Firstly, great emphasis is given that the contents of this series are intended to give Biblical information and insights on some of its contents. They are not intended to scare or offend anyone. It is one’s prerogative to read and never be shoved into one’s throat.
This piece is a simple sharing of bible passages. It doesn’t endorse any specific faith, religion, denomination, system of beliefs or theology aside from those in the bible.
It is in the “exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference” as provided by The Philippine Constitution that this article was made.
If you find them scary, intimidating or offensive, please feel free to take them with a grain of salt and regard them like a badly written movie script.
Good works is encouraged
The bible is primarily intended for those who seek eternal life. That said, it also benefits its readers with principles that help them do good works.
16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, English Standard Version
After all, James said faith without works is dead.
20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. James 2:14-26, ESV
And doing good works may lead someone to see the glory of God.
16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16, New King James Version
Fear of the Lord will make one walk life safely and add years to his/her life
The bible says no man can do nothing without God. Believe in God and what he can do. This is the primary requirement for humans who want to traverse life long and safely.
10“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11For by me [wisdom] your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. Proverbs 9:10-11, New King James Version
19The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens; 20By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew. 21My son, let them not depart from your eyes, Keep sound wisdom and discretion; 22So they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck.
23Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. 24When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. 25Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; 26For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught. Proverbs 3:19-26; NKJV
Here are other things you can do to live a meaningful life straight from the scriptures:
Actions and conduct are powerful tools that can convert an unbeliever into a believer, they expose the difference of the two opposing sides: Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12, ESV
For more, click to go straight to specific topic:
Enter the narrow gate
Repent
Sin no more
Honor the Father and the Son
Worship the Father in spirit and in truth
Trust the Lord, He will direct your paths
Submit to God, Resist the devil
Put the armor of God and the shield of faith
Listen to God’s correction and choose to fear the Lord
Do good to please and glorify God
Devote sometime to prayer so that you will not be tempted
When you are troubled, take heart! You will not be tempted beyond what you can bear
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due
Do not devise evil against your neighbor nor strive a man without a cause
Do not envy the oppressor because the Lord’s curse is on the wicked’s house
Leave judgment to God and do it carefully and rightfully if forced to
Enter the narrow gate
13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7: 13-14, NKJV
23Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Luke 13:23-24, NKJV
8A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there Isaiah 35:8-9, NKJV
Repent
“12Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali…17From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:12-13, 17, NKJV
“19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:19-21, NKJV
19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, Acts 3: 19, NIV
37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2: 37-39, NIV
Sin no more
3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11“No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:3, 5, 7, 9-11; NIV
14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” John 5:14; NIV
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1-2; NIV
1Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, Isaiah 1:16; NIV
1Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, Hebrews 6:1, NIV
20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” 2 Peter 2:20-22, NIV
18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 1 John 5:18, NIV
Honor the Father and the Son
22“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23“that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him, John 5:22-23, NKJV
Worship the Father in spirit and in truth
23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24, New International Version
Trust the Lord, He will direct your paths
“5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV
“3Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:3-5, NKJV
“9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9, NKJV
“7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8, NKJV
Submit to God, Resist the devil
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7, NKJV
7Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8., NKJV
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”, 1 Peter 5, 8-11, NKJV
Put the armor of God and the shield of faith
11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:11-16, NIV
Listen to God’s correction and choose to fear the Lord
11My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; 12For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights. Proverbs 3:11-12; NKJV
20Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; 23Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
24But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, 25since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, 26I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you; 27when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28“Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, 29since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord. 30Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, Proverbs 1:20, 23-30; NIV
Do good to please and glorify God
1“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2“Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3“But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4“that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Matthew 6:1-4, NKJV
11Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12, ESV
Devote sometime to prayer so that you will not be tempted
5Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:5, NIV
When you are troubled, take heart!! You will not be tempted beyond what you can bear
29Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:29-33
13No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due
27Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. 28Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. Proverbs 3:27-28; NKJV
Do not devise evil against your neighbor nor strive a man without a cause
29Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake. 30Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. Proverbs 3:29-30; NKJV
Do not envy the oppressor because the Lord’s curse is on the wicked’s house
31Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways; 32For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, But His secret counsel is with the upright.
33The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just. 34Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble. 35The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools. Proverbs 3:31-35; NKJV
Leave judgment to God and do it carefully and rightfully if forced to
37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:37-38 NIV
21Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” John 7:21-24
Purpose of the bible
The bible made clear what kind of book is it. It is intended for those who want eternal life. It is not a medical, science, logic or history book. Many tend to forget this.
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:39-40, New King James Version
It also made its theme clear. While there are many tales narrated by the bible, one thing remains clear from start to finish: Humans caught in a crossfire between powerful adversaries and one of them, a loving God, is offering redemption/salvation.
The bible says the devil rebelled and continues to rebel against God and dragged humans along to be involved in this godly battle he started.
7And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. Revelation 12:7-8, NKJV
…she [Eve] took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband [Adam] with her, and he ate… And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent…I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed…. Genesis 3: 6, 14-15, NKJV
12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Luke 8:12, NIV
God’s love and the danger posed prompted Jesus to come to earth and provided everyone a way to get out of the mess.
16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16, NKJV
8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8, NKJV
These verses encapsulates what the new testament is for. If you are encourage by these verses, you are invited to search the bible deeper and find out more about Jesus and his teachings.
Conservative approach
The presence of spirits and unexplainable events and multiple scientific, medical, and logical reasons that supports the bible and its authors’ credibility project a possibility that God do exists. If you are still unconvinced of the existence of God despite these proofs, being conservative might be the best alternative here.
Accountants describe conservatism as selecting the option that would show the worst possible financial standing of a business entity when two or more unproven alternatives are available. This is to remove the user of the account’s output be exposed to a bigger risk in case the worst possible scenario happens.
As it stands, the risk of not believing in and obeying God far outweighs the benefits of doubting his existence. It might be best to act conservatively, believe what the bible says, until you have absolutely proven that there is indeed no God nor hell.
By: Armando M. Bolislis
If you are inspired and want to give Jesus a try, continue a deeper search of the bible, especially the New Testament. This will show you how to become his disciple. Always ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in your search.
If you feel the want or need to belong to a Christian church or organization, find one that preaches the Word of God and will help you improve your relationship with Christ and lead you to his eternal promises.
The theologies and doctrines about faith contained in this article are solely from God through the bible. The author is just an instrument used to spread the word for the glory of God. The personal opinions and suggestions on issues outside of biblical coverage from the author doesn’t necessarily reflect the stance of Baguio Herald Express management and staff.
