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

Just before God brought the judgment of exile upon Judah, the people were profaning and desecrating His temple by worshiping unclean animals, Tammuz the Assyrian fertility god, and the sun inside of it.   This was the last straw for God.   This message is an overview of the book of Ezekiel.   The whole book is needed to understand why God punished His people. Ezekiel VF-2553 Watch, Listen and Lear...

The book of Daniel is necessary to understand the events in the book of Revelation.   Daniel prophesied about historical events that came to pass hundreds of years later, as well as events yet to come in the last days.   His prophecies about successive kingdoms in history have been so accurate that we ought to take his end-time prophecies seriously. Daniel VF-2552 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at P...

God used the prophet Jeremiah to deliver a message to the southern kingdom of Judah that no one wanted to hear: "The agreement I made with their fathers is broken and cancelled." History shows that God kept His word. He brought Judah into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. This contradicts everything that's being proclaimed about modern-day Israel and the people that live there today. While there...

God was longsuffering with the children of Israel, but eventually, He had enough.   They defaulted on the land He had promised them, they did not keep the covenant, and they would not turn back to Him.   Just as God judged Nineveh when they would not heed His warnings, He had to punish His own people when they rejected Him.   Our own country needs to turn back to God today.   We might wonder how l...

Micah was a true prophet of God amongst many false prophets. He preached the unpopular message that there is judgment and punishment for sin, and for abandoning your God. The false prophets were deliberately blind to rampant sin. They ingratiated themselves to the rich and affluent, and only spoke good and positive words for financial profit. They saw no connection between their behavior and the i...

Part of understanding the holiness of God is being aware that He has placed a deposit of His peace in our hearts, which gives us the capacity to pursue peace with all. This awareness allows us to get real with God and keeps us from falling away from the faith. VF-2208 Hebrews 12:12-17 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Center in Glendale....

God chastens us as a loving parent trains and teaches a child, sometimes for correction and sometimes for prevention. It is not punishment; it is something He has to do for our benefit to conform us to the image and likeness of Christ so that we may be partakers of His holiness in eternity. There is no pleasure in chastisement, but He does it out of love, and we will come through it transformed an...

Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul prayed that the God of peace may wholly sanctify us upon Christ's return, and until then that He would watch over us and preserve us. We are not sinless; the flesh is at war with the Spirit, and there is the possibility we will succumb to temptation, but when we take a step back to God, He is quick to meet us. The finishing process will not be completed in our li...

Not only has God saved us through the shed blood of His son Jesus Christ, He is actively in the process of changing us into His image and likeness. The process He uses is not meant to change us on the outside, but rather a lifelong catheterizing process where He gets straight to the heart. As long as we remain yielded open vessels, He will do the work that's needed for us to be able to see Him. VF...

We don't find God; He chose us from among those He didn't choose before the world was formed. The purpose of the choice is that we could be holy and without blame when we finally come before Him in love. Becoming holy and blameless before Him is not a change we make in ourselves. He makes that change in us for our faith. VF-2204 Ephesians 1:4 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com...

Sanctification is not an emotional response or an outward imitation of what we think holiness is; it is an operation of the Holy Spirit transforming us from the inside, which then out rays His nature.   When Christlikeness shines forth on the outside, it is because it is radiating out from the changes God has made on the inside.   As we yield ourselves to Him in dedication, He renews our minds and...

Moving into the New Testament, we learn that we cannot apply a singular definition to holiness and sanctification. In Jesus' high priestly prayer, we see that sanctification is not something we endeavor to do, but rather a passive act on our part; something that is initiated by God to conform us to the image and likeness of Christ as we are faithing in Him.   VF-2202   John 17 Watch, Listen and Le...

When you are doing something for God, the way you do it is more important than getting the job done. You do it His way because the instruction of the Lord is holy. When David first tried to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, it was not according to God's instruction and resulted in the death of Uzza for touching the Ark. When David put God first and followed His instructions and preparati...

In the midst of laying out God's instructions to His people, there is the story of an incident God used to make an example. The son of an Israelitish woman was condemned to death for cursing the name of God. God made it clear that He would not tolerate blasphemy; He demands respect. Failing to recognize that God is who He says He is, especially when we have His presence with us, is like a knife pi...

God reveals His names in the Bible through His actions and by declaring His name. When He spoke to Moses, God names Himself the LORD that sanctifies. God deigns to bend down and speak to earthy people and to save them. As we go in faith, our relationship with God changes, and He reveals Himself in our needs; when God sets you apart, He begins a work in you, and He will finish it.   VF-2199 Watch,...

In the two events of God providing water from the rock, Moses obeyed God's instructions the first time, but disobeyed the second time and wrested God's word with severe consequences.   This obedience and disobedience illustrates a dimension of understanding holiness and sanctification.   God doesn't want us to treat His words casually; His word is holy.   Looking at holiness and sanctification, ou...

To shed more light on "holiness" and "sanctification", this message takes us into the book of Leviticus.   Rather than reading it as a set of rules in legalism, the bird's eye view approach allows us to see what God is calling "holy": that which is of Him, pleasing to Him, and set apart for the purpose of worship to Him versus that which God is calling "common," profane, pagan, and not of Him. VF-...

The subject of holiness and sanctification cannot be treated apart from God and His presence.   The ground around the burning bush and Mount Sinai was hallowed because of His presence.   In the Old Testament there are degrees of holiness, but in the New Testament and today, God's Spirit is in us making us holy.   Sanctification is not the act or process of justification; it is the activity of the...

Studying grammar, particularly antonyms like "common" and "profane", helps us better understand the original meanings of the Hebrew words related to holiness and sanctification.   We have a language problem, where holiness is made synonymous with perfection; it cannot mean perfection or sinlessness except when speaking of God and His attributes.   When God declares people holy, they are set apart...

Breaking down the basic Hebrew verbs shows us that God does the sanctifying and it is a process, not a state we remain in consistently. It is started here on earth and wholly completed in His presence. VF-2194 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 may make...

Hebrews declares that without following peace with all mankind and holiness, no man shall see the Lord.   Holiness is a complicated subject, but a desire to see God will lead you to pull apart the word meanings.   This message adds another layer to the foundation for understanding the words. VF-2193 Hebrews 12:14 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches f...

What the Bible means by the word "sanctification" is difficult to understand in English because different streams of words were used simultaneously to translate these concepts.   It is faulty understanding and bad theology that equate holiness with morality or perfection; the meaning in the original languages was to be set apart by God for His purposes.   Rightly understood, it is not something we...

To understand the importance of the Resurrection and why it is worth following the proofs, there must first be an acknowledgement of our fallen condition, in need of divine pardon, and a recognition of our immortality. If Christ is not risen, our preaching, first, is vain. Our faith and hope of forgiveness and resurrection are also in vain. No "logical explanations" can explain away the transforma...

There are no new truths, just the ones that have brought millions of people to the faith as they encounter the risen Christ. They are radically and cataclysmically changed by the same power that raised Christ from the dead. 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....

Another look at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the perspective of the Old Testament Scriptures, all of which pointed to and were fulfilled by Him. 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 may make reservations to attend a live service, leave a prayer re...