Mark 7:14-23 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 2)

This is how I introduced the sermon from this passage:

"We are looking this morning at the second part of a confrontation that Jesus had with the Pharisees and scribes. It began last week when some of these scribes confronted Jesus about the non-compliance of his disciples with their laws about ritual cleanness. The disciples were not following the tradition of the elders. This is not the first time Jesus and his disciples have run afoul of the ‘tradition.’ The first time was when they were in the fields on the Sabbath plucking and eating the heads of grain. After that it was for healing on the Sabbath. Now it is this matter of the washing of the hands.

"We saw last week how Jesus responded to their accusative questions. He said they were hypocrites. He said they had no heart or love for God at all, but rather for appearing religious outwardly and for keeping and maintaining a system of traditions that Jesus called ‘the commandments of men’--as opposed to the law of God. He said that Isaiah had spoken about them in Isaiah 29 when he said that they drew nigh to God with their lips, but their heart was far from him. Then he pointed out how their tradition, which was supposed to be a fence around the law of God, was actually opposed to God’s law in one specific way (that of Corban) and in many other ways as well.

"That's where we left the argument last week and this morning we pick it up again in verse 14 with Jesus now turning to the crowds and addressing them openly about the scribes and Pharisees and correcting their teaching."

This is how I outlined these verses:

   I. Nothing outside of us defiles us (v. 14-15)

  II. The disciples are confused (v. 16-17)

 III. Jesus explains further (v. 18-19)

 IV. The significance of what he just said (v. 19)

  V. Jesus explains what does defile us (v. 20-23)

 VI. Where is the gospel in this passage?

Below you will find the audio to this sermon which was preached on Sunday, June 25 at the Winnsboro Reformed Church. I hope it will be a blessing to you and that through it God will minister grace to the hearers. To listen, just click the link below.

Click here: Mark 7:14-23 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 2)



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Galatians 5:23 - Gentleness, Self-control

In this lesson we looked at two more virtues listed under the heading ‘fruit of the Spirit'--the last two. But before delving into them we took the time to remind ourselves of these key points about the fruit of the Spirit:

(1) These are kingdom virtues and eschatological in nature. Remember, we do not belong to this world. We are being prepared for the next. All of these virtues are grounded in the hope of the future glory and will never be perfected until then. In that world, these will be the character of everyone.

(2) These are a striking description of the character of Christ who excelled in and exemplified all of these virtues.

(3) These are all supernatural virtues produced by the Spirit in us when we ‘walk by the Spirit.’ While there may be something like these achieved by the natural man apart from Christ, these all go above and beyond what our sinful nature can produce by itself. When unbelievers display something like these virtues we may be assured that what we see on display is corrupt and inferior. What Paul outlines here are graces produced in believers only, and only by the Spirit of God.

In this Bible study we looked at gentleness and self-control. We discussed what they meant from a biblical context and how they would manifest themselves in our lives. I hope you will take the time to listen and grow in your faith and in your knowledge of Scripture. And I hope that you will learn to walk by the Spirit so that these virtues will manifest themselves in your life. Just click the link below to listen. God bless.

Click here: Galatians 5:23 - Gentleness, Self-control



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Mark 7:1-13 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 1)

In chapter 7 of Mark's Gospel we come across, again, confrontation with the scribes. This confrontation began when Jesus healed the paralytic who had been carried by his friends to Jesus. These men, when they could not approach Jesus where he was, took their friend up on the roof, dug a whole, and then lowered him down to Jesus. Jesus sees their faith and says to the man, “Your sins are forgiven you.” What? Who can forgive sins but God only? Precisely.

Then Jesus provokes them further by calling a wicked tax collector to be his disciple. He goes even further by reclining at table in the man's house with even more tax collectors and sordid characters. Sinners.

After that they were in a grain field on a Sabbath morning and Jesus’ disciples are plucking grain with their hands and eating it. How dare they do that on the Sabbath? Jesus is challenged by the Scribes of the Pharisees. Formal charges may be brought! But Jesus defends the practice with Scripture and declares himself Messiah and Lord of the Sabbath.

From there he is followed to the synagogue where they are watching him, looking for any reason to bring charges against him. He purposely provokes them by healing a man who didn't have to be healed right then and doesn't even appear to have approached Jesus initially for healing. The story ends with the Pharisees conspiring with the Herodians how they might kill him.

It doesn't take long before scribes, official scribes, come down from Jerusalem to render judgment on Jesus. What is their assessment? That Jesus is possessed by Satan and does his miracles in the power of Satan.

And that's where we are as far as the relationship between Jesus and official religious Judaism. The Church has rejected him and is seeking to kill him. That's why they're watching him and his disciples now. They're looking for something, anything they can nail him on and have him arrested.

So in chapter 7 Jesus is again confronted by these scribes about why his disciples ignore the 'tradition of the elders.' Does Jesus acquiesce? Does he challenge them? How does he respond? In this sermon we look at his response, or at least the first part of it, and consider its ramifications for you and me today and where it all fits into the gospel. In the next sermon we will bring Jesus' complete argument to a conclusion. I hope you will take the time to listen. The sermon is linked below.


Click here: Mark 7:1-13 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 1)


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Galatians 5:22 - Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness

Three weeks ago we started into Paul’s enumeration of the fruit of the Spirit. So far we've covered love, joy, peace, and patience. We've discovered that these are supernatural virtues produced by the Holy Spirit in us when we are walking by the Spirit. This is God’s gracious work of making us into the image of Christ and preparing us for the kingdom in its fullness. They are eschatological in nature and epitomized by Jesus in his earthly life. In this lesson we covered three more.

The first of these is kindness. As applied to God it expresses his gracious attitude and actions toward sinners. Love, as we have already seen, is the greatest of the gifts and the king of the virtues. Kindness is an expression of that love. Those who are kind treat others in the same way as God has treated them. And that is the key. Those who have been the recipients of great grace should be dispensers of great grace. If you think about it, kindness is just an expression of the Golden Rule.

The second virtue we look at in this lesson is goodness. In the New Testament this word is used as something more than merely the quality of being just or righteous. It connotes generosity. It is the quality of doing good things, benevolent thing, to others. It is the virtue of treating others well.

Faithfulness (pistis in the Greek) is a word which is sometimes translated faith but not in this context. In this context fidelity or faithfulness is most likely what is intended. It connotes loyalty and dependability. It is epitomized by Jesus Christ who, as a faithful high priest, made propitiation for the sins of the people. 

You will find the audio to this lesson at the link below. Just click and listen or download for later. I pray it will be a blessing to you.

Click here: Galatians 5:22 - Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness


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Mark 6:45-56 - Jesus Walks On Water

Just like last week we find ourselves at one of those iconic events in the life of Jesus. And while this story may not be recorded in all four gospels like the last one (Luke does not record it), it is probably as famous, if not more so. "Walking on water" is a phrase that almost every English speaking person would recognize as an allusion to something only Jesus could do.

For some reason, too, this story has been the subject of much controversy. Post-enlightenment Christianity (the Enlightenment was the philosophical movement which dominated the world of ideas in the 1700s) has tried very hard, for some reason, to explain this story in a non-miraculous way, a story which Mark very clearly intends to be understood as a miraculous story.

The modernism of the 1800s tried really hard to give a decent theory of how the disciples could have believed this to be a miracle and yet allow us enlightened moderns to understand it in rational terms. We shall deal with those efforts in a bit.

Our job this morning, however, is not to just critique some previous misunderstandings of this passage, but to understand it ourselves in the way that Mark (and the Holy Spirit through Mark) intended for it to be understood. That is no small task.

And as famous as the story is, there is more to it than meets the eye. What Jesus is about to do is for his disciples. Remember, he is working on them, specifically on their faith. Last week when he multiplied the loaves and the fishes that was a miracle for their eyes only. It was a miracle so full of symbolism that they should have caught it. They should have seen and understood the deep significance of it. That they didn't becomes evident to us soon enough. 

Now he is going to show them something even more spectacular. And while Jesus is revealing something very special to his disciples, Mark, in recording it for us, is passing on that special revelation to you and me this morning. Rather than shaking our heads at those dimwitted disciples, or tsk tsking contemptuously at modernism's propensity to dismiss the miraculous, let us turn inward and search our own hearts and humble our own hearts before God and ask him to teach us through the word what he intended for his people to learn that stormy night on the Sea of Galilee.

What you just read was the introduction to my sermon on this passage of scripture in Mark. Below you will find the entire sermon recorded in MP3 format. Just click and a new window will open in your browser taking you to SoundCloud where you can stream the sermon on your device or download it for later listening. I hope you will listen. God bless.


Click here: Mark 6:45-56 - Jesus Walks On Water


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Galatians 5:22 - Peace and Patience

When Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit, as opposed to the works of the flesh (our sinful nature), he lists nine virtues, nine things the Spirit of God will produce in believers who are walking 'by the Spirit.' These nine virtues are all attributes of God as well and are modeled by Jesus Christ himself. Because the Holy Spirit is making us into the image of Christ he begins to produce these virtues in us. These are kingdom virtues.

The first one listed is love and we discussed this love in our first bible study from this verse. The second is joy and it was covered in the second of our bible studies on this topic. This third study covers the next two virtues--peace and patience.

Once we begin to understand that Jesus came to usher in a new age culminating in a new heavens and a new earth, then we begin to see what God is doing in us now. He is preparing us for that new creation. That is why believers are called a new creation in Christ. And because we are being prepared for a new world, we must be renewed through the Spirit of God day by day being made into the image of Jesus who is the firstborn of that new creation. This work of being made into the image of Christ is called sanctification. When we walk by the Spirit, God produces this fruit in us.

There is much more to peace and patience than you probably realize. These terms are loaded with meaning in their biblical usage. I invite you to listen to the audio of this bible study where we discuss these two virtues, these fruits of the Spirit. You will find a link to the audio below. Just click and stream, or download it for later listening. Either way, it is our hope that in doing so you will grow in grace and these fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in your life. God bless.


Click here: Galatians 5:22 - Peace and Patience


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Mark 6:30-44 - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Here we have a miracle story that practically everyone who knows anything about the life of Jesus is familiar with--the feeding of the five thousand. This is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. It must have had deep significance for the apostles and especially for Mark who, surprisingly, gives the most details. In this section we encounter a story rich in symbolism, with allusions to the Old Testament and also pictures pointing forward to the Messianic age. We also see the disciples receive a lesson in faith. Whether or not they actually get it is another story.

There is much more to this story than meets the eye and Jesus reveals much about himself and his mission for those who have the discernment to see it. What I tried to do in this sermon was to point those things out. The sermon is linked below and it is well worth your time. I hope you will listen to it.

Among other things I point out how Jesus is the new Moses, how Jesus is an answer to Moses' prayer, how Joshua was a type of Jesus, how the miracle points to the Messianic kingdom, and how Jesus meets all his people's needs.


Click here: Mark 6:30-44 - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand


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Galatians 5:22 - Joy

In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul lists for us nine virtues that he calls the fruit of the Spirit. While the list is not exhaustive, it does inform us of what a Spirit-led life looks like. When we walk by the Spirit this is what is evidenced in our lives. In our last lesson from Galatians we looked at the first virtue which was love. Love is at the top of the list for a reason for it is the king of the virtues and the greatest of the spiritual gifts. In this lesson we take a look at the next one which is joy.

The joy Paul speaks of means more than earthly, human happiness. In fact, this is a joy that the natural person, apart from grace, can never experience. As are all these virtues. They are the fruit of the Spirit or what the Spirit is working in us as a part of our new nature. They are not natural, self-generated virtues. While the world may know something like these, it cannot be emphasized enough that the virtues enumerated here transcend their natural counterparts.

In his letters Paul makes clear that our joy is found in the Lord. It comes from him and it is sourced in him. This is why the natural person cannot possess it, for he does not know God in whose presence there is fullness of joy and at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

This joy is connected with and stems from faith, and comes from God alone. Like justification, it comes to us from God--through Christ--by faith, and it is tied to the hope that comes from faith.

More, all of these fruit of the Spirit are eschatological in nature. They stem from the Spirit in us who is sanctifying us and working in us an eternal weight of glory. And they are all kingdom virtues, rooted and grounded in the kingdom of Christ. That we will be translated to that world is evidenced, even guaranteed by our possession of the Spirit now, the same Spirit who is producing this fruit in us. Joy comes naturally (or, rather, supernaturally) from the Holy Spirit.

Below you will find the audio recording of the lesson we had on Joy. I hope you will take the time to listen to it and that it will be a blessing to you. Just click the link below. God bless you.


Click here: Galatians 5:22 - Joy


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Mark 6:14-29 - The Death of John the Baptist.

This is one of only two pericopes in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus is not the primary focus. The other was in chapter 1 where Mark introduced us to John. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets and Jesus will inform his disciples later that John was, indeed, the second coming of Elijah. In this pericope Mark takes us back and fills us in on what has happened to John since the baptism of Jesus.

There are at least four reasons why Mark includes this story in his gospel, right now in this place. The first is to make us think about who Jesus really is. Mark accomplishes this by informing us of the public opinion of Jesus at the time. He will come back to this in chapter 8 at Caesaria Philippi which is a turning point in the gospel. When we readers are brought face to face with public opinion about Jesus we are forced to consider the question ourselves in light of what we've read so far. Who is Jesus?

The second thing Mark accomplishes by recounting this incident right here is to warn us about unbelief. Herod comes to the wrong conclusion about Jesus, not because of a lack of correct information. Herod has had much opportunity to listen to the message of John and has listened to him often. Herod's problem, then, is one of unbelief and hardness of heart. This is a warning to us readers. Don't be like Herod.

The third thing Mark is doing by telling us this story right now is reminding us that being a disciple of Jesus comes at a price. Jesus has just sent out the twelve for the first time. Before they return he tells us the story of how John's obedience to the will and mission of God cost him his life. Our obedience to Christ may cost us the same.

And, finally, the story is a foreshadowing. In verse 29 John's disciples take his body and lay it in a tomb. The same will happen with Jesus. Mark is, in a very subtle way, pointing toward the death of Christ at the end of his gospel.

Below you will find the link to the audio recording of the sermon I preached from this passage. Just click on it to live stream or to download the sermon for later. God bless you.



Click here: Mark 6:14-29 - The Death of John the Baptist



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Galatians 5:22 - Love

The fruit of the Spirit is Paul's contrast to the works of the flesh--the product of our sinful nature. Our sin produces one group of things in us, but the Holy Spirit is working to produce a contrary set of attitudes and behaviors. Make no mistake: this is God's work in us. We cannot produce these things ourselves, nor is Paul here setting forward a new set of laws to replace the ones handed down through Moses. Rather, Paul is saying that this is what the Spirit does in us as a result of God's grace. To one degree or another, as the Spirit works within us, these are the things that will manifest themselves through that gracious work, and more so as we are attentive to the means of grace. What we are doing in our Wednesday night bible studies now is looking at these virtues, this fruit of the Spirit. The first one we come across is love.

You might be surprised to find out how much the New Testament, and especially Paul, has to say about love and how it is to be manifested in our Christian lives. But in this lesson we took the time to look at it. I hope you will, too.

And, of course, the supreme example of this virtue for us is Jesus Christ who through his actions taught us the true meaning and the true value of love. Truly, we love him (and each other) because he first loved us.

Below you will find the audio to this bible study and I hope you will give it a listen. Love is the foremost fruit of the Spirit and the greatest of the gifts. May it be manifested in you as you grow in grace.


Click here: Galatians 5:22 - Love


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Mark 6:1-13 - Jesus Rejected, Sends Out the Twelve

In the preceding section of Mark's gospel we were left almost breathless. We saw Jesus exercise supernatural power in increasing fashion over wind and wave, demonic oppression, terminal illness, and even death. We saw him undaunted in the face of the most frightening of human circumstances. The witnesses of those events were left in awe and fear. 

In listening to the stories as recounted by Mark we were also struck by the faith, first of the man out of whom Jesus cast the demons, then of the woman with the hemorrhage, and lastly of the ruler of the synagogue. "Do not fear, only believe," are the words left in our minds. Words to live by. Keys to the kingdom. Christ has come to bring in the kingdom, the new age, the world to come, and those are his words to us: "Do not fear, only believe." Those words are the lesson we are to take away from those stories.

But lest we begin to think that nothing could possibly go wrong now, that in the face of this awe-inspiring display of power, this command over all things, both natural and supernatural, faith in Jesus will be embraced by everyone, we are reminded again of the hardness of the human heart. We are reminded of the deceitfulness of sin. We are reminded of unbelief.

Jesus is going home, back to hill country, back to the place where he was raised. Although Mark is not going to call Nazareth by name, we know from the other gospels which town this is. And Jesus is going back now, but he is not the same person they thought they knew when he first left months or years ago. Jesus is going to return as someone who is now famous.

We've already seen where Jesus' family thought he was mad and at one point tried to rescue him from himself. Remember that? Now we're going to see that the people in his hometown reject him, and how Jesus responds.

This is the sermon I preached from this section, my twenty-first from Mark's Gospel. I hope you will take the time to listen to it. Just click the link below and another window will open in your browser where you can stream the audio or download it for later listening. I hope it will be a blessing.

Click here: Mark 6:1-13 - Jesus Rejected, Sends Out the Twelve


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Galatians 5:19-21 - The Works of the Flesh

We are in the practical part of Paul's letter to the Galatians. Paul spent the first two chapters defending his authority as an apostle and thereby defending the gospel he had preached to them. In chapters 3 and 4 he argued theologically, appealing to the Old Testament scriptures, for his view of the gospel. Now, in these last two chapters he is making practical application of the gospel position he has championed. Knowing that we are justified, made right with God, by faith alone without the works of the law, how now shall we live?

In other words, if we are not to live our Christian lives by submitting to the law of Moses, then how are we to live them? Do we have then a license to sin? Of course not. Paul's alternative to walking according to the Law is to walk by the Spirit, to press into Christ through the gospel, to be attentive to the means of grace. But when we are not walking by the Spirit it will be evident. That's because the works of the flesh, the outworking of our inward, sinful nature, will be manifest.

What are the 'works of the flesh'? Paul enumerates them--well, not all of them, but it's quite an extensive list. Then he makes a clear and sobering statement that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What does that mean for us? This passage serves to establish that when Paul says that we are no longer under Moses, no longer under the law, that he is definitely not teaching that sin no longer matters. He is not guilty of antinomianism. As for our alternative to Moses as Christians, Paul is getting to that. But for this lesson we will focus in on the works of the flesh.

Below is a link to the audio of this informal bible study. To listen, just click and stream. I hope you will be blessed as God opens your understanding of his word and works his grace in you.



Click here: Galatians 5:19-21 - The Works of the Flesh



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