• Psalm 22

• Hebrews 6:18 – Lying is contrary to God’s nature, thus He cannot lie.

• Forsaking someone who is doing His will is also against God’s nature.

• Psalm 9:10; John 8:29; 16:32

• Psalm 22 is metaphorical and hyperbolic. Much of it does not make sense if you take it literally. The Jews knew this psalm and understood it. Jesus called it to their attention on the cross. He was not telling the Jews that He had been forsaken. He quoted Psalms 22:1 to show that He had not been forsaken by God just like David had not been forsaken.

• God had not forsaken him.

  • Psalms 22:1, 11, 19, 20, 21, 24 – If these are taken literally, they cannot be harmonized.

• Compare the prophecy and the fulfillment:

  • Psalm 22:7; Matthew 27:39

  • Psalm 22:8; Matthew 27:43

  • Psalm 22:11; John 16:32

  • Psalm 22:15; Job 19:28

  • Psalm 22:17; Luke 23:35

  • Psalm 22:18; Matthew 27:35

  • Psalm 22:16; John 19:37

• Ephesians 4:32 – Christians are to be forgiving people.

• God is willing to forgive.

  • II Peter 3:9

  • I John 1:9 – Because God is willing to forgive, we can count on His mercy.

• God is aggressive to forgive.

  • Ezekiel 3:18-19

  • James 5:19-20

• God forgives absolutely.

  • Psalms 103:11-12

• God forgives permanently.

  • Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12

  • Forgiven sins are never brought up again!

• God forgives conditionally.

  • God’s promised salvation is conditional.

  • Acts 26:20; Matthew 3:6 – Repentance is always required for forgiveness.

  • John 8:32, 21

  • Luke 17:3 – “if he repent”

  • To ignore evil conduct and call it forgiveness is not how God forgave.

• Forgiveness does not cancel the earthly consequences of sin.

• Introduction

  • II Corinthians 13:5; 12:14, 21; 13:10

  • Lamentations 3:40

• What is self-evaluation?

  • James 1:21-27 – Don’t delude yourself. You must be a doer of the word!
    • Matthew 5:44
  • We must compare ourselves to the text!

• How to do this:

  • Use God’s standard

    • I Corinthians 4:3-5

    • II Corinthians 10:12, 18 – Other people are not the standard.

  • Use other people to help you.

    • II Samuel 12:7

    • Proverbs 12:15; 15:31-32

  • Think about yourself.

    • Matthew 7:1-5 – Fix yourself first!

  • Make it a deliberate practice.

    • Haggai 1:4-9

David’s list of self-evaluation flashcards: Download

• God wants us to be good thinkers! (continued)

  • Consider the dangers of not using logic (continued)

    • YouTube: “Why are some saved, and not others?”

      • Universal grace – II Peter 3:9

      • Grace alone – Ephesians 2:8-9

      • Hell – Matthew 8:12

      • Romans 9:20; 11:33

      • Is there really no answer? No, the answer is that man has a choice in the matter. Some act in such a way that they will not be saved.

• Equivocation (“bait-and-switch”)

  • What is it?

    • “When someone shifts from one meaning of a word to another within an argument, he or she has committed the fallacy of equivocation.”

    • A person may change a word’s meaning on purpose to make a point or to be humorous.

      • Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on first?” comedy routine.

    • II Corinthians 5:21

  • Spiritual importance

    • The word “evolution”

      • This is a common fallacy used to persuade people to believe in evolution. “Evolution can mean ‘change’ in a general sense, but it can also refer to the idea that organisms share a common ancestor…”

      • It helps to clarify our language. Micro-evolution (such as breeding dogs for certain traits) is true. Macro-evolution (the theory that all life evolved over millions of years from a common ancestor) has certainly not been proven true.

    • The word “baptism”

      • “I’ve been baptized, so I’m saved, because I Peter 3:21 says ‘baptism now saves you.’”

      • Which baptism are you talking about?

        • Matthew 3:11

        • Mark 10:38-39

        • Acts 1:5; 19:3

        • Romans 6:3; I Corinthians 10:2

        • Ephesians 4:4 – As far as salvation goes, there is only one baptism.

    • Greek Bible words

      • Romans 12:1 – “service of worship”

      • Some use this verse to show that all of life is worship.

      • Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17; John 9:38; 12:20; Acts 8:27; 24:11; Hebrews 11:21; Revelation 19:10 – uses of the word prokuneo (to make obeisance, do reverence)

      • Another example: various meanings of the word for church (ekklesia) – Acts 19:32; 7:38