Understand the Bible? Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D.
Episodes
Studying grammar, particularly antonyms like "common" and "profane", helps us better understand the original meanings of the Hebrew words related to holiness and sanctification. We have a language problem, where holiness is made synonymous with perfection; it cannot mean perfection or sinlessness except when speaking of God and His attributes. When God declares people holy, they are set apart and dedicated, not pe...
God can sanctify any individual who trusts in Christ for salvation, not just the priests and elevated ones. Peeling apart the language clearly shows we cannot use one word to translate QDSH, and we cannot get to the meanings without looking at the Hebrew verbs. For the Niphal stem (simple passive), only God is the subject, and His sanctification in His people is seen by the nations in a future time. The Piel, Hithpael and Hiphil...
Hebrews declares that without following peace with all mankind and holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Holiness is a complicated subject, but a desire to see God will lead you to pull apart the word meanings. This message adds another layer to the foundation for understanding the words. Hebrews 12:14 VF-2193
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What the Bible means by the word "sanctification" is difficult to understand in English because different streams of words were used simultaneously to translate these concepts. It is faulty understanding and bad theology that equate holiness with morality or perfection; the meaning in the original languages was to be set apart by God for His purposes. Rightly understood, it is not something we can do to ourselves but rath...
Jude concludes his letter with a doxology that is essentially in the form of a prayer in the Greek. He emphasizes that when we are in peril of being shipwrecked in our faith by false teachers, Christ has the power to keep His focus on us as a shepherd watches over a flock, standing us up again firmly before Him when we stumble in our walk. Because Christ has washed us in His blood, He can present us blameless before the Lord, and w...
Contrary to numerous poor translations, Jude is not instructing the saints to go out and try to "win souls". He is telling us to have mercy on those doubters who were already exposed to God's Word but have listened to the creeps. For those beyond doubting, trying to save them is like rushing into a fire to snatch them out. As we wait on the mercy of the Lord unto eternal life, have mercy on these, hating the filth of th...
In counterbalance to those who crept into the church and led people astray, Jude admonishes us to keep ourselves in the love of God, expectantly awaiting God’s mercy. In this message we get an incredible insight into what God’s mercy looks like, both to us and in the man-to-man relationship. We can see God’s mercy in the context that Jude intended and apply it to our own lives by staying focused on what God has done for us. In doin...
In Jude's instructions for how to contend for the faith, we are told to keep ourselves in God's love to us. The natural man cannot do this, thinking that God is always against him. The spiritual person understands we have fallen short of the mark, but God has gifted His forgiveness of sins to us. Our desire to please Him and to know Him better through the rhemas builds up the relationship, which is further cemented by our g...
Every point that Jude makes in his corrective letter is to counterbalance the apostasy creeping into the church. After telling us why we need to contend for the faith, he tells us how: build on the Architect's plans, praying with the help of the Holy Spirit; keep ourselves in God's love; and look for the mercy of our Lord. We have ups and downs on this spiritual battlefield but being part of the body of Christ means we have...
In a unique style, Jude calls to memory the saying that there will be mockers of God in the last days. These mockers have a childish behavior towards the things of God, their focus is egocentric, and they cause divisions in the body of Christ that should be united. In contrast, the faithful minister has a singular focus to bring forth the Word of God, the faithful listeners hear it, and in so doing, both build up the body of Christ...
Jude points out from an apocryphal source that Enoch spoke and prophesied of these ungodly people who creep into the church and pervert the message of the gospel. They preach a doctrine of no consequences for our actions rather than no ultimate condemnation to those in Christ. We are frail, filthy sinners, but we are saved by grace from God’s wrath because Jesus paid the price for us. Jude’s examples out of the Old Testament and...
Jude continues to warn against the ones who have crept in unawares: they are a hidden danger, appearing promising, but ready to lead us astray and shipwreck our faith. The church needs to have proper moorings to avoid the judgment that will come upon these ones. Jude 1:12-15 VF-2147
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Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Center in Glendale. Call 1-800-338-3030 24x7 to le...
In every generation, there are those who creep into the church and engage in the gainsaying of Korah: coming against the Word of God. Korah, a close relative to Moses, was unwilling to face Moses directly. Instead, he spread his disgruntlement to others, convincing men of renown to outnumber and rise up against the man of God. His perspective was completely warped, his path was marked with egregious lies, and he treated the positio...
A casual reading of Balaam's story makes him look like a pretty good man, obediently delivering the Word of God. However, Jude, John and Peter each point to Balaam in a negative way, warning against prophets for hire and the introduction of syncretism. Balaam enticed the children of Israel to worship other gods, bringing the people into apostasy as he lined his own pockets. Jude 1:11 VF-2145
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Jude continues his warning to the church about the ones who crept in unawares, saying these have gone in the way of Cain. Cain despised God's way, substituting a "better" way of works, typifying the first false religion. His responses to God were peppered with falsehood; his efforts, though laborious, were futile; and his actions were based on fear instead of faith. Jude 1:11 VF-2144
The sixth message in the Epistle of Jude is both an admonition and an encouragement. The admonition is to not be moved away from the doctrine that keeps us going from faith to faith, despite those that creep into the church with "special revelations." The encouragement is to never forget the grace of God. The same grace of God extended to Moses, sending Michael the archangel to contend for his body despite his mistake which...
Jude points out in a style of triplicates, three examples of defection from God and the accompanying ruin: the children of Israel, the angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah. The escape is to keep contending for the faith. Defection can occur in any form, but faith toward God occurs one way: in simplicity, in truth, through Christ. Jude 1:5-7 VF-2142
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Apostasy is in our nature and it can creep into the church very quickly. Jude wrote his epistle to put apostasy in check; reminding us that while God delivered His people from Egypt, He destroyed that first generation for their faithlessness. Even after the people saw God's miracles of deliverance in Egypt, they were quick to turn from Him and forgot what He had done. We need this wake-up call to be vigilant and keep contend...
With a true pastor's heart, Jude wrote his epistle to address false teaching and apostasy that was creeping into the church. His inclusion of "mercy" in his greeting and benediction suggests those in the church needed help beyond grace alone. We face many attacks in our faith walk, and we need to be prepared to agonize for the faith and not be conformed to the world. Jude 1:1-5 VF-2140
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To be a slave is to be attached to a master. It is a glorious thing, and not pejorative, to be slaves of our Maker. The New Testament epistle writers identified themselves as doulos, slave of Christ. We have been bought with a price, and we belong to Him. Our Master knows our troubles and He cares about us. Jude 1:1 VF-2139
Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com
Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Cen...
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