Verse Study

Imperfect but Saved

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV

Pretty bleak prospects right? Does that passage make you feel inadequate? Like you will never measure up to God’s standards? Well guess what, you can’t. Every single person ever to live, with the exception of Jesus, has committed at least one of these sins. If you say no to all of them you are lying because it is natural for us to make idols in our lives. Therefore everyone is guilty of idolatry. No one is worthy of inheriting the kingdom of God! We are nasty, dirty, filthy, all the words that describe yucky because we are so tainted by sin. I cannot express how horrible we are, how horrible I am. I don’t deserve grace, not one bit! Yet we continue in the passage to the next verse and hope is given.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Notice that key word there. Were. Such were some of you. Because of what Jesus did for us. He washed all the nasty filth away the day I gave my life to Him. And He will do the exact same for every single wretched soul that comes to Him pleading to be clean. He will take that sin and it will go from present to past tense in a snap. It is so amazing and I am so grateful for the free gift of salvation given to us. We only have to take it. It’s time to be imperfect but saved ya’ll!

If you have never accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation check out the How to Become a Believer page. Then go talk to a trusted Christian individual like a parent, pastor, or friend who can help you with salvation.

Be an Example

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:12 NASB

Have you ever wondered, as a young person specifically, how God wants you to live your life? If you haven’t I am honestly surprised. That question should be one asked by us young people and the answer is found in the above passage. Paul wrote the letter of first Timothy to one of the young pastors he mentored, Timothy. Because of this there is so much we can glean from the book. I like to focus on this verse though because it is more or less a summary. I even made it the theme verse for We are Young Theologians!

1 Timothy 4:12 focuses on setting an example for other believers even though you are young. This is such a great reminder to us in the younger generations but also to those older than us. We need to set an example but those older also need to notice when we are doing that. So how are we to specifically set an example?

With our speech: The words that come out of our mouths can be such a turning point with how people see us. The Bible addresses this often when it speaks of the tongue and give loads of warnings about it. Our speech needs to reflect our relationship with Christ. It should be wholesome and uplift those around us. We definitely should not be the ones cussing or gossiping about others.

With our conduct: Conduct is mainly talking about how we interact with others. Our interactions should again be uplifting to those around us. We should be careful to make sure our actions shine the light of Christ. This builds greatly upon our speech.

With our love: Even when others are unkind to us we need to show love. Brotherly love to those we interact with is key to being a good example. Treating others with respect is included in this.

With our faith: Our ultimate faith in Christ is the biggest light we can shine to people. We need to live out what we speak. We need to be someone that others can look at and want to mimic spiritually.

With our purity: This part of the verse is not just talking about sexual purity. It is also focusing on purity of mind. We need to keep our mind and bodies pure so that they honor God consistently. People will see Christ when you refuse to listen to music with cussing, watch movies with explicit sex, or read books with questionable elements. Make sure that what you are putting into your mind is stuff that honors God.

Just because you’re young and immature doesn’t mean you have to act young and immature — Jarrid Wilson

If you have never accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation please read the information on the page How to Become a Believer. Afterwards go talk with a trusted friend, pastor, parent, or other Christian about what it means to be a child of God.

Fully God, Fully Man

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:15-16

Everyday we are tempted to sin and put through trials. That is simply how life is in a world tainted by sin. It is quite an unfortunate situation but true none the less. Often we forget though that Jesus lived under the circumstances. He was fully God but the fact that He was also fully man seems to slip our minds. The writer of Hebrews realized that this happened and gave us a reminder in his writing. He tells us that Christ can sympathize with our troubles, our weaknesses, because He experienced the same thing. The only difference being that He did not sin. So lets expand on this shall we?

Fully God: Jesus was fully God, meaning He contained the attributes of God: e.x. holy, loving, all knowing. Since He was holy He would not sin no matter what happened.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Christ never sinned while He was on earth, even though He was tempted to a great extent which you can read about in Luke chapter 4.

Fully man: Jesus was fully man. He inhabited a human body and was prone to the same trials and temptations as you and me. In Luke 4 Christ is tempted by the devil after 40 days of no food or water. Even that would put a strain on the God become man. And added to that was temptation for food, power, and might. Yet Jesus endured it all without sinning once. Fully God and fully man.

Verse 16 reminds us that we can go to Christ for anything because He endured exactly what we do. We can go before Him with confidence that He understands. What a great comfort that should be to us as imperfect human beings.

If you have never accepted Christ’s gift of salvation please read the information on the page How to Become a Believer. Afterwards go talk with a trusted friend, pastor, parent, or any Christian about what it means to be a Child of God.

Humbling Your Heart

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.

Psalm 37:4-5

So often we get stuck on what we want in life and put that before God’s plans. We end up getting disappointed because things didn’t go our way and we wonder why they didn’t. “I worked so hard for this promotion and it got ripped from my hands!” “I thought we were going to get married and then he just leaves.” “I got all these good grades but this college that I’ve been dreaming of for years won’t accept me.” I’m sure you can think of several situations like these that you have been in. So what’s the problem?

David answers in the passage above. We have to delight ourselves in the Lord and commit our ways to Him. This means humbling our prideful and selfish hearts before Him. It means giving every aspect of our life to Him. When we do this our desires will line up with God’s and then He can grant us the desires of our heart.

What does humbling your heart look like though? First it is surrendering control over situations to God. Every situation, good or bad, knowing that God is in control and is watching over you. Jeremiah 29:11 states, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ God has a plan for every single situation He puts us in. And surrendering control and trusting in Him will make the process a whole lot easier.

Second is doing research before making a decision. Search the Bible and make sure you aren’t going against God. Pray about it. Talk to your pastor, mentor, or trusted friend and see what godly guidance they can give you. All this will help you make sure that you are keeping your life honoring to God. And finally, simply your life for Christ.

I challenge you to start practicing this in your daily life. When I realized that I needed to humble myself before my King, life changed. I began to have more peace about the crazy things I usually find myself in. Yes it’s hard since we humans love to have control, but once you surrender that control it’s totally worth it.

Psalm 139:7-12

So today I want to talk about depression. It’s a very common thing for us humans to deal with. I’ve personally battled with depression since I was about 8 years old. Those thoughts of loneliness, confusion, numbness and fear are some of the most difficult things to deal with. One person in the Bible is often recognized with dealing depression and that is King David.

The fact that David struggled with depression is evident throughout the psalms. He often talks of how far from God he felt but he also offers himself and us encouragement. There is a passage that has helped me often over the years and I thought I would share it with you.

(7)Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? (8)If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. (9)If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, (10)even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. (11)If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; (12)indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Psalm 139:7-12

Verses 7 through 10 talk about how God is everywhere. No matter where you go in life or what happens God is there. Whether heave, hell, the mountains, or the valleys God is there. So if you are dealing with depression just remember that God is never going to leave you, even if He does feel far away. I heard someone say once that its not about what you go through but who goes through it with you. That is so true!

Verses 11 through 12 are the ones that have helped me a lot personally. Often when we are depressed God can feel a million miles away. Like how can a God of light be in the darkness with me? But verse 12 says that the darkness ad light are the same to Him. He doesn’t care about how much darkness you are covered in when depressed. He is still there. It doesn’t bother our great God. He still cares for us.

Alive in Christ

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Are you alive? Go ahead. Pinch yourself and see if you are alive. If you are reading this then more than likely you are alive physically, especially if that pinch hurt. But think on the spiritual side of things for a moment. Are you truly alive in that sense?

The above passage says that all have died, which is in reference to sin. Every one of us, as Romans 3:23 says, “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  From conception we are all dead since we are sinners. But there is a twist to this sad story, Christ. He is perfect, no sin, completely alive. The above passage says that He died for all. When we give our lives to Him we are made alive in Christ, according to 1 Corinthians 15:22.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Now I ask again. Are you alive or dead?

I hope you are alive and realize the greatness of what Christ has done for you. When we make that realization we are automatically compelled to live for our Savior. He died for us that we should live! What greater sacrifice is there? Because of what He did we in turn live for Him. And when you are overcome with gratefulness it is not hard to do so. We live for He who, for us, died and rose again.

Oh, To Be Like Job

Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord .” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
Job 1:20-22

How do we usually respond to hard times? Our human response is to lash out at others, God, or ourselves. I know that I, personally, am guilty of doing all of those. Let’s ask a question though. What is a godly response to hard times? Well the best example is found in the above passage.

Job was going through a hard time. He lost everything! Can you imagine? In one day all that you have, even your family, stripped away. But how does Job respond?

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord .”

Job realizes that things don’t last forever. He also sees that God has a plan for his trials. He admits it too! He submits himself to God, admitting that he is not in control. Job doesn’t have a pity party, “woe is me.” He strips himself of all earthly comforts and worships God. The author adds that he did not sin during the situation which adds to Job’s righteousness.

Now granted, I don’t act like Job half the time. I don’t think anyone does. Depression, anxiety, and anger are still real responses that will happen. But we should struggle against them and strive to be like Job, trusting God and worshiping Him in the face of trials.

How will you react to the problems you face today?

Dry Bones

And He said to me, “Son of  man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

Ezekiel 37:3 NKJV

Ever since I began to read the Bible I have been fascinated by the story of the dry bones coming alive. Recently I was studying Ezekiel for my Old Testament Messages class and something hit me. This story is not just relevant to the Israelites. This story can be applied to our lives too.

In Ezekiel’s vision God shows him a valley full of dry bones. He has the prophet prophesy to the bones and slowly they come to life. These bones become an army! God then tells Ezekiel how this vision is symbolism for the children of Israel. But as I said, this prophecy can be made known in our lives too.

Before we are saved by Christ’s blood we are like the dry bones. There is no life in us. We are dead. But then we start to learn more about Christ and God and slowly get closer to becoming a Christian. The final stroke is when the Spirit enters the body and brings it to life. That happens when we accept the gift of salvation! These dry bones come to life!

I just wanted to share that little revelation I had tonight. I hope it was as interesting to you as it was me. God bless and I hope you have a great rest of the week.