Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

It seems today that “drama” and “issues” are so common.

We live in a day where many people have problems with one another. I often recall Gandhi’s quote “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Reading or hearing that quote hurts. It should not be the case.

This Bible verse above written by the apostle Paul to the believers that make up the church in Ephesus is so clear how we are to be. We are a forgiven people and therefore we should be a forgiving people. As my mentor has said many times, “people of grace should be gracious people.”

I wish that more people, indeed everyone, knew this verse and wanted to live that way!

 

One of my favorite things about studying the Bible is when one piece of Scripture is quoted in another place in the Bible. This means that one Biblical author knows, believes, interprets, and applies one Bible passage to another part of life. And therefore, we have one “idea” in God’s Word being used in multiple places. This is very cool! Cool from 2 angles. One because it is written by different men in different time periods. Two because God inspired it all and is therefore the author behind all of it. And I use the word cool because the Christian reader is so blessed and encouraged by it. The unity of truth is impactful!

I plan to use a few blog posts here in a row showing you what I am talking about.

Here is an example.  Early in God’s Word in Genesis 2:24 God says (Moses writes):

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

There is a lot to be said about this verse. That will be saved for another time. The point I want to make is this= That awesome statement that has been shaping Biblical view of marriage for thousands of years is quoted 4 times in the New Testament by three different authors.

1. Matthew 19:5 “and (Jesus) said “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”

2. Mark 10:7-8 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

3. 1 Corinthians 6:16 “For as it is written, the two will become one flesh.”

4. Ephesians 5:31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Studying the Bible is great. Being able to recognize and pick-up on themes like this one is so encouraging and enlightening.

The Bible has authority. You really begin to see this authority when one verse from Genesis 2 is remembered and then used again by Matthew, Mark and Paul in the New Testament.

Which of God’s truths show up in your life over and over again? Which are shaping you like they shaped Matthew, Mark and Paul?

Start reading the Bible and taking notice of what ideas repeat themselves!

The past two Sunday mornings I have preached on “The Reality of Hell.”

You can listen to part one here and you can listen to part two here.

The passage for both sermons is Luke 16:19-31. It is Jesus’s story on the rich man and Lazarus.

Here are a few highlights:

• The Great Desire of the people who are in Hell is that they do NOT want anyone else to be there.
• The rich, comfortable man on earth ends up begging in hell while the beggar outside his house ends up comforted in heaven.
• “A lack of signs is not why people reject Jesus. Rather, people willfully reject him. The heart cannot see what it is not looking for.” -Bock