The Atheist's Insult: "Sheeple"

Before doing this study, please read the one-minute introduction He Thought He'd Insulted Me by Calling Christians "Sheeple".

It discusses a situation when an atheist left a rude quote on the Bible Love Notes Facebook page  and Gail's response surprised him because she said she was not ashamed of being a "sheeple" if her shepherd is Jesus.

1. These passages should help us see atheist insults in their proper light and rejoice instead of taking offense:

Matthew 5:11: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

1 Peter 4:14: If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.  

2. Does Jesus ask us to blindly follow Him?

Luke 14:25-33: Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

3. Who blinds his followers?

2 Corinthians 4:4: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

John 10:7-13: Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

4. How do these passages offer further clarity to our relationship with Christ?

Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

John 10:1-18: “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

copyright 2015, Gail Burton Purath, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, edited and updated 2025 

Glowing with Christ's Light

Before doing this study, please read the one-minute introduction 7 Ways to Shine for Christ. 

When we belong to Christ, we reflect His light, and we are meant to share that light with the world.

1. In the passage below:

A. How do salt and light have similar and different purposes? 

B. Why do you think God stressed not hiding our light?

C. What are ways we might hide our light and what are ways we can "put it on a stand"?  

D. Who is glorified by our good deeds?

Matthew 5:13-16: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

See The Light Makes Everyone Happy, Right? Wrong!

2. What responsibilities come with being a light in our secular world?

Ephesians 5:8-16: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 

See Jesus Isn't Looking for Silent Partners.

3. What about these verses encourages and comforts you?

1 John 1:4-5: We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:7: we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

John 1:3-5: Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

See Shining in the Darkness and 8 Truths About the Light of the World.

copyright 2015, Gail Burton Purath, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, updated and edited 2025 

The Power and Limit of Words Study

Before working through this Bible study, please read the 1-minute introduction The Power and Limit of Words.

It addresses misunderstandings about Proverbs 18:21: "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."  

1. It's dangerous to base theology on a Proverb alone.

Solomon prefaces the book of Proverbs saying it is a book of "wise sayings." Nowhere is it presented or described as promises. 

If every Proverb were a promise, all righteous people would be wealthy and live long lives while the wicked would die young (Proverbs 10:22,27). Righteous people would never be harmed (Proverbs 12:21). 

I could offer more examples like these, but I think you get the idea that we can't claim all Proverbs as promises. Proverbs offer biblical principles, many of which apply in a spiritual sense, not a physical sense. 

For more on this subject, check out this Bite Size Study help: Proverbs Aren't Promises.

2. It is dangerous to create theology on a single verse even if it isn't a proverb. 

For example, if we drew all of our beliefs about healing from James 5:14-16, we would assume all sickness can be healed by the prayers of the elders and/or confession of sin although it doesn't specify "all." But James 5:14-16 is only part of the story on healing. we must add it to every other passage on healing before drawing conclusions. If you want to see this illustrated with the subject of prayer, check out Pieces Parts. 

3. What Scripture teaches on our words: 

Matthew 12:36: But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 

Ephesians 4:29: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

James 3: 5-6, 9-10, 17-18: Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell...9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be...17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. 

But our words do not bring physical life and death. If we want to understand what Scripture teaches about physical healing, we need to combine all that it teaches.

If you'd like to do that these devotions can help: The Biblical View of Healing. 

And this article offers some important information about the history of the word of faith movement, a movement that teaches that our words can heal or make sick, bring wealth or poverty: Proverbs 18:21 doctrine.

copyright 2015, Gail Burton Purath, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, updated in 2024.