Jesus, Love, and God’s Moral Law
In Luke 10:25, Jesus is asked by a lawyer (a scribe who was expert in the Law of Moses) what one must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus then requested that the lawyer recite what was stated in the Law. The lawyer replied as follows: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Jesus then replied, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28).
Today, many liberal theologians, ministers, and congregations have construed these and similar verses to mean that the commandment to love relieves them of the obligation to honor and obey the rest of Jesus’ teachings and God’s moral commandments. This is particularly dangerous because, as noted in The Beginning of Wisdom, “It is God who defines truth, sin, justice, and the rules for life within His will—not mankind.” God’s absolute truth is found only in His Holy Scriptures. How can one repent of a sin if he or she has been led to believe that a particular sin no longer requires repentance? This confusion can be seen in letters to the editors of liberal newspapers wherein traditional Christians are frequently roundly chastised for their insistence that God’s moral laws are still binding upon Christians today with respect to such issues as the sovereignty of God, authority of Scripture, absolute truth, and sexual sin. In fact, Jesus’ command to love was never intended to eclipse God’s moral law.
The commandment to love God and one’s neighbor as oneself is often assumed, in progressive circles, to supersede all other biblical obligations of morality, accountability, and justice. Those who hold this view fail to understand that the commandment to love God with all one’s heart, soul, strength, and mind followed by the commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself sums up all of the moral law and is equally impossible to faithfully honor in one’s own strength.[i] Jesus’ intent was not to provide mankind with an easy way out of the dilemma of sin by condoning, in the name of love, sins such as pride, theft, idolatry, murder, drunkenness, lust, adultery, homosexuality, bearing false witness, and greed. The intent was to illustrate the impossibility of meeting God’s moral standards without the divine intervention of the Messiah promised by prophecy (James 2:8-12).
The New Testament indicates that the followers of Jesus Christ are to be a light that illuminates the dark world about them so that others might be led to salvation by their example (Matthew 5:14-16). Had not first century Christians (and those who followed in their footsteps) understood this fact, today’s world would still resemble the cruel, pagan world of their time. From the beginning, Christians were tasked with trying to save the world, not join it. This critical point is often missed by many liberal theologians and clergy as they seek parley, appeasement, and even surrender when they interface with the dark forces of our modern secular world. The last two hundred and fifty years in the Christian lands of the West could be characterized as a slow but relentless retreat from traditional Faith, biblical values, and the great moral truths they represent.
Who Is God?
This brings us to the question of Who is God? The Judeo-Christian God is a triune God (Trinity)[ii]. This means He is one God who can be experienced in three ways hence the name Trinity. Many analogies have been used in the attempt to illustrate the Trinity and explain how the three persons of the Trinity can be one God: water (liquid, ice, and vapor), or man (father, spouse, and son), or egg (shell, yolk, white), or candle (candle, light, heat). To date all analogies of the Trinity have failed due to theological reasons beyond the scope of this article. Let it suffice to say that the Trinity is composed of three distinct persons, who are of the same eternal essence (Nicene Creed) and constitute only one God.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are each equal, coeternal, and fully God. They each exist all the time and do not change form or substance to accommodate the concept of the Trinity as most analogies would entail. Each member of the Trinity is fully God, not a third of God. Through a divine conundrum we cannot fully understand, these three distinct persons of the Godhead blend into One and this One is God[iii]. The Judeo-Christian God is complex enough to confuse the human mind almost beyond all understanding. We can really only know what He has chosen to reveal about Himself. These revelations about God are most often found in the Creation and the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
All three persons of the Trinity work together in perfect unity, love, and loyalty to accomplish God’s redemptive purpose. Thus, despite many contemporary claims to the contrary, the persons of the triune Godhead never contradict themselves nor the Bible which was inspired by the Holy Spirit working through the Bible’s individual authors.[iv] God is not a God of confusion, and He does not change.[v] It is important to remember, however, that the Trinity will always remain something of a mystery to the human mind. As already noted, no illustration or explanation devised by mankind to date fully explains the Trinitarian mystery.
Who Is Jesus?
Liberal theologians and ministers often create the impression that Jesus Christ in the New Testament is often at odds with the much sterner God of the Old Testament. A close reading of the Scriptures does not bear this out.
When Jesus said that “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), He was not exaggerating nor misstating Himself.[vi] As a part of God, Jesus was thus with God from before the creation of the universe, eons prior to His birth as the Son of God in Bethlehem.[vii] In Genesis 1:26, God states, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….” Many scholars have pondered what God meant when He said, “Our” image. Some have suggested that he was addressing His angelic court, but since humanity was not made in the image of angels, this is unlikely. Others have suggested that he was simply talking to Himself or using the royal “We” as some British monarchs have done, but this also seems unsatisfactory. The most plausible solution to this enigmatic utterance seems to be that God was addressing the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.[viii] The New Testament asserts that “the world was made” through the pre-incarnate Jesus, and that “all things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:10, 1:3).[ix]
It is virtually impossible to maintain the doctrine of the Trinity without accepting that the God of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ of the New Testament are at some level, perhaps not completely understood, one in the same in the Trinitarian sense. The Jesus of the New Testament is simply a more complete revelation of the God we came to know in the Old Testament (John 14:7).[x] This is reflected in Jesus’ statement that, “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30). Jesus boldly stated, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58, NASB). By these words Jesus was clearly referencing Exodus 3:14 wherein: “God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am;” and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’” This realization brings us to understand that the moral and ethical commandments of the God of the Old Testament are also the moral and ethical commandments of Jesus. In fact, when Jesus quotes Scripture throughout His earthly ministry, He is quoting the Old Testament.
Who Is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, Comforter, Counselor, or Paraclete/Helper (John 14:16-17) is the third person of the triune Godhead (See, Matthew 28:19-20). The Holy Spirit is not to be referred to as an “it” or a “force” in the Star Wars sense. The Holy Spirit is to be referred to as a “He.” As part of the triune Godhead, the Holy Spirit was involved in the Creation along with Jesus. Jesus promised the Apostles that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things (John 14:26), bring to their remembrance all that Jesus had taught them, and guide them into all truth (John 16:13).
A true revelation of the Holy Spirit never contradicts the teachings of Jesus Christ or the Scriptures which the Holy Spirit inspired in the minds of the Bible’s authors.[xi] Thus, contrary to popular belief, the Holy Spirit does not whisper into the ears of liberal theologians and ministers new or evolving revelations that authorize or condone practices condemned or forbidden in Scripture.[xii] God does not change.[xiii] The Holy Spirit points to Jesus, glorifies Jesus, and leads to Jesus. The Holy Spirit does not talk about Himself. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit became the power of God’s redemptive plan on earth. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the heart of all Christians both as a seal and a mark of their genuine faith and to help guide them as they attempt to walk in the ways and teachings of their Savior, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 5:5). As an equal part of the triune Godhead, the Holy Spirit should be treated with respect and care taken not to vex nor grieve Him through rebellion and sin for then God can become an enemy (Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 63:10; Matthew 12:31-32).
The Apostle Paul contrasts the sins of the flesh such as immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, drunkenness, etc. which can deny one entrance into the kingdom of God, with the fruits of walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16-21). The fruits of walking in a harmonious relationship with the Holy Spirit include “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5: 22-23).
Jesus Did Not Come to Abolish the Law
There are those who think that the God of the Old Testament was a petulant, capricious, angry God who managed to get many things terribly wrong. Jesus in the New Testament, on the other hand, is often reimagined as a kind, broad-minded, infinitely tolerant God who is willing to go along, in the name of love, with virtually anything modern mankind desires, including the revision of the Bible. It is often forgotten that Jesus was a devout first century Jew, and His moral standards were stricter than those of the Pharisees as illustrated by His comments on matters such as anger, adultery, and divorce.
In Jesus’ eyes, to be angry enough with one’s brother to call him names such as fool would incur a penalty equal to that of murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Jesus viewed looking at a woman with lust in one’s heart as equal to committing adultery (Matthew 5:27-28). In a time when divorce was ruinously common, Jesus stated that to divorce one’s wife for any reason other than unchastity “makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32). Clearly it was not Jesus’ intent to back away from the great moral and ethical imperatives of the Old Testament. In fact, Jesus clearly stated:
Do not think that I come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-20
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus urged His followers to “be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Jesus urged His followers to pursue a life of sanctification in which, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, they would seek to pattern their own lives after the example of Jesus.[xiv] Jesus well knew that this would be an impossible quest in this life, but He wanted His followers to care enough to take up their cross and attempt to walk in His ways and teachings and thereby transform the world (Matthew 10:38). Everyone fails and stumbles on this journey from time to time, but as long as one is sincere of heart Jesus is always there through the power of the Holy Spirit to help us to our feet (Matthew 18:21-22).
Christians Are Saved by Grace Not Works, But Are Known by Their Good Works
Knowing that all of humanity would fall short of the glory of God, Jesus died a horrible death upon the cross that all believers might have eternal life and become children of God. This gift of grace and salvation is freely given to those who sincerely repent of their sins, desire to turn from their sins, and believe that: (1) Jesus Christ is the Son of God, (2) that He died a sacrificial death upon the cross for our sins, (3) that He was buried, (4) that He rose from the dead on the third day, (5) and that he ascended into heaven to sit at God the Father’s right hand. Believers are thus saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. This salvation for those who believe “is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Since salvation for the Christian is a free act of God’s grace, we are not saved by any good works we might do, but as Christians we are to be known by our good works (James 2:14-20). We are to repent of our sins, turn from them, and perform deeds appropriate to repentance.[xv] In short, we are to be “born again” if we are to “see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). There should be a discernable positive difference that is visible to the rest of the world between a Christian and a nonbeliever. This positive difference has become ever more difficult to spot in recent years. When Judeo-Christian morality and values are in conflict with those of the secular contemporary world, the Christian is not to conform with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6: 14-17).
The modern Church has been greatly weakened by the efforts of many liberal clergy to appease the unbelieving world in the name of earthly love rather than attempt to save the world through preaching the teachings of Jesus Christ as actually described in Scripture. For far too long liberal or timid clergy have kept the powerful lamp of Christ’s true teachings hidden under a basket of accommodating liberal theology to maintain peace in their congregations. All this as the ongoing assaults of a secular, ever more godless, world have progressively eroded the spiritual landscape of our Judeo-Christian heritage (Matthew 5:14-16; Mark 4:21-25; Luke 8:16-18). The world desperately needs clergy who will boldly place Christ’s light upon a lampstand that it may give its transforming light to a world rapidly descending into darkness.
Jesus Repeatedly Asked That His Followers Keep His Commandments
Over and over Jesus directed his audience to keep His commandments and do “the will of My Father who is in heaven.”[xvi] In almost every instance Jesus uses the plural commandments rather than the singular commandment. When Jesus forgave the woman accused of adultery and healed the man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years, he told them both to “sin no more” (John 8:11, 5:14). The Apostle Paul made it very clear that those who continued the sins (such as fornication, adultery, idolatry, homosexuality, theft, drunkenness, etc.) that had enslaved them prior to their conversion would not inherit the kingdom of God.[xvii] Some of the greatest theological minds of the Protestant Reformation were in agreement that “the moral law doth forever bind all…to the obedience thereof…Neither doth Christ, in the Gospel, anyway dissolve, but much strengthen this Obligation.”[xviii]
God’s Moral Laws Specify a Manner of Living Pleasing to God
The Apostle John states in reference to Jesus:
By this we know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
1 John 2:3-6
One cannot truly exhibit Christian love without desiring to keep all of God’s moral commandments even though the quest for this level of perfection will last for the rest of the believer’s earthy life. To intentionally continue one’s pre-conversion sins after accepting Jesus as one’s savior is inconsistent with selfless, agape love which looks forward to eternity—desiring always the highest good rather than back to earthly sensual pleasures (2 Peter 2: 20-22; Hebrews 10:26-31). Although the Christian is saved through grace, we know that God’s moral law points to the manner of living that is pleasing to God.[xix] Famed theologian and minister, D. James Kennedy, in framing the issue of how the Christian is to live life asked that we, “name one thing that you can do to please God other than obeying His law.”
How Does Jesus Know a Person Has Sincerely Accepted Salvation by His Grace?
Christians are to be “doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22,25). What is the mark of one who has accepted Jesus Christ as one’s savior and been truly saved? It is more than mere belief in Jesus for even Satan and the demons believed in Jesus and yet were not saved.[xx] The great Baptist minister, Dr. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas, has noted that, “The mark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ is not someone who hears God’s word and believes, but a true disciple is someone who believes God’s Word and obeys.” Jeffress goes on to state that “the greatest delusion in evangelical Christianity…is the idea that intellectual belief is sufficient.”[xxi] Jeffress asserts that believing enough to do something with one’s faith and trying to obey Christ’s teachings is what saves an individual. We are to perform “deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20). “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). In his book, Christianity on Trial, W. Mark Lanier simply states: “The believer’s feedback to God takes several forms. Certainly, a Christian’s life reflects a response to his message. How we live indicates whether we believe it or not.”[xxii] This view is reflected in Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NASB):
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them declares the Lord, for I will forgive them their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.[xxiii]
Jeremiah’s prophecy foresees an ideal relationship with God that only came to fruition when Jesus’s sacrificial death and resurrection made it possible for God to overlook all sins of believers in Jesus Christ. All who believe in Jesus are truly washed clean of their sins by His blood. This new relationship prophesied by both Jeremiah and Ezekiel would ultimately encompass believers from across the entire world.
The Ten Commandments were written for Moses upon tablets of stone.[xxiv] The mark of salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ is that a desire to honor God’s moral laws for living life within His will have now been written upon the tablet of the believer’s heart. This transformation comes about when the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15-17). The Christian who is truly saved seeks to cultivate a life that is fruitful and pleasing to God, not out of fear of hell, for he or she has already been saved, but out of gratitude and love for their Savior.[xxv] It is, indeed, as though God’s rules for a moral life pleasing to Him are written on the heart of the believer. The wise Christian is he or she “who hears these words of Mine (Jesus) and acts on them” (Matthew 7:24). Jesus stated that, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against the house; and it fell—and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:26-27).
Recognizing The Real Jesus
Two thousand years ago, Jewish scholars and Pharisees were so obsessed with finding a Messiah who would deal with the Roman conquest that they missed the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, who was standing right in front of them. Today many liberal theologians and clergy are so eager for a secular, infinitely tolerant Jesus, who will permit them to discard God’s moral law, that they too have lost the real Jesus who is plainly revealed in the Bible. When Jesus returns to earth again, it will not be to save but to judge the faithless who have rejected Him and His teachings. What will be His verdict with respect to liberal pulpits and seminaries that have remained largely silent or even embraced such things as the secularization of our culture, the denigration of Scripture, the holocaust of abortion, the creep of socialism into virtually every aspect of life, and all manner of sexual sin including the homosexual agenda? This sounds very much like the time of many sins prophesied by the Apostle Paul when men hold “to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power” (2 Timothy 3:2-8).[xxvi] Jesus warned of false prophets and stated that they could be recognized by their fruits for good trees bear good fruit while bad trees bear bad fruit:
So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’[xxvii]
Charles Hodge was one of the greatest theologians that America has produced. In his commentary on 1 Corinthians 10:20 he spoke words of wisdom applicable to the discussion at hand:
Men of the world do not intend to serve Satan, when they break the laws of God in the pursuit of their objects of desire. Still in so doing they are really obeying the will of the great adversary, yielding to his impulses, and fulfilling his designs. He is therefore said to be the God of this world. To him all sin is an offering and an homage. We are shut up to the necessity of worshipping God or Satan; for all refusing or neglecting to worship the true God, or giving to any other the worship, which is due him alone, is the worshipping of Satan and his angels.[xxviii]
The Command of Jesus to Love Incorporates All of God’s Moral Law
The command of Jesus Christ to love does not negate God’s moral laws; it encompasses them (Romans 13:9-10; Matthew 19:18-19). Teachings from liberal seminaries and pulpits that acts of immorality specifically forbidden in Scripture do not threaten salvation, provided there is a claim of love and an intellectual belief in Jesus Christ, are not substantiated by a plain reading of the Bible. Such erroneous liberal teaching has had negative consequences on the Judeo-Christian church, individuals, and Western civilization. God’s word is truth (John 1:17), and it has been preserved in the Bible.
Theology and teachings that add to, subtract from, or contradict God’s Word as revealed in the Bible can never be inspired by the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Apostle John states at the end of the book of Revelation that anyone who adds to or subtracts from “this book” will incur the plagues written in the book and lose his or her part in the tree of life (Revelation 22:18). Jesus warned us to “Beware of the false prophets” who can be detected by their fruits for every good tree bears good fruit, and every bad tree bears bad fruit (Matthew 7: 15-20; See also, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 John 4:1). The heresies, apostasies and bad fruit of the liberal, progressive pulpit have split denominations and churches that managed to survive the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the Great Depression. The message passed down through the Scriptures is that “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:5-6).
Conclusion
Our culture, media, government, liberal pulpits, and progressive seminaries are literally awash with false teaching often masked as Judeo-Christian theology. Everywhere one sees compliant congregations dutifully absorbing erroneous theology because they do not know any better. This ignorance is due in large part to the fact that many liberal pastors have not systematically preached through the Bible for decades and many people have allowed dust to gather on their own Bibles. The impact of this false teaching and lack of teaching is slowly transforming every aspect of our culture in alarming ways. In a recent article, eminent theologian and archaeologist, Dr. Randall Price, describes the current state of affairs as “a moral and spiritual vacuum”:
Today, Eastern religions have swept into Western society, and New Age thinking, and the mind sciences have infiltrated mainline Christian denominations. Higher criticism has attacked the credibility of the Bible and postmodernism has led to a rejection of objective truth. Add to this the fear of being politically incorrect or of persecution by the government or other religions (such as Islam) and we have the present condition of growing apostasy in the West and in the Church worldwide (Randall Price, “Jerusalem in the Coming Days,” Prophecy Watcher 09.2020: 18-22, www.prophecywatchers.com).
Reawakening people’s interest in reading the Bible is one of the main goals of The Beginning of Wisdom. While every human being has a basic understanding of right and wrong imprinted on his or her conscience, it is a knowledge of God’s Word that perfects one’s conscience and makes it a reliable guide. There is no better shield against false teaching and social agendas that have little to do with individual salvation than forming a habit of regularly reading the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) and discovering for oneself what it actually does say. There is no better way to learn what God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are really like. To know what the Bible really says is to fully arm oneself for the temptations, obstacles, and battles of daily life.
Reading the Bible is no longer a difficult or arduous task. There are now many translations of the Bible in modern English that are easy to read and understand such as: the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the New King James Version (NKJV), the English Standard Version (ESV), and the Modern English Version (MEV). Helpful study Bibles in these modern English translations can be found by great theologians and ministers such as Dr. David Jeremiah, Dr. D. James Kennedy, and Dr. Charles F. Stanley.
One does not need to be a minister or theologian to understand the Bible. In fact, a plain reading of the Bible is often superior to the tortured interpretations coming out of many seminaries and liberal pulpits. When John Huss and Martin Luther finally obtained copies of the Bible and read it for themselves, they were transformed into mighty giants of the Christian faith who changed the world by igniting the Protestant Reformation in the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible can do the same for anyone who reads it with sincerity and an open heart. Our modern world desperately needs faithful Christians and clergy willing to stand firm for the truths of the Judeo-Christian faith as revealed in the Bible.
[i] William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, rev. 3rd ed. (Louisville, Kentucky: The Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 207; See also, D. James Kennedy, The D. James Kennedy Topical Study Bible (2015 by D. James Kennedy Ministries) (Lake Mary, Fla: Passio, Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group, 2015),1386; See also, Matthew 22:40; Romans 13:9-10).
[ii] Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22; John 14:26; John 15:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:1-2.
[iii] The Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 5 and 6 state: “…There is but only, the living and true God…. There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”
[iv] 2 Timothy 2:13, 3:16; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Hebrews 6:18; Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17; Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 119:160.
[v]1 Corinthians 14:33; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119:151-152, 160
[vi] John 8:58, 1:1, 5:17-18, 10:30-33, 14:9; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 6:14-16.
[vii] John 1:1-3, 17:5, 8:58; Micah 5:2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-5; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 1:15-16; Hebrews 1:2-3
[viii] Charles F. Stanley Life Principles NASB Bible (2009, Charles F. Stanley, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 3. Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962,1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by Permission; The David Jeremiah ESV Study Bible (2019 David Jeremiah, Inc, Worthy a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc, New York), 9.
[ix] See also, 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2.
[x] “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him and have seen Him” (John 14:7).
[xi] Mounce, Robert H. “John.” In Luke ~ Acts. Vol. 10 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, rev. ed., edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, 569, 589. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012).
[xii] Charles F. Stanley, The Spirit-Filled Life (Nashville, Tennessee: Nelson Books, 1995, 2014), 236-240; Billy Graham, The Holy Spirit, Activating God’s Power in Your Life (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1988),171-173, 222.
[xiii] Malachi 3:6; Isaiah 40:8; Hebrews 13:8; Psalm 119: 151-152,160.
[xiv] 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; 2 Peter 1:3-11; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18.
[xv] Acts 26:20; Matthew 3:8-10; Luke 3:8-9; 8:15; Ephesians 4:17-24.
[xvi] Matthew 7:24,12:50; Luke 8:21; Mark 3:35; John 14:15,21, 23-24; 8:31;15:10-15; 1 John 2:3;5:3.
[xvii] 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11; Galatians 5:19-25; Ephesians 5:3-12; Romans 6:1-2; 11-16.
[xviii] Westminster Confession of Faith [1647], Chapter 19, Section 5, See also, Book of Common Prayer [1549], Articles of Religion, VII; “…no Christian man whatsoever is free from obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral.”
[xix] Westminster Confession of Faith [1647], Chapter19, Section 6.
[xx] Graham, Billy Even the devil believes in God (Brunswick Ga: Brunswick News Publishing Co., April 23, 2015). Accessed October 15, 2021, thebrunswicknews.com; See also, James 2:19; Mark 1:23-24, 3:11; Matthew 4:1-11, 8:28-29; Luke 4:34, 10:17; Acts 19:15.
[xxi] Dr. Robert Jeffress, “How Firm Is Your Foundation” Jesus’ Favorite Stories. The Parables of Our Lord (2018 Pathway to Victory, A ministry of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Dallas, Tx).
[xxii] W. Mark Lanier, Christianity on Trial (Downers Grove, Il: IVP Books an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2014),115.
[xxiii] See also, Ezekiel 11:19-21.
[xxiv] Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 5:22, 9:10.
[xxv] Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15.
[xxvi] See also, 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Titus 1:16.
[xxvii] Matthew 7:20-23 (NASB); See also, Luke 13:25-28.
[xxviii] Hodge, Charles, “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 10”. Hodge’s Commentary on Romans, Ephesians, and First Corinthians. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/hdg/1-corintians-10.html