West Salem Baptist Church

(Mark 8:5) "And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod."  Have you ever wondered why Jesus said both the  leaven  of Herod and the Pharisees? I believe it was simply because both sought the praise and approval of men over and above an obedience to God and his Word. The  "leaven"  spoken of in the above verse is a corruption of the mind and heart through pride and selfishness. It doesn't take much carnality to think like a self-centered person. Therefore, two types of leaven must be avoided.  1)  Leaven of Hypocrisy and Pride . Because of these two leavens the Pharisees were lazy, puffed up, and doctrinally corrupt, refusing to repent and submit themselves to God's Word. Today, we still have people who reject God's authority and Word for the popularity and comfort of being accepted by men. This leaven causes many to be deceived by putting too much emphasis on the outward rather ...

    ( Hosea 4:16) “For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer:” The term “backslider” was not invented by man, but rather God to describe anyone who has slipped back into their old sinful ways of carnality. In other words, they once were people who walked with God, but for one reason or another they are now filled with the flesh and walking again in their old ways. (Prov. 14:14) “A backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways.” The most dangerous place to be as a Christian is in a selfish self-centered place and backslidden away from the Lord. Why? Because when someone is backslidden, they are hard to reach, hard to talk to, and even harder toward God’s Word, for every backslider thinks that he/she has a good reason for why they are in their backslidden place and frame of mind. Usually people are backslidden  because of an offense, or some discouragement, or possibly the result of a trial that caused them to quit,...

(Mark 7:20-23)  “And he said, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man .” We as believers need to protect our hearts above all else, for the heart will either lead you into sin or away from it. There is no such thing as a sin gene! Man is no more predisposed to be a thief  than he is to be an adulterer or homosexual. Sin is always a choice and never does God say in His Word that it’s natures fault . (Pr. 4:23) says: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” 1) The Heart is part of our Human Nature . So, it needs to be given over to Christ, controlled by the Holy Spirit, and fed God’s Word,  or it will produce the above sins on its own. The heart is not naturally good, but rather evil by nature. (...

(Judges 16:28) "And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."  In  (Heb. 11:32) Samson is immortalized for his faith, but just what type of faith is he immortalized for? All of Sampson's life he was considered under what is called a Nazarite vow. He was to abstain from intoxicating drinks, he was not to cut his hair nor touch anything dead, and he was to be holy and consecrated to the Lord, but as we read about his life in the Word of God, he wasn’t real faithful to the keeping of his vows.  So where was his faith ? Well, Samson was honored because God’s Spirit was his power, and although he lived unrighteously, he did repent of his sin at the end of his life and glorified God. Sometimes trials in this life are brought by God to bring us back to faith in Him again. Many times, we as stubborn Chri...