Welcome to
Bible Picture Pathways

Question: What does  God mean when he says His thoughts are not our thoughts, and our ways are not His ways? (Isaiah 55:8)

Answer: God was trying  to get us to realize that what we think and do is not always in the same pathway as what God says is good. He tells us,"Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." (Luke 16:15) Many things even professed Christians think are good are abominations in God's sight. Certain forms of music, movies, unhealthful foods and drinks, some internet sites, programs,and chat sites, immodest clothing, and even some forms of education which are educating in the wrong direction, can be things that men justify, but God calls an abomination.

Remember: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,but the end thereof are the ways of death."  (Proverbs 14:12)

Also, character is what you do when no one is looking.  "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7

     Question:  Does the Bible have any advice on choosing friends?

Answer: The answer is yes. The Bible gives us good advice on choosing our friends, and it also shows what happens as a result of having either good or bad friends. An example of a good friendship would be that of David and Jonathan. A bad friendship would be that of Samson and Delilah. 

 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,  (2 Cor. 14-17)

 The results of being friends with people who don't believe like you will typically "rub off" and you will become like them. By beholding we become changed.  Choose only for your friends those who are truly following Christ. You can witness to those who aren't, but don't choose them for friends.

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

  Just Remember to make Jesus Christ your best friend. He will not forsake anyone who loves him. And you can be certain he will not be a bad influence on you. After He is your best friend, you can ask him to show you his friends, and you can be safe in choosing them for friends. 

Question:  Some say that the reason jewelry wearing is condemned in verses such as 1 Timothy 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:3,4 is because the wearing of jewelry came from the occultic and idolatrous pagans. Is this true, and what constitutes jewelry?

Answer: Yes, it is true that the wearing of jewels came from the pagans. In the Bible jewelry is connected to idolatry.

  Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments... And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.  Genesis 35:2,4

 In her book Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, Cathy Burns quotes some witches, who say, "Jewelry's origins lie in magic.... Jewelry is a way to have magic on your body..." (pg.293, 294)

Something some of you might be getting ready to consider, if you are of marrying age is whether a wedding ring is jewelry or not. In The Occult Sciences it says, 

"It may be pointed out that wedding rings are a remnant of the magic rings." (pg. 320)

In Revelation it is Babylon the Mother of Harlots that is represented as being "...decked with gold and precious stones and pearls...." (Rev.17:4)

"In this connection, I would like to share an incident. About 25 years ago a returned missionary from China spoke at our church  and related the following. He had been in China for seven years, and had upon return to this country for furlough he immediately noticed something different about the American women. In the seven years that he had been gone, many of the women had adopted the popular fad of painting their faces (makeup).  In China, the prostitutes were the only women who painted their faces, wore ear rings, and had long painted fingernails. This was the means of identifying themselves to their men-partners in sin. The shocking thing to the missionary was that the American women had taken on the custom of the heathen harlot." (Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated pg.310)

The question was asked, what constitutes jewelry? In Timothy mentioned in connection with the gold and pearls, was also broided hair and costly array. The message is not just don't wear, ear rings and necklaces.  We are to avoid the appearance of evil. (1Thess. 5:22) Extravagant hair styles, fancy metallic watches or hair things, expensive clothing, etc. are no better than the ear rings. In all your dress you should be modest, not drawing attention to yourself, but let your adorning be " the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." (1Peter 3:4) 

Question:  Why did the Pharisees and teachers of the law have to oppose Jesus concerning healing on the Sabbath and other issues related to the law of Moses.

Answer: The Pharisees had taken the law of Moses to an excess. They had made up their own traditions and attached them so closely to the law of God that most people did not know what the law of God really said, and what the Pharisees had made up. Jesus came to exalt the law of God and break down the traditions of man.

Matthew 5:17, 18  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

The Pharisees considered it a sin to do good on the Sabbath, but in doing so they forgot that God was a God of Love and his law love. The whole reason for the law is because of love. We don’t kill someone because of love. We don’t worship false gods because we love God. In the same way we are to keep the Sabbath because we love and trust God, but the Pharisees did not realize the underlying principle of love.

Romans 13:10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Christ, in healing on the Sabbath, was not doing something for pleasure or business (Isaiah 58:13), but was doing something to relieve a suffering human and glorify His Father. He therefore made it plain that the spirit of the law which is love, as well as the letter is important. He also rebuked the Pharisees who would help an animal before they would help a human.

Matthew 12:12  How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

When they were exposed, the Pharisees and teachers of the law became angry.

Christ never abolished the law or the Sabbath but sought to teach that charity is just as important as the letter of the law. He also did away with the self-righteous traditions of the Pharisees that had no basis in the word of God.

Matthew 15:8, 9  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

 Thus the religious leaders who prided themselves as being examples of the law, but who were some of the farthest from it in spirit, opposed Jesus Christ whose character is revealed in the law.

 Question:  How do I become an Evangelist? And what good strategies can I use to succeed in Evangelism ministry.

Answer: The Bible gives a story of the Evangelist Philip (Acts 8:26-40). Reading it might give you some pointers. Philip followed the leading of the Lord and had God direct him what to do.

The first thing I can point you too is to continually ask God for wisdom. If you are doing his work he will guide you.

James 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Evangelism involves both preaching and teaching, but also working with people one on one, or in their homes.  Some of your methods will vary depending on who you are reaching. Try to find something that you hold in common with those you wish to reach. Christ did this, and He was the greatest evangelist. For example all people have in common that they have physical needs, this is why Christ often used health and healing as an entering wedge.

Matthew 9:35  And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Christ also used the surroundings that the people were familiar with, to teach them spiritual lessons, such as comparing a sower, or calling Himself the Bread of Life.

Christ told stories to illustrate His points. He taught in parables.

Matthew 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Recently we went to an event, where we attended 3 different presentations by three different speakers. The man who interested the people the best was demonstrating medical techniques, and called people up to help him. The other one who kept the people extremely interested worked his facts in with many stories. The man who just read statistics and facts bored everyone, and lost many people’s interest. This is one reason why Christ taught in parables to keep people’s attention.

I am not sure where you are, and what you have to work with, but I do know if it is available to you, “pictures are worth a thousand words.” Power-points can be helpful. Charts can help, and real objects (such as seeds, rocks, depending on sermon subject) for demonstration make a talk more interesting.

Remember that when you give a sermon or talk it could be the last one someone in your audience will hear. In every sermon  be sure to uplift Christ as the world’s savior, as well as give an appeal for people to turn to Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:2 … behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Question:  How is the woman of Rev 12, the Church, giving birth to Jesus when Jesus actually gave birth to the Church?

Answer: In order to answer this question first we must look into who the church really is.

The church existed before the time of the disciples. In fact, the Bible tells us that the church existed back when Israel came out of Egypt.

Acts 7:37, 38  “This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:”

The church (although today there are misconceptions about what the term means), is simply a term for God’s people. Christ told us that “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. " (Matthew 18:20) This is the recipe for what constitutes a church.  Thus in every time period God has had a church, even prior to the formation of the Christian Church with the disciples.

The other portion of your question requires setting a foundation of when exactly it was when Jesus Christ came on the scene.  The Bible is clear that the Son of God has always existed. He never had a beginning. (Micah  5:2  “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” John 8:58  “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”)

However, the Son of God was not always a human. (John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:14  “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”)

Although the divine nature of Jesus Christ always existed, His conception in Mary marked the beginning of His human nature. Thus although He (Jesus) has always existed, the church (God’s people) were already in existence when the human form of Christ was born as a baby in Bethlehem. Because Mary was part of the church at that time,  the church could symbolically give birth to the human form of Christ, even though as a divine being, Christ was in existence before the church every existed.

Question:  Help me understand how people "sinned WITHOUT the law (Rom 2:12). Isn't that evidence that the 10 commandments didn't necessarily exist before Sinai?

Answer: First, please read the context of Romans 2:12.

Romans 2:6-16  "Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.

 "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

The context of Romans 2:12 is dealing with judgement. It is clear that the Gentiles are those without the law and the Jews are those with the law. This is because the Jews were the ones blessed with a copy of the written law, while the Gentiles had no written record of God’s laws. The law of God existed prior to Sinai because God said Abraham kept His law, but it was not written down until the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai.

Genesis 26:5 “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

God judges according to the amount of truth a person has had access to, so the Jews who had access to a written record of God’s law were held more accountable than the Gentiles who had never seen or heard the law of God, and were relying on their own judgement of what is right and wrong.

Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”

Those that are “without law” are those without the written law because the law is binding upon all men whether they have seen it or not. Many who may have never seen the Ten Commandments still believe stealing, murder, and adultery to be wrong and don’t do these things. Those who have seen and heard the law of God and choose to break it have greater sin than those who may do the exact same sins but do not know about the law of God. In other words, God will take into consideration what men know and don’t know when He judges them. 

Question:  Is taking tea and coffee a SIN according to the Bible and what does the SOP say about it?

Answer: In answer to your question, the Bible does not mention tea or coffee by name. Rather it gives the principles that taking part in practices that destroy your health is sinful. 

"Satan is taking the world captive through the use of liquor and tobacco, tea and coffee. The God-given mind, which should be kept clear, is perverted by the use of narcotics. The brain is no longer able to distinguish correctly. The enemy has control. Man has sold his reason for that which makes him mad. He has no sense of what is right." {CCh 101, 102}

"The habit of drinking tea and coffee is a greater evil than is often suspected. Many who have accustomed themselves to the use of stimulating drinks, suffer from headache and nervous prostration, and lose much time on account of sickness. They imagine they cannot live without the stimulus, and are ignorant of its effect upon health. What makes it the more dangerous is, that its evil effects are so often attributed to other causes."  {CTBH 35.2}