May 13, 2012 | Matthew
Have you ever been accused of breaking the law? I know for a fact that you have. When that accusation comes from the lips of men, it may sting like a gun-shot wound. When it comes from a police detective, a district attorney or a judge, it may feel like a ton of...
May 12, 2012 | Matthew
Let me reiterate what I said when we began to look at this Sermon on the Mount – I am approaching it with fear and trepidation – that is – with fear and trembling. And a glimpse of the reason is seen in these verses – in two different ways. First, the Lord apparently...
May 11, 2012 | Matthew
So the Lord has his initial disciples sitting in front of Him. I can’t be dogmatic, but it appears to me that these men were the people whom Jesus called into the assembly that we call “the church.” They were the special disciples who had stepped beyond mere...
May 10, 2012 | Matthew
In the past forty years or so, I have pieced together several thousand sermons. They haven’t all had the same general form, but most of them have. They begin with an introduction and then they have two, three or four main points. Any more than four primary divisions,...
May 9, 2012 | Matthew
One of the problems that the average preacher has is knowing exactly who will be in any given service. As he sits in his study meditating on the scripture that the Lord has put before him, he has a number of ways to develop that sermon – perhaps depending on the...
May 7, 2012 | Matthew
As much as I appreciate and quote Charles Haddon Spurgeon, I must say from time to time that he and I do not agree on every point. He was indefinite and confusing when it came to some points of eschatology – the future and prophesy. And he was clearly wrong in many...
May 7, 2012 | Matthew
Two evangelists are working opposite sides of the same street. One is confident that the sovereign God has one of His elect living there on that street. In prayer he approaches the last house, and he is invited in. Carefully, he explains to the man living there that...
May 6, 2012 | Matthew
I think that we can safely look at two of the beatitudes this evening. For those who have ears to hear, I think that these are easy to understand. But that doesn’t mean that they are easy to put into practice. The application of any scripture may be something that we...
May 6, 2012 | Matthew
Despite the fact that the beatitudes are not a presentation of the gospel – like a great many other non-gospel scriptures, they can still be taught in such a way that the way of salvation can be made clear. They are a description of the heart of those who have been...
May 4, 2012 | Matthew
As I was reviewing my notes for last week, I was struck with the shallowness of my message. Looking at two beatitudes in one message forced a diluting of thought and substance. I hope that no one was hurt in my mistake. In contrast to that message, and even though...
May 3, 2012 | Matthew
Tonight we get into the first of the Beatitudes. But first we need to sum up what we’ve discussed for the last two weeks. The people to whom Jesus was speaking and the people about whom Jesus was speaking were Christians. This is not a gospel message, although just...
May 2, 2012 | Matthew
With verse 3 we come to what are generally known as the “Beatitudes.” It might be argued by some that this is a word which Baptists should not use, because it comes out of the Vulgate translation of the New Testament. It is rooted in Roman Catholicism. But that...
May 1, 2012 | Matthew
Brother Erik Berg told me a few months ago that it was through a study of the Sermon on the Mount that he came to know Christ as his Saviour. I was a bit surprised at that, but then at the same time, I was not. This three-chapter-sermon is not a gospel message so much...
Apr 21, 2012 | Matthew
Before we move on into our Lord’s most famous sermon, I’d like to tie up a few loose ends from Matthew 4. This afternoon’s four points are tied together, not theologically, and only barely chronologically. I’ve tied them together with a slight ribbon of alliteration...
Apr 19, 2012 | Matthew
The Lord saved and called me toward the end of the 1960’s, and I went to Bible school in the early 70’s. Those were the days when situation ethics flooded into a lot of Baptist churches. Far too many churches had the idea that the end justifies the means....
Apr 18, 2012 | Matthew
Some time ago, I got a free sample of a Christian magazine called “Leadership 100.” It was a special version of the magazine simply called “Leadership.” It was probably supposed to duplicate in a Christian way “Fortune Magazine” and their yearly “500.” (Does it...
Apr 17, 2012 | Matthew
Sixteen years ago I preached from this scripture using this same theme. Tuesday, I pulled out my notes from that message and was appalled by what I read. It is amazing what well-intentioned pastors might say when trying to teach the Word of God. My first glaring...
Apr 16, 2012 | Matthew
After a three month hiatus, we are returning to our study of Matthew, but we will confine our future studies to Sunday evenings only. I hope that it will be as much a blessing to you as I expect that it will be to me. Through the Apostle Matthew, the Holy Spirit has...
Apr 15, 2012 | Matthew
As we began this study seven months ago, I deliberately said that this was not a study of the life of Christ. Perhaps that is a mistake on my part, but so far I don’t think so. If the Holy Spirit led Matthew to record some things about Christ, but not other...
Apr 14, 2012 | Matthew
When I started preparing this message last Thursday, my introduction involved the events which brought Jesus to Capernaum. That introduction became longer and more involved until it started to consume the message itself. So I tabled it, and we’ll look at the...
Apr 13, 2012 | Matthew
In this revelation about the Lord Jesus’ temptation, we have two references to angels. Even though there is hardly anything specifically declared, together they open the door to several thoughts. And that is ignoring behind the fact that Satan himself is an...
Apr 11, 2012 | Matthew
I would hope that not one of us would ever consider worshipping Satan. I would hope that it is so ingrained in our hearts that he is evil, that we would consider this to be one of the greatest of all sins. But if you’ll remember from a couple weeks ago, I said...
Apr 10, 2012 | Matthew
I know we have already touched on this third temptation, but there is still material here which we didn’t cover. For example, we’ve said nothing about the various names and titles of Satan. You may think that this unimportant, but such is not the case....
Apr 8, 2012 | Matthew
When these temptations began to take place, Christ and Satan were in the wilderness to the south and east of Jerusalem. Before the second temptation began, the Devil transported the Lord to Jerusalem – to the Temple. I think that we can assume that Satan knew...
Apr 7, 2012 | Matthew
Last Sunday in looking at the Bible’s doctrine about Satan, I quoted a couple verses from Ephesians 6. Please turn to that chapter and let’s read the entire passage. Ephesians 6:11-19 – “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the...
Apr 6, 2012 | Matthew
Let’s remember that we are studying our Lord’s temptations in order to better learn how to defend ourselves when temptation comes our way. Of course, our specific temptations will never be quite like the Lord’s, but there will be similarities. And...
Apr 5, 2012 | Matthew
Clearly, the Bible tells us that our Saviour spent a considerable period fasting, before He began His ministry and before this confrontation with Satan. But what exactly did He do, and what has that got to do with us. Although the Bible never really explains it for...
Apr 4, 2012 | Matthew
Years ago – one of the lessons that I brought when I first arrived was entitled: “Do you have a Baptist Devil?” As I was reviewing those notes, I realized that theme could have developed in a much broader way. Satan, here, is an illustration of a...
Apr 3, 2012 | Matthew
In our study of the Bible, many times it is difficult to look at one thing without thinking about half a dozen other things at the same time. The problem comes in trying to decide which is the most important and what to look at first. For example, we can’t...
Apr 2, 2012 | Matthew
We must never forget that Christ Jesus is more than MERELY our Saviour. I’m not talking about His deity or His relationship to the Father and to the Holy Spirit. I’m thinking about ways in which Christ is more than a Saviour to each of saints –...
