Defining violence

• Deuteronomy 19:16-20
• Exodus 20:16 – Do not bear false witness. Bearing false witness is an attempt to do violence to another.
• Exodus 23:1-2
• I Kings 21:9-10 – Ahab and Jezebel did violence in taking Naboth’s vineyard.
• Psalm 97:12
• Psalms 35:11-15
• Psalms 55:9-11
• Isaiah 59:3-8

God’s attitude toward violence

• Violence is punished!
• Genesis 6:11-13
• Psalms 7:14
• Psalms 11:5-7
• John 18:36

How do we prevent violence in our lives?

• On earth, we will be faced with violence.
• Proverbs 1:10-14 – We can be enticed to violence by others.
• Psalms 73:3 – Envy can lure us to violence.
• We may have a strong emotional desire to right wrongs. This tests the righteous man (Psalms 11:5). The righteous man fails the test when he is violent himself (James 1:12-15).

Examples of violence

• Religious Violence and Abortion: The Gideon Project
  • Men blew up an abortion clinic and were convicted for it.
  • They saw an evil and decided to correct it through violent means, which was not right.
  • The men belonged to a denominational church that practiced tongue-speaking. This might have contributed somewhat in that false, modern-day tongue-speaking can lead people to believe God said things He did not say.
• “Hatchet Granny” tearing up bars to fight against alcohol.
• Dinah was violated, so Simeon and Levi committed violence to avenge her (Genesis 34; 49:4-7).
• Current events may cause otherwise good people to be tempted to violence.

With so many wrongs surrounding us, what can we do?

• Jesus was cruelly treated with great violence, but responding with violence was not the answer. Acts 2:38

• I Corinthians 3:1-7

I look to be served instead of to serve.

• II Corinthians 8:9 – Jesus served so that we could be spiritually rich. He is our example of service.
• Philippians 2:6
• Mark 10:42-45 – We need to be looking for ways to serve others.

I choose instant gratification instead of delayed gratitification.

• Genesis 12:2, 4; 15:4; 21:5 – Abraham had to wait 25 years for Isaac to come!
• I Samuel 16:1, 13; II Samuel 5:4 – David had to wait a long time to become king.
• Hebrews 13:4 – Wait for marriage.
• “Not microwave culture. Crockpot culture!”
• Hebrews 11:24-26 – Moses had patience and looked to the reward.

I get defensive instead of reflective.

• Genesis 3:11; 4:8 – Adam and Cain tried to shift the blame.
• Acts 18:25-27 – Apollos reacted in a mature way to correction.

• Romans 6:15-7:12

Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:15-7:6)?

• No! If we go back to sin, we’re a slave to sin.

• This chapter strongly refutes the Calvinist idea that obedience is not necessary for salvation.
• Deuteronomy 30:15-20 – Choose life! God is laying out the possible choices and the outcomes here just as He does in Romans 6.
• Romans 7:1-6 – Just like a widow is released from the law concerning her husband and many marry another, so the Jews died to the Law of Moses (and all people died to any law system, Romans 3:20-22) and can be joined to Christ.

Is the Law sin (Romans 7:7-12)?

• God’s law showed us what is sin. The law itself is not sin.
• Galatians 3:19
• Once we know the law, we start recognizing sin within ourselves. The sin was there the whole time, but we suddenly start realizing it.
• Deuteronomy 6:24 – God’s law is for our own good!

Introduction

• Luke 8:15

We’re frustrated by the challenge.

• Hebrews 5:11-14 – The Bible is a deep book! Some truth is deeper and takes more effort to understand.
• II Thessalonians 2
• Romans 8:26
• I Corinthians 11
• Luke 19:1-10 – There are many simple truths in the Bible that are valuable to understand.
• Galatians 5:22-23
• Ephesians 1:7
• If you don’t understand a passage, make a note and pigeonhole it for further study later.

We’re just plain biased.

• Jeremiah 42:5-6, 17; 43:1-4 – They did what they wanted to, regardless of God’s word.
• Galatians 5:21 – Drunkenness is a sin!
• Ephesians 4:32 – Forgive each other.
• What’s the point of reading and studying if we don’t obey?
• I Peter 3:21 – Baptism saves! Bias can cause us to overlook the simple meaning of a passage.
• Romans 4:10 – Abraham was counted as righteous before he was circumcised.
• Acts 15:15-19 – Amos talked about how to deal with Gentiles. The Jews had overlooked this for 800 years! We can have the same problem because of our own bias.

We’re reluctant to admit, “I don’t know.”

• Mark 12:18-25 – The Sadducees did not understand the scriptures regarding marriage or resurrection.
• There are certain things we just don’t know!
• Deuteronomy 29:29
• Acts 4:12 – Jesus is the only way to salvation. What about the tribe isolated in the jungle? We don’t know, but God is fair and righteous, and He can work it out.

We’re afraid of the application.

• John 9:16, 20-23 – The parents of the formerly blind man were afraid to say anything about Jesus because of the Jews.
• John 12:37, 42-43 – Many believed, but were afraid to act on their belief.
• I Corinthians 6:9-10 – We can’t be scared of applying these verses.
• Galatians 2:12 – Even an apostle (Peter) succumbed to fear!
• Acts 2:38
• John 16:33

James 4:7 – If we don’t submit to God, the rest of it doesn’t matter!

• Notes from an article about abuse:

  • Psalms 40:1-4

  • Abuse can be a horrible pit that few escape from.

  • Psalms 59:1-4

  • Psalms 55:12-14

  • Who inflicts the wounds when abuse occurs? Often it is the ones closest to you.

  • How wounds torment victims

  • “There are truths that I know. My father taught them to me.”

    • Proverbs 11:29, 17; 20:1

  • On alcohol:

    • Proverbs 23:29-35; 19:19; 10:7; 15:13

• If you are being abused, GET HELP. Do not wait and allow the situation to get worse. Find a trusted family member, friend, or fellow church member. If necessary, involve the authorities.