Cincinnati Church

IX. “...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” (EPH 6:17). A. Our attention is finally turned to the lone offensive piece of Christian armour: the sword of the Spirit, the Scripture. 1. The focus of Paul’s words is on the defensive nature of Christian warfare: “...that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day...” (v. 13). 2. It is a maxim that the best defense is a good offense. A weapon of offense ...

VIII. “And take the helmet of salvation...” (EPH 6:17). A. This is another piece of armour God Himself as Messiah puts on. ISA 59:17. B. helmet: A defensive cover for the head; a piece of armour, usually made of, or strengthened with metal; which covers the head wholly or in part. C. The helmet protects the head, which implies guarding our thoughts. 1. If our thoughts are rooted in ignorance, we are liable to oppose Christ instead ...

VII. “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (EPH 6:16). A. shield: In ancient and medieval warfare, and still in that of uncivilized peoples, an article of defensive armour carried in the hand or attached by a strap to the left arm of a soldier, as a protection from the weapons of the enemy. Sometimes applied spec. to an article of this kind larger than the BUCKLER, which was...

VI. “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (EPH 6:15). ct/w ROM 3:15-17. A. Our attention is now turned to the first portion of Christian armour that covers an active part of the body in forwarding the warfare: the feet. 1. With truth and righteousness going before, the saint is directed to the gospel. 2. The feet are to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Truth and righteousness...

I. This study warns against some of Satan’s subtle tactics to deceive men into the bondage of false religion. A. There is valid light. PSA 119:105; JOH 1:9; 8:12; 2CO 4:4. B. There is valid lightness. MAT 11:30. C. There is valid depth. LUK 6:48; 1CO 2:10; ROM 11:33. D. Satan has deceptive counterfeits of these principles which gain many souls. II. Beware the deceptions of false light. A. Satan is transformed into an angel of light,...

V. “...and having on the breastplate of righteousness;” EPH 6:14. A. breastplate: A piece of armour for protecting the breast. B. righteousness: Justice, uprightness, rectitude; conformity of life to the requirements of the divine or moral law; virtue, integrity. C. That which protects the breast also protects the heart. 1. The heart of man is subject to emotional affectation and is a deceiver, and so is a poor determiner o...

I. Christians must fight an ongoing battle with the world, the flesh and the devil. A. Paul prescribes proper equipment for this battle. EPH 6:10-18; 1TH 5:8. B. All of the equipment is needed. The partially equipped warrior is likely to be overcome. 1. The lack of a defensive piece provides a target for the enemy to exploit. 2. Not having a true sword, or not being convinced that the true sword is true, leaves one...

12. Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. A. Neither is there salvation in any other: i. Salvation is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. a. Jesus Christ by Himself purged our sins (Heb 1:3). b. God the Father gave Christ power over all flesh to give eternal life to ...

M. Train self-motivation, that they should be diligent and dutiful without oversight. PRO 6:6-8; PHIL 2:12. N. Train independence, that they should not follow the herd of swine off the cliff, and that they should work toward freedom to form their own lives as adults. ROM 12:2; 1CO 15:33; GEN 2:24. O. Train enthusiasm, to live godly with great zeal and spirit. ECC 9:10; ROM 12:11; COL 3:22-24. P. Train discipline, that the...

(Acts 16:22-40) A. Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten and cast in stocks into prison at Philippi without trial. Paul later described this as being “...shamefully entreated...” (1TH 2:2). 1. Though their treatment was shameful, they had no reason to be ashamed for it. 1PE 4:16. 2. True Christianity may well mean such suffering. PHIL 1:29; 2TI 3:12. B. Instead of fretting about their treatment, Paul and Silas prayed and praised God....

XXI. Judges 21. A. This concluding chapter sets forth the inventive conniving of eleven tribes to salvage the tribe of Benjamin from extinction and loss of inheritance in the land, which diminution was owing to rash, impertinent oaths and being “...righteous over much...” (ECC 7:16). 1. Benjamin had merited chastisement but not utter destruction (which would have violated the will of God for the inheritances of Canaan). 2. T...

IX. Here is a list of things that need to be trained into children. A. Train the importance of faith (belief, trust, confidence) in what God has declared in Scripture. God cannot lie (TIT 1:1-2) and His word is utterly reliable in all things seen or unseen. HEB 11:1-3, 6-10. B. Train the importance of hope, especially the hope of a better life in a better body in a better environment free of sin and death, and this implies patience to endure pr...

A. We are to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. EPH 4:1. 1. We are called to be saints (ROM 1:7), i.e., sanctified in thought, word and deed: separated from the way of the natural man and the world. ROM 12:2. 2. Transforming grace was needed to fit us for this calling. TIT 3:1-5. 3. The way we live in this world, and especially the way we deal with one another in Christ, should be a positive testimony to all. JOH 13:34-35. B. Believ...

J. Remember, you will train your children one way or another. But will you train them in the way they should go, as PRO 22:6 commands? 1. For example, consider training a small child not to touch something.  a. You can keep it within his reach and train him not to touch it by punishing him if he touches it. (1) This teaches him to obey the command not to touch. (2) Thi...

A. grace: Favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession. B. (JOH 1:17) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 1. That grace and truth came by Jesus Christ flows from the fact of His deity: He alone is God manifest in the flesh. JOH 1:3, 14 c/w 1TI 3:16. 2. Jesus Christ, not Moses, i...

XX. Judges 20. A. This chapter sets forth a call to action for a righteous cause against a tribe that harbored and defended great sinners who deserved punishment: Benjamin foolishly tried to defend the indefensible rather than honor justice against the wicked of their own tribe. 1. The cause against Benjamin was just but victory was elusive. 2. When victory was at hand, the zeal of Israel was excessive and almost wiped out a ...

VII. Consider how critical home life is to the proper training of children. A. Family is the first form of society and government to which children are normally exposed. B. Parents are the first educators of children. What is or is not learned in the home has great implications for a child’s development and adult life. 1. Home is where a child should first learn of God, His love, His will. 2. Home is where a child should first learn lan...

XIX. Judges 19. A. This chapter rivals the scandalous fame of Jephthah and his daughter in JDG 11. 1. Previously we read of a sojourning hireling Levite in those days. JDG 18. 2. The only other Levite noted in Judges is the sojourner found in this account and he also has some things to answer for. 3. The events of this chapter set the stage for the near elimination of a tribe of Israel in JDG 20. 4. Again, “...when t...

Training Children I. At the outset, it needs to be understood that training precedes teaching. Before a child develops critical language and reasoning skills, training should be well underway. A. train: III. 5. To treat or manipulate so as to bring to the proper or desired form; spec. in Gardening, to manage (a plant or a branch) so as to cause it to grow in some desired form or direction... 6. To subjec...

He Went About Doing Good (Acts 10:38) A. Acts 10 sets forth the initial opening of the door of faith unto uncircumcised Gentiles. 1. Heretofore, the N.T. churches in Jerusalem, Judea, Galilee, Samaria (ACT 9:31), consisted exclusively of those of the circumcision. 2. It was commonly understood that non-Jews were “unclean” (ACT 10:28), unacceptable to God and to Jews, and therefore ou...

XVIII. Judges 18. A. This chapter sets forth the continuing misadventures of Micah and his hired Levite, added to which are the colored antics of some of the tribe of Dan in fleshing out their inheritance in the land. 1. Here we will see erring camps of a common heritage fighting over the possession of something religious that actually displeased God. 2. This is not unlike squabbles among professed followers of C...

XII. Remember that bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ does not imply that you will never have an errant, stupid, weird, carnal, immature, questionable, ugly, uninformed thought or a doubt about how to properly receive something God has written (while NOT doubting that it is indeed God’s word, LUK 12:29). A. Rather, these weaknesses are part of our Adamic nature which we must contend with and hold in check, lest they get an ...

X. Another vain imagination that must be cast down is “All roads lead to God.” A. The assumption here is that all religions are valid and merely diverse expressions of the god-man in everyone seeking God: the “upward reach” of mankind. B. This deception basically must concede that child-sacrificing heathen religions are approaches to the true God on par with Biblical faith. But see 1CO 10:20-21. 1. This deception would have to assume that worship of...

XVII. Judges 17. A. This chapter sets forth a curious mingling of ignorance, superstition and idolatrous images with a professed honoring of the true LORD, a popular form of religion. 1. There are three main characters: Micah, Micah’s mother, and a gadabout Levite. 2. This chapter is very appropriately a place for the general theme of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own ...

VIII. As noted earlier, perception can be as powerful to direct our thoughts as reality. Faulty perceptions of God and one’s own “strengths” are common self-deceptions that need to be cast down or brought into captivity. A. Some examples of self-deception are: 1. Thinking that overindulgence of food or drink is a trivial matter or that you are immune to the deceptive power of alcohol. PRO 20:1; 23:20-21; LUK 21:34. 2. Thinking...