Introduction

• John 16:25

• The Bible is 100% true, but not 100% literal.

• The Bible contains lots of figurative language.

  • I Peter 5:8

  • Deuteronomy 1:28

  • Isaiah 66:1

  • John 6:48

  • John 8:12

  • John 10:9

  • John 15:5

  • Matthew 13:3-8

• Figurative language in the Bible makes the message more vivid, powerful, and memorable.

When should we take a word or phrase figuratively?

When it is said to be figurative

• John 2:18-21
• Galatians 4:24
• Ephesians 6:17 – “sword of the spirit”
• Isaiah 9:2

When a literal understanding contradicts another passage

• Mark 10:5 – Literally “all” the people? Luke 7:29

When it matches a pattern of figurative language in other passages.

• John 6:27 – “do not work for food”
• I John 3:18 – “do not love with word or tongue”

When a literal understanding contradicts known facts or common sense.

• John 3:3, 5 – being “born again” (compare I Peter 1:23)

When should we NOT take a word or phrase figuratively?

When a literal understanding simply contradicts our beliefs.

• This is intellectually dishonest!

If we miss a figure, we miss the meaning

• John 10:11
• John 11:11-14
• Matthew 16:6-12
• Matthew 26:26-29 – Partaking of Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. Missing this figure results in doctrines like transubstantiation.

Conclusion

• The Bible means what it means!
• There are lots of figures of speech in the Bible, and we need to do our best to accurately and objectively understand them.

• Beatitudes, continued

  • Roots of murder (Matthew 5:21-26), continued

    • Attitudes

    • Progression: anger, contempt, hatred

      • Murder’s mileposts

      • I John 3:15

      • Stop the progression at anger. Don’t let it go on!

    • Practical advice

      • Worship versus anger

      • Ephesians 4:26

  • Adultery and the law (Matthew 5:27-30)

    • Where does adultery begin?

      • Why is adultery bad? Genesis 2:18-24

        • Woman was God’s gift to man – a companion. Adultery is dealing treacherously with that gift. It snubs both the woman and God.

      • Don’t go there

      • Work not to go there

    • Divorce (Matthew 5:31-42)

      • Important statement? Matthew 19:3-9

      • Very close to adultery

      • Can cause adultery

  • On your honor (Matthew 5:33-37)

    • Be known for telling the truth

      • Ephesians 4:25

      • Precludes need to swear

      • Oaths proliferated

Introduction

• I John 2:4

Jesus is exclusive

• Luke 13:22-30

• Matthew 7:13-14 – “Are there just a few who will be saved?”

  • Jesus does not sugarcoat the answer!

• This is going to be horrible!

  • Luke 13:25, 28

  • Matthew 13:40, 49-50 – There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• Lots of people thing they’re with Jesus, but they’re not.

  • Luke 13:26

  • Luke 8:19-21

• There’s something we can do about it.

  • Luke 13:24

  • Luke 6:46

Jesus will not be bullied

• Luke 13:31-33 – This is possibly an invention of the Pharisees. Either way, Jesus was not to be rushed in His work.
• John 19:9-12
• Luke 11:43-46 – Jesus said this out of love: They needed to repent!
• Caveats: Romans 12:18; 13:1; Matthew 5:39

Jesus’ heart is broken by sin

• Luke 13:34
• I Kings 18:4
• Luke 13:35

• Put on … purity (continued)

  • Make no provision for the flesh (continued)

    • Speech

      • Genesis 39:7, 10; Proverbs 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21

      • Temptation and sin usually involve inappropriate communication.

      • Cross-reference: David’s sermon from April 26, 2019: Building Loyalty to my Spouse

    • Dress

      • Luke 17:1; I Timothy 2:9-10; I Peter 3:3-4

      • Proverbs 7:10

      • A few resources Christians may find helpful:

        • https://accountable2you.com

        • https://protectyoungeyes.com

        • https://covenanteyes.com

        • https://commonsensemedia.org

        • https://pluggedin.com

        • https://vidangel.com

        • https://try.clearplay.com/home

• Put on … good speech (continued)

  • Develop better attitudes

    • I Peter 3:8-9

    • Colossians 3:8-10; Ephesians 4:15, 22-25; 5:4

• Joshua 3-5

Remember God’s blessings

• Joshua 4:1-7, 23 – God instructed the Israelites to build a memorial to help them to remember how He delivered them.
• I Corinthians 11:23-26

They had

We have

12 stone memorial, etc.

The Lord’s Supper

High priests

Jesus, the Great High Priest

Sacrifices of animals

Sacrifice of the Son of God

Old Covenant

New Covenant

• Hebrews 11:32-40 - Great things happened in the past, but now we can see the full picture.

Teach your kids

• Joshua 4:6, 21-22 – Parents were to teach their children what the memorials meant!

• We tend to forget the past!

• “Don’t forget your raising.”

• Judges 2:6-13 – The generations after Joshua turned to idolatry.

• As parents, we must know about God ourselves.

  • Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – You can’t teach what you don’t know!

• As parents, we must teach our kids about God.

  • Psalms 78:1-8

  • Ephesians 6:4

• As parents, we must live faithfully ourselves.

  • II Timothy 2:15 – Be a worked approved by God.

Rejoice in God’s promises

• Joshua 4:19-20
• Joshua 5:9 – God named the place Gilgal. It was an important place for many future events.
• God delivered Israel to their Promised Land, and He will deliver us to ours! We’ll be in our Gilgal one day.
• II Peter 3:9-13