This post contains a 5-minute Got Questions video explanation of what it means to Renew the Mind, from Romans 12:1-2. A list of bulleted HIGHLIGHT points follow the video, and an expanded explanation of one small phrase in Romans 12:2, “that by testing you may discern.”
Category: Self-denial / Obedience
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good – Dr. James Boice
John Perkins, a black pastor in 1960’s Mississippi, was unjustly arrested and beaten unmercifully. He saw what hate can do to men, and–in response–Perkins chose to do the seemingly impossible. Join Dr. James Boice on The Bible Study Hour as we hear the pastor’s story and learn how–like him–we can fulfill the Apostle Paul’s directive to “overcome evil with good.” [Video description from YouTube] I have to say that the biblical fidelity of Boice’s sermon speaks to the unbiblical nature of CRT and other social movements that the 21st century church is drinking down that it might be found “relevant” in the eyes of the world…. Be a student of the Bible so that you are not led astray.
Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection…. Commentaries of Barnes and Calvin
This post contains comments from Albert Barnes and John Calvin on Philippians 3:10 – “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” It opens with that verse from 5 different Bible translations, as it is good to look to different translations when one is seeking understanding of a given verse; those readers who did not know that see the benefit of doing so.
Combat Between the Flesh and the Spirit – Puritan Christopher Love
This post contains 3 videos: a video short, a 17-minute excerpt of the full sermon from which the short came; and the full-length sermon. The Puritan Christopher Love addressed the matter of the Holy Spirit’s work in sanctifying the believer. He focused on two aspects: what the Spirit does to dissuade a believer from sinning; and what the Spirit does to sanctify the believer after he has sinned. Every Christian needs to understand this matter as well as possible such that he/she is receptive to the Spirit’s workings. Highlights are provided for the 17-minute excerpt; a link to some posts in this blog about Jonathan Edwards addressing these matters, but Edwards was not as thorough as Love.
The Tenth Commandment – Pastor Patrick Hines
This post contains a 14-minute excerpt of Pastor Hines sermon on the 10th commandment; the whole sermon was also posted for those who might want to hear it. The excerpt is accompanied by highlight points. Pastor Hines message was built around biblical contentment; he closed by relating that to commandment 10.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication… sinneth against his own body
In my daily reading, 1 Cor. 4-7, I spent time reading commentaries on the following verse. I wanted some clarity about the underscored portion of the following verse. I read several commentaries from the e-Sword Bible app on my iPhone, two of those commentaries are pasted in below: Albert Barnes and Matthew Henry. Barnes treats only verse 18; Henry, 12-20 of 1 Cor. 6. Scripture pasted in for those who would like to review it before reading.
Unity of Old and New Testaments [Part 2]
The purpose of this series is to show that Bible covenants cause the Old and New Testaments to have unity. The Old and New Testaments, are the revelation of One God to a people He is calling out of this world. One can easily see the truth of that statement if he/she looks at God’s plan of redemption via the covenants He entered into with mankind in order to restore him, to redeem him. Excerpts from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion will be used to support my purpose statement.
Poverty of Spirit – Matthew 5:3 – a definition
This post contains one commentary explanation of poverty of spirit from Matthew 5:3; it also contains a brief excerpt from two other posts about Jonathan Edwards, the excerpts are extremely relevant to the Matthew 5:3. One of those posts gave glimpses into his struggle for obedience; the other into his analysis of what constituted a truly born again person as opposed to a false convert.
Christian Affliction… Being Exercised… Blessed Fruits — C H Spurgeon
C H Spurgeon’s three sermon points were: the outward appearance of our trials; blessed fruitfulness of trials; and those exercised by trials. It is a 45-minute sermon that mentioned points I had never heard on this topic. The section about being exercised is very beneficial to know if you are in the midst of trials. All Christians will eventually be there. There are sermon highlights, and several term definitions.
The Fruit of the Spirit – Pastor Sinclair Ferguson
The fruit of the Spirit cannot be artificially produced. These qualities must be developed in us by God’s grace. Today, Sinclair Ferguson considers the Lord’s purpose of growing His people in a wonderfully balanced way to make us increasingly like Christ. [Highlight points are provided after video.]