What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe? Air is the atmosphere, as opposed to the higher regions of the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 9:2; 16:17 ). The atmosphere of earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth’s gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. This word occurs once as the rendering of the Hebrew ruah ( Job 41:16 ); elsewhere it is the rendering of shamaiyim, usually translated as “heavens.” The expression “to speak into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9) is a proverb denoting to speak in vain, as to “beat the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) denotes to labor in vain. In the Old Testament “air” is used (with one exception) in the phrase “fowl” or “fowls (birds) of the air.” The Hebrew word is usually rendered “heaven” or “heavens.”
In accordance with ancient Hebrew cosmogony, the sky was a solid dome (firmament) stretching over the earth as a covering. In the phrase above, the air means the space between the earth and the firmament. In Job 41:16 “air” renders ruach, “breath,” “wind,” “spirit.” The scales of the leviathan are so closely joined together that no air can penetrate. In the New Testament the phrase “birds (or fowls) of the air,” occurs ten (10) times. Behold, this simply reproduces the Hebraism noticed above. Apart from this expression “air” in the King James Version represents aer, which explicitly denotes the atmosphere which surrounds us. The expression “beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) means to “deal blows that do not get home”—that miss the mark. In his conflict with the lower life represented by the body, Paul compares himself to a boxer who aims with unerring accuracy at his opponent. That is, no stroke is lost.
What the Bible Says About Air I Breathe
What Scripture Says About Air
In the New Testament, we notice that Paul makes use of the phrase “speaking into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9) in reference to the unintelligible utterances of those who “spake with tongues.” In the expression, “prince of the powers of the air” (Ephesians 2:2 KJV) we find an echo of the current belief that the air was the dwelling place of spirits, especially of evil spirits.
Breathe: The Lord God Almighty Breathes Life into Humanity
Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Breathing is a very powerful Biblical image. In Genesis, the Lord God Almighty creates humanity from the clay of the earth. Yet the human being is merely a lifeless work of clay pottery until the Lord God Almighty breathes into the nostrils of the human. Behold, it is that first breath that gives us life. Aside from the physical birth of life through breath is the even greater significance that the breath comes straight from the Lord God Almighty. Brethren, notice that the Lord God Almighty could use the winds of the earth or some other entity to feel our lungs but He did it directly and personally. Scripture further tells us that at the point of death that same breath returns to the Lord God Almighty (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Breath in the Bible is far more than the physical exchange of air in and out of the lungs. It’s one of the most profound symbols in Scripture. In both the New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew, breath is likened to or equated with God’s spirit.
What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe?
Genesis 2:7 – “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.“
Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.“
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.“
Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Psalm 104:1-35 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. …“
Group 1 – What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe
Acts 10:12 – “In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.“
Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Acts 2:1 – “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.”
Ephesians 2:1-2 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—“
Acts 2:1 – “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.“
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“
Psalm 150:1-6 – “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! …“
Group 2 – What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe
1 Corinthians 9:26 – “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.“
Job 27:1-23 – And Job again took up his discourse, and said: “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. …”
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“
Isaiah 24:4-6 – “The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.“
Group 3 – What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe
James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Isaiah 55:10 – “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,”
Job 12:7-10 – “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”
Psalm 6:5 – “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?“
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. …“
Group 4 – What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe
Leviticus 17:11 – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.“
Genesis 2:1-25 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up— …“
Job 31:15 – “Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?“
John 3:16-27 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. …“
Group 5 – What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe
1 John 5:19 – “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
Genesis 1:31 – “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.“
Genesis 1:26-27 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Jeremiah 2:7 – “And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.“
Colossians 2:1-23 – “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. …“
Group 6 – What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe
Deuteronomy 25:4 – “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”
Genesis 1:1-31 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …“
Ecclesiastes 12:7 – “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.“
Genesis 3:19 – “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Group 7 – What Does the Bible Say About Air I Breathe
Ephesians 5:8 – “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light“
2 Peter 3:10 – “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
Revelation 11:18 – “The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 – “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
John 5:29 – “And come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.“
John 6:40 – “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Discover Bible Verses About Air. Air is the atmosphere, as opposed to the higher regions of the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 9:2; 16:17 ). The atmosphere of earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth’s gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. This word occurs once as the rendering of the Hebrew ruah ( Job 41:16 ); elsewhere it is the rendering of shamaiyim, usually translated as “heavens.” The expression “to speak into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9) is a proverb denoting to speak in vain, as to “beat the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) denotes to labor in vain. In the Old Testament “air” is used (with one exception) in the phrase “fowl” or “fowls (birds) of the air.” The Hebrew word is usually rendered “heaven” or “heavens.”
In accordance with ancient Hebrew cosmogony, the sky was a solid dome (firmament) stretching over the earth as a covering. In the phrase above, the air means the space between the earth and the firmament. In Job 41:16 “air” renders ruach, “breath,” “wind,” “spirit.” The scales of the leviathan are so closely joined together that no air can penetrate. In the New Testament the phrase “birds (or fowls) of the air,” occurs ten (10) times. Behold, this simply reproduces the Hebraism noticed above. Apart from this expression “air” in the King James Version represents aer, which explicitly denotes the atmosphere which surrounds us. The expression “beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) means to “deal blows that do not get home”—that miss the mark. In his conflict with the lower life represented by the body, Paul compares himself to a boxer who aims with unerring accuracy at his opponent. That is, no stroke is lost.
Bible Verses About Air
What Scripture Says About Air
In the New Testament, we notice that Paul makes use of the phrase “speaking into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9) in reference to the unintelligible utterances of those who “spake with tongues.” In the expression, “prince of the powers of the air” (Ephesians 2:2 KJV) we find an echo of the current belief that the air was the dwelling place of spirits, especially of evil spirits.
Breathe: The Lord God Almighty Breathes Life into Humanity
Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Breathing is a very powerful Biblical image. In Genesis, the Lord God Almighty creates humanity from the clay of the earth. Yet the human being is merely a lifeless work of clay pottery until the Lord God Almighty breathes into the nostrils of the human. Behold, it is that first breath that gives us life. Aside from the physical birth of life through breath is the even greater significance that the breath comes straight from the Lord God Almighty. Brethren, notice that the Lord God Almighty could use the winds of the earth or some other entity to feel our lungs but He did it directly and personally. Scripture further tells us that at the point of death that same breath returns to the Lord God Almighty (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Breath in the Bible is far more than the physical exchange of air in and out of the lungs. It’s one of the most profound symbols in Scripture. In both the New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew, breath is likened to or equated with God’s spirit.
Bible Verses About Air
Genesis 2:7 – “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.“
Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.“
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.“
Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Psalm 104:1-35 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. …“
Group 1 – Bible Verses About Air
Acts 10:12 – “In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.“
Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Acts 2:1 – “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.”
Ephesians 2:1-2 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—“
Acts 2:1 – “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.“
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“
Psalm 150:1-6 – “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! …“
Group 2 – Bible Verses About Air
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“
Isaiah 24:4-6 – “The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.“
1 Corinthians 9:26 – “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.“
Job 27:1-23 – And Job again took up his discourse, and said: “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. …”
Group 3 – Bible Verses About Air
James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Isaiah 55:10 – “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,”
Job 12:7-10 – “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”
Psalm 6:5 – “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?“
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. …“
Group 4 – Bible Verses About Air
Leviticus 17:11 – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.“
Genesis 2:1-25 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up— …“
Job 31:15 – “Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?“
John 3:16-27 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. …“
Group 5 – Bible Verses About Air
Jeremiah 2:7 – “And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.“
Colossians 2:1-23 – “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. …“
1 John 5:19 – “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
Genesis 1:31 – “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.“
Genesis 1:26-27 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Group 6 – Bible Verses About Air
Deuteronomy 25:4 – “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”
Genesis 1:1-31 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …“
Ecclesiastes 12:7 – “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.“
Genesis 3:19 – “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Group 7 – Bible Verses About Air
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 – “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
John 5:29 – “And come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.“
John 6:40 – “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Ephesians 5:8 – “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light“
2 Peter 3:10 – “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
Revelation 11:18 – “The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
What Does the Bible Say About Air? Air is the atmosphere, as opposed to the higher regions of the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 9:2; 16:17 ). The atmosphere of earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth’s gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. This word occurs once as the rendering of the Hebrew ruah ( Job 41:16 ); elsewhere it is the rendering of shamaiyim, usually translated as “heavens.” The expression “to speak into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9) is a proverb denoting to speak in vain, as to “beat the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) denotes to labor in vain. In the Old Testament “air” is used (with one exception) in the phrase “fowl” or “fowls (birds) of the air.” The Hebrew word is usually rendered “heaven” or “heavens.”
In accordance with ancient Hebrew cosmogony, the sky was a solid dome (firmament) stretching over the earth as a covering. In the phrase above, the air means the space between the earth and the firmament. In Job 41:16 “air” renders ruach, “breath,” “wind,” “spirit.” The scales of the leviathan are so closely joined together that no air can penetrate. In the New Testament the phrase “birds (or fowls) of the air,” occurs ten (10) times. Behold, this simply reproduces the Hebraism noticed above. Apart from this expression “air” in the King James Version represents aer, which explicitly denotes the atmosphere which surrounds us. The expression “beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) means to “deal blows that do not get home”—that miss the mark. In his conflict with the lower life represented by the body, Paul compares himself to a boxer who aims with unerring accuracy at his opponent. That is, no stroke is lost.
What the Bible Says About Air
What Scripture Says About Air
In the New Testament, we notice that Paul makes use of the phrase “speaking into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9) in reference to the unintelligible utterances of those who “spake with tongues.” In the expression, “prince of the powers of the air” (Ephesians 2:2 KJV) we find an echo of the current belief that the air was the dwelling place of spirits, especially of evil spirits.
Breathe: The Lord God Almighty Breathes Life into Humanity
Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Breathing is a very powerful Biblical image. In Genesis, the Lord God Almighty creates humanity from the clay of the earth. Yet the human being is merely a lifeless work of clay pottery until the Lord God Almighty breathes into the nostrils of the human. Behold, it is that first breath that gives us life. Aside from the physical birth of life through breath is the even greater significance that the breath comes straight from the Lord God Almighty. Brethren, notice that the Lord God Almighty could use the winds of the earth or some other entity to feel our lungs but He did it directly and personally. Scripture further tells us that at the point of death that same breath returns to the Lord God Almighty (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Breath in the Bible is far more than the physical exchange of air in and out of the lungs. It’s one of the most profound symbols in Scripture. In both the New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew, breath is likened to or equated with God’s spirit.
What Does the Bible Say About Air?
Genesis 2:7 – “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.“
Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.“
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.“
Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Psalm 104:1-35 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire. He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. …“
Group 1 – What Does the Bible Say About Air
Acts 10:12 – “In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.“
Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Acts 2:1 – “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.”
Ephesians 2:1-2 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—“
Acts 2:1 – “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.“
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“
Psalm 150:1-6 – “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! …“
Group 2 – What Does the Bible Say About Air
1 Corinthians 9:26 – “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.“
Job 27:1-23 – And Job again took up his discourse, and said: “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. …”
1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“
Isaiah 24:4-6 – “The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.“
Group 3 – What Does the Bible Say About Air
Psalm 6:5 – “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?“
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. …“
James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Isaiah 55:10 – “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,”
Job 12:7-10 – “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”
Group 4 – What Does the Bible Say About Air
Job 31:15 – “Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?“
John 3:16-27 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. …“
Leviticus 17:11 – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.“
Genesis 2:1-25 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up— …“
Group 5 – What Does the Bible Say About Air
1 John 5:19 – “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
Genesis 1:31 – “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.“
Genesis 1:26-27 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Jeremiah 2:7 – “And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.“
Colossians 2:1-23 – “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. …“
Group 6 – What Does the Bible Say About Air
Ecclesiastes 12:7 – “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.“
Genesis 3:19 – “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Deuteronomy 25:4 – “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”
Genesis 1:1-31 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …“
Group 7 – What Does the Bible Say About Air
Ephesians 5:8 – “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light“
2 Peter 3:10 – “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
Revelation 11:18 – “The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 – “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
John 5:29 – “And come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.“
John 6:40 – “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance? In as much as we can live wonderful, joyous, and beautiful moments in life, we can as well encounter and live unspeakable and often unexplainable hardship, loss, and tragedy. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” Notice that the Lord God did not say through prophet Isaiah “if” we go through “fire and flood;” He spoke of “when.” As such it is clear that there are moments in life when we are likely going to face adversity. However, the Lord God reassures us that even in the face of adversity He will not forsake nor abandon us. In the face of adversity, the Lord God strengthens His people for victory.
What is Adversity? Adversity refers to a difficult or unpleasant situation. It comes in many forms and to all. Matthew 5:45 says, “so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].” Sometimes, trouble in life is of our own making. The tragic aftermath of King David’s affair with Bathsheba was the result of his sin of lust. However, prior to becoming king, David was unfairly maligned and hunted by King Saul, not because of any sin on his part, but because of King Saul’s fear and insecurity. Similarly, bad things sometimes happen to good people for reasons which are beyond our understanding.
What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance?
When the days of adversity come, it is easy to lose hope and feel overwhelmed or even discouraged. Amazingly, the Bible has a lot to teach us about the subject of adversity that can provide perspective and hope to those living through life’s greatest storms of hardship, loss, and tragedy. Behold, one of the greatest misconceptions about the Christian faith is that, for those who Accept Jesus Christ as their Personal Lord and Savior, their life is free from the storms of hardship, loss, tragedy, and all forms of adversity. Brethren, such is not the case. In fact, Christians are never exempt from fire and flood. However, the advantage Christians have in the face of adversity is the promise that they will never go through such alone. They have God who loves and cares for them, is for them, and is with them in and through all forms of adversity. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 says, Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Isaiah 43:1-2 says, “Do not fear, for I (the Lord) have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.” Although a person becomes a New Creation in Christ by His Divine saving grace, thereby obtaining Eternal Hope, a Christian will still encounter adversity.
What the Scriptures Say About Adversity
Christians are not exempted from sickness, maltreatment, and other forms of adversity. Behold, they also make mistakes, encounter loss, and lose friends as well as loved ones. As a matter of fact, adversity is a part of life, for the Christian as well as the non-believer. In addition, Jesus Christ explicitly warned His soon-to-be disciples of the cost of following Him. Matthew 16:24-25 says, Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Likewise, Jesus also promised that persecution would come to those who have makeup their minds to Follow Him. Matthew 5:10 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” John 15:18 says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.“ John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.“
Brothers and Sisters in the Faith, Following and Serving Jesus Christ has never been for the faint of heart. Throughout the Bible, many faithful servants of the Lord God Almighty faced adversity, were rejected, persecuted, and even killed for their faith. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,“ Matthew 5:44 says, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,“ Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.“
Is God with us in the Face of Adversity?
Yes, even in the face of adversity, the Lord God is with His children. He has promised never to leave nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5). Likewise, 1 Peter 4:12-14 says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” Notice that this was a reminder to Christians that, in spite of their affliction, they are never alone. Behold, the spirit of God rests upon them and will strengthen them in the midst of the different forms of adversity plaguing them.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:3-4). Thus, life is not guaranteed to be easy or pain-free. Nonetheless, the invitation from Christ still remains true: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The Bible teaches us that the Lord God sometimes uses adversity and hardship to grow, teach, and strengthen His children. Likewise, He often disciplines those He loves just as a good father will do to his children (Proverbs 29:15; Hebrews 12:6). There are times that discipline can come in the form of adversity.
More Biblical Facts About Adversity
James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” In other words, prophet Malachi compared God’s love to a refiner’s fire or fuller’s soap (Malachi 3:2-4). God can use the friction of a strong soap to cleanse us from anything that does not produce holiness. Likewise, He can use the fires of life to melt away our impurities and make us pure through Christ His beloved Son. Note that the Lord God is not the author of every bad thing that happens in this life. Nevertheless, Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.“
What others mean for evil, the Lord God often turns to good for those who love Him. Genesis 50:20 says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Likewise, Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Notice that these plans may include momentary adversity. However, the affliction of Christians is temporal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). In the Christian race, life’s trials produce endurance (Romans 5:3-4), and endurance in Christ is what leads us to eternal life. Hebrews 10:36 says, “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
Some Bible Characters Who Went Through Adversity
In Christ, we do not need to be afraid of adversity. Rather, we should be encouraged and inspired by the faith of men like Job who was upright and unwavering in his commitment to God despite having lost everything – his children, wealth, and eventually his health. In the face of all these adversities, Job concluded “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face” (Job 13:15). Notice that in the face of all these tremendous tragedies, Job’s hope is still in the Lord God, his maker.
The Bible also recounts the story of prophet Habakkuk, who, through difficult times, wrote, “even if the fig tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit on the vines, if the yield of the olive fails, and the fields produce no food, even if the flock disappears from the fold, and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will triumph in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like deer’s feet, and has me walk on my high places” (Habakkuk 3:17-19). Some other people in the Bible who went through tremendous adversities yet still had their trust in the Lord God Almighty are Moses, Esther, David, Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, Paul, and the other Prophets, Apostles and Servants of Jesus Christ.
What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance?
Proverbs 24:10 – “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.“
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;“
1 Peter 5:10 – “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 – But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Philippians 4:12-13 – “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.“
James 1:2-4 – “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Group 1 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
Revelation 21:4 – “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.“
James 5:11 – “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.“
2 Chronicles 15:7 – “But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
1 Peter 5:8 – “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.“
Proverbs 3:4-6 – “So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Group 2 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Proverbs 17:17 – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.“
Isaiah 45:7 – “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
2 Corinthians 1:4 – “Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.“
Proverbs 3:4-5 – “So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
James 1:12 – “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
Proverbs 3:4-5 – “So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
1 Peter 4:12-13 – “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.“
Group 3 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Isaiah 43:18 – “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.”
Romans 5:1-5 – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 8:31 – “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?“
1 Peter 4:1 – “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,”
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.“
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.“
Group 4 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Proverbs 15:32 – “Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.”
Ecclesiastes 10:10 – “If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.“
James 1:13 – Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
Isaiah 40:2 – “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.“
Psalm 118:5-6 – “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?“
Job 2:10 – But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Group 5 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
1 Corinthians 15:26 – “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
Isaiah 30:20 – “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.”
Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.“
Ecclesiastes 7:14 – “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.“
Mark 11:23 – “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.“
Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Group 6 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
1 Corinthians 14:33 – “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,“
Psalm 119:67 – “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”
Revelation 1:1 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,“
Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,“
Hebrews 10:26-31 – “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ...”
Group 7 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Hebrews 9:27 – “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,“
1 Corinthians 9:25-27 – “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.“
Isaiah 65:8 – Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.
Colossians 1:24 – “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,“
Isaiah 35:4 – Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 58:10-11 – “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.“
Group 8 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.“
Hebrews 11:1-40 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. …“
Exodus 3:7 – Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
Joshua 1:5 – “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.“
Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“
Group 9 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Isaiah 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.“
John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Psalm 27:1-3 – “Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.“
Psalm 23:4 – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.“
Hebrews 13:1-25 – “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” …“
Group 10 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.“
Psalm 9:9 – “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 – “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”
1 Peter 5:6-7 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.“
James 1:2 – “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,“
Psalm 50:15 – “And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
Psalm 34:1-22 – “Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. ...”
Group 11 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.“
Titus 3:9-11 – “But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”
Ecclesiastes 7:13 – “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?“
Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
1 Peter 5:8-9 – “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.“
John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Group 12 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Job 15:1-35 – “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good? But you are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God. For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. …“
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 – “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”
Colossians 1:11-12 – “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
1 Peter 1:6-7 – “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Group 13 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Daniel 1:1-10 – “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. …“
1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.“
Psalm 34:17 – “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.”
Job 1:1-22 – “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. …“
Group 14 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.“
1 Peter 1:6 – “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,“
Nehemiah 1:1-11 – “The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, …“
Isaiah 1:1-31 – “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. …“
Group 15 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Hebrews 12:1-29 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. …“
1 Samuel 21:1-30:31 – “Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. …“
Group 16 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
2 Corinthians 12:17 – “Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you?“
Genesis 39:20-23 – “And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”
Mark 13:13 – “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.“
Psalm 46:1 – “To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 – “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; …“
Group 17 – What Does the Bible Say About Struggles and Perseverance
Psalm 25:2 – “O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.“
Job 42:1-17 – “Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; …“
Psalm 9:9-10 – “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalm 145:14 – “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
John 3:16-17 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.“
Discover our Sermon On HIV / AIDS. Basically, all disease is a judgment by God. Behold, Adam and Eve did not know any form of corruption before the Fall of Humanity. When the Lord God pronounced judgment on Adam, death entered the world (Genesis 3:19; Romans 5:12). All sickness, from the common cold to cancer, is part of the curse, and we who live in a cursed world are subject to decay. Therefore, yes, AIDS / HIV and other STDs (along with all other diseases) are part of the Lord God’s judgment in a cursed world. As a matter of fact, the Bible explicitly teaches that our choices bear consequences. Brethren, whatever a man sows, that’s what he reaps (Galatians 6:7-8). Righteousness brings blessings: “Keep my commands and you will live” (Proverbs 7:2), and sin brings judgment: “He who sows wickedness reaps trouble” (Proverbs 22:8).
One of our main problems is that we desire total freedom to choose our actions, but we want them consequence-free. The reality is when we choose a course of action, we automatically choose its corresponding result. Scripture warns that sexual sin carries a built-in judgment from God. “He who sins sexually sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). “God will judge . . . all the sexually immoral” (Hebrews 13:4). Behold, it cannot be denied or argued that living according to biblical principles (sexual fidelity within marriage) drastically or significantly reduces one’s chances of contracting HIV / AIDS and other STDs. Romans 1:18-32 is an explicit indictment of the heathen, idolatrous world. It begins with these words: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men.”
Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Romans 1:18-32 teaches that the sin of homosexuality has its roots in a denial of God. Notice that it brings about shame, degradation, and a “due penalty.” Since STDs such as HIV / AIDS are attendant, for the most part, upon sexual sin, they must be considered as part of the “penalty” which reveals “the wrath of God” against the wickedness of men (Romans 1:18). A key phrase is “God gave them over,” which occurs three times. God gave them over to sexual impurity (Romans 1:24); to shameful lusts (Romans 1:26); and to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28). This means that mankind choose to go its own way, and the Lord God allowed it. Granting mankind the freedom to go even further astray was itself a punishment for previous sin.
It is worth noting that none of these is to say that everyone with AIDS / HIV is guilty of sexual sin or that homosexuals are beyond redemption. Tragically, some people have been infected with AIDS / HIV by blood transfusions, by innocent contact with another person who has AIDS / HIV, and most sadly, by being conceived in the womb of a mother who has AIDS / HIV. HIV/AIDS also called human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, lives in the blood and in some body fluids. To get HIV, one of these fluids from someone with HIV has to get into your blood. The body fluids that contain enough HIV to infect someone are semen, vaginal fluids, blood, breast milk, and the lining inside the anus.
Ways that HIV/AIDS is Contracted
Most people who get HIV get it through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment. The virus can enter the bloodstream through cuts and sores in the skin, by injecting into the bloodstream with needles or injecting equipment that’s been shared with other people, through the thin lining of the mouth and eyes, and through the thin lining on or inside the anus, vaginal, and genitals. HIV infects the immune system, causing progressive damage and eventually making it unable to fight off infections.
The Christian Response or Attitude Towards those Suffering from HIV / AIDS
As Christians, what should be our attitude toward those who are suffering from AIDS / HIV? Galatians 4:14 says, “and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.” The Christian response to AIDS / HIV should always be one of love, grace, and mercy. Irrespective of how the disease was contracted, our responsibility is to be ministers of love, grace, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. We do not have the authority to proclaim that an AIDS / HIV contraction is a specific judgment from God on a specific sin in a person’s life. We are to do good to all (Luke 10:29-37), and the gospel we share is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He showed compassion, love, and forgiveness to everyone. He touched and healed lepers who were shunned and condemned by society because of their disease—much as are AIDS / HIV sufferers today (Luke 5:12, 13). To a woman caught in the act of adultery He said, “Neither do I condemn you. . . . Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). We are to show the same love and compassion to others—no matter their sins or lifestyle—that Jesus demonstrated. Jesus Christ says in John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” If we want forgiveness, we need to forgive others. Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” AIDS / HIV is not always contracted by immoral behavior, like through blood transfusions, unsanitary needles, or genetics.
Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—“
Micah 6:13 – “Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.“
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,“
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
John 9:1-41 – As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” …
Exodus 23:25 – “You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”
Matthew 9:12 – But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”
Luke 13:16 – “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Matthew 9:35 – “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.“
Group 1 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Psalm 107:17 – “Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;“
Romans 1:27 – “and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
Deuteronomy 28:35 – “The LORD will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.”
2 Samuel 12:15 – “Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.“
2 Chronicles 21:18 – “And after all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.”
Jeremiah 30:12 – “For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.“
Job 2:7 – “So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.“
Job 34:6 – “in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’“
Jeremiah 8:18 – “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me.”
Jeremiah 10:19 – Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.”
Group 2 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
James 5:14 – “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
Hebrews 13:4 – “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.“
Revelation 6:1-17 – “Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ...”
Group 3 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
1 Corinthians 6:18 – “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.“
Romans 8:1-39 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. …“
Acts 12:23 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
John 8:1-59 – “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, …“
Group 4 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
James 5:1-20 – “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. …“
Hosea 2:1-4:19 – Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.” “Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband— that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ …
Group 5 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Psalm 38:1-22 – “A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, …“
Lamentations 3:1-4:22 – “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; …“
Psalm 51:1-19 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. …“
Group 6 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Exodus 15:24-26 – And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Deuteronomy 24:16 – “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.”
Job 20:1-29 – “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: “Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me. I hear censure that insults me, and out of my understanding a spirit answers me. Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? …“
Group 7 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
1 John 1:1-10 – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. …“
Genesis 18:1-19:38 – And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” …
Group 8 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Numbers 14:18 – “‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’“
2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
1 Corinthians 3:15-17 – “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
Hebrews 12:1-13:25 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. …“
Group 9 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Psalm 91:1-16 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, …“
Colossians 1:1-29 – “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, …“
Colossians 3:1-25 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …“
Group 10 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Ephesians 6:12 – “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 5:1-33 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. …“
1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.“
1 Peter 1:1-2:25 – “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. …“
Group 11 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
1 Corinthians 10:8 – “We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.“
1 Corinthians 15:42-58 – “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. …“
Acts 12:23-24 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. But the word of God increased and multiplied.”
Galatians 5:12-6:8 – “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. …“
Group 12 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Romans 5:8-7:25 – “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ...”
Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-7:40 – “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. …“
Group 13 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
1 John 1:4 – “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.“
1 John 3:16 – “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.“
Proverbs 6:20-7:5 – “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. …“
Revelation 1:1-20 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. …“
Group 14 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Romans 1:18-2:16 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, …“
1 Corinthians 12:9 – “To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,“
Colossians 2:1-23 – “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. ...”
Group 15 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
John 8:32 – “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 21:11-22 – “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. …“
Luke 19:16 – “The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’“
Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Luke 17:11-19 – “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ...”
Group 16 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Matthew 8:1-9:38 – “When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, …“
Luke 12:47 – “And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.“
Luke 10:29-37 – But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. …
Group 17 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Matthew 4:7 – Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Mark 1:24-32 – “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. …
Hosea 4:4 – “Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.”
Matthew 19:1-30 – “Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? …“
Group 18 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Lamentations 4:4 – “The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them.“
Ezekiel 16:49-50 – “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.“
Lamentations 3:39-66 – Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; …
Jeremiah 16:1-21 – The word of the Lord came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth. “For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of mourning, …
Group 19 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Proverbs 17:7-21 – “Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince. A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers. Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him. ...”
Proverbs 14:32-35 – “The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death. Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.“
Jeremiah 8:11-12 – “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 30:1-24 – “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.” These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ...”
Group 20 – Sermon On HIV / AIDS
Jeremiah 4:1-5:31 – “If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’ …
Proverbs 13:11-18 – “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. …“
Group 21 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.“
Proverbs 6:1-7:27 – “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler. …“
Psalm 126:5-6 – “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Proverbs 11:5-17 – “The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead. With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. …“
Group 22 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
Psalm 34:21-22 – “Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”
Psalm 69:21-32 – “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. …“
Psalm 119:9-119 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. ...”
Psalm 34:10-22 – “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. ...”
Group 23 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
2 Kings 19:1-20:21 – “As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” …“
2 Chronicles 35:20-24 – “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah. …”
Group 24 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
2 Kings 9:1-37 – “Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tie up your garments, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.” So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. …“
1 Kings 21:20-29 – “Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, ...”
Group 25 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
2 Samuel 20:1-21:22 – “Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!” So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood. Then the king said to Amasa, …“
2 Samuel 24:1-25 – “Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. …“
Group 26 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
2 Samuel 7:14 – “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,”
2 Samuel 12:10-14 – Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, ...”
Joshua 2:24-4:22 – And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. …
Group 27 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
Deuteronomy 24:4 – “Then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
2 Samuel 3:14-39 – “Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned. And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ...”
Numbers 14:1-16:50 – “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. …“
Group 28 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
Leviticus 18:1-20:27 – And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. …
Exodus 4:23 – And I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Exodus 15:4 – “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.“
Group 29 – Sermon On AIDS / HIV
Leviticus 21:1-24 – And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. …
Genesis 26:1-35 – “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” …“
What is the Christian Response to HIV / AIDS? Basically, all disease is a judgment by God. Behold, Adam and Eve did not know any form of corruption before the Fall of Humanity. When the Lord God pronounced judgment on Adam, death entered the world (Genesis 3:19; Romans 5:12). All sickness, from the common cold to cancer, is part of the curse, and we who live in a cursed world are subject to decay. Therefore, yes, AIDS / HIV and other STDs (along with all other diseases) are part of the Lord God’s judgment in a cursed world. As a matter of fact, the Bible explicitly teaches that our choices bear consequences. Brethren, whatever a man sows, that’s what he reaps (Galatians 6:7-8). Righteousness brings blessings: “Keep my commands and you will live” (Proverbs 7:2), and sin brings judgment: “He who sows wickedness reaps trouble” (Proverbs 22:8).
One of our main problems is that we desire total freedom to choose our actions, but we want them consequence-free. The reality is when we choose a course of action, we automatically choose its corresponding result. Scripture warns that sexual sin carries a built-in judgment from God. “He who sins sexually sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). “God will judge . . . all the sexually immoral” (Hebrews 13:4). Behold, it cannot be denied or argued that living according to biblical principles (sexual fidelity within marriage) drastically or significantly reduces one’s chances of contracting HIV / AIDS and other STDs. Romans 1:18-32 is an explicit indictment of the heathen, idolatrous world. It begins with these words: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men.”
Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Romans 1:18-32 teaches that the sin of homosexuality has its roots in a denial of God. Notice that it brings about shame, degradation, and a “due penalty.” Since STDs such as HIV / AIDS are attendant, for the most part, upon sexual sin, they must be considered as part of the “penalty” which reveals “the wrath of God” against the wickedness of men (Romans 1:18). A key phrase is “God gave them over,” which occurs three times. God gave them over to sexual impurity (Romans 1:24); to shameful lusts (Romans 1:26); and to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28). This means that mankind choose to go its own way, and the Lord God allowed it. Granting mankind the freedom to go even further astray was itself a punishment for previous sin.
It is worth noting that none of these is to say that everyone with AIDS / HIV is guilty of sexual sin or that homosexuals are beyond redemption. Tragically, some people have been infected with AIDS / HIV by blood transfusions, by innocent contact with another person who has AIDS / HIV, and most sadly, by being conceived in the womb of a mother who has AIDS / HIV. HIV/AIDS also called human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, lives in the blood and in some body fluids. To get HIV, one of these fluids from someone with HIV has to get into your blood. The body fluids that contain enough HIV to infect someone are semen, vaginal fluids, blood, breast milk, and the lining inside the anus.
Ways that HIV/AIDS is Contracted
Most people who get HIV get it through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment. The virus can enter the bloodstream through cuts and sores in the skin, by injecting into the bloodstream with needles or injecting equipment that’s been shared with other people, through the thin lining of the mouth and eyes, and through the thin lining on or inside the anus, vaginal, and genitals. HIV infects the immune system, causing progressive damage and eventually making it unable to fight off infections.
The Christian Response or Attitude Towards those Suffering from HIV / AIDS
As Christians, what should be our attitude toward those who are suffering from AIDS / HIV? Galatians 4:14 says, “and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.” The Christian response to AIDS / HIV should always be one of love, grace, and mercy. Irrespective of how the disease was contracted, our responsibility is to be ministers of love, grace, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. We do not have the authority to proclaim that an AIDS / HIV contraction is a specific judgment from God on a specific sin in a person’s life. We are to do good to all (Luke 10:29-37), and the gospel we share is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He showed compassion, love, and forgiveness to everyone. He touched and healed lepers who were shunned and condemned by society because of their disease—much as are AIDS / HIV sufferers today (Luke 5:12, 13). To a woman caught in the act of adultery He said, “Neither do I condemn you. . . . Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). We are to show the same love and compassion to others—no matter their sins or lifestyle—that Jesus demonstrated. Jesus Christ says in John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” If we want forgiveness, we need to forgive others. Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” AIDS / HIV is not always contracted by immoral behavior, like through blood transfusions, unsanitary needles, or genetics.
Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—“
Micah 6:13 – “Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.“
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,“
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
John 9:1-41 – As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” …
Exodus 23:25 – “You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”
Matthew 9:12 – But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”
Luke 13:16 – “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Matthew 9:35 – “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.“
Group 1 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Psalm 107:17 – “Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;“
Romans 1:27 – “and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
Deuteronomy 28:35 – “The LORD will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.”
2 Samuel 12:15 – “Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.“
2 Chronicles 21:18 – “And after all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.”
Jeremiah 30:12 – “For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.“
Job 2:7 – “So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.“
Job 34:6 – “in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’“
Jeremiah 8:18 – “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me.”
Jeremiah 10:19 – Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.”
Group 2 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
James 5:14 – “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
Hebrews 13:4 – “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.“
Revelation 6:1-17 – “Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ...”
Group 3 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Acts 12:23 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
John 8:1-59 – “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, …“
1 Corinthians 6:18 – “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.“
Romans 8:1-39 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. …“
Group 4 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Hosea 2:1-4:19 – Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.” “Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband— that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ …
James 5:1-20 – “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. …“
Group 5 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Psalm 51:1-19 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. …“
Psalm 38:1-22 – “A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, …“
Lamentations 3:1-4:22 – “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; …“
Group 6 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Deuteronomy 24:16 – “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.”
Job 20:1-29 – “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: “Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me. I hear censure that insults me, and out of my understanding a spirit answers me. Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? …“
Exodus 15:24-26 – And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Group 7 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Genesis 18:1-19:38 – And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” …
1 John 1:1-10 – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. …“
Group 8 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Hebrews 12:1-13:25 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. …“
Numbers 14:18 – “‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’“
2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
1 Corinthians 3:15-17 – “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
Group 9 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Psalm 91:1-16 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, …“
Colossians 1:1-29 – “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, …“
Colossians 3:1-25 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …“
Group 10 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Ephesians 6:12 – “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 5:1-33 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. …“
1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.“
1 Peter 1:1-2:25 – “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. …“
Group 11 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Acts 12:23-24 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. But the word of God increased and multiplied.”
Galatians 5:12-6:8 – “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. …“
1 Corinthians 10:8 – “We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.“
1 Corinthians 15:42-58 – “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. …“
Group 12 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Romans 5:8-7:25 – “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ...”
Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-7:40 – “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. …“
Group 13 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
1 John 1:4 – “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.“
1 John 3:16 – “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.“
Proverbs 6:20-7:5 – “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. …“
Revelation 1:1-20 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. …“
Group 14 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
1 Corinthians 12:9 – “To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,“
Colossians 2:1-23 – “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. ...”
Romans 1:18-2:16 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, …“
Group 15 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Luke 19:16 – “The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’“
Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Luke 17:11-19 – “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ...”
John 8:32 – “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 21:11-22 – “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. …“
Group 16 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Luke 12:47 – “And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.“
Luke 10:29-37 – But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. …
Matthew 8:1-9:38 – “When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, …“
Group 17 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Hosea 4:4 – “Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.”
Matthew 19:1-30 – “Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? …“
Matthew 4:7 – Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Mark 1:24-32 – “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. …
Group 18 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Jeremiah 16:1-21 – The word of the Lord came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth. “For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of mourning, …
Lamentations 4:4 – “The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them.“
Ezekiel 16:49-50 – “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.“
Lamentations 3:39-66 – Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; …
Group 19 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Jeremiah 8:11-12 – “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 30:1-24 – “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.” These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ...”
Proverbs 17:7-21 – “Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince. A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers. Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him. ...”
Proverbs 14:32-35 – “The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death. Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.“
Group 20 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Jeremiah 4:1-5:31 – “If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’ …
Proverbs 13:11-18 – “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. …“
Group 21 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Psalm 126:5-6 – “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Proverbs 11:5-17 – “The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead. With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. …“
Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.“
Proverbs 6:1-7:27 – “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler. …“
Group 22 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Psalm 34:21-22 – “Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”
Psalm 69:21-32 – “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. …“
Psalm 119:9-119 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. ...”
Psalm 34:10-22 – “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. ...”
Group 23 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
2 Chronicles 35:20-24 – “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah. …”
2 Kings 19:1-20:21 – “As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” …“
Group 24 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
2 Kings 9:1-37 – “Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tie up your garments, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.” So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. …“
1 Kings 21:20-29 – “Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, ...”
Group 25 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
2 Samuel 20:1-21:22 – “Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!” So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood. Then the king said to Amasa, …“
2 Samuel 24:1-25 – “Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. …“
Group 26 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Joshua 2:24-4:22 – And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. …
2 Samuel 7:14 – “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,”
2 Samuel 12:10-14 – Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, ...”
Group 27 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Deuteronomy 24:4 – “Then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
2 Samuel 3:14-39 – “Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned. And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ...”
Numbers 14:1-16:50 – “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. …“
Group 28 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Leviticus 18:1-20:27 – And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. …
Exodus 4:23 – And I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Exodus 15:4 – “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.“
Group 29 – Christian Response to HIV / AIDS
Leviticus 21:1-24 – And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. …
Genesis 26:1-35 – “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” …“
Discover Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS. Basically, all disease is a judgment by God. Behold, Adam and Eve did not know any form of corruption before the Fall of Humanity. When the Lord God pronounced judgment on Adam, death entered the world (Genesis 3:19; Romans 5:12). All sickness, from the common cold to cancer, is part of the curse, and we who live in a cursed world are subject to decay. Therefore, yes, AIDS / HIV and other STDs (along with all other diseases) are part of the Lord God’s judgment in a cursed world. As a matter of fact, the Bible explicitly teaches that our choices bear consequences. Brethren, whatever a man sows, that’s what he reaps (Galatians 6:7-8). Righteousness brings blessings: “Keep my commands and you will live” (Proverbs 7:2), and sin brings judgment: “He who sows wickedness reaps trouble” (Proverbs 22:8).
One of our main problems is that we desire total freedom to choose our actions, but we want them consequence-free. The reality is when we choose a course of action, we automatically choose its corresponding result. Scripture warns that sexual sin carries a built-in judgment from God. “He who sins sexually sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). “God will judge . . . all the sexually immoral” (Hebrews 13:4). Behold, it cannot be denied or argued that living according to biblical principles (sexual fidelity within marriage) drastically or significantly reduces one’s chances of contracting HIV / AIDS and other STDs. Romans 1:18-32 is an explicit indictment of the heathen, idolatrous world. It begins with these words: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men.”
Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Romans 1:18-32 teaches that the sin of homosexuality has its roots in a denial of God. Notice that it brings about shame, degradation, and a “due penalty.” Since STDs such as HIV / AIDS are attendant, for the most part, upon sexual sin, they must be considered as part of the “penalty” which reveals “the wrath of God” against the wickedness of men (Romans 1:18). A key phrase is “God gave them over,” which occurs three times. God gave them over to sexual impurity (Romans 1:24); to shameful lusts (Romans 1:26); and to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28). This means that mankind choose to go its own way, and the Lord God allowed it. Granting mankind the freedom to go even further astray was itself a punishment for previous sin.
It is worth noting that none of these is to say that everyone with AIDS / HIV is guilty of sexual sin or that homosexuals are beyond redemption. Tragically, some people have been infected with AIDS / HIV by blood transfusions, by innocent contact with another person who has AIDS / HIV, and most sadly, by being conceived in the womb of a mother who has AIDS / HIV. HIV/AIDS also called human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, lives in the blood and in some body fluids. To get HIV, one of these fluids from someone with HIV has to get into your blood. The body fluids that contain enough HIV to infect someone are semen, vaginal fluids, blood, breast milk, and the lining inside the anus.
Ways that HIV/AIDS is Contracted
Most people who get HIV get it through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment. The virus can enter the bloodstream through cuts and sores in the skin, by injecting into the bloodstream with needles or injecting equipment that’s been shared with other people, through the thin lining of the mouth and eyes, and through the thin lining on or inside the anus, vaginal, and genitals. HIV infects the immune system, causing progressive damage and eventually making it unable to fight off infections.
The Christian Response or Attitude Towards those Suffering from HIV / AIDS
As Christians, what should be our attitude toward those who are suffering from AIDS / HIV? Galatians 4:14 says, “and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.” The Christian response to AIDS / HIV should always be one of love, grace, and mercy. Irrespective of how the disease was contracted, our responsibility is to be ministers of love, grace, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. We do not have the authority to proclaim that an AIDS / HIV contraction is a specific judgment from God on a specific sin in a person’s life. We are to do good to all (Luke 10:29-37), and the gospel we share is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He showed compassion, love, and forgiveness to everyone. He touched and healed lepers who were shunned and condemned by society because of their disease—much as are AIDS / HIV sufferers today (Luke 5:12, 13). To a woman caught in the act of adultery He said, “Neither do I condemn you. . . . Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). We are to show the same love and compassion to others—no matter their sins or lifestyle—that Jesus demonstrated. Jesus Christ says in John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” If we want forgiveness, we need to forgive others. Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” AIDS / HIV is not always contracted by immoral behavior, like through blood transfusions, unsanitary needles, or genetics.
Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—“
Micah 6:13 – “Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.“
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,“
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
John 9:1-41 – As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” …
Exodus 23:25 – “You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”
Matthew 9:12 – But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”
Luke 13:16 – “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Matthew 9:35 – “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.“
Group 1 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Psalm 107:17 – “Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;“
Romans 1:27 – “and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
Deuteronomy 28:35 – “The LORD will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.”
2 Samuel 12:15 – “Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.“
2 Chronicles 21:18 – “And after all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.”
Jeremiah 30:12 – “For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.“
Job 2:7 – “So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.“
Job 34:6 – “in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’“
Jeremiah 8:18 – “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me.”
Jeremiah 10:19 – Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.”
Group 2 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Revelation 6:1-17 – “Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ...”
James 5:14 – “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
Hebrews 13:4 – “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.“
Group 3 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Acts 12:23 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
John 8:1-59 – “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, …“
1 Corinthians 6:18 – “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.“
Romans 8:1-39 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. …“
Group 4 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Hosea 2:1-4:19 – Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.” “Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband— that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ …
James 5:1-20 – “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. …“
Group 5 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Psalm 51:1-19 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. …“
Psalm 38:1-22 – “A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, …“
Lamentations 3:1-4:22 – “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; …“
Group 6 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Exodus 15:24-26 – And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Deuteronomy 24:16 – “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.”
Job 20:1-29 – “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: “Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me. I hear censure that insults me, and out of my understanding a spirit answers me. Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? …“
Group 7 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Genesis 18:1-19:38 – And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” …
1 John 1:1-10 – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. …“
Group 8 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Hebrews 12:1-13:25 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. …“
Numbers 14:18 – “‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’“
2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
1 Corinthians 3:15-17 – “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
Group 9 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Colossians 3:1-25 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …“
Psalm 91:1-16 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, …“
Colossians 1:1-29 – “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, …“
Group 10 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Ephesians 6:12 – “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 5:1-33 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. …“
1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.“
1 Peter 1:1-2:25 – “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. …“
Group 11 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Acts 12:23-24 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. But the word of God increased and multiplied.”
Galatians 5:12-6:8 – “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. …“
1 Corinthians 10:8 – “We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.“
1 Corinthians 15:42-58 – “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. …“
Group 12 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Romans 5:8-7:25 – “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ...”
Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-7:40 – “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. …“
Group 13 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Revelation 1:1-20 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. …“
1 John 1:4 – “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.“
1 John 3:16 – “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.“
Proverbs 6:20-7:5 – “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. …“
Group 14 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
1 Corinthians 12:9 – “To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,“
Colossians 2:1-23 – “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. ...”
Romans 1:18-2:16 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, …“
Group 15 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Luke 19:16 – “The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’“
Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Luke 17:11-19 – “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ...”
John 8:32 – “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 21:11-22 – “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. …“
Group 16 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Matthew 8:1-9:38 – “When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, …“
Luke 12:47 – “And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.“
Luke 10:29-37 – But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. …
Group 17 – Bible Verses About HIV / AIDS
Hosea 4:4 – “Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.”
Matthew 19:1-30 – “Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? …“
Matthew 4:7 – Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Mark 1:24-32 – “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. …
Group 18 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Jeremiah 16:1-21 – The word of the Lord came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth. “For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of mourning, …
Lamentations 4:4 – “The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them.“
Ezekiel 16:49-50 – “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.“
Lamentations 3:39-66 – Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; …
Group 19 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Proverbs 17:7-21 – “Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince. A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers. Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him. ...”
Proverbs 14:32-35 – “The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death. Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.“
Jeremiah 8:11-12 – “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 30:1-24 – “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.” These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ...”
Group 20 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Jeremiah 4:1-5:31 – “If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’ …
Proverbs 13:11-18 – “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. …“
Group 21 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Psalm 126:5-6 – “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Proverbs 11:5-17 – “The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead. With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. …“
Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.“
Proverbs 6:1-7:27 – “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler. …“
Group 22 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Psalm 34:10-22 – “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. ...”
Psalm 34:21-22 – “Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”
Psalm 69:21-32 – “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. …“
Psalm 119:9-119 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. ...”
Group 23 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
2 Chronicles 35:20-24 – “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah. …”
2 Kings 19:1-20:21 – “As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” …“
Group 24 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
2 Kings 9:1-37 – “Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tie up your garments, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.” So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. …“
1 Kings 21:20-29 – “Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, ...”
Group 25 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
2 Samuel 24:1-25 – “Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. …“
2 Samuel 20:1-21:22 – “Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!” So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood. Then the king said to Amasa, …“
Group 26 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Joshua 2:24-4:22 – And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. …
2 Samuel 7:14 – “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,”
2 Samuel 12:10-14 – Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, ...”
Group 27 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Numbers 14:1-16:50 – “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. …“
Deuteronomy 24:4 – “Then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
2 Samuel 3:14-39 – “Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned. And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ...”
Group 28 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Leviticus 18:1-20:27 – And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. …
Exodus 4:23 – And I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Exodus 15:4 – “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.“
Group 29 – Bible Verses About AIDS / HIV
Genesis 26:1-35 – “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” …“
Leviticus 21:1-24 – And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. …
What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS? Basically, all disease is a judgment by God. Behold, Adam and Eve did not know any form of corruption before the Fall of Humanity. When the Lord God pronounced judgment on Adam, death entered the world (Genesis 3:19; Romans 5:12). All sickness, from the common cold to cancer, is part of the curse, and we who live in a cursed world are subject to decay. Therefore, yes, AIDS / HIV and other STDs (along with all other diseases) are part of the Lord God’s judgment in a cursed world. As a matter of fact, the Bible explicitly teaches that our choices bear consequences. Brethren, whatever a man sows, that’s what he reaps (Galatians 6:7-8). Righteousness brings blessings: “Keep my commands and you will live” (Proverbs 7:2), and sin brings judgment: “He who sows wickedness reaps trouble” (Proverbs 22:8).
One of our main problems is that we desire total freedom to choose our actions, but we want them consequence-free. The reality is when we choose a course of action, we automatically choose its corresponding result. Scripture warns that sexual sin carries a built-in judgment from God. “He who sins sexually sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). “God will judge . . . all the sexually immoral” (Hebrews 13:4). Behold, it cannot be denied or argued that living according to biblical principles (sexual fidelity within marriage) drastically or significantly reduces one’s chances of contracting HIV / AIDS and other STDs. Romans 1:18-32 is an explicit indictment of the heathen, idolatrous world. It begins with these words: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men.”
What the Bible Says About HIV / AIDS
Romans 1:18-32 teaches that the sin of homosexuality has its roots in a denial of God. Notice that it brings about shame, degradation, and a “due penalty.” Since STDs such as HIV / AIDS are attendant, for the most part, upon sexual sin, they must be considered as part of the “penalty” which reveals “the wrath of God” against the wickedness of men (Romans 1:18). A key phrase is “God gave them over,” which occurs three times. God gave them over to sexual impurity (Romans 1:24); to shameful lusts (Romans 1:26); and to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28). This means that mankind choose to go its own way, and the Lord God allowed it. Granting mankind the freedom to go even further astray was itself a punishment for previous sin.
It is worth noting that none of these is to say that everyone with AIDS / HIV is guilty of sexual sin or that homosexuals are beyond redemption. Tragically, some people have been infected with AIDS / HIV by blood transfusions, by innocent contact with another person who has AIDS / HIV, and most sadly, by being conceived in the womb of a mother who has AIDS / HIV. HIV/AIDS also called human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, lives in the blood and in some body fluids. To get HIV, one of these fluids from someone with HIV has to get into your blood. The body fluids that contain enough HIV to infect someone are semen, vaginal fluids, blood, breast milk, and the lining inside the anus.
Ways that HIV/AIDS is Contracted
Most people who get HIV get it through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment. The virus can enter the bloodstream through cuts and sores in the skin, by injecting into the bloodstream with needles or injecting equipment that’s been shared with other people, through the thin lining of the mouth and eyes, and through the thin lining on or inside the anus, vaginal, and genitals. HIV infects the immune system, causing progressive damage and eventually making it unable to fight off infections.
The Christian Response or Attitude Towards those Suffering from HIV / AIDS
As Christians, what should be our attitude toward those who are suffering from AIDS / HIV? Galatians 4:14 says, “and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.” The Christian response to AIDS / HIV should always be one of love, grace, and mercy. Irrespective of how the disease was contracted, our responsibility is to be ministers of love, grace, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. We do not have the authority to proclaim that an AIDS / HIV contraction is a specific judgment from God on a specific sin in a person’s life. We are to do good to all (Luke 10:29-37), and the gospel we share is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He showed compassion, love, and forgiveness to everyone. He touched and healed lepers who were shunned and condemned by society because of their disease—much as are AIDS / HIV sufferers today (Luke 5:12, 13). To a woman caught in the act of adultery He said, “Neither do I condemn you. . . . Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). We are to show the same love and compassion to others—no matter their sins or lifestyle—that Jesus demonstrated. Jesus Christ says in John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” If we want forgiveness, we need to forgive others. Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” AIDS / HIV is not always contracted by immoral behavior, like through blood transfusions, unsanitary needles, or genetics.
What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS?
Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—“
Micah 6:13 – “Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.“
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,“
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
John 9:1-41 – As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” …
Exodus 23:25 – “You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”
Matthew 9:12 – But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”
Luke 13:16 – “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Matthew 9:35 – “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.“
Group 1 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Psalm 107:17 – “Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;“
Romans 1:27 – “and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
Deuteronomy 28:35 – “The LORD will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.”
2 Samuel 12:15 – “Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.“
2 Chronicles 21:18 – “And after all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.”
Jeremiah 30:12 – “For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.“
Job 2:7 – “So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.“
Job 34:6 – “in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’“
Jeremiah 8:18 – “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me.”
Jeremiah 10:19 – Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.”
Group 2 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
James 5:14 – “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
Hebrews 13:4 – “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.“
Revelation 6:1-17 – “Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ...”
Group 3 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
1 Corinthians 6:18 – “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.“
Romans 8:1-39 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. …“
Acts 12:23 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
John 8:1-59 – “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, …“
Group 4 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
James 5:1-20 – “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. …“
Hosea 2:1-4:19 – Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.” “Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband— that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ …
Group 5 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Psalm 38:1-22 – “A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, …“
Lamentations 3:1-4:22 – “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; …“
Psalm 51:1-19 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. …“
Group 6 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Deuteronomy 24:16 – “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.”
Job 20:1-29 – “Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: “Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me. I hear censure that insults me, and out of my understanding a spirit answers me. Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? …“
Exodus 15:24-26 – And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Group 7 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
1 John 1:1-10 – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. …“
Genesis 18:1-19:38 – And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” …
Group 8 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Numbers 14:18 – “‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’“
2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
1 Corinthians 3:15-17 – “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
Hebrews 12:1-13:25 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. …“
Group 9 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Psalm 91:1-16 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, …“
Colossians 1:1-29 – “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, …“
Colossians 3:1-25 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …“
Group 10 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.“
1 Peter 1:1-2:25 – “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. …“
Ephesians 6:12 – “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 5:1-33 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. …“
Group 11 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
1 Corinthians 10:8 – “We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.“
1 Corinthians 15:42-58 – “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. …“
Acts 12:23-24 – “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. But the word of God increased and multiplied.”
Galatians 5:12-6:8 – “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. …“
Group 12 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-7:40 – “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. …“
Romans 5:8-7:25 – “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ...”
Group 13 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
1 John 1:4 – “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.“
1 John 3:16 – “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.“
Proverbs 6:20-7:5 – “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. …“
Revelation 1:1-20 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. …“
Group 14 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Romans 1:18-2:16 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, …“
1 Corinthians 12:9 – “To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,“
Colossians 2:1-23 – “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. ...”
Group 15 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
John 8:32 – “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 21:11-22 – “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. …“
Luke 19:16 – “The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’“
Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Luke 17:11-19 – “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ...”
Group 16 – What Does the Bible Say About HIV / AIDS
Luke 12:47 – “And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.“
Luke 10:29-37 – But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. …
Matthew 8:1-9:38 – “When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, …“
Group 17 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Matthew 4:7 – Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Mark 1:24-32 – “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. …
Hosea 4:4 – “Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.”
Matthew 19:1-30 – “Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? …“
Group 18 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Lamentations 4:4 – “The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them.“
Ezekiel 16:49-50 – “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.“
Lamentations 3:39-66 – Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; …
Jeremiah 16:1-21 – The word of the Lord came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth. “For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of mourning, …
Group 19 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Jeremiah 8:11-12 – “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 30:1-24 – “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.” These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ...”
Proverbs 17:7-21 – “Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince. A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers. Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him. ...”
Proverbs 14:32-35 – “The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death. Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.“
Group 20 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Proverbs 13:11-18 – “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. …“
Jeremiah 4:1-5:31 – “If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’ …
Group 21 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.“
Proverbs 6:1-7:27 – “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler. …“
Psalm 126:5-6 – “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Proverbs 11:5-17 – “The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead. With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. …“
Group 22 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Psalm 34:21-22 – “Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”
Psalm 69:21-32 – “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. …“
Psalm 119:9-119 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. ...”
Psalm 34:10-22 – “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. ...”
Group 23 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
2 Kings 19:1-20:21 – “As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” …“
2 Chronicles 35:20-24 – “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah. …”
Group 24 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
1 Kings 21:20-29 – “Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, ...”
2 Kings 9:1-37 – “Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tie up your garments, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.” So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. …“
Group 25 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
2 Samuel 20:1-21:22 – “Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!” So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood. Then the king said to Amasa, …“
2 Samuel 24:1-25 – “Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. …“
Group 26 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
2 Samuel 7:14 – “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,”
2 Samuel 12:10-14 – Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, ...”
Joshua 2:24-4:22 – And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. …
Group 27 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Deuteronomy 24:4 – “Then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
2 Samuel 3:14-39 – “Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned. And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ...”
Numbers 14:1-16:50 – “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. …“
Group 28 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Exodus 4:23 – And I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Exodus 15:4 – “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.“
Leviticus 18:1-20:27 – And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. …
Group 29 – What Does the Bible Say About AIDS / HIV
Leviticus 21:1-24 – And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. …
Genesis 26:1-35 – “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” …“
Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture? Farming, which involves cultivating the land and raising livestock, is a part of agriculture. Agriculture is the broad term for everything that goes into growing crops and raising animals, to provide food and materials that people can use and enjoy. The Bible says a lot about agriculture and farming. Genesis 1:11 says, Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. Adam, the first human in the Bible, is also the first farmer. After he is created by God, he is placed in charge of the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.“
Agriculture is highly encouraged throughout the Scriptures. Proverbs 12:11 says, “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.“ Proverbs 28:19 says, “He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.” Deuteronomy 28:12 says, “The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.“ Deuteronomy 28:8 says, “The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.”
Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture?
A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruits…consider a grain of wheat…a sower went out to sow…in story after story, Jesus Christ made use of scenes from everyday farm life to explicitly illustrate His points about the gospel and the kingdom of God. This should not be too surprising because most of Jesus’ listeners were farmers themselves or, at least, very familiar with farming. And as such, it was easier and more effective, to point to a farmer in the field, the numerous plants growing around them, or the shepherds tending nearby flocks and reference the heart of God or another gospel truth about God’s kingdom. Notice that the illustrations that Jesus needed to make His points were literally all around Him. For a long time, these stories worked without much thought or explanation. Many people were farmers or at least very familiar with farming.
Today, more and more people are moving away from rural areas where farming is highly practiced and into cities characterized by industrialization. Fewer and fewer of us grew up on farms, and thus, we miss a lot of subtle points Jesus is making in some of His stories. Farmers work throughout the year, regardless of the weather. Animals have to be fed, crops have to be watered and fertilized, and it doesn’t matter how the farmer feels on that particular day. The work has to be done. Success in life requires hard work. Every day, just like the farmer, we must show up and do the work. On a daily basis, relationships have to be enhanced. Weeds have to be removed, the land watered, and fertilizer added. Neglect a relationship and just like a field left unplowed, weeds will overrun everything and whatever was planted will die.
More Facts
Farming takes time. One can’t speed up nature. Cows, like people, reproduce in about nine (9) months. You can’t speed that up. Corn takes anywhere from 90 to 100 days to be ready to be harvested. Nature takes its own time. Many factors can control the time it takes for the crop to ripen. The amount of rain, the cool of the nights, the warmth of the days, soil conditions, insects, and many others. On some days, the only thing the farmer can do is sit, wait, and hope for the best. As such, patience is a required virtue for a farmer. Likewise, patience is a needed virtue for life. Many things in life take time just as farming takes time. The smart farmer knows when the moment is ready. So does the wisest of us in living.
Weeds grow everywhere and all of the time. The farmer has something to do every day. The unexamined field soon becomes unusable. Likewise, the unexamined life soon becomes useless for service in the kingdom. No wonder Jesus talked so much about farming. The day-to-day chores, tasks, and attention required to the smallest details made agriculture an unforgettably rich metaphor for Jesus and His teachings. They are a good reminder of what is required from us every day of our own lives. The animals have to be cared for. All the fields have to be checked. The work is never done. And it’s never done for us. Luke 9:23 says, Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” As Christians, we have to be loving, faithful, prayerful, diligent, patient, forgiving, and merciful at all times.
What the Bible Says About Farmers
Proverbs 20:4 says, “The lazy man does not plow when the winter [planting] season arrives; So he begs at the [next] harvest and has nothing [to reap].” Likewise, Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Furthermore, Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” The Bible talks against laziness. We are encouraged to Work Hard and keep ourselves busy. And as we are faithful to the Lord our God, He will bless the works of our hands and make them successful.
Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture?
Proverbs 12:11 – “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”
Proverbs 28:19 – “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.”
Deuteronomy 28:12 – “The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.“
Deuteronomy 28:8 – “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
Genesis 1:29 – And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
Proverbs 20:4 – “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”
Proverbs 21:5 – “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
Ecclesiastes 11:6 – “In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”
Matthew 13:1-10 – “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, …“
Group 1 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Psalm 104:14 – “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth“
Leviticus 19:19 – “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.“
Isaiah 17:10-11 – “For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.“
2 Timothy 2:6 – “It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.”
James 5:7 – “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.“
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 – “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.“
Group 2 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Genesis 2:15 – “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”
Exodus 23:10-11 – “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.”
Leviticus 19:23-25 – “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.”
1 Corinthians 3:6 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Psalm 85:12 – “Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.”
Hebrews 13:16 – “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Matthew 3:12 – “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Group 3 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Isaiah 41:15 – “Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff;“
Matthew 13:30 – Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Genesis 1:11-12 – And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Luke 9:62 – Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Isaiah 28:28 – “Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it.”
Matthew 13:3-8 – And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. …”
Group 4 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Deuteronomy 22:10 – “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.“
Hebrews 6:7 – “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.“
Deuteronomy 22:9-11 – “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.”
Luke 10:2 – And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Leviticus 11:1-47 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ...”
Group 5 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
John 4:35 – “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”
Job 1:14 – And there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,”
1 Corinthians 15:38-39 – “But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.”
Jeremiah 5:24 – “They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’“
Ezekiel 27:17 – “Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm.”
Matthew 9:37 – Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;”
Isaiah 30:24 – “And the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork.“
Isaiah 28:24 – “Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?“
Ecclesiastes 5:9 – “But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.“
Group 6 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
Micah 4:1-4 – “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; …“
1 Samuel 13:21 – “And the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.“
2 Kings 19:29 – “And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.“
Matthew 13:1-58 – “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.…“
Group 7 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Job 39:10 – “Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you?“
1 Samuel 6:7 – “Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.”
Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 – “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.“
Isaiah 32:20 – “Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.“
Matthew 6:26 – “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?“
Isaiah 28:27 – “Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.“
Matthew 13:23 – “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Group 8 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Genesis 37:7 – “Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
1 Kings 5:11 – “While Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year.“
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
Deuteronomy 25:4 – “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”
Judges 3:31 – “After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.“
Leviticus 19:9 – “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.”
2 Chronicles 26:10 – “And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.“
Group 9 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Matthew 7:19 – “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.“
Psalm 65:10 – “You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.”
Deuteronomy 24:19 – “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
Deuteronomy 22:9 – “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard.”
Deuteronomy 28:1-68 – “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. …“
Group 10 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Genesis 8:22 – “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
Isaiah 9:3 – “You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.“
Deuteronomy 11:14 – “He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.”
Zechariah 10:1 – “Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.”
2 Samuel 24:22 – Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
Matthew 13:18 – “Hear then the parable of the sower:“
Ruth 2:17 – “So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.”
Matthew 12:1 – “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.”
Leviticus 23:22 – “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
Group 11 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Proverbs 3:10 – “Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.“
Genesis 9:20 – “Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.”
Deuteronomy 23:24-25 – “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.“
Micah 4:12 – “But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.“
Amos 1:3 – Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.”
Leviticus 19:9-10 – “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
Group 12 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Genesis 26:12 – “And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him,“
Psalm 1:3 – “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.“
Hosea 6:3 – “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Isaiah 5:24 – “Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.“
Luke 12:18 – “And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.“
Hosea 12:11 – “If there is iniquity in Gilead, they shall surely come to nothing: in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; their altars also are like stone heaps on the furrows of the field.”
2 Corinthians 9:6 – “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
Isaiah 32:2 – “Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.“
Group 13 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Ruth 2:15 – “When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.“
Jeremiah 4:11 – “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse,“
Jeremiah 9:22 – Speak: “Thus declares the Lord, ‘The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the reaper, and none shall gather them.’”
Isaiah 30:25 – “And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.“
Job 29:23 – “They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.”
Leviticus 25:1-7 – “The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. …“
Group 14 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Job 24:10 – “They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves;“
Psalm 35:5 – “Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away!“
Job 21:18 – “That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away?“
1 Chronicles 21:23 – Then Ornan said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.”
Isaiah 3:15 – “What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord God of hosts.“
Proverbs 21:1 – “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.“
Isaiah 17:13 – “The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.”
Psalm 126:1-6 – “A Song of Ascents. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! …“
Group 15 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Deuteronomy 28:8 – “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Deuteronomy 15:1-10 – “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. …“
Ruth 2:7 – “She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
1 Chronicles 4:10-41 – “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were craftsmen. …“
Group 16 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Matthew 13:1-10 – “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, …“
Genesis 1:12 – “The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
John 15:1 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.“
Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
Group 17 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Mark 4:26 – And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.”
Mark 4:31 – “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,“
Jeremiah 29:5 – “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.”
Leviticus 19:23-25 – “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.“
1 Corinthians 3:6 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Leviticus 26:1-5 – “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.”
Group 18 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Isaiah 29:17 – “Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?“
Deuteronomy 22:9-10 – “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.“
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 – “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. …“
Deuteronomy 11:1-32 – “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, …“
Group 19 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
1 Chronicles 4:38-41 – “These mentioned by name were princes in their clans, and their fathers’ houses increased greatly. They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.”
Deuteronomy 8:1-20 – “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. …“
Group 20 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Leviticus 19:19 – “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.”
Genesis 1:1-31 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …“
1 Chronicles 4:10-41 – “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were craftsmen. …“
Group 21 – Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture
Proverbs 12:11 – “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”
Isaiah 65:22-24 – “They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”
2 Chronicles 24:1-26:23 – “Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters. After this Joash decided to restore the house of the Lord. And he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you act quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. …“
Discover Bible Verses For Farmers. Farming, which involves cultivating the land and raising livestock, is a part of agriculture. Agriculture is the broad term for everything that goes into growing crops and raising animals, to provide food and materials that people can use and enjoy. The Bible says a lot about agriculture and farming. Genesis 1:11 says, Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. Adam, the first human in the Bible, is also the first farmer. After he is created by God, he is placed in charge of the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.“
Agriculture is highly encouraged throughout the Scriptures. Proverbs 12:11 says, “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.“ Proverbs 28:19 says, “He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.” Deuteronomy 28:12 says, “The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.“ Deuteronomy 28:8 says, “The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.”
Bible Verses For Farmers
Proverbs 20:4 says, “The lazy man does not plow when the winter [planting] season arrives; So he begs at the [next] harvest and has nothing [to reap].” Likewise, Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Furthermore, Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” The Bible talks against laziness. We are encouraged to Work Hard and keep ourselves busy. And as we are faithful to the Lord our God, He will bless the works of our hands and make them successful.
Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture?
A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruits…consider a grain of wheat…a sower went out to sow…in story after story, Jesus Christ made use of scenes from everyday farm life to explicitly illustrate His points about the gospel and the kingdom of God. This should not be too surprising because most of Jesus’ listeners were farmers themselves or, at least, very familiar with farming. And as such, it was easier and more effective, to point to a farmer in the field, the numerous plants growing around them, or the shepherds tending nearby flocks and reference the heart of God or another gospel truth about God’s kingdom. Notice that the illustrations that Jesus needed to make His points were literally all around Him. For a long time, these stories worked without much thought or explanation. Many people were farmers or at least very familiar with farming.
Today, more and more people are moving away from rural areas where farming is highly practiced and into cities characterized by industrialization. Fewer and fewer of us grew up on farms, and thus, we miss a lot of subtle points Jesus is making in some of His stories. Farmers work throughout the year, regardless of the weather. Animals have to be fed, crops have to be watered and fertilized, and it doesn’t matter how the farmer feels on that particular day. The work has to be done. Success in life requires hard work. Every day, just like the farmer, we must show up and do the work. On a daily basis, relationships have to be enhanced. Weeds have to be removed, the land watered, and fertilizer added. Neglect a relationship and just like a field left unplowed, weeds will overrun everything and whatever was planted will die.
More Facts
Farming takes time. One can’t speed up nature. Cows, like people, reproduce in about nine (9) months. You can’t speed that up. Corn takes anywhere from 90 to 100 days to be ready to be harvested. Nature takes its own time. Many factors can control the time it takes for the crop to ripen. The amount of rain, the cool of the nights, the warmth of the days, soil conditions, insects, and many others. On some days, the only thing the farmer can do is sit, wait, and hope for the best. As such, patience is a required virtue for a farmer. Likewise, patience is a needed virtue for life. Many things in life take time just as farming takes time. The smart farmer knows when the moment is ready. So does the wisest of us in living.
Weeds grow everywhere and all of the time. The farmer has something to do every day. The unexamined field soon becomes unusable. Likewise, the unexamined life soon becomes useless for service in the kingdom. No wonder Jesus talked so much about farming. The day-to-day chores, tasks, and attention required to the smallest details made agriculture an unforgettably rich metaphor for Jesus and His teachings. They are a good reminder of what is required from us every day of our own lives. The animals have to be cared for. All the fields have to be checked. The work is never done. And it’s never done for us. Luke 9:23 says, Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” As Christians, we have to be loving, faithful, prayerful, diligent, patient, forgiving, and merciful at all times.
Bible Verses For Farmers
Proverbs 12:11 – “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”
Proverbs 28:19 – “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.”
Deuteronomy 28:12 – “The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.“
Deuteronomy 28:8 – “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
Genesis 1:29 – And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
Proverbs 20:4 – “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”
Proverbs 21:5 – “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
Ecclesiastes 11:6 – “In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”
Group 1 – Bible Verses For Farmers
2 Timothy 2:6 – “It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.”
James 5:7 – “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.“
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 – “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.“
Psalm 104:14 – “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth“
Leviticus 19:19 – “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.“
Isaiah 17:10-11 – “For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.“
Group 2 – Bible Verses For Farmers
1 Corinthians 3:6 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Psalm 85:12 – “Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.”
Hebrews 13:16 – “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Matthew 3:12 – “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Genesis 2:15 – “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”
Exodus 23:10-11 – “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.”
Leviticus 19:23-25 – “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.”
Group 3 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Isaiah 41:15 – “Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff;“
Matthew 13:30 – Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Genesis 1:11-12 – And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Luke 9:62 – Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Isaiah 28:28 – “Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it.”
Matthew 13:3-8 – And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. …”
Group 4 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Luke 10:2 – And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Leviticus 11:1-47 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ...”
Deuteronomy 22:10 – “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.“
Hebrews 6:7 – “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.“
Deuteronomy 22:9-11 – “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.”
Group 5 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Ezekiel 27:17 – “Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm.”
Matthew 9:37 – Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;”
Isaiah 30:24 – “And the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork.“
Isaiah 28:24 – “Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?“
Ecclesiastes 5:9 – “But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.“
John 4:35 – “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”
Job 1:14 – And there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,”
1 Corinthians 15:38-39 – “But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.”
Jeremiah 5:24 – “They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’“
Group 6 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
Micah 4:1-4 – “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; …“
1 Samuel 13:21 – “And the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.“
2 Kings 19:29 – “And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.“
Matthew 13:1-58 – “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.…“
Group 7 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Isaiah 32:20 – “Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.“
Matthew 6:26 – “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?“
Isaiah 28:27 – “Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.“
Matthew 13:23 – “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Job 39:10 – “Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you?“
1 Samuel 6:7 – “Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.”
Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 – “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.“
Group 8 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Deuteronomy 25:4 – “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”
Judges 3:31 – “After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.“
Leviticus 19:9 – “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.”
2 Chronicles 26:10 – “And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.“
Genesis 37:7 – “Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
1 Kings 5:11 – “While Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year.“
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
Group 9 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Deuteronomy 22:9 – “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard.”
Deuteronomy 28:1-68 – “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. …“
Matthew 7:19 – “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.“
Psalm 65:10 – “You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.”
Deuteronomy 24:19 – “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
Group 10 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Matthew 13:18 – “Hear then the parable of the sower:“
Ruth 2:17 – “So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.”
Matthew 12:1 – “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.”
Leviticus 23:22 – “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
Genesis 8:22 – “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
Isaiah 9:3 – “You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.“
Deuteronomy 11:14 – “He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.”
Zechariah 10:1 – “Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.”
2 Samuel 24:22 – Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
Group 11 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Micah 4:12 – “But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.“
Amos 1:3 – Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.”
Leviticus 19:9-10 – “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
Proverbs 3:10 – “Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.“
Genesis 9:20 – “Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.”
Deuteronomy 23:24-25 – “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.“
Group 12 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Luke 12:18 – “And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.“
Hosea 12:11 – “If there is iniquity in Gilead, they shall surely come to nothing: in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; their altars also are like stone heaps on the furrows of the field.”
2 Corinthians 9:6 – “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
Isaiah 32:2 – “Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.“
Genesis 26:12 – “And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him,“
Psalm 1:3 – “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.“
Hosea 6:3 – “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Isaiah 5:24 – “Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.“
Group 13 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Ruth 2:15 – “When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.“
Jeremiah 4:11 – “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse,“
Jeremiah 9:22 – Speak: “Thus declares the Lord, ‘The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the reaper, and none shall gather them.’”
Isaiah 30:25 – “And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.“
Job 29:23 – “They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.”
Leviticus 25:1-7 – “The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. …“
Group 14 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Isaiah 3:15 – “What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord God of hosts.“
Proverbs 21:1 – “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.“
Isaiah 17:13 – “The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.”
Psalm 126:1-6 – “A Song of Ascents. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! …“
Job 24:10 – “They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves;“
Psalm 35:5 – “Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away!“
Job 21:18 – “That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away?“
1 Chronicles 21:23 – Then Ornan said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.”
Group 15 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Ruth 2:7 – “She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
1 Chronicles 4:10-41 – “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were craftsmen. …“
Deuteronomy 28:8 – “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Deuteronomy 15:1-10 – “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. …“
Group 16 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Matthew 13:1-10 – “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, …“
Genesis 1:12 – “The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
John 15:1 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.“
Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
Group 17 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Mark 4:26 – And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.”
Mark 4:31 – “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,“
Jeremiah 29:5 – “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.”
Leviticus 19:23-25 – “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.“
1 Corinthians 3:6 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Leviticus 26:1-5 – “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.”
Group 18 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Isaiah 29:17 – “Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?“
Deuteronomy 22:9-10 – “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.“
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 – “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. …“
Deuteronomy 11:1-32 – “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, …“
Group 19 – Bible Verses For Farmers
1 Chronicles 4:38-41 – “These mentioned by name were princes in their clans, and their fathers’ houses increased greatly. They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.”
Deuteronomy 8:1-20 – “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. …“
Group 20 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Leviticus 19:19 – “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.”
Genesis 1:1-31 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …“
1 Chronicles 4:10-41 – “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were craftsmen. …“
Group 21 – Bible Verses For Farmers
Proverbs 12:11 – “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”
Isaiah 65:22-24 – “They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”
2 Chronicles 24:1-26:23 – “Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters. After this Joash decided to restore the house of the Lord. And he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you act quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. …“
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