Understand the Bible? Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D.

The peace offering symbolized God's provision for mankind to have communion and fellowship with Him. It had to come after the burnt and meal offerings so that we could first understand what Christ had to do before we could even have fellowship with God. Most people do not have the mindset of the peace offering when they give, thinking they have no responsibilities; it gives God joy when we willing...

Looking at the symbolism of the meat offering helps us to understand the "how" of Colossians 2:14 how Christ blotted out the handwriting of ordinances and nailed them to His cross, and how we being in Christ's finished work are no longer under the law but free in Christ, and free to worship Him! VF-2287 Colossians 2:14, Leviticus 2   Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Me...

The Old and New Testaments have to be understood as one continuous narrative of God's unfolding plan of redemption for fallen humanity. There are many shadows and types that point to Christ and reveal the order in which things had to happen for us to be redeemed. The offerings lay out what Christ had to be in order to fulfill the law as the Offering, the Offerer, and the Priest. VF-2286 Colossians...

Christ has forgiven us all our trespasses, but we have a problem understanding His forgiveness because we have a poor understanding of the severity of our sins, our condition, and our standing with God. We were spiritually dead in our sins, but Christ has made us alive in Him and forgiven us. Even though we will never "feel" forgiven, we are forgiven, period. VF-2285 Colossians 2:13 Watch, Listen...

Three verbs, which properly translated in their mood and tense in the Greek, shift our focus back on to Christ. They show us that what God is looking for is faith in Christ, not Jesus plus circumcision, or any other religious ceremony or rite. The simplicity of the gospel is that God wants us to take Him at His word and stay focused on Christ . VF-2284 Colossians 2:11-13 Watch, Listen and Learn 24...

No outward sign, like that of circumcision, can fix you if your heart is not close to God. In the Old Testament circumcision was intended to be a sign of the covenant with God, but even then, God made it clear His focus was on the heart. Christ has already accomplished this act of circumcision in the inner man of the Christian, freeing us and conforming us to His covenant perfectly, as only He can...

It's time for the church of Jesus Christ to reform itself because we, like the Colossians, have been led astray by all the add-ons. It's time for us to get back to the epicenter of our faith: all that we need is in Christ. Every part, every nature, every dimension of the deity dwells in Him, so how could we ever think of adding anything else? VF-2281 Colossians 2:9-15 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7...

The church, both Catholic and Protestant has grafted on traditions to the faith that are not Biblical. We are to follow after Christ, not the traditions of men that distract from the pure faith. VF-2280 Colossians 2:8 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Center in Glendale. Call 1-800-338-3030 24x7 to leave a message for Pastor Scott. You m...

We cannot understand the problems of where we are without looking to history. Church history is full of examples of the traditions of men being substituted in place of the word of God and the message of salvation by faith in Christ. The Protestant Reformation sought to bring people back to the pure source of the word, but even the Protestant Church has its add-ons. Study the word and focus on your...

Colossians 2:6 is the perfect text to show us that the modern-day evangelist's altar call, inviting us to "receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior" is actually quite blasphemous! Treating this passage correctly, the difference is in the details. To "receive" is not to receive the individual, the Son of God, but rather to receive the message, the good news of Jesus Christ: that new management h...

The deception of those that would twist the word of God with enticing words was a problem in the early church and still continues today. It is very easy to be beguiled by false teaching that sounds reasonable and persuasive. The safeguard is to stay connected to Christ through the Word and remain steadfast in your faith. VF-2277 Colossians 2:4-5 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.c...

The body of Christ is supposed to be knit together in love, not ripped apart. Without being knit together in Christ's love, the church cannot survive. Paul addressed the Colossians with pastoral concern, reminding them to focus back on Christ and to be knit together in the agape love of God. When the problems come, this love of God through Christ should be our common bond. Christ is the unifying f...

The church today is in spiritual danger, just as the church at Galatia was.   The Apostle Paul instructed them not to be deceived by those who tried to lead them back to works and the law instead of faith in Jesus Christ alone.   You will reap what you sow.   The works of the flesh are a mockery of God, but if you seek Him in faith, He will put His Spirit in you, and you will bear fruit unto Him....

In God's book, there's a type of pain that has a purpose.   Whether it's physical or mental, if it leads us closer to God, then it's not destructive.   It's redemptive pain.   In 2 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul describes this as a "thorn" in the flesh.   More specifically, it was a messenger of Satan that was given to him by God to keep him humble and always depending on God.   If you're wrestl...

God repeatedly describes us as "sheep," and Christ as our Shepherd.   We need to be led and guided, because by nature, we wander astray and are unaware of the dangers around us.   Christ is the remedy for our fallen condition: God laid all our sins on Him, and we have been redeemed.   He provides all the spiritual sustenance we need.   His sheep know His voice, and we are to follow Him. VF-2560 Is...

You can't navigate the Bible without dealing with the subject of death, dying, and eternal life.   If rightly understood, it's the most faith-inspiring, faith-building recognition that God has a plan for you, and life doesn't end when you die.   In getting to know Christ beyond the superficial level, your fears about death can be settled. Psalm 23 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott...

The need for covering for sin goes back as far as Adam and Eve, where an animal had to be slain to cover them.   The book of Leviticus spells out that the only atonement for sin is through sacrifice and the spilling of blood.   Each of the sacrifices was a type that pointed to Christ.   When Christ fulfilled the law with His sacrificial death and His Resurrection, the need for blood to be spilled...

America at its inception was a nation built on God's word.   Every historical detail reveals God's gracious hand of providence on a people who were the apple of His eye.   As we look back, we can see just how far we've drifted from the principles, mindset, and ideologies of those who fought to birth this nation into existence.   250 years later, the question of our future is this: are we a country...

Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, rebuked the priests and the people for their indifference to God and their defection from His ways.   God promised that if they would stop robbing Him and would turn back to Him, He would pour out a blessing they could not contain.   Malachi also prophesied that God would send His messenger, Christ, who would be a refining fire and the Sun of righteo...

The word "mystery", if we understand its Biblical use and more specifically its use by the apostle Paul in the book of Colossians, is not something cryptic that we can't know or understand; it's revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ: the mind-boggling thing that we can be saved by something that happened over 2,000 years ago!   VF-2275 Colossians 1:24-29 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at P...

There is only one ministry in the church, and that is being a servant of God. God is the one who makes men and women into ministers; we do not choose it ourselves, and we are not to judge His choice. Paul suffered afflictions for his association with Christ and the preaching of the Word, but he rejoiced. Suffering is part of the process of being made into a man or woman of God. VF-2274 Colossians...

Because of the fall, we are all born alienated from God, which includes being alienated from the image of God and the knowledge of God. God has to reconcile our conscience, our heart and its affections, and our will in order to bring us back to Him. If we continue in the faith, He will be able to present us holy, unpolluted, and having no guilt attached to us before Him in heaven. VF-2273 Colossia...

Just as God created all things, He has reconciled all things to Himself. That doesn't mean that all will be saved, but rather that Christ's sacrifice at the cross made peace, making it possible for us to become friends of God instead of enemies. From that moment on, a change began to occur in those who hear and respond. This change is not merely a disposition of an individual, nor their legal rela...

You can be a Christian and stay at the surface, not recognizing that all the fullness of God dwells in Christ. But learning about Christ in His relation to the Father, to His creation, and to the church helps us to understand what He should mean to all Christians, and why He is supreme. Colossians 1:18-19 VF-2271 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches f...

The purpose of the church is to spread the message of the gospel and to make learners. We have a record of the disciples proclaiming that message first to Jerusalem, then to Judaea and Samaria, and then to the world. Those who heard it would then go back to their homelands and tell what they heard. Colossians 1:18 VF-2270 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott...