WWUTT 711 Who is to Judge the Living and the Dead?

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The Apostle Paul said in Acts 17 that God has appointed a day on which He will judge the whole world through a man who

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He has raised from the dead and that is Jesus Christ, our Savior and our

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Judge when we understand the text. Many of the

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Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is an online ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty.

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Visit our website at www .utt .com. Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes.

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Thank you, Becky. I hope everyone enjoyed the messages from Dr. Votie Bauckham last week, teaching on 2

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Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 through 8. I'm going to go through this section again today, adding my own notes.

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Dr. Bauckham was great to apply this text to some things that are going on in our modern age and has an incredible knack for that.

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He is very gifted in that area. I'm going to be a little bit more expositional than he was as we come back to this passage.

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Paul writing to his servant Timothy, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by His appearing and His kingdom, preach the word.

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Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching.

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For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

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As for you, always be sober -minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

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For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight.

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I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the

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Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved

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His appearing. So we come back to verse one here where Paul says, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus.

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There was a necessity for Timothy to have the fear of God. And yes, he was loved by God through faith in Jesus Christ, but it is still necessary for all of us to have a reverent fear of God.

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Though we have been transformed from a kingdom of darkness and delivered into the kingdom of light, though we are seated with Christ in God in the heavenly places, though we were once dead men and women, but now we've been brought to life in Christ, there is still the old self that has been suppressed by the power of the

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Holy Spirit. But as long as we inhabit this flesh, which, you know, all of us having been born in the line of Adam, that old person is still there, still struggling, still toiling to get out, still desiring to have fleshly appetites appeased.

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And it is necessary for all of us to have the fear of God, to know that nothing is hidden from God, that he knows mind and heart, and he will render to each person what they have done.

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As I just preached to my congregation yesterday out of second Corinthians chapter five. And so Paul is saying here to Timothy, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus.

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God is my witness. God is your witness, for as some of the things that Paul is going to say very autobiographically here in just a moment, talking about,

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I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. He is not saying these things egotistically.

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God is his witness, who has seen Paul and all the work that he has done, who knows his mind and heart and his genuineness, and that he is not saying anything or putting on a front or playing a character.

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He is genuine in his desire to preach the gospel and have the gospel proclaimed.

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And so as Paul knows that he will be judged by God in the end, so he is putting it before Timothy that he also stands in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead.

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And that is specifically Christ, God, the father has given all authority to the son.

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Jesus said this when giving the great commission to his disciples in Matthew 28, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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Paul, when he preached in Athens in Acts chapter 17, said to the

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Greeks that were there on Mars Hill at the Areopagus, he said to them, God commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.

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And of this, he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

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So Christ is our judge and God has shown it is by this man. All people are going to be judged, having raised him from the dead, showing that Christ has the power over death itself.

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So he has the authority to grant a person life or condemn them to eternal damnation away from the presence of God.

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And so Paul reminding Timothy here that we do these things, we as ministers of the word, we are in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead.

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Christ himself is going to judge us for what we have done. So let us have a healthy, reverent fear of God and obey him in all that we do, desiring him, loving him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.

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By the appearing of his kingdom, we know that Christ is going to bring in his peaceful kingdom and part of Christ ushering in his peaceful kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth.

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This will involve removing everyone who is evil. Only those who will dwell in the eternal, perfect kingdom of Christ will be those who did the things that Christ did, who did the will of the father, who obeyed the commands of Christ, who were who had faith in Christ.

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This was how salvation was given to us because we repented of our sin and believed. But then we confirmed that that gift of salvation was given to us by the works that we did so that it would be clearly seen that what we have done has been carried out in God, as the scripture says.

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And so by the appearing of his kingdom, through ushering in his kingdom, Christ is going to remove everyone who is evil and all who did righteous will receive the eternal kingdom of Christ.

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So this is all part of the judgment here. Paul once again saying in verse one, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, he says, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom.

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That's what we're anticipating and that's what we're preparing people for.

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I myself as a pastor, a word that means shepherd, I am preparing the people of God for the day of Christ.

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Even if they die before Christ comes back, they will nonetheless have been prepared for that day, the day of judgment, because in life they turn from sin and they followed the word of God according to what was preached to them.

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So as a shepherd of the flock of God, that is my responsibility. Every single one of us, though, who is a

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Christian, who is a follower of Jesus, we all have a responsibility to believe the gospel and to share it.

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And in doing so, we are preparing people for that day of judgment. How can you be prepared for that day?

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Every single person is unjust and we're going to stand before the only one who is just and that is

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Christ Jesus and he is going to judge everyone in righteousness. How can we who are unjust survive the perfect righteous judgment of God?

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It is only by faith in Jesus Christ who took our sins upon himself by his death on the cross and has granted us his righteousness so that when we stand before him in judgment, we will be received by God our father as justified because we were clothed in the righteousness of his son.

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And so this is the judgment that is coming upon all people and only those who are in Christ Jesus will be saved.

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We must prepare people for that day and it is only by the hearing of the gospel and the response to the gospel, turning from sin and believing it and worshiping

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Christ and loving God with all heart, soul, mind, and strength is a person saved from death and given the kingdom of God.

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We are saved by grace through faith. The only way that a person receives salvation is by faith in the gospel of Christ.

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But we confirm that salvation by the works that we do in obedience to our

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Lord Christ who paid such a great price for our salvation.

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In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, our savior, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom.

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And I tend to believe that Paul in saying this to Timothy was hearkening back to those first words that were preached by Christ at the beginning of his ministry, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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At the final judgment, you are going to be judged as to whether or not you are a member of that kingdom.

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Did you show yourself as a citizen of the kingdom in life by worshiping the king of kings and Lord of lords?

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Or were you in rebellion against that king and instead you were following after the kingdom of darkness, that kingdom that is passing away and will be destroyed at the final judgment.

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Christ kingdom will succeed and will have the victory.

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So in this reverent fear of God, understanding the appearance of Christ is coming and the bringing in of his perfect kingdom as well,

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Paul says to Timothy, preach the word. It is the only way we prepare a person for that day, for the day of Christ and to prepare them as citizens of the kingdom, to live in that kingdom and serve him forever in glory.

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Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season.

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Now that's a, that's a term that I've often struggled with because what is in season and what is out of season?

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You may have some different pastors that may say some different things to understand what that phrase is supposed to mean, but here is the way that I have understood it.

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It means that you preach the gospel when it's convenient and you preach the gospel when it's not convenient.

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When is preaching the gospel convenient? Well, when the opportunity presents itself, maybe you're having a conversation with friends and it go, the conversation starts to go into spiritual matters.

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Well there you go. The door is open. Ears are attentive. Hearts are turned in that way to talk about spiritual and religious things.

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And so now you can talk about the gospel. That would be a good in season time to be speaking about the gospel.

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In church is another place to share the gospel and that's probably the number one place that Paul may even have in mind when he says with Timothy, preach the gospel in season and out of season when it's convenient and when it's inconvenient.

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It's always convenient to preach the gospel in church. And we, and we in America especially may feel safe in that environment to share the gospel and not feel like we're going to be judged by anybody.

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Although I could tell you that I've had pastor friends that have gone through seasons of their lives in which preaching the gospel even in their own church was not convenient.

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They had people there who hated to hear the gospel. They wanted the five point how to have a better life sermon.

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They didn't want to hear that they were wretched sinners who needed to repent and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. So in some cases, even in church environments, it might not necessarily be convenient to share the gospel.

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But for the most part, that's where we would understand it to be accepted. I know I can preach the gospel here in America.

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I'm not going to have the government coming in on me and dragging me out and throwing me in prison for preaching, preaching the gospel, at least not yet.

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But but then there are going to be other places where it is not as convenient to share the gospel in the public square, in public life with certain friends that that have otherwise been hostile toward religious things or stuff that involves the church.

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And yet, if they haven't heard the gospel or they don't understand it, they need to hear it as well. Going door to door, it's not exactly the best environment to share the gospel.

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But nonetheless, we see the apostles doing it. And it is a form of evangelism that you would go from house to house, knock on a person's door and say, hey,

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I'd like to share the gospel with you. That would certainly be an out of season, inconvenient moment to share the gospel.

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But nonetheless, we have been commanded that we would share preaching the word in season and out of season.

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And Paul goes on to say, reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching.

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I've talked about this earlier when we were in chapter three, verse 16. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training and righteousness.

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So Paul comes back to that word reprove here again, reprove, rebuke and exhort.

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Now, remember, what is a reproof? Well, it is an expression of blame or disapproval.

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So when we read in Romans 3, 23, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

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That's a reproof because it is expressing that every single person has sinned.

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Everyone is to blame for their own rebellion against God. And God disapproves of us while we are in that sinful fallen state.

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Paul spends the first three chapters of Romans bringing a reproof upon all men.

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Jews or Gentiles all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So that's what a reproof is.

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To reprove means to express to somebody that they have sinned, that they are guilty because of their rebellion against God.

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To rebuke them would then be to admonish or to correct with goodwill.

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So the reproof is a description. The rebuke is to offer the correction and then exhort would be to call them to respond to the message that they have just heard.

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And that is an imperative in the gospel. It's more than just proclaiming it and saying, you know,

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Jesus died for sin, rose from the grave so that all who believe in him will have eternal life.

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Well, that's certainly true. And that's a declaration of the gospel, but there's no exhortation that has been given. So therefore turn from your sin and worship

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Jesus Christ and you will be forgiven and justified in the presence of God. Now you've added the exhortation onto the gospel, which is still part of the gospel.

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You haven't added to the gospel, but in the gospel there is a call to respond to it, which is why we have statements in the scriptures about obeying the gospel.

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It's not simply enough to hear it. For James even says in James one, do not be hearers of the word only, but do what it says.

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The gospel calls for a response, repent and believe those are commands that must be followed in those who believe will have eternal life.

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The good news of the gospel. So as Paul says in season and out of season, be ready, reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching.

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And this is even calling back to mind some things that Paul had said earlier in this letter.

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In second Timothy chapter two verse 22, I'll start there where Paul says, flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the

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Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.

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You know that they breed quarrels and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.

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God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will.

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So Paul has said, even in this letter to Timothy, that you must be patient when it comes to correcting others, knowing that God is sovereign and he is working all things out for his glory.

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If we know that there is nothing outside of his control, outside of his sovereign will and plan, then there is no reason for us to panic.

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Your ability to outwit somebody else or shout louder or argue louder than they can is not going to win a person to Christ.

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God is the one who seals the deal on that end. All right. We are in communications and we have an obligation to obey the commands that Christ has given us that we preach the word with gentleness and respect, with complete patience and teaching, the way that Paul puts it here.

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So we might use every opportunity at our disposal to teach the truth of God.

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In Deuteronomy chapter 6, the Lord said this to Israel, hear, O Israel, the

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Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.

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And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

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You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. So very simply, we use every opportunity that may present itself to point a person to the truth of God.

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And you'll have a respective context that you live in in which you will see those opportunities that maybe you can use to share

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Christ with somebody else. With your children, with your family, certainly, and then also maybe other people that you are around on a regular basis.

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But doing this with complete patience, knowing that God's plan is complete and we are anticipating his appearing and the bringing in of his kingdom on that day of Christ.

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Let us pray. Our Lord God, we thank you for the salvation that has been given us in Christ, who is to judge the living and the dead.

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And I pray that you would teach us how we might share the word of Christ, his gospel, with others, that we may have the fortitude and the courage to teach in season and out of season, that we understand what this means to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, and that we would be filled with the

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Holy Spirit and have peace in our hearts, that we may do this with complete patience and with teaching.

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May your word rule in our hearts, as Paul said in Colossians 3 .16,

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encouraging and admonishing one another according to the word of Christ. And we pray these things in Jesus' name,

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Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .tt

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.com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our