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The Bible and the New Birth (P1)
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Some people are surprised to find that it isn’t easy being a Christian. Once we put our faith in Christ, we immediately find that we have an adversary, the devil, who wants to bring us down.
The spiritual battle rages every day, and this battle will not end until we’re safe in the arms of Jesus. Writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8 NLT). The word that Paul used for “fight” pointed to the Greek contests in which men would struggle against each other with all their might. This reminds us that the Christian life is a constant process of moving forward. And the moment we stop moving forward, we will start moving backward. Thus, we need to put our armor on. We need to suit up. Ephesians 6 tells us, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (verses 11–12 NLT). Wouldn’t it be great to think that we could reach a plateau in our lives as believers where we are somehow above all temptations and struggles? But that isn’t going to happen. The fight will rage on until that final day. So, we need to keep our armor on. We need to stay alert and aware and be constantly moving forward. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ---------------------------------------------------------------------  There was a time when scarcely a person in the Anglo-Saxon world would not have been able to cite John 3:16. Doubtless it was the best known verse in the entire Bible. It may still hold that place today - I am uncertain. But if it does, the percentage of people who know it is considerably smaller, and continues to decline as biblical illiteracy rises in the West.
Meanwhile there is another verse that is (perhaps more) frequently quoted, almost as a defiant gesture, by some people who do not know their Bibles very well, but who think it authorizes their biases. It is Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” In an age when philosophical pluralism is on the ascendancy, these nine words might almost be taken as the public confession. Three things must be said. First, it is striking that today’s readings include not only Matthew 7 but also Genesis 7. There the sweeping judgment of the Flood is enacted: “Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark” (Gen. 7:23). The same God stands behind both passages, so we should not be too hasty in understanding Matthew 7:1 to mean that all judgment is intrinsically evil. Second, this is not an instance where something practiced in the Old Testament is somehow abolished in the New. It is not as if judgment was possible in Genesis but is now abolished in Matthew. After all, Matthew 7:6 demands that we make judgments about who are “dogs” and “pigs,” and the paragraphs at the end of this chapter warn against false prophets (and tell us how we are to discern who is true and who is false), and who is truly a follower of Jesus and who is not. Moreover, not only does this chapter speak of a terrible judgment no less final than the flood (Matt. 7:13, 19, 23), but there are many passages in the New Testament that are equally uncompromising. Third, we must not only expose false interpretations of Matthew 7:1, we must understand what it does say and appropriate it. The verb judge has a wide range of meanings, and the context (7:1–5) is decisive in giving it its color in this passage. People who pursue righteousness (6:33) are easily prone to self-righteousness, arrogance, condescension toward others, an ugly holier-than-thou stance, hypocrisy. Not all are like that, of course, but the sin of “judgmentalism” is common enough. Jesus won’t have it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consider what these five painting masters have in common: Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Leonardo da Vinci, Johann Füssli, and Edvard Munch. They all painted multiple versions of a single scene. Recommended Reading:
 Think about God’s creation of humanity: the same Artist but billions of unique versions of the same “picture” - different colors, traits, appearances, and personalities. Like a human artist who creates multiple versions of the same painting for his or her own reasons, God has shaped every human creation individually for His own reasons. And that includes you! God “fearfully and wonderfully” created you and ordained the days of your life before they came to be (Psalm 139:14, 16). Give thanks for who you are today. And ask God to direct your steps that you might fulfill His unique purpose for your life. That God creates and ordains the days of each human life gives significance and value to each life. - Steven J. Cole
by: 19th Century Preacher Charles H. Spurgeon "Behold the Man!"  If there is one place where our Lord Jesus most fully becomes the joy and comfort of His people, it is where He plunged deepest into the depths of woe!
Come hither, gracious souls, and behold the Man in the garden of Gethsemane! Behold His heart so brimming with love, that He cannot hold it in--so full of sorrow, that it must find a vent. Behold the bloody sweat as it distills from every pore of His body, and falls upon the ground! Behold the Man as they drive the nails into His hands and feet! Look up, repenting sinners, and see the sorrowful image of your suffering Lord! Mark Him, as the ruby drops stand on the thorn-crown, and adorn the diadem of the King of Misery with priceless gems! Behold the Man when all His bones are out of joint, and He is poured out like water and brought into the dust of death! God has forsaken Him, and Hell compasses Him about. Behold and see--was there ever sorrow like unto His sorrow? All you who pass by, draw near and look upon this spectacle of grief! Unique, unparalleled, a wonder to men and angels, an unmatched marvel! Behold the Emperor of Woe, who had no equal or rival in His agonies! Gaze upon Him you mourners--for if there is not consolation in a crucified Christ, there is no joy in earth or Heaven. If in the ransom price of His blood, there is not hope--you harps of heaven, there is no joy in you; and the right hand of God shall know no pleasures for evermore!
If we would rise to dignity--it must be by considering His humiliation and His sorrow! 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Scientific theories, by their very definition, are subject to change and adjustment. Scripture remains as God’s revealed unchanging declaration of truth. The Bible was not written as a challenge to any particular scientific theory, but scientific theories have often been designed to challenge and undermine biblical statements. They either agree with scripture or are mistaken. The description in Genesis 1:1 that “God created the heavens and the earth” yields three basic conclusions:
One key in evaluating scientific theories depends on our understanding of the biblical word “created.” Although the Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1 can be used to describe the act of shaping or altering existent matter (Is. 65:18), such is not the case with the Bible’s first words. God spoke the heavens and earth into existence. Both context and the rest of Scripture bear witness to God’s creativity without use of any preexisting material (Is. 40:28; 45:8, 12, 18; 48:13; Jer. 10:16; Acts 17:24).
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