of years after that promise was made. That promised child was Jesus.

Jesus is called the Christ. Long ago men who were Priests, Prophets, and Kings had oil or water poured over their heads. This was called “anointing”. They did this in a ceremony when they started their job of serving the people. It showed everyone that the person had a special job to do for God.

The Old Testament was written in the ancient Hebrew language. God’s promised child was called the Messiah, “the Anointed One”. That word comes from an old Hebrew word “Me-shi-akh”. Written in Hebrew it’s ﬦשׁיח. The Hebrew people waited through the ages for this Messiah to come.

The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for someone anointed is “Christos” (Χριστος). We take off the Greek grammatical ending on the word (“-os”) and it becomes, “Christ”. So Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, God’s anointed one. He was that child God promised to Adam and Eve.


Jesus came to live a perfectly sinless life, and to pay for the sin and guilt of his people. When he suffered and died on the cross he died in their place. God does not just forget about our sins. He came as Jesus Christ to pay for those sins himself.


Lesson 5: Jesus completed God’s plan
Index of our lessons on Bible Basics
(Bible verses are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible)

Prophet, Priest and King

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Prophet, Priest and King

(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:22-26)
(watch our video)
by Bob Burridge ©2011

We are surrounded by deceptions, delusions, and dangers.

We know there are deceptions all around us that call themselves different “versions of the truth.” If something is different than the way things really are, it is not a version of truth at all. It is a falsehood based upon misunderstandings, or maybe even intended lies. They can be very dangerous.

There are those who promise to solve our deepest fears and troubled conscience. We also know that deluded people offer solutions that will not help us. We are all imperfect. When we do wrong things the consequences and guilt do not just go away. There are no magical remedies, though many deceptive cures are offered to us every day. On the other hand, ignoring our guilt, or trying to adjust to it will not make it disappear. When people chase after restoration of their souls with rituals, rules, and good deeds, the haunting whispers of our conscience are not silenced for long.

There are also dangers that surround us. Self-serving people try to hurt others to get what they want. Some even get violent because they enjoy seeing others suffer.

Deep inside us, even in the lost and confused heart, we want these things that trouble us to be taken care of. We want someone who knows the truth to tell us about it. We want someone to make things right again when we have done wrong. We want someone who can keep us safe from those who want to hurt us.

That’s what Christianity is all about. It is about our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He tells us the truth even when it is not what we want to hear. He can actually make us innocent from our guilt, deliver us from the wrong things we have done, and he can and will handle any enemy or obstacle that threatens us. We say he is the great Prophet, Priest, and King.

What Jesus Christ came to do is not well understood
in our biblically illiterate society.

He was not just a great teacher, martyr, or an example for us to follow. He came to do far more than the human mind can possibly imagine.

He was sent on a mission from God the Father to redeem his people. He told us eternal truths as the one who is the foundation of all that is really true. He provided all we need to be restored to fellowship with the one who created us. He takes away the weight of our guilt that makes us forget what we were created to be. He deals with those things that crush us, discourage and disable us, and tempt us to be dishonest with ourselves.

This is why he is called the Christ. The title “Christ” is from the New Testament Greek word Χριστος (Christos), which means “anointed one”. In God’s law, the prophets, priests and kings were anointed in a ceremony that set them apart for their office. The anointing demonstrated the authority God gave them to carry out their work. Jesus came to fulfill each of those offices for us in a special way, so he is the Anointed One. The Old Testament Hebrew word for anointed is משיח (Mashiakh), which is where we get the word Messiah.

Jesus the Messiah was miraculously born to Mary by the work of the Holy Spirit. That was when the 2nd Person of the Trinity took on a true human body and soul, but he did not inherit the guilt of Adam’s sin.

As both the Eternal God and a sinless man, he became, and always is, our perfect Prophet, Priest and King.

Today we don’t have prophets, priests and kings in the same way as before the 2nd century. So we do not always appreciate what those three offices mean. By learning about how Jesus Christ fulfills these roles, we can understand why God instituted these offices to begin with. They were part of God’s law to prepare us for what the Savior would be for us as his people.

We need someone who knows and tells us
the whole truth about what is most important.

Jesus Christ ministers to us as the Perfect Prophet.

In the time when God sent Prophets to his people, they were sent as truth tellers. Before the Bible was completed, God specially revealed his truths to the Prophets who were commissioned to tell others. They warned those who dared to attack God’s people, and who treated them as if they were not the chosen Covenant Nation. They told about the proper way to worship and the moral way of living. They told God’s truth to the people, and encouraged them with the hope of the Promised Messiah.

Now that God’s Bible is complete, there are no more prophets. There could not be, because our Bibles tell us all our Creator had to say for this era of history. Their purpose has been fulfilled and has passed into history.

The New Testament does not tell the churches to look for new Prophets as if more was yet to be specially revealed with equal authority as the Bible. Unlike the continuing offices of Elder and Deacon, there are no instructions about how to recognize people to fill the office of Prophet. The Bible is God’s prophetic word for us now. The Apostles prepared the early church for this transition in 2 Peter 1:19.

The Holy Spirit was sent in a special way by Jesus after his resurrection. He came to guide believers to understand and to trust in the truth that is in the Bible. Jesus said in John 16:13, “… when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; …”

Jesus was the one final and perfect prophet. He was God himself and at the same time he was the perfect man. He brought together the teaching of the Old Testament, and explained how he came to fulfill the ancient promises. He revealed God’s will to us by his Word, and gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us into its truth.

In Stephen’s defense before the council he said Jesus was the greater Prophet Moses promised. In Acts 7:37 Stephen said about Jesus, “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’

Hebrews 1:1-2 describes the prophetic mission of Jesus. It says, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;”

Jesus does not only tell us the truth. As God Eternal he is the very definition of truth. Truth is the way things are in the mind of God. He said directly in John 14:6, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Do you want to know God’s truth about things? In John 5:39 Jesus told us to search the Scriptures to learn about having eternal life. He used the writings of the Bible all through his ministry and told others to do the same. Jesus completed God’s revelation to us.

After the New Testament was finished, Jesus continues to speak to us all through Scripture. He is the greatest of all prophets, the one Moses said would come long after him. All of the Bible points to Jesus.

We know that all Jesus tells us in the Bible is the truth. Every principle he explains, every warning he gives, and every promise he made is true. To know the truth about everything that is really important, study all that Jesus said.

We also need someone who can really
remove our guilt and make us right with God.

Jesus Christ ministers to us as the Perfect Priest.

He came as the Lamb of God to suffer and die in our place paying the great debt we owe. He was the only one perfect enough to present himself to God on our behalf.

Like the office of Prophet, there are no Priests after the death of Jesus Christ. The Priests of the Old Testament made sacrifices and did cleansing rituals to show us how God would one day rescue his people from their sins by the promised Messiah as our Redeemer.

We do not need them anymore because the Great High Priest has come. He did what the ancient Priests of Israel only represented.

Jesus Christ offered himself as the one true sacrifice for all the sins of his people. He paid for your guilt in your place. He clothes you with his own righteousness so that you stand as holy in the eyes of God.

His priesthood is superior and eternal. Hebrews 7:26-28 says, “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

He was a greater, more perfect temple and the great High Priest. That’s the message of Hebrews 9:11-12, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

The sacrifice he brought was not just of animals representing what he would do. It was his own perfect blood offered once for all to secure an eternal redemption. He made the payment of sin in full, once for all.

Jesus continues to make intercession for you who are his people. He speaks out to defend your innocence forever. The post-resurrection Scriptures know and recognize only one Mediator between God and man. In Romans 8:34 the Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus is “… even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

1 Timothy 2:5-6 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

We need someone who can keep us safe
from all that threatens to hurt us.

Jesus Christ is our Perfect King.

God set up the world so that heads of nations would show the headship of God over his Kingdom. Humans who lead nations control armies. They influence laws being made, and therefore can manipulate the economy and the people under their authority.

Tragically, every human leader is flawed. There are things they overlook or fail to understand perfectly. Some rule for self-gain and power to do things their own way. No King, President, Dictator or Prime Minister can rule perfectly, or keep his people completely safe forever. Leaders and nations come and go. Economies grow, tumble, recover, and crumble.

No leader can keep natural disasters from destroying what he wants to build. They cannot keep enemies from hurting their people and attacking their cities. They cannot keep poisonous ideas from polluting the morals and goals of their nation.

For every important truth God tells us, Satan has his lies to confuse us. He even works to convince us creatures that God’s Kingdom is not the best idea.

Evil pretends that it is a Kingdom too, but its king cannot really do what he promises. It is a false kingdom where people think they can be captains of their own souls. They imagined that they, not God, could determine their future. They evaluate the rightness or wrongness of things by what would most please themselves, not by what would most please the Lord of Creation. They imagine they could be happier doing what they want instead of what God commands.

Of course God never really lost his absolute Kingship in the fall of Satan or in the fall of man. He only took away our awareness of his Sovereignty. As fallen creatures we are deceived about who controls everything.

Satan and sinners are always under the direct lordship of the Sovereign God. Neither the Devil, nor his followers, are able to do anything without the direct permission of God. Our Creator directs everything, even their rebellion. It all ultimately promotes his own glory and purpose.

We all know that verse in 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.”

God is restoring the display of his Sovereign Kingship as he gathers his people into his church through faith in Jesus Christ, and as he lets the evil in men’s hearts destroy them and all they think they’ve accomplished.

Jesus Christ as God forever rules over all things perfectly to complete his perfect plan. No enemy can out-smart him, out-maneuver him, overcome him, or in anyway change his plans. No disaster comes along that he does not know about in advance and control completely. Nothing of his can ever be destroyed if God wants it to remain, and nothing he determines to end can continue for a nano-second beyond that pre-determined moment.

Through the hardest of times, in the most seemingly impossible situations that come along, our king gives us comfort and assurance. Our duty as his people is to trust in him and to abandon all our doubts about his ways and promises.

That is why we say that Jesus is the Perfect King.

When Luke started his report to Theophilus about the history of the Apostles, he had these comforting ministries of Jesus Christ in mind. In Acts 1:1-3 Luke said, “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

Jesus was the perfect Prophet, Priest and King.

As the Perfect Prophet, Jesus taught the truth we need to know. The lies are easy to spot when we know God’s word well, when we know Jesus well. We do not need to look for comfort in the uncertain and always changing theories of lost men. What we learn in our Bibles gives us absolutely reliable principles to live by, and unchangeable facts upon which to build our lives with confidence. His word is there to guide all who read and trust what he said.

As the Perfect Priest, Jesus suffered, died and presented himself alive for us. He satisfied the demands of our guilt to make his people right with God. The cause of death was taken away. The sin that separated us from our Creator was paid for. He infallibly makes us right with God, not just for a few emotional moments, but forever. Nothing can ever condemn the redeemed. Nothing can ever separate us from fellowship with God.

As the Perfect King, Jesus taught constantly about God’s Kingship over all things. He rules over all he made, and over the nation of the redeemed in particular. He watches over us and directs everything that happens every moment of every day. In each situation we need to respond with trust in how he says we should deal with it. Even when things become overwhelmingly hard for us, Jesus is absolutely in control and shows us the way to comfort and security.

These words of our Prophet, Priest and King promise comfort. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (KJV)

Are there things that worry you? trouble you?
eat away at your conscience?

Come to the Savior and he will give you rest.

Do not count on your comfortable bed alone to give you a good night’s sleep, if you have not rested in the arms of the only one who can give you peace through the night.

Do not expect your medicines or doctors to heal all that discomforts and threatens you by themselves, if you do not come in trusting and obedient prayer to the Great Physician.

Do not put your confidence in armies, technology, wise investment brokers, gold, or education, if you are not looking for security above all else in the King of all kings.

Psalm 20:7 shows us where our trust needs to be, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

The Lord our God is none other than Jesus Christ, our perfect Prophet, Priest, and King.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the work and these offices of Jesus Christ in questions 22 through 26.

Question 22. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Answer. Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.

Question 23. What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?
Answer. Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a Prophet. of a Priest, and of a King, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation.

Question 24. How doth Christ execute the office of a Prophet?
Answer. Christ executeth the office of a Prophet, in revealing to us by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

Question 25. How doth Christ execute the office of a Priest?
Answer. Christ executeth the office of a Priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us.

Question 26. How doth Christ execute the office of a King?
Answer. Christ executeth the office of a King, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

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

Why do we do bad things?

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Bible Basics

by Bob Burridge ©2011, 2021
Lesson 3: Why do we do bad things?

We all have done bad things. We know they are wrong, but we do them anyway. It’s called “sin” when we do what God tells us not to do or when we do not do what God tells us to do.

We do those wrong things because Adam, who represented us all, disobeyed God way back in the Garden of Eden. God said that if Adam sinned all humans who descended from him would be born as sinners.


Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned”

Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

When we sin God is deeply offended. Our morally fallen hearts keep us from understanding what is true about God and what is true about us. The damage caused by our fall in Adam continues to make us unable to do good for the right reasons. In fact what we call “good” isn’t really good at all if it’s not done for God’s glory.

Romans 3:10-12, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.’ ”

Sin makes us selfish, greedy, and rude. Only God can change our sinful hearts. This is why Jesus came. He paid for the sins of the people he specially loved. Just as Adam represented us in Eden, Jesus represented his people when he lived here on earth, and died for them on the cross on Mount Calvary.


Lesson 4: What is God’s plan for his people?
Index of our lessons on Bible Basics
(Bible verses are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible)

A Tragic Trade

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A Tragic Trade

Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Lesson 08: Romans 1:18-32

We live in an age where electronics has given
us an amazing window on the world.

Television takes us to wars, scenes of crime, breaking news, and spectacular events. It provides us with an unlimited stream of mesmerizing entertainment interweaving carefully constructed messages about morality and life styles. Magazines and newspapers are able to produce sensational stories with overwhelming speed and influence. The Internet puts millions of pages of information at our fingertips and lets us talk with people all around the world at any time for as long as we want.

The rapid explosion of information, and the immediate connections we have today with so many, make us all the more aware and alarmed with the overflow of wickedness from fallen hearts, and it makes us all the more easily influenced by the dangerous standards and attitudes of the world.

This world that so closely surrounds us is sinking deeper and deeper into sin and depravity. With each generation the limits are pressed just a little farther.

Today, many no longer see governing over a nation, state, or town as a special trust. Constitutionally, leaders were to take time away from a career to represent the people. However, the drift in values has created an opportunists dream, and a nightmare for liberty. Some professional politicians consider it their job to manipulate the people greedily for personal wealth, power to promote their own causes, as a boost for their ego. Deceit and corruption to one degree or another are found in every party and at every level of society. Those few who still try to govern by our founding principles often find themselves losing elections.

Much of the worship in our modern society is not like the worship God has prescribed in Scripture. It has become either entertainment to attract a large audience, mystical rituals to soothe the emotions and divert the mind, a time for promoting political and social theories, or to some worship is ignored or neglected altogether.

The increased power of the individual to control the world around him has crated opportunities for brutal violence. Aggressive drivers run law abiding drivers off the road, and have even shot them. In the video game Carmageddon, you drive various cars through cities and stores to chase down pedestrians to run them over. The game provides painful cries and graphic displays of blood and mangled bodies. Points are earned by hitting and killing various kinds of people as they frantically try to run away with looks of terror on their faces.

Children have shot other children in our schools and neighborhoods. Sexual perversion has made the morality of Scripture something either to ridicule, or to hate. Sex outside of marriage has become so common and expected, that people often smirk with condescension at the mention of God’s commandments. Homosexuality has become a specially protected life-style under the law with special privilege. Homosexuals demand that we have no right to our own views and values. They demand under law that we must recognize marriages between same-sex couples and their right to adopt and raise children training them in their life style. Pornography (the portraying of sexually explicit material) is not only found in strip bars, adult magazines, and X-rated movies. It is there for all to see on network television, the Internet, PG and PG-13 movies, and magazines aimed at teens.

A tragic trade has taken place. The good things God has built into the human race are exchanged for perversions. The spiral into corruption goes down one more level with each generation of any given society.

When fallen man exchanges what is good and right, for what is bad and wrong, what does God do? Does he send fire from heaven? disease and plagues? death and poverty? That is not what it says in the Bible. It says that God gives them over to exactly what they wanted. We see the results choking the world we live in. There is an old saying, “be careful what you ask for … you may get it”

In our last study we saw that there is no excuse — no one can plead ignorance. God is clearly revealing himself in all the things that he made (Romans 1:20). Man suppresses that truth and refuses to see it (1:18). This leaves him inexcusable for his ungodliness (1:19,20).

Verses 21-25 show how the heart of fallen humanity deals with this clear testimony. In arrogant pride the fallen creature dares to stand as judge over his Creator. He runs to do things that offend God. He believes things contrary to what God has revealed. He uses God’s gifts as if they were things he either deserves or has secured on his own.

There are two principles summarized in this last section of Chapter One of the Book of Romans.
1. Fallen man makes an exchange: he prefers distorted truth over reality.
2. God justly gives fallen man over to his own corrupt ways.

1. Mankind in his fallen condition makes a tragic trade.


As we saw in our last study: The fallen nature of man suppresses the truth he sees in things, and foolishly prefers a distorted way of looking at God and what God made. Verse 25 mentions this exchange directly.

Romans 1:25, “… who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen”

The true worship of God is switched for the worship of the things God made. Paul goes on to describe this exchange as it relates to moral behavior. A wrong view of God always shows up in wrong living. The first issue that he brings up is fallen man’s confused attitude toward sex.

Romans 1:26-27, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”

Fallen humans tend to exchange proper sexual desires for perverted ones. Sex is one of the strongest drives God has put into us. It is to be satisfied in only one way morally and with God’s blessing: one man and one woman united for life as husband and wife. Any sex outside of that union is condemned as a perversion of God’s creation order.

Paul uses an extreme example to illustrate this principle. He describes homosexuality. This was a growing practice in the ancient Roman Empire. First he deals with women looking to other women for sexual satisfaction. Then he deals with men who have sexual desires for other men. This is never presented in Scripture as an alternative life-style. It is contrary to the way God made us, and is a deep offense to him. These actions are called “shameful” [ασχημοσυνη (aschaemosun), “indecent”]. The practice and desire is called “error.” This is the progression God warns us will happen when we abandon his ways.

Since God condemns their favorite perversions, they reject God as revealed in Scripture.

Romans 1:28, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;”

What they do not like they reject. They judge everything against what they assume is right by their own standards. In their rejection, God gives them over to their depraved thinking. They rush ahead into those things that are not right.

The old King James Version says they do things which are not “convenient” The word convenient had a different meaning when the KJV was translated in 1611. Today “convenient” means things that are no strain on us, easy things that require less work. Originally it meant what goes along with something, what conforms with it. The sinner does the things that do not go along with what God says is right.

Then Paul gives a summary list of the sins they love both to do and to defend. Their lives are filled up with them. It is their life-style. They are obsessed with such things. Different translations may choose different English words. But the meanings are clear.

Romans 1:29-31, “being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;”

Those who are given over to their own depravity are filled with unrighteousness [ἀδικία (adikia), “injustice”]. They care only for their own advancement. If a judgment serves them personally, then they see justice as being served. They care little for victims who suffer losses so that they can gain.

They love all sorts of sexual immorality [πορνεία (porneia)]. Most ancient manuscripts use this word for a broad range of sexual activities. Biblically it is used for all sexual conduct outside of a proper marriage bond. This would include sexual activities between unmarried people, as well as adultery committed by someone who is married.

They engage in wickedness [πονηρία (ponaeria)]. This is the disposition that leans toward doing things that are wrong, contrary to what God says is right and moral.

They are covetousness, greedy [πλεονεξία (pleonexia)]. This is that self-serving motive that leads people to covet what they don’t have. They grumble when they lack something. They act as if they have a right to things others have. They are likely to take advantage of others in business, even of their friends. They are not only greedy for financial gain, that may not be everyone’s evil motive. Some maliciously want to promote their own ideas or ways of life, or they want power or respect. Whatever it is that motivates them, they will not care if the liberty, safety, or peace of others is violated, as long as they get that for which they crave.

They are maliciousness, evil [κακία (kakia)]. This is the attitude of those not troubled by seeing people injured. They accept the suffering of others as the inevitable cost of their own advancement.

They are full of envy [φθόνος (phthonos)]. They jealously long for things others have. At the root is a discontent with what God has given them. They fail to see the value of what they have. They only see the value of things they don’t yet possess.

They tend toward murder [φόνος (phonos)]. Even the lives of others will not stand in the way of their personal peace and prosperity.

They are also full of strife [ἔριδος (eridos)]. They are contentious, arguing, and debating in a most demanding manner.

They have no problem with deceit [δόλος (dolos)]. The word here originally meant the bait you use in a trap to catch an animal. The animal sees what appears to be a good meal, but it was there to lure its victim into a hidden trap. These people Paul is describing will deceive, lie, or commit fraud to get what they want from others. They entice people only to take advantage of them.

They are filled with evil-mindedness [κακοηθεία (kakoaetheia), “malice”]. This is a disposition which is gloomy and mean.

These are whisperers [ψιθυριστάς (psithuristas), “gossipers”]. They secretly spread stories that hurt other people. Their intention is to appear superior to those about whom they gossip, or to use the gossip to get others to pay attention to them.

They are backbiters [καταλάλος (katalalos), “slanderers”]. This is when they say hurtful things about others. It is a compound word literally meaning to “speak against”.

They are haters of God [θεοστυγης (theostugaes)]. They have no love at all for God as he is revealed in Scripture. They not only invent a god in a form of their own liking, they actually despise and ridicule the biblical teachings about God.

They are violent [ὑβριστης (hubristaes), more accurately “insulting”, “insolent”]. These show no respect for other people. They put themselves first. Our English word “hubris” comes directly from this ancient Greek word. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “hubris” as, “exaggerated pride or self-confidence”

They are proud [ὑπερηφάνος (huperaephanos), “arrogant”]. These are those who think they are better than everyone else. They are the center of their own attention, and want to be the center of everyone else’s attention too.

They are boastful [ἀλαζων (alazon)]. Those are the ones who love to brag and to tell others about their accomplishments.

They are inventors of evil things [ἐφευρετὰς κακῶν (epheuretas kakon), “inventors of evil”]. They are always scheming ways to justify their immorality.

They are disobedient to their parents [γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς (goneusin apeitheis)]. If authority structures break down in the home, it will produce disrespect in business, in the community, in the church, and wherever someone is held responsible for overseeing things.

They are undiscerning [ἀσυνετος (asunetos), “without understanding”]. This does not mean they have a low IQ, or that they do poorly in school. It means they have no comprehension in spiritual or moral matters.

They are untrustworthy [ἀσυνθέτος (asunthetos)]. The word means they cannot be relied upon. They have little regard for promises or vows. The word was often used for those who were covenant breakers.

They are unloving [ἀστόργος (astorgos)]. These have no natural affection for family or friends, no loyalties.

They are unforgiving [ἀσπονδος (aspondos)]. The word literally means “without a poured out drink offering.” This was normally part of the making of treaties and truces. It refers those who will not be reconciled with others. They are unforgiving, and will not come to agreements to settle differences.

They are unmerciful [ἀνελεήμων (aneleaemon)]. These are they who show no compassion, mercy, or pity.

* (See the literary note at the end of this lesson.)

These traits never stand alone. They stand in support of others who are the same.

Romans 1:32, “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

They know such things are wrong, but look for company in their sins. They love to have others go along with them. They are the ones who would quote numbers as if large numbers agree, that makes it right.

2. God justly gives fallen man over to his own corrupt ways.

Throughout this sections it shows that God gives these unbelievers over to believe the lie (1:25). In their lusts they are left to their own to impurity, to the dishonoring of their own bodies (1:24). They are given over to degrading passions (1:26), and are left to their depraved minds to do what is improper (1:28).

God abandoned them to this level of corruption on the basis of their rebellion, both the rebellion they inherited from Adam, and their own sins that flow from that depraved soul. When God gives them up it is deserved. It is a judgment. It is their rightful punishment. Corrupt people get to live in the consequences of their own rebellion.

They are alone held responsible for their depravity, not God. However, God has a holy purpose in allowing it to be this way. The depravity of man is such that God is not bound ever to hold back man’s sin. If from Eden on God restrained no sin, there would be no injustice at all. However, to reveal the depth of man’s depravity, and to reveal his own justice, holiness, mercy, and grace, God permits them to have their own sinful ways. He allows them to fall deeper and deeper into depravity. They sin most willingly, and want to do it more and more. The abandonment to their flood of corruption is judicial, caused and earned by sin.

Some point out the corruption around us and say, “look at the violence, the sexual perversity, the corruption, the lies. God will judge us for this!” They are partly right. But according to the principles of Scripture, this is a sign that God’s judgment is already here! The evil they see is part of that on-going judgment.

If the heathen who only know God by creation and their conscience are judged in this way, then how horrible for those who know his word yet prefer the perverted things. This same principle applies to the covenant people of God. To his people Israel God said in Psalm 81:11-12, “But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.” In Proverbs 8:36 God says, “But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”

The Lord calls out to his children to see the danger and to turn back in sincerity, trusting in his deliverance. Psalm 81:13 says, “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!”

In those who turn to him he reveals the work of Christ, the promised Messiah, upon their hearts. Their sin, their guilt, and its power were dealt with on the cross in their place. He promises to restore the repentant so that again he will restrain sin among them and bless them. Psalm 81 ends with these words in verses 14-16, “I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”

In those who do not turn back, who do not repent, who do not rest in Christ, God reveals that they were never truly his. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:23, “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ”

God abandons them to the horrors of his judgments. He gives them over to suffer in the sins they seemed to want. There they suffer the miseries of sin in this life, and face the horrible reality of eternal sufferings from which there is no relief or comfort.

This is the lesson Paul teaches us in this section of Romans


Fallen people exchange right things for wrong things, fantasizing that they will be satisfied by them. However, they are in rebellion against the God of the universe. This is a most frightening condition. At some point, God gives them over to the desires of their own hearts.

Instead of finding satisfaction and freedom, they find the horrors of living in a corrupt society. They find that the perverted things do not bring true inner peace and happiness. They search for more options for satisfaction in all the wrong ways, and show the evidences of their abandonment to sin. In those who persist in sin, God reveals his justice, and their own guilt. By contract, in those who repent and turn to the provision for forgiveness in Christ, God reveals his mercy and amazing grace.

Though believers must also live in the corrupt society brought down by society’s sins, they find in the midst of it the comfort of God. They enjoy peace in the church, and security in their homes. They are called to spread that promise of inner peace through the gospel of grace. They are to bear testimony to it in their places of work, among their friends, and in their communities.

God’s blessing always accompanies the obedience of faith in his promises. Our obedience is never the cause or foundation for our blessings, it is the means God uses by which his blessings are dispensed. The cause is always God’s grace. The foundation is always the work of Jesus the Redeemer. By covenant, God promises to honor his work in our hearts by granting the covenant blessings to those transformed by the life and death of the Savior.

We may not live in an age where masses will turn from sin and repent. There have been such times, and in God’s plan they may occur again. However, in our own obedience we tap the wonderful and endless resource of God’s promised blessings in whatever situation we find ourselves.

________________
* Literary Note: Notice the poetic structure of how Paul arranged these words in verses 29-31. They are in groups with similar or contrasting sounds. Read the Greek words out loud and notice the patterns used in some places as a literary effect.

unrighteousness (injustice) – sexual immorality – wickedness – maliciousness
ἀδικία – πορνεία – πονηρία – κακία
adikia – porneia – ponaeria – kakia

envy – murder – strife – deceit
φθόνος – φόνος – ἔριδος – δόλος
phthonos – phonos – eridos – dolos

evil-mindedness (malice) – whisperers (gossippers) – backbiters (slanderers) – haters of God
κακοηθεία – ψιθυριστάς – καταλάλος – θεοστυγης
kakoaetheia – psithuristas – katalalos – theostugaes

violent (insolent) – proud (arrogant) – boastful – inventors of evil – disobedient to parents
ὑβριστης – ὑπερηφάνος – ἀλαζων – ἐφευρετὰς κακῶν – γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς
hubristaes – huperaephanos – alazon – epheuretas kakon – goneusin apeitheis

undiscerning – untrustworthy – unloving – unforgiving – unmerciful
ἀσυνετος – ἀσυνθέτος – ἀστόργος – ἀσπονδος – ἀνελεήμων
asunetos – asunthetos – astorgos – aspondos – aneleaemon

(The Bible quotations in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Back to the Index of Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans

One Way to Redemption

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One Way to Redemption

(Westminster Shorter Catechsim Q: 21)
(watch our video)
by Bob Burridge ©2011

There are often many different ways to solve a problem. We look over our options, then try to pick the solution that seems best.

Sometimes the problem is as simple as what you’re going to have for supper, or as complicated as deciding who will be your partner for the rest of your life. We make decisions about the best way to decorate a room, what gift is best to buy for a friend, or what movie or TV show would be the best to watch on a quiet evening. Most of the time with matters like these we chose between different options.

In contrast with these common issues, the biggest problem in life has only one solution, just one possible remedy.

In our last study we looked at questions 17-20 of our Shorter Catechism. It was about our fall into sin and the misery of being alienated from God by our guilt. That’s the problem: How can we get rid of that moral barrier between us and our Creator?

Since we are all corrupted by the fall of humanity through Adam, we cannot see things as they really are, we cannot overcome our selfish motives, and we tend to defend and excuse the things we want to do rather than to follow God’s ways. Because of our own imperfections, we cannot do anything to qualify ourselves for glory, or to get rid of our past guilt. One-by-one the Bible rules out every solution but one.

Question 20 of the Catechism explains the Bible’s solution to the problem of our guilt,

God, having out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.

So the 21st Question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?”

The answer pulls together what the Bible says about this one way of redemption:

The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man, in two distinct natures, and one person forever.

In John 14, Jesus told his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them in heaven. Thomas asked how he could know the way to get where Jesus was going. In verse 6 Jesus answered saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

There is only one redemption and only one Redeemer. No other way is possible, and no other way is needed. There is only one way to deal with your personal struggles and feelings of guilt. It goes beyond just getting into heaven someday. Our Redeemer did not just come to give us birth. He came to make us alive, to make us able to live every day with confidence in his care.

Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah

Immediately after the fall in Eden, God made a promise. In the presence of our parents, Adam and Eve, he said to the Serpent in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

This Promised One, the child of a woman, would destroy Satan and put an end to his evil. He would be the one set aside for that special deliverance. The Bible calls him “Messiah”, which means the “Anointed One”. The Greek word that means that is Christos (Χριστος) from which we get the word, “Christ”.

We live in the history that flows from that promise. Today we know that Jesus was that Messiah. He came to deal with Satan and our guilt.

The promise was made in Eden. It was fulfilled on the Cross at Mount Calvary. It is applied by God’s grace to unworthy sinners loved eternally for God’s own reasons.

It is amazing to think about what God tells us in his word about his solution to our otherwise unsolvable problem. His children were chosen by his eternal love, redeemed by the work of Jesus the Promised One, and therefor cannot ever be lost, or separated from his care again. God holds his loved ones by the power of his own word. God kept his promise. He always does.

It is good to know your Savior, so you can understand how secure you are in him, and so you can worship him and live for his glory throughout every day. There is a lot of confusion about who Jesus is, and about what it means that he is your Redeemer. The Catechism summarizes what God has revealed in his word.

It tells us that Jesus is the eternal Son of God

That does not mean there was a time when he was born in heaven. God the Father was never without him. He didn’t become God the Son as if he was born into the Trinity. The main idea of sonship in the Bible is that a child carries on the work of the father and is like him in his qualities. God’s children are to live for him and are to be like him in our limited way. With Jesus, as God the Son, that relationship is perfect.

Jesus came to carry out the plan to Redeem those the Father gave him. Jesus said in John 5:30, ” I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”

This does not mean there is a different desire in God the Father than in God the Son. The will of the entire Triune God is eternally the same. It means that the Son does not come to do something independent of the Trinity. He always carries out that work of Redemption as God the Father desires it.

In John 6:37 Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

All through eternity, God the Son is that person of the Trinity who carries out the Divine plans. As a true and perfect Son, Jesus is like the Father in all his attributes. He is the same kind of eternal being, infinite and unchangeable in all his qualities.

He was not created by the Father. He took part in the creation of all things, nothing excepted. John 1:3 says about Jesus, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

As God the Son, Jesus is and always has been truly and fully God. All members of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, share the same attributes, essence, intelligence, will, and power.

Jesus is eternally God the Son. Not only was he forever an inseparable person of the Trinity, he will never lose that element of what he is. He is your Redeemer forever and without fail.

How can God, the one offended by sin, remove the barrier that separates you from him? God always, from all eternity, had a perfect solution for that problem.

The eternal Son of God became man.

In his love for his people, he took on a fully human nature: body and soul. That was the only way God’s justice could be satisfied and the problem of sin solved.

In Philippians 2:7-8 God tells about this work of Jesus to redeem you. There it says, “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

He was really human. He didn’t just take on the illusion of humanity. As a real human he died in place of each of his spiritual children. If you are one of those who trust in him, you can rest in the fact that he took on what you deserve, and gives you what only he deserves. This is what makes the Gospel unique from all other forms of religion. Nobody can do or believe anything to solve the problem of sin and its guilt on his own. There is just one possible way. Jesus is that one way.

This is what encourages us. It is our confidence and certain hope. It is what motivates us to want to live his way every day. It is what stirs us to worship him. As truly God and truly man, Jesus is able to remove your guilt and comfort you daily.

Jesus was not God for just a brief period of time. He was not man for awhile, then became God again.

Jesus is forever one person: God and man in two distinct natures.

He draws from all the abilities of his God nature, while he possesses all the qualities of being human. The only exception is that as a man he did not inherit sin from Adam like the rest of us.

As a believer in is work of grace, Jesus is your Redeemer. He loved you eternally. He knows your heart, died in your place, and promises to keep you close to him forever.

But what does it mean to redeem something or someone?

It means to transfer ownership to the one paying the price demanded.

I remember how we used to redeem glass soda bottles as kids. This was a regular thing we did on Pomona Place in South Buffalo. Back in the 50’s glass bottles were recycled. Recycling is nothing new. To make sure your returned the empty bottles you paid a deposit when you bought your drink. It was 2¢ for a small soda bottle, and I think 5¢ for the larger quart bottles. We would go door-to-door with our wagons offering to get rid of the bottles for people. Then we would go to the store to redeem them for the cash we used to get gum or a Popsicle.

Sometimes, we redeem things from garage sales too. People want to get rid of things they don’t use anymore. Others are glad to get them. At most garage sales a used book can be redeemed for a few pennies. Furniture for a few dollars. We pay that little price and it becomes ours.

Sometimes our soda bottles would get broken and we would lose a few pennies worth. Things at garage sales might turn out to be a disappointment, so we lose the quarter or dollar we spent to make them ours. When things are redeemed for such a low price we adjust and don’t worry about it.

However, what is your soul worth to God? How much did it cost him to redeem you? Our minds cannot quite take in such a high price. Our hearts are broken to think of the cost. Jesus, our eternal God and humble Savior, who deserved only glory and eternal peace, took up what we fallen sinner deserve. He paid for our redemption by enduring unimaginable agony, not just physical suffering, but the horrors of eternal condemnation.

The Redeemer who paid such a high price for you will never surrender his possession. He will keep you, and treasure you as his own forever.

But, oh — how some still carry around their load of guilt.

As believer we need to rest in his promise that we have a Redeemer who cares and cannot fail. There is only this one way. Nothing else will do. Nothing else is needed.

When you sense the guilt of your own sins, God tells you what to do. First you need to admit it to yourself and to God. The word used for “confess” in the Bible basically means to admit something as true, to agree with God about it. Then you need to repent of it. Repentance more than just a change of mind about being a sinner. It means understanding how deeply your thoughts and behaviors offend God. Next you come to Jesus Christ trusting that his redemption of you is all you need. That is the essence of what we call “saving faith”. It is trusting that he paid for your guilt in full.

Those redeemed by grace are changed. They continue to come to Christ when they sin. They continue to rest in his assurance of deliverance from condemnation when they sin. They also want very sincerely to overcome their sins to honor their Redeemer.

When you sin, and after you have confessed it, repented of it, and come to Christ for forgiveness, you must stand up against it. Do not make a way for it to happen again if possible. Remove the temptations and opportunities to do it again. To find the power for that, we rely on the living Redeemer who is eternally God, and is all we need.

Through it all, in our confession, repentance, faith, and sanctification, we know it is all undeserved and a gift of grace alone. So we give all the glory to God alone

We have a Redeemer who cannot fail to redeem us. He loves us with his own eternal perfect love. He paid the price of the debt we could never settle. As those redeemed, we become his, and realize that we are no longer our own.

As the Heidelberg Catechism says in it’s first question,

” … I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.”

The weight of guilt is lifted, and replaced with a yearning to be holy to honor your Savior. Instead of getting down over our sins, we get up and get going for the glory of our King.

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

What is True About God?

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Bible Basics

by Bob Burridge ©2011, 2021
Lesson 2: What is True About God?

God is the Creator. He made us and everything else. All that he made shows us how wonderful and how powerful he is. In the Bible God tells us all we need to know about him and about what he has done.

John 5:39m “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”

The Bible tells us that God is not like us. He is a spirit being, not confined to a physical body. God never had a beginning. We grow up and learn new things, but God never changes. He has always been the same, and has always known everything. We can only be in one place at a time, but God is everywhere all the time.

In Psalm 139 the writer tells how amazing God is. He sees everything we do, and he is always there to comfort us, even when we wonder why we go through hard times.

Psalm 139:7-10, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.”

The Bible says that God does all his holy will. That means that his plan is perfect, and he is so powerful that he does everything he has planned to do.

We need food, air, and sometimes we need people to help us, but God never needs anything. He is always what he always has been, and he does not have to learn new things, or wait to see what will happen in the future.

Once we know what God is like, our job is to worship Him. We take time to learn about him, to sing about him, and to think about how amazing he is. We pray to him and tell him how much we need him. We joyfully read his word every day. On Sundays we worship together with other believers in church.

We should honor God by every thought we have, by every word we say, and by everything we do. This is what we were created to do.

Psalm 29:2m “Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”


Lesson 3: Why do we do bad things?
Index of our lessons on Bible Basics
(Bible verses are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible)