Tag: Exodus

Sovereignty of God

Throwback Thursday ~ It’s ONLY Natural?

Michelle Lesley

Originally published January 6, 2009

I admit it. I can be pretty nerdy when it comes to watching TV. While I occasionally enjoy a show whose plot is merely entertaining, most of the time I like to watch things that challenge me intellectually. Such was recently the case when I watched a very interesting program on the Discovery Channel.

The program was an attempt to give a naturalistic explanation for several of the miracles cited in the book of Exodus, mainly the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-5), the plagues (Exodus 7:14 – 11:10), and the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-31).

The Nile River turning to blood, proposed the program, could have been an algal bloom (of red algae). This would have killed all the fish, but, according to the scientists’ theories, created an environment ideal for the proliferation of frogs in plague #2. The flies in plague #4, they believe to have been biting flies whose bites left open sores, which, when infected by a bacteria which had been carried by the gnats from plague #3, could have killed livestock in plague #5 and caused the boils in plague #6.

Personally, while there were several holes in some of their theories, I found this all quite fascinating. God being God, there’s no reason He couldn’t have done things the way these theories suggested if He had wanted to. And, whether the water was infested by algae or turned to blood, the end result would have been the same: all the fish died and the water was undrinkable.

At one point, the narrator interjected a comment which has been rolling around in my mind ever since. He said that many atheists don’t like to find physical evidence that supports Biblical accounts because this evidence shows that there is a God. Conversely, many Jews and Christians don’t like to hear theories of naturalistic explanations of how miracles could have occurred because they are afraid this takes God out of the equation.

While the former is undoubtedly true, I firmly believe that Christians and Jews have nothing to fear from naturalistic theories which attempt to explain the way God may have acted in some circumstances. Certainly, some scientists have tried to explain everything naturally in order to remove the need for God, but at some point there is a hole in each one of those theories which only God can fill, precisely because

…all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16-17

If we think about it, could not God’s working through the natural order of things which He had already set up show Him to be even more powerful and knowledgeable? Is it possible He set up the laws of biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc., in certain ways as He was creating the universe because He foreknew every single circumstance that would ever happen on earth and the way in which He would work through those laws rather than around them in order to bring about His desired result? Is not the logic and order we see in His creation evidence that He might work in a logical and orderly way within the framework that He Himself had already set up? Couldn’t God’s working through natural law be even further evidence that nothing is a surprise to God? That nothing backs Him into a corner in such a way that He has no choice but to perform a “magic trick” in order to direct things? Certainly, in some circumstances God does suspend the laws of nature for His own purposes, but He doesn’t have to. He’s God. He can do whatever He wants in whatever way He wants. And working through the natural laws that He established rather than suspending them in whatever circumstances He may choose takes absolutely nothing away from His power and deity. Indeed, it proves He is God over the natural and God over the supernatural.

It’s within the realm of possibility that there will someday be plausible scientific theories (which don’t conflict with Scripture or what we know to be true of God’s character) for some of the mysteries and miracles in the Bible. If that happens, will God cease to be God simply because He worked through His laws rather than around them?

Hundreds of years ago, it was believed that the earth was the center of the universe. When Copernicus, and later Galileo, began to circulate their research on heliocentrism (that the sun was the center of our solar system and the earth revolved around it), the church branded them as heretics. Who turned out to be wrong? The church.

Did God cease to be God when it was discovered that the earth was not the center of the universe? Of course not. In our modern world, we would be wise to take a lesson that the church in the 16th and 17th centuries should have learned: God is God. He does as He pleases for His own glory. He has ways of doing things that we have never even dreamed of.

At the same time, the scientific community would be wise to catch up to the faith community and surrender to the fact that no matter how they think the world came into being, how they theorize all the miracles in the Bible happened, or what scientific explanation might be behind any phenomenon in the universe, when you distill everything down as far as you can go, you’re going to run into the least common denominator of every particle of matter or unit of energy in existence: God.

To go back to the plagues for a moment, even if there is a reasonable scientific explanation for each and every one of them, that only explains the how, not the why. Why is it that each plague started when Pharoah refused to let the Israelites leave? Why did the plague of frogs stop on the specific day Pharoah requested (Exodus 8:9-13)? Why did the plague of hail start at the precise time Moses stretched out his arms toward the sky (Exodus 9:23)? And finally, why did the plagues stop as soon as Pharoah let the Israelites go? To believe that any of the dozens of “why” questions that could be asked about the plagues alone (never mind all the zillions of other things God has done throughout history) could be answered by the comically flimsy explanation of “coincidence” would require infinitely more faith than believing the simple fact that God’s hand was behind it all.

Science and faith do not need to be at odds with each other. In fact, many of the earliest scientists began their studies as a way to bring glory to God by discovering more about His creation. This paradigm continues today in the studies of scientists who are Christians, as well as in the many scientists who have come to know Christ as a result of their studies.

Whether God chooses to work within the confines of natural law or to supersede it, His goal for us is the same as it was for Pharoah:

“…that [we] may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.”
Exodus 8:10b

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 35

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34

📖📖📖📖📖

Read Genesis 47:27-50:26

📖📖📖📖📖

Questions to Consider

1. Briefly summarize, in your own words, Joseph’s story and how Jacob and his family came to live in Egypt, reviewing previous lessons (links above) if necessary.

2. Compare 47:27 with Jeremiah 29:4-7 and these New Testament passages. Think about the concept of God’s people living among pagans, displaced from their Promised Land, and waiting for the day when they can enter and possess it. Describe how this concept fleshes itself out in each of these passages. What is the Christian’s “Promised Land“? How does God want His people to live during the time of their exile? In the Genesis and Jeremiah passages, are there any general principles for godly living that you can apply to your life in “exile” on this earth today?

3. Examine 47:29-31 and 49:29-32. Where did Jacob (Israel) want to be buried? Why was it so important to him not to be buried in Egypt but to be buried in Canaan? Consider family/tribal bonds, the Abrahamic Covenant, and God’s promise to Jacob in 46:4 as you answer.

4. Explain 48:5-6 as it pertains to the establishment of twelve tribes of Israel (49:28, 49:1-27). What group do Israel’s twelve sons point ahead to in the New Testament?

5. Compare Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh (48:8-20) to Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and Esau. What are the similarities? The differences?

6. Consider Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim, Manasseh, and each of his sons. (48:15-49:28) What was the significance of the patriarchal blessing of the sons? Was it prophecy? Good wishes for a bountiful posterity? Instructions for the future? Information on the inheritance? Examine the cross references for each of the people Jacob blessed. How did his predictions for the future come true for each?

7. Which of the twelve tribes of Israel was Jesus descended from? Examine 49:9-12 as well as the cross-references. What do these verses call to mind about Jesus?

8. Revisit your answers to question #2. What was the result of Jacob’s and Joseph’s godly living while in “exile”? What sort of impact did these men have on the Egyptians? (50:2-3,6-7,9-11)

9. Examine 50:15-21. How is this a picture of the permanence of God’s forgiveness and of salvation? What was Joseph’s reaction (50:17) when he realized his brothers didn’t trust his forgiveness?

10. Compare Joseph’s request about his remains (50:24-25) to Jacob’s (47:29-31, 49:29-32). What were the similarities? The differences? How did Joseph’s request demonstrate his faith that God would keep His promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and serve as an introduction to Exodus? Where did both Jacob’s and Joseph’s remains eventually end up?

Homework

Compare 50:20 to Romans 8:26-30 and James 1:2-4. How does God’s ability to “make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” demonstrate His sovereignty? What are some of the ways God can bless and grow us during times of difficulty? How can these passages inform our prayer lives when God allows or causes difficult circumstances in our lives? Write out a prayer that lines up with these passages that you can pray the next time you face a trial or tribulation.

Suggested Memory Verse

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Genesis 50:20

The Ten (10 Commandments Bible Study)

The Ten: Lesson 13

Michelle Lesley

the-ten

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Exodus 20:18-20

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

Exodus 24:3-8

Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Romans 3:19-20

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 7:1-12

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Galatians 3:23-26

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Romans 13:8-10

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

1 John 5:2-3

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Questions to Consider:

1. In Exodus 20:18-19, how did the Israelites react to God’s appearance to Moses? What was Moses’ response to them? (20) What did Moses say would be two results of God testing the people? (20) How many times does the word “fear” appear in verse 20? What is the difference in meaning between the first “fear” and the second one?

2. Briefly skim Exodus 20:21-23:33. In addition to the Ten Commandments, what are some of the other laws, or categories of laws, God gave Moses? In the Exodus 24 passage above, what was the people’s response to hearing all of these laws? (3) Describe the sequence of events taking place in Exodus 24:3-8. Why did the people respond twice? (3,7) Was there any difference between these two responses? Compare the people’s response in this passage with their response in Exodus 19:5-8. What events transpired between the response in chapter 19 and the response in chapter 24?

3. In Exodus 24:6,8, why did Moses sprinkle the altar and the people with blood? How did this formalize Israel’s agreement to the Mosaic covenant? How does the Mosaic covenant point ahead to the new covenant in Christ? Are Christians still bound by the Mosaic covenant?

4. In what ways did the giving of the law and Israel’s agreement to the Mosaic covenant help officially establish Israel as a nation and set Israel apart from the surrounding pagan nations?

5. Examine the Romans 3 and 7 passages. What does it mean that the law makes us “accountable” to God? (3:19) Why can’t we be made righteous in God’s eyes by simply striving to keep His laws? (3:20) Read Romans 3:20 and 7:7-8 together. What do these verses tell us about the connection between knowing the law and sin?

6. Explain the analogy of dying to works of the law that Paul is trying to convey in Romans 7:1-6. Compare verse 6 to Galatians 3:23-26. What does Galatians say was the purpose of the law, and what is our obligation to it now? What does the latter part of verse 6 – “we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” – mean? Does this mean we no longer have to obey God’s moral laws such as the ones in the 10 Commandments? (12)

7. Study the Romans 13 and 1 John 5 passages. What is the theme of these two passages? What does Paul mean when he says, “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law”? (13:8) Who are the two parties we demonstrate love for when we keep God’s commands? How does loving God and keeping His commands automatically translate into loving others? (5:2) How does loving God and our neighbors, thus keeping God’s commands, demonstrate to others that we belong to Christ?

Homework:

This week, view your sin or obedience through the lenses of love. Examine the sins you commit. How do they demonstrate your failure to love God and love your neighbor? Examine instances of your obedience to God’s commandments and think about how they demonstrate your love for Him and for your neighbor. As you pray, ask God to increase your love for Him. Increased love leads to increased obedience.

The Ten (10 Commandments Bible Study)

The Ten: Lesson 12

Michelle Lesley

the-ten

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Ephesians 5:3,5

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints…5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

James 4:1-3

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Hebrews 13:5

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Colossians 3:5, 12-15

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

1 Timothy 6:6-11

But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Questions to Consider:

1. Read through all of today’s passages. What does it mean to covet? How are coveting, jealousy, and greed related? Compare the tenth Commandment to the other nine. In what way is the sin of coveting different from the sins in the other Commandments? Is coveting observable? What specific things does the tenth Commandment tell us not to covet (Exodus 20:17)?

2. How is coveting at the root of murder, theft, adultery, and lying? The Ephesians and Colossians passages say that coveting is idolatry. Why? Can you think of any other sins coveting could lead to? How could recognizing coveting and putting it to death help prevent it from snowballing into more sin?

3. Think about coveting, a secret sin of the heart, in the immediate context of the tenth Commandment (God is setting apart Israel as His own special people and establishing them as a nation). How would obedience to this Commandment have been conducive to keeping law and order in civil society?

4. Do you think the nations surrounding Israel who worshiped pagan gods had laws against coveting? Why or why not? If any of them did, what would be the difference between a false god making and enforcing a law against a secret sin of the heart and God making and enforcing such a law? How would a law against a secret sin have pointed Israel’s pagan neighbors to the one true God who sees and judges the hidden secrets of the heart? How would this have been a testimony to God’s power and omniscience?

5. According to the Ephesians and James passages, is coveting characteristic of Christians or lost people? What does James say are some of the results of coveting? How might having a covetous heart affect our prayer life? (James 4:3) What does Ephesians 5:5 say is the consequence of unrepentant coveting?

6. What role did coveting play in the parable Jesus told in the Luke passage? Explain Luke 12:15 in your own words.

7. Examine the Hebrews, Colossians and 1 Timothy passages and compare them with the tenth Commandment in Exodus 20:17. Is the Old Testament instruction about coveting singular (one part) or binary (two parts)? The New Testament instruction? What are the “thou shalt not” and the “thou shalt” instructions about coveting in these New Testament passages? Instead of coveting, we are to be c_____. (Hebrews 13:5) Why, according to Hebrews 13:5, are Christians to be content? How does it demonstrate to others that Christ is sufficient when we are content instead of covetous? Read Colossians 3:15. How can thankfulness counteract coveting?

Homework:

When we covet, we are essentially saying to God, “What You have so lovingly and graciously provided for me isn’t good enough. I deserve better.” Coveting brings with it the sin of ingratitude toward God. Spend some time in prayer asking God to bring to mind any areas of your life in which you’re coveting, and ask Him to forgive you.

Make a list of the things, people, and life circumstances God has blessed you with and keep it handy (maybe in your notes app in your phone?). This week if you find yourself coveting something, someone, or a certain circumstance, drop what you’re doing, go back to that list and offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for what He has already provided for you. Ask Him to make your heart content.

The Ten (10 Commandments Bible Study)

The Ten: Lesson 11

Michelle Lesley

the-ten

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Exodus 20:16

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Exodus 23:1

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.

Proverbs 6:16-19, 19:22

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Revelation 21:8

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Numbers 23:19

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

John 8:44-46, 14:6

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Proverbs 30:5

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

John 17:17

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Psalm 101:7

No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my [David’s] house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my [David’s] eyes.

Colossians 3:9-10

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Ephesians 4:15

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Questions to Consider:

1. Examine the two Exodus verses. What does the ninth Commandment mean by “bear false witness against your neighbor“? Is bearing false witness limited to an adjudicative scenario? What are some other ways to bear false witness against someone?

2. Is lying that does not involve a neighbor bearing false witness? (Ex: “I ate two cookies,” when you really ate three or “This car you’re considering buying has never been in an accident,” when it really has.) Is God OK with these kinds of lies since they aren’t specifically prohibited in the ninth Commandment? Why or why not?

3. Going back to the immediate context of the ninth Commandment, (God is setting apart Israel as His own special people and establishing them as a nation), why would it have been important to civil and criminal law and order for Israelites not to bear false witness in court cases? How would this standard of truthfulness in legal matters have set Israel apart from the pagan nations surrounding them and have been a witness to those pagan nations of the one true God?

4. Study the Proverbs 6 and Revelation verses. How does God view lying? What are the two types of lying mentioned in verses 17 and 19? Consider the following words and phrases. How are each of these a form of lying: concealing facts, slander, libel, gossip, breaking promises, failure to tell the whole truth, deception, white lies, cheating, spinning or slanting the facts, embellishing, exaggerating? According to Revelation 21:8, what is the punishment for liars? Which liars?

5. Consider what the Numbers 23 and John 8 passages say about the nature of God and the nature of Satan. Whose nature is truth? Whose is lies? What are some ways God exemplifies truth and Satan exemplifies lies? Whose nature are God’s people to emulate? Why? Are we representing God well to others when we lie, break promises, or fail to be people of our word?

6. Examine Proverbs 30:5, John 17:17, and 2 Timothy 2:15. Why is the Bible called “the word of truth”? Has anyone ever been able to prove any part of God’s word to be untrue? Why is it crucial to mankind’s relationship with God that the Bible be true? How is truth foundational to trust? How does it malign God’s truthful nature when we don’t trust Him? Why is it important that Christians handle God’s word correctly and truthfully?

7. How would you restate the ninth Commandment as a positive (a “Thou shalt ____.” statement rather than “Thou shalt not ____.”)? What are some ways the Psalm, Colossians, and Ephesians verses indicate that God’s people should walk in truth? Can you think of other passages that exhort Christians to be truthful?

Homework:

Are there any areas of your life in which you’ve failed to speak and live truthfully? Repent to God and to anyone you have deceived, lied about, or been dishonest with and tell the truth.

Ironically, sometimes the hardest truths to tell are God’s truths. Is there someone you’ve failed to share the truth of the gospel with? Have you been dishonest with others, yourself, or God about a sin in your life? Have you “softened” the gospel or any of God’s teachings about sin and difficult issues when speaking to others because you’re trying to be nice or keep the peace? Have you overlooked an issue that needs to be addressed with God’s truth because you’re afraid? Are there any parts of the Bible you refuse to submit to because you think they’re wrong? Ask God to reveal to you any situations in your life that need a healthy dose of biblical truth, and pray that He will give you courage and wisdom to “speak the truth in love.”