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Gospel of Matthew – Taking the Way of Righteousness – Baptism

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Matthew 5:20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Philippians 3:7-10 But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ. 8 But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ 9 And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith, 10 To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

To live a life that takes the way of righteousness is to live, work, and act according to God, but, what does this mean?

The first part of living in the way of righteousness is to obtain righteousness objectively. This happens through our repenting of our sins and believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He died for us and if we confess our sins and believe in Him, then we receive Him as our life and God counts us righteous. This righteousness is not based on any of our doings, but it is altogether based on Christ’s doings. We call this our objective righteousness.

The second part of living in the way of righteousness happens when Christ continues to live in us, through us, and out of us. Anything good that comes out of us without our living Christ is not righteousness. Only that which comes out of the Christ in us is true righteousness. This is what we call our subjective righteousness.

In the Old Testament, people followed an outward law, something they thought would govern their behavior. The scribes and Pharisees attempted to keep the old law through their natural life (without Christ). When we come to Matthew chapters 5 through 7 the uplifted law of the kingdom is revealed. However, the New Testament shows us a new way, a new way to live that is different from the Old Testament. The new and uplifted law of the kingdom requires a new life – the divine life. Having this new life and living by it is the way of righteousness. This way actually fulfills the entire law.

What about Baptism?
Baptism was introduced at the beginning of the New Testament indicating a great change from the old way to a new way. The way to live righteously before God is to terminate our old, natural life and receive a new life and live by it.

The righteousness we are speaking of here is not something that we must work out—it is altogether something that is from Christ and is even Christ Himself.

Through the baptism of death we are terminated in the flesh; through the germination of Jesus’ baptism we are regenerated to be joined to the God of resurrection. The highest righteousness in the whole universe is termination and germination. If we want to achieve this highest righteousness, we must be terminated and then germinated by God. (Crystallization Study of Matthew, Message 6, Andrew Yu).

We encourage you to go to the Lord, praying about these things, even as you read the verses and consider the points in the attached slides below.

Taking the Way of Righteousness – Baptism – PDF
Taking the Way of Righteousness – Baptism – PowerPoint Slides

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Gospel of Matthew – The Seed of the Kingdom

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We have mentioned that the gospel according to Matthew presents the gospel of the kingdom. In this Bible study we want to see that the kingdom is established and developed through the seed of the kingdom.

First we will see the parable of the sower. Then we want to emphasize that Christ the King is literally within His believers – as opposed to only being in them figuratively. This is very important, especially since we conclude this Bible study seeing the expansion of Christ as the king. That’s right, “The expansion of Christ”. How can this be? What does this mean?

If you have a soft heart toward the Lord, we believe you will be enlightened through this Bible study and even enter into the experience of the kingdom.

The Seed of the Kingdom – PDF
The Seed of the Kingdom – PowerPoint Slides

The Seed of the Kingdom – Extra Excerpt

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Gospel of Matthew – You Therefore Shall be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father is Perfect

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For Matthew Chapter 5, the outline in the Recovery Version of the Bible opens up to us “The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution concerning…

1) The nature of the kingdom people,
2) The influence of the kingdom people,  and
3) The law of the kingdom people.   

We encourage you to read this whole chapter. The humanity presented by our Lord Jesus in this chapter is the highest humanity. Many of us would wonder if what is found here is even attainable.  The last verse tells us how our Lord feels about this. It is an unwavering statement. 

You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:48

The context for this verse is love, and love is God’s nature.  In this Bible study, we want to linger on this unwavering and now resounding statement and enter into its being worked out in us. Ready? Let’s go. 

You Therefore Shall be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father is Perfect – PDF
You Therefore Shall be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father is Perfect – PowerPoint Slides

You Therefore Shall be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father is Perfect – Extra Excerpt

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Gospel of Matthew – The Divine Trinity in Chapter 28

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God became a man. This was Jesus Christ – the God-Man. He came as the King to establish His kingdom on earth. He then died on the cross to save us from sin and death. This wonderful one resurrected and became a life giving Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 15:45). Upon such a victorious and triumphant resurrection He came to His disciples and announced:

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, – Matthew 28:18b-19

This charge to the disciples was central, monumental, and full of revelation. First, we have to point out that the Divine Trinity is revealed in a marvelous way. Second, we have to see how this charge, with such a revelation of the Divine Trinity, makes the sinners’ entrance into the kingdom real and practical.

In order for sinners to repent, believe into Jesus, and enter into His kingdom, the disciples (of whom we are an extension and continuation) were to go and disciple the nations and baptize them. 

What does all this mean? Jump into the attached full Bible Study! 

The Divine Trinity in Matthew Chapter 28 – PDF
The Divine Trinity in Matthew Chapter 28 – PowerPoint Slides

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Gospel of Matthew – The Divine Trinity in Chapter 3

In this Bible study we want to see three things.

  1. The Divine Trinity at the King’s Anointing.
  2. The Spirit Upon Him (the Lord Jesus) for His Commission.
  3. We need to be the same as Jesus.

Make this your Bible study. Linger in the Word of God where He leads you. Fellowship with one another your experiences and the light that you see in God’s word.  More than anything, contact the living God. Pray. Call on His Name. The Divine Trinity is on the move again this week and is for our enjoyment.

Download the full Bible study here:

The Divine Trinity in Matthew Chapter 3 – PDF
The Divine Trinity in Matthew Chapter 3 – PowerPoint Slides

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Gospel of Matthew – The Divine Trinity in Chapter 1

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Our God is the Divine Trinity, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Whatever God does in His Divine move, He does in His Divine Trinity. This is a revelation – What God does, He does in His Divine Trinity. In the coming Bible studies we will visit passages from the Gospel of Matthew revealing the Divine Trinity in the divine move. In this Bible Study we look at chapter 1 of Matthew and the Divine Conception.

Please download the full Bible study in your preferred format.

The Divine Trinity in Matthew Chapter 1 – PDF
The Divine Trinity in Matthew Chapter 1 – PowerPoint Slides

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Gospel of Matthew – Taking the Lord as Rest, Eating Him as Crumbs, and Doing the Father’s Will

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God’s goal is to gain us so that we express Him, all the time, to the fullest extent. Is this possible? How do we get from where we are now to this lofty goal of God? Is it about doing successful good works? What way does Christ show us?

In this Bible study we look at taking Christ as our rest; we look at taking him as bread, and even crumbs; and we look at doing the will of God.

Christ is one who rested in doing the will of God. His delight did not come from outward successes but from seeing God’s will done on earth. He invites us to be like Him.

As with all our Bible studies, the “meat” comes from diving into God’s word together and discussing it. We invite you to join us or gather with some others to study (and eat) God’s word together.

Please download the full Bible study in your preferred format.

Taking the Lord as rest – PDF
Taking the Lord as rest – PowerPoint Slides

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Gospel of Matthew – You Shall Call His Name Jesus

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And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins. – Matthew 1:21

In this Bible study we cover three things.

  1. The Meaning of the Name of Jesus
  2. The Double Cure
  3. Calling on the Name of the Lord to be Saved

The material is comprised primarily of verses. The fellowship in the groups when going over this Bible study together should bring out the depths, the riches, and the application for us today.

On the last slide, you’ll find a charge to sing Psalm 116:12-13. Here is the music and lyrics:

What shall I give unto the Lord
For all, for all, for all He’s done for me?
I’ll take the cup of salvation,
And call, and call, and call upon the name
  of the Lord.

Please download the full Bible study in your preferred format.

You Shall Call His Name Jesus – PDF

You Shall Call His Name Jesus – PowerPoint Slides

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Gospel of Matthew – Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham

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There is much more content we could have included in the slides. This will become evident as you go through this Bible study. If you are with a group, pull from the collective knowledge of the group to get a fuller picture of the background of the son of David and the son of Abraham.

Finally, turn your knowledge and appreciation of Christ into prayer. Contacting the Lord is the only way to make all the blessings of the Bible real to us.

Please download the full Bible study in your preferred format.

Jesus Christ the Son of David the Son of Abraham – PDF

Jesus Christ the Son of David the Son of Abraham – PowerPoint Slides

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Our Human Spirit – Another Life

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Our Bible study on the human spirit is becoming more personal. We explore the following questions:

What is your understanding of how one becomes a Christian?
What does the Bible call the life of God – which He gives to us?
How can we receive this life?
Where does the Lord live?
Where is the Lord Jesus right now?

We invite you to dive right in as we think that you will really enjoy this Bible study titled: “Another Life”.

Download the full Bible Study in your preferred format:

Another Life – PDF

Another Life – PowerPoint Slides

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Bible Distribution Day

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We were back at the Petersen Heritage Center giving away the best gift ever – The Word of God.

  • We setup the table on Wednesday December 8, 4:30-6:30 PM.
  • Students were invited to simply take one of these New Testament study Bibles.
  • There were no strings attached, we didn’t require people to pay, to give us there name, or any such thing. 
  • We gave out the Recovery Version. It has footnotes that open up the spiritual meaning of the word. You can still get one free from Bibles for America.

2021-12-08 -Giving-Away-Free-Bibles02While we sat there, we shared portions of the word with one another. When one student came by and was interested in knowing what made this Bible different, we were able to show them a verse we were enjoying. We opened up to Matthew 13:8, where the Lord Jesus tells a parable about a sower who went out to sow. The seeds he sowed fell in different places. The verse says:

But others fell on the good earth and yielded fruit, one a hundredfold, and one sixtyfold, and one thirtyfold.

The other verses in chapter 13 as well as the footnotes in the Recovery Version helped us to understand what the good earth really is. Here’s one of the footnotes for verse 8.

The good earth signifies the good heart that is not hardened by worldly traffic, that is without hidden sins, and that is without the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches. Such a heart gives every inch of its ground to receive the word that the word may grow, bear fruit, and produce even a hundredfold (v. 23). – New Testament Recovery Version

The student smiled and thanked us for giving her the word of God. Just that alone was such a sweet encouragement to us. Thank the Lord for these sweet opportunities.