In his first epistle, John writes of victory in overcoming the world…
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1John 5:4-5)
This is the victory, means we have believed and obeyed Jesus, therefore, we have what we need to defeated Satan, and by the same power we’re able to cast the devil out of our life,.then one day we’ll put on immortality – and death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54)
This is the victory, means we have believed and obeyed Jesus, therefore, we will be among those caught up by Jesus on the last day (1 Thess. 4:17)
This is the victory, means we’ll be one of the “great multitude which no one could number” in Heaven, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb (Rev. 7:9)
Beloved, faithful, you, brothers and sisters, we are truly united by the one true faith that will lead us to total victory…
And my hope is that by these studies our God will grant us all according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit that is in us” (Eph. 3:16)
Let’s start with a talk about the WORLD…
THE UNPOPULAR WAY – SAINTS AND SWIMMING
Like clockwork, once a year summer comes. And, rightly so, many are thinking of vacations, picnics, gatherings with family, and all kinds of outdoor sports and
activities.
One such activity—is Swimming i.e., Public Bathing.
The question of the day: Is swimming sinful? Short answer is not if it is males together with other males out of sight of women. Not if it is women together with women, out of sight of men. But when you combine the two—i.e., summer mixed pool parties where both men and women swim together—then you have a problem. And it isn’t the act of swimming per say. The problem we will address has everything to do with the various states of undress among men and women. Improper clothing that shows the nakedness of the body, and what happens in the heart.
Please don’t insult me, or any other by claiming that nobody is looking, that nobody cares! After the lesson is done I believe you’ll have enough material to be convinced that somebody does care—God…
Paul wrote in his second letter to the saints at Corinth, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
That’s a pretty amazing statement. A great change takes place in the life of one who is a Christian!
1. I’d like to know what this change is—and how it will affect me personally.
2. If I am a New Creation – how does God see me?
3. And how does this change me, my lifestyle, my likes, and habits?
4. What old things am I giving up, and how will these new things affect my old way of life?
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gives us answers to such questions.
Turning to Ephesians 2 and verse 6 we begin to see some ways a Christian is described…
THE UNPOPULAR WAY (4) – SAINTS AND DEI
There is an acronym used by educators, businesses, clubs, and even the many denominations. You may or may not know it.
It is DEI, which stands for “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”, and you will be unpopular for standing against it.
The problem with this is at its core, it denies a biblically informed doctrine of sin.
Even greater its goal included “canceling” the Lord’s church preventing souls from hearing the truth about sin, causing some to be eternally lost.
Jesus told His disciples the Holy Spirit will come and, “convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:8-11).
The church of Christ will never affirm immorality or sinfulness of any nature in the name of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” or any other practice as so many others do.
Jesus opening the understanding of the 11 disciples said, “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47) and that is opposed to DEI’s core teaching.
If we are not watchful, we can fall from our own steadfastness, and be led away with the error of the wicked, (2 Pet. 3:17).
Paul tells us how to prevent this from happening…
“HEAVEN HOLDS ALL TO ME” INTRODUCTION The wonderful and comforting song we just sang, Heaven holds all to me… As I sing this song, I think of how this world is perishing, coming to an end., I think of the country to which I am going – Heaven that is eternal. I think of the…
The unpopular way of God will always be at odds with those outside of the faith whose focus is on pleasing self, rather than pleasing God.
But the child of God must not live to please man, but must live to please the Lord Jesus (Gal. 1:10) who shed His blood that we may have freedom from sin and the second death (Luke 22:20; Rev. 20:14).
What is this unpopular biblical teaching? The saints *and Dance: Let me begin by clarifying that there is a difference between the law of Moses and the law of Christ…
ASSURANCE
Where do you run for refuge when life gets overwhelming?
What truths to do you turn to?
Notice Psalm 46:10 is rendered in the CSB as “Stop your fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
During the dark and dangerous periods of the Reformation,
Luther would turn to his trusted friend Philip Melanchthon and cry out: “Let’s sing the 46th Psalm, and let the devil do his worst!”
It inspired his great hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”
So, in this lesson let’s spend time contemplating the term Assurance
UNPOPULAR DISCIPLES
In our last lesson we talked about 4 lies this world uses to keep you from the true faith, and from practicing your faith openly.
In this lesson we know that Jesus willingly suffered scourging, and crucifixion for all mankind. But we must also, and in context with Peter’s point, remember that during the 3 or so years of His ministry on earth Jesus suffered many things at the hand of man. Things He endured because He loved us – He left us examples.
MANY THINGS: Luke 17:25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
Rejected by His Own for applying Isaiah 61 to Himself – Luke 4:18-19, 28-29
For Healing on the Sabbath The Pharisee’s Traditions – Matt. 12:11-14
In John 10, Claiming His Deity – John 10:30-39
Hunger, Tiredness – Heb. 4:15
Betrayal – Luke 9:44; Matt. 26:14-16
They All Forsook Him – Mark 14:50
And Peter tells us, “arm yourselves with the same mind”, to be ready to endure the same!
In our current day society both men and women are trained by appearances.
Understand that there’s nothing wrong with grooming and personal hygiene, and as Christians we must be concerned about our physical – outward appearance.
But it is undeniably true that many people are only concerned with their exterior beauty.
Most people neglect the inner man and, it’s simply because our current culture calls for an inordinate amount of attention given to the appearance of men and women.
Everything from diet plans to beer drinking are supposed to enhance one’s looks (and outlook) on life.
Truly, we live in a humanistic society!
Truly people tend to look and judge according to appearances and comparisons.
But we are God’s people and our God Sees Beyond the Flesh…
In our time, Christianity is not exactly popular but then, it wasn’t exactly popular in the first century. Jesus told His disciples, “24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause’” (John 15:24-25). And He also told them “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19).
In this series called, “The Unpopular Way”, will be looking at a number of unpopular teachings from the Bible. In this lesson we’ll consider the ways the world tries to suppress you and how you can overcome such things as DEI, the majority rule fable, and it doesn’t matter what you believe.
Join with me and remember the power to save is not in us, but it is God’s word.