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• Bible Contradictions on Salvation?

  …ster WongMixxMySpaceNetvouzNewsvineoneviewOnlyWirePlugIMPropellerRedditSegnaloShoutwireSimpySlashdotSurphaceSphinnSpurlSquidooStumbleUponTechnoratiThisNextTwitterWebrideWindows LiveYahoo!Email This to a Friend  Link HTML:  Permalink:  If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.Powered by Bookmarkify™ More »If we believe the Bible is the word of God why do we often interpret it in…

• Does God Really Care?

  …uld do no good.  How would you like to have people dogging you like that everyday of your adult life?  Would it wear you down?  Jesus himself suffered both emotionally and physically. His agony in the garden was such that the Bible says, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44 NKJV)  Vine’s, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament …

• Can one be Just a Christian in Christ’s Church without being in a Denomination?

  … want to eat the cake and save it all at the same time.  Life doesn’t work that way.  They cannot have it both ways.  But, that is their problem not mine. I think most people who are serious about their religion see the great contradictions in denominationalism.  However, they either do not know what to do about it or else their love for it is such that they will not give it up.  I readily admit it is hard to start over but that is what must be d…

• Bible Authority, Foot Washing, the Holy Kiss, and Head Coverings?

  Does Bible authority matter or is man free to do as he sees fit in the Christian religion?  Most have come to the conclusion today that it does not matter.  The result is that there are more unheard of things going on in Christian worship today than ever before.  You name it and it is being done somewhere.  Every type of special service the mind can imagine (and many that you cannot) is being held.  The idea is that anything we do in worship wit…

• Resource Sites

  …n articles on the web.  The man does his homework which means he does extensive research before he starts writing.  All of this will be readily evident to you once you read an article or two of his.  Not only does he know the Bible he also knows what men are saying about it.) Walking by Faith:  Origin of Instrumental Music in Christian Worship  (This is an online copy of what was once a pamphlet consisting of two sermons delivered in the late 180…

• Salvation (Becoming a Christian)

  Peter’s Second Gospel Sermon Peter’s Preaching and the Apostle’s Preaching Jesus as the Bread of Life Must a Man Seek God? Jesus and the Furnace of Fire Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You? Indifference – The Great Destroyer God’s Plea–On Christ’s Behalf be Reconciled to God Why You Cannot be Saved like the Thief on the Cross Bible Contradictions on Salvation How Was Noah Saved Through Water? How Doe…

• Instrumental Music in Christian Worship–Is it God’s Will?

  …ughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isa. 55:8 NKJV)  Just how can a person know that a thing that clearly came from man, not God, is a matter of little or no consequence with him? The Bible is full of examples of men who thought it was a little thing to deviate a little from what God had said with regards to the worship of him–that it would not matter.  One thinks of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, w…

• Christianity, Homosexuality, and Gay Marriage–What Do We Do With the Bible?

  …ation has already been taken.  Oh, well, maybe we can find another that will flatter us just as well. The subject of this little piece is Christianity, homosexuality, and gay marriage and what we are going to do with what the Bible has to say about it all.  There is really no need to discuss it for it is becoming more obvious what we are going to do with it every day.  We are going to use the Bible as a football and give it a big swift kick, one …

• The Heart of Man from a Biblical Perspective

  The Bible has much to say about the heart of man.  The word “heart” in the New King James Version of the Bible is found 835 times in 775 verses according to the E-Sword concordance for the NKJV.  The study of the heart of man is thus a massive study and I might add from a human point of view a complex one.  God knows all of our hearts, “For you alone know the hearts of all the sons of men.” (I Kings 8:39 NKJV)  The question is do you and I know …

• Why Men Do Not Believe

  …n not believe?  This is a question that has bothered me over the years for it seems to me only natural to believe.  Yet, I cannot deny what is obvious to all just as Paul said, “not all have faith.”  What does the Bible have to say about the reasons for unbelief? Paul said of himself, in talking about his past, how he was a persecutor of Christians and then says, “I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.”…

• Who Gets to Decide–God or the Church?

  …separation or division from others. This is one of the ironies I see in denominationalism.  On the one hand they feel their differences on the issues are so great as to require separation and division from others, knowing the Bible clearly teaches that division among Christians is sinful (1 Cor. 1:10, John 17:20-21), but then on the other hand say the differences are so minor that it does not matter which denomination you belong to for we will al…

• The Need to Sing in Worship

  …ound that conclusion.  If I am a Christian and the Lord’s Supper is being observed and the emblems are passed around but I fail to partake is it sin?  How can it be anything else? I would like to take a look at what the Bible has to say about singing and would like to begin with the very first time singing is mentioned in the Bible, Exodus 15:1.  The occasion was that of the time when the Red Sea had closed over Pharaoh and his troops bring…

• Who Governs the Church if We Follow the Bible?

  Who governs the church ought to matter a great deal to all those who want to be Christians and Christians only by following what the Bible says.  I know of no other way to be just a Christian, that and nothing more, other than to follow the Bible as closely as humanly possible.  That means one must ignore the traditions of men in religion and must ignore all teachings that cannot be found in book, chapter, and verse in the New Testament. Too oft…

• The Wicked Shall be Turned into Hell

  David, in Psalms 9:17, made this statement:  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (NKJV)  That is strong, strong language and language people do not want to hear.  Some would probably call it hate speech.  People do not want to hear about hell and many reject God because of the concept of hell as taught in the Bible.  I suspect it is highly likely many who look at what I write from time to time…

• Christianity–Who Rules Reason or Emotions?

  …reater role for women in the leadership and assemblies of the church.  It is not God’s word that does it.  But mark this down, if your religion is emotion based sooner or later you will have what you desire no matter what the Bible says thus many denominations now have women preaching and in leadership positions.  Jesus said of God’s word that it was truth (John 17:17) but in emotion based religion truth must take a back seat and really does not …

• What Does the Phrase “My Name” Mean in the Bible?

  Sometimes we run across phrases in the Bible that we really do not understand yet we think we can kind of guess at the meaning and come close enough thus we never bother to study them out to get at the truth.  The phrases trouble us a little but not enough for us to do any extra work to find out the meanings.  The phrase “my name” as found in the Bible is just such a phrase. The exact phrase “my name” is found 118 times i…

• Repent–How Hard It Is To Do

  It is hard to repent, no doubt about it.  I remember the comment made by a well known preacher of the nineteenth century that the hardest thing there was to do was to get men to repent.  By contrast it was easy to get men to believe.  He considered his greatest failure was in convincing men to repent. He was not the first preacher to have that problem.  The Bible calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5 NKJV).  Most Bible students b…

• The Truth So Called Christians Will Not Accept

  …be said of our own generation.  The zeal is there but not the truth. What did God do with the generation of which Paul spoke?  They were destroyed in 70 A. D. when the Roman army took Jerusalem with massive loss of life.  The Bible says that when Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, “He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidde…

• Christian Wars–A Misnomer

  …ingly are unable to put two and two together and say that hey, there is something wrong here.  Would true Christians in the tens of thousands voluntarily offer themselves up to go to war to destroy pagans?  Do we not know the Bible teaches we are to teach and convert them rather than destroy them? And yet what is so obvious is not seen by us for we have come to fully accept a perverted gospel as being the genuine thing.  Paul dealt with a pervert…

• The Christian, Politics, and the Government

  What role if any should the Christian play in politics?  All any man can know about the subject is what the Bible says and since it was written for the benefit and enlightenment of all men in all ages of time from the time it was first penned until the last day of this earth’s existence and for all cultures and under all the different kinds of governments under which men have lived it speaks to us not in specifics but in general statements on th…

• Walk in Truth—the Joy of John the Apostle

  The Bible is a troublesome book.  It is full of things men do not want to believe and often want even less to obey.  The thing that makes it most troublesome is that it just will not go away.  It is always there to bother the mind and the conscience.  Worse yet you cannot get it to read any differently in this enlightened high tech computer age in which we live than it did 200 years ago when in this country people were still living a primitive l…

• Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?

  … I doubt the total truthfulness of those statements for how does one just completely erase the thought from the mind?  Nevertheless, trying to not think about it is a way many have of coping with that which is inevitable. The Bible teaches clearly that one needs to make preparation for death.  The Hebrew writer says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:27 NKJV)  A few verses later in chap…

• When did Obedience Become Legalism?

  We seem to be living in a time in the present Christian era where people seem to feel that all that matters in Christianity is love and God’s grace, that obedience is simply legalism, and that people do not have to obey Bible commands for salvation (except, of course, for the command to believe in Jesus as the Savior). Grace is made cheap.  Live as you like, call yourself a Christian, and God’s grace will cover you.  It is said it is what is in …

• The Parable of the 10 Virgins–7 Lessons

  …hess. 1:7-9)  To ask is to answer. I know families as honest as the day, morally above reproach, kind, generous, do not drink, do not curse, have a great family and family life yet have no interest in religion, in Christ, the Bible, or God although they may offer a prayer at the Thanksgiving meal.  They may, if pressed, make a claim to believe in God but a Bible would last them 10,000 years for it would never be used nor would there ever be any p…

• Christianity and Multiculturalism

  …rence.”  Often proponents of the concept argue that in democracies it is majority rule and thus minorities are held down and discriminated against.  The desire is to withdraw from the majority culture.  So what does the Bible have to say, if anything, on the topic? 1 Cor. 1:10 reads as follows:  “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions amon…

• Confirmation Sunday–No Bibles Required

  Our local paper has an article in it this week by the woman pastor/preacher (call her whatever you want–she calls herself Rev.) from one of the nearby denominations entitled, “What is Confirmation?” which she wanted to explain since they have a confirmation Sunday planned.  Needless to say since I have never read of such a thing in the Bible and have known many people in this particular denomination over the years I ended up re…

• Faith in the New Testament–Different Meanings

  …lete trust and (4) a system of religious beliefs. I then went to another book I have entitled An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine.  This is a standard work, a word definition book quite well known by Bible students.  This book allows you to take the English word found in your King James Bible, look it up in this dictionary, and it will give you the Greek word or words behind the English, and give you the meaning of those…

• The Faith of Enoch

  The Bible tells us that, “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.” (Heb. 11:5 NAS)  Enoch and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) were the only two men to ever be born and not die a physical death.  Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven after a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated him from …

• Singing and Playing in Christian Worship

  …act that we can be certain beyond doubt that the instrument is of man’s invention in Christian worship rather from God, that man brought it in, not God, ought to settle the question immediately with all who want to follow the Bible, the word of God.  Want to follow the Bible, the word of God?  Simple!  Just sing.  Want to follow man.  Simple again!  Play musical instruments in worship.  There is nothing difficult about it. It is hard for people t…

• God’s Willingness to Forgive–King Manasseh

  …itude, an attitude of recklessness and carelessness, an attitude of almost indifference to righteousness, an attitude of no real commitment to battle sin.  Just do it and then ask God to forgive and all is well. I believe the Bible teaches that a man might commit the same sin over many, many times and God would still forgive him provided his attitude was right, the sorrow genuine, and the repentance from the depths of the heart each time.  So, we…

• What Is Baptism (the Sprinkling Hoax)

  It may well be that there is no Bible subject that has caused more confusion among men than the subject of baptism.  What is baptism?  What is its purpose?  Who should be baptized?  Why?  I would like to take a look at all of these questions and deal with all of them over time but for the present, for the purposes of this article, I will confine myself to the question what is baptism.  I doubt that very many people know what I am about to say.  …

• Honestly Deceived

  …that an angel had spoken to him “by the word of the Lord” (1 Kings 13:18 NKJV) and that the angel said, “bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water” (1 Kings 13:18 NKJV) which was a lie.  The Bible says, “He lied to him.” (1 Kings 13:18) The man of God from Judah, a prophet, was lied to and swallowed the lie as the saying goes, hook, line, and sinker.  While eating, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet ag…

• Why Do Men Run From God?

  … wanted to know how men think and why they think the way they do and thus what motivates a man.   The reality is only God can know for sure for only he can see inside a man and read a man’s heart.  As for you and me the Bible says, “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?” (1 Cor. 2:11 NKJV) Our best hope for knowing another lies in their willingness to open up to us.  Even then we ma…

• Indifference – The Great Destroyer

  …ed to seek God, from their point of few, despite the fact he says in his word, “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” (Heb. 11:6 NKJV) the very thing the indifferent will not do. No need to study the Bible. God is love. God is grace. God is going to save everyone no matter what he or she believes or practices just as long as he believes that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world and that in the most abstract so…

• Ways into Christ–How Many Ways Are There?

  …very spiritual blessing” is found (Eph. 1:3 NKJV) which, of course, includes salvation itself.  Having firmly established that salvation is found “in Christ” how then does one enter into Christ?  How many ways are there?  The Bible teaches there are conditions for entering into Christ, prerequisites if you will, namely faith, repentance, and confession all of which are absolutely essential to salvation but none of those things by themselves or ev…

• The Joy and the Danger of a Clean Conscience

  …How hard it is for any of us to be man enough to say we are wrong?  We will not even allow the thought.  As soon as even a tiny doubt enters our mind we cast it out as far from us as possible. Paul was not the only man in the Bible whose good conscience did not keep him from serious sin.  One of the most tragic cases in the Bible was that of the prophet described as “a man of God” (1 Kings 13:1) who was sent by God to Jeroboam to prop…

• The Prodigal Son–When He Came to Himself

  The story of the prodigal son as told by Jesus in Luke 15:11-32 is too long to quote here but also so well known that almost everyone acquainted with the Bible at all knows the story and the main thrust of the lesson taught there.  However, there is one phrase in the account we do not talk enough about–the phrase “when he came to himself” found in verse 17. This verse marks the point in the young man’s life where his eyes were opened to th…

• Is Denominational Baptism Scriptural?

  … the Greek carried over into the English without ever being translated.  We call them transliterated words.  Why were these Greek words never translated?  Because the Greek means to submerge, immerse, to dip.  By the time the Bible was being translated into English men had already become wedded to their invention–sprinkling and calling it baptism.  To translate the word accurately would end their deception for any capable of reading.  Sprin…

• Without Natural Affection and Covenant Breakers

  Most of us prefer a version of the Bible today that is a little more up to date in its language than is the old original American Standard Version of 1901 or the King James Version thus making the Bible a little easier to read and understand.  However, in a few passages scattered about the Bible even the new literal translations like the ESV, NASB, and the NKJV, all excellent translations when taken as a whole, have led us slightly astray with i…

• God’s Hardening of the Human Heart

  Does God ever harden people’s hearts?  No doubt about it.  Every Bible student is aware of God’s hardening the heart of Pharaoh back in the book of Exodus.  This was God’s plan before Moses arrived in Egypt.  “And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.”…

• One Church—A Thing Hard to Accept

  …re on various subjects?  There was a time in my life when I was yet relatively young and naive that I thought if a person was in error as it related to a religious matter correcting him or her would be as easy as going to the Bible and finding the book, chapter, and verse that told them the truth.  I learned over time that the real problem is not a matter of the mind but one of the heart and thus much more difficult to deal with. The kind of peop…

• They Loved the Praise of Men

  …tes the good others may do.  If you are helping the poor, the homeless, the orphans, the elderly, about everyone will consider those things to be good works and be pleased to see you working at that.  These are the things the Bible teaches that Christians ought to be doing. In the book of Ephesians Christians are said to be God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” (Eph. 2:10 NKJV)  Peter says that we are to have our “conduct h…

• A Heart Right With God (Test Your Heart)

  In Acts 8:21 Peter uttered the following words to Simon who was in his company, “Your heart is not right in the sight of God.” (NKJV)  How important it is that the heart be right with God.  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8 NKJV)  Simon could not be saved without a change of heart.  It is imperative that we know all we can about the human heart of which the Bible speaks and which we each possess.  Knowing the he…

• The Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman

  Every person that has ever contemplated the subject of life and death, the meaning of life and eternal destiny, and has chosen faith in Christ as the route he/she desires to walk has found himself/herself in a constant struggle.  On the one hand there is the deep desire to do what is right according to the will of God as we read it in the Bible and on the other hand there is that desire within us that wants to do what we want to do which often m…

• Finding Truth in Divided Christendom

  …in Jesus and are sincere that is all that matters and any church will do, just find the church of your choice. It is easy enough for the sincere seeker after truth to just throw up his/her hands in despair and give up but the Bible makes it clear that truth can be known and that it does matter what one believes and obeys.  Jesus said “to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall…

• Mary of Bethany–Doing What You Can

  …ng that good part which would not be taken away as she poured the oil onto the Lord’s head and onto his feet wiping his feet with her hair (John 12:3).  It was not cheap.  A footnote in the New Living Translation of the Bible at Mark 14:5 says that the 300 denarii cost of the oil would be the equivalent of 300 day’s wages. What lessons can we learn from this account?  There are several.  (1) When you love someone money doesn’t m…

• What Must a Man Believe to be Saved by the Gospel?

  That the gospel of Christ must be believed (as well as obeyed) in order to receive Christian salvation is made abundantly clear by the apostle Paul in one of the best known passages found in the Bible–Rom. 1:16:  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Rom. 1:16 NAS)  It thus becomes essential that we learn what it is that …

• Jesus and the Furnace of Fire

  Hell is not real for most people.  They think little about it and really do not believe that if there is such a place they could end up there.  Hell would only be reserved for characters like Hitler, Himmler, Stalin, murderers, child molesters, etc., the very worst society has to offer.  It is not a place for the average man or woman is the general thinking. The Bible teaches no such thing.  What it does teach is that it is very possible for you…

• Paul’s Conversion (Justified by Faith)

  The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who was soon to be known as Paul the apostle, is one of the most interesting accounts of conversion to Christianity found in the Bible.  One can read about Paul’s conversion in 3 different accounts given in the book of Acts–Acts 9:1-19, 22:1-16, 26:9-20.  Saul of Tarsus was one of the really bad men we read about in the New Testament which makes his conversion even more dramatic.  How bad a man was S…

• Faith, Manna, and Grumbling Against God

  ….  They had a sure thing going but blew it through no one’s fault but their own.  I stop here just long enough to say there is a lesson in that for us if we will heed it. Were the children of Israel happy in Egypt?  The Bible says, “The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; and they made their lives bitter with hard labor.” (Ex. 1:13-14 NASB)  They had enslaved them (Ex. 1:11).  This does not sound like a g…

• Hypocrites in the Church

  …wn failure to obey the gospel on hypocrites in the church.  They talk as though they want nothing to do with such a bunch of hypocrites and it is beneath them to associate with such.  They are better than that. Certainly, the Bible condemns hypocrisy.  What may surprise the reader is that the actual word “hypocrisy” is found only in 9 verses of the New American Standard Bible Update edition and the word “hypocrite” is foun…

• Diotrephes Loves To Have the Preeminence

  …rs not in that group. In Acts chapter 8 there was a man by the name of Simon who was converted by Phillip.  Prior to his conversion he had practiced sorcery in the city of Samaria and had astonished the people of Samaria, the Bible says, “claiming that he was someone great.” (Acts 8:9 NKJV)  In verse 10 of Acts 8, the Bible says, speaking of the people of Samaria with regards to Simon, that they “all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, say…

• Regrets

  While it would be wonderful to live a life of no regrets there are few if any of us that have or will.  By the time one reaches old age, and generally a long, long time before, one can look back at his life and see things he wishes he had done differently.  These things may relate to about any area of our life.   I think it would do us some good to look back at some of the Bible’s famous men and see if they had any regrets.  By doing so it…

• Saved by Jesus Outside the Church?

  It is not uncommon to hear people express their opinion that organized religion (the church) has nothing to do with salvation.  All that matters it is said is whether or not one has a personal relationship with Jesus. I do not know where this “personal relationship with Jesus” language came from for if you type in the phrase in any online Bible concordance you will not get a single return for the phrase is manmade and not found in sc…

• King Saul–As Long as It Glorifies God

  …ccount that is applicable to me today?  What is in it for my learning?  We should never read the Old Testament just as history but rather as history that is meant to teach and leave lessons for those of us living today. Every Bible student who has been a student any length of time is aware of Samuel’s encounter with King Saul as Saul returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites.  Saul had been commanded by God through Samuel to go and put to dea…

• Fornication–Take It Lightly at Your Peril

  …one to lusts and desires of the flesh the sin was still often committed but people generally realized they had done wrong when they became involved in it.  Today there seems to be no conscience of such.  Be that as it may the Bible still teaches that if we will not repent, and obey the gospel if we have not done so, “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption…

• What is it a Man Must Believe in Order to be Saved?

  What is it a man must believe in order to be saved according to the Bible?  If salvation is dependent on faith which the Bible clearly teaches then it is essential to know what it is that the Bible teaches we must believe.  This is not a subject that is studied a whole lot for the answer seems so evident–we must believe in Jesus.  Yes, that is true, but what does that mean?  I will talk about that later in the article but there are other t…

• God’s Plea–On Christ’s Behalf be Reconciled to God

  …ly breakups is the alienated.  They feel justified, maybe a sense of getting even, I will show you, and so in their desire to do this they emotionally kill the other party and seemingly find some fulfillment in doing so.  The Bible would call this malice or hatred and condemn it but the alienated feels justified. Two great examples in the Bible of men whose sons became alienated were David with his son Absalom and in the New Testament the case of…

• Faith is Not Just What You Believe

  … faith without works of obedience would also be a salvation without love for God.  Faith only advocates will not have baptism as an element of salvation for they fear it is a work.  Well, no more so than repentance.  When the Bible teaches we are saved by grace through faith and not of works, Eph. 2:8-9, is that passage teaching we are saved by disobedience because to obey would be a work and we cannot be saved by works?  Is that what it teaches?…

• Better to Never Have Been Born–Why?

  Jesus in reference to his betrayer Judas said, “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” (Matt. 26:24 ESV)  Most of us who believe the Bible can understand what Jesus said and why as it pertains to Judas and if we could leave it at that we could rest in peace.  Why then does such a statement torment us? The answer is because we know the truth to be that any man or woman whether it is our mother or dad, our wif…

• Must a Man Seek God?

  … will save them as long as they live what they consider to be a reasonably good life (reasonably good by their own personal standards and society’s standard).  They do not concern themselves with reading or studying the Bible, with worship, or obedience to God’s specific commandments. Whether they realize it or not this approach to salvation is an attempt to be saved by the works of man–it is an attempt to work your way to heave…

• If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implications

  … those living back then.  Here one comes into your midst claiming to speak for God.  Is he delusional, a mad man?  Is he a charlatan?  Why should I give him the time of day? People speak of blind faith.  The kind of faith the Bible demands of men is not blind faith but faith built upon reason based on the word of God confirmed by miracles.  I believe not because I am naive and will believe anything and will buy bridges in deserts but rather becau…

• Unhappy With the Church of Christ?

  There are many misconceptions about the church of Christ and about its membership and what they think.  It is often said that the membership of the church of Christ are the people who think they are the only ones who are going to be saved.  One wonders if people who make statements like that have ever read their Bible. The Bible clearly teaches one must be a member of the church of Christ (the church either belongs to Christ or it doesn’t—…

• Bible Characters

  Mary of Bethany–Doing What You Can Demas Has Forsaken Me Diotrephes Loves to Have the Preeminence The Mysterious Eloquent Evangelist Never Give Up (Moses and David) Regrets He Feared (Peter) Honestly Deceived (the young prophet and Eve) He Went Away Grieved (the rich young ruler) King Saul–As Long as it Glorifies God They Loved the Praise of Men Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) Moses–The Fork in the Road …

• Bible Conversions

  In the book of Acts one finds the inspired apostles and evangelists going out into the world and preaching the gospel.  That statement in itself while true is misleading to a degree for if those who preached the gospel were inspired the preaching was in reality that of the Holy Spirit.  What was demanded of those being converted for salvation was being demanded not by Peter, Philip, or Paul but rather by the Holy Spirit himself. The conversion e…

• Moses, the Waters of Marah, and a Lesson for Today

  …ou do not carry that kind of water in canteens. After this three day journey without finding water they come to Marah, a place that has water but water so bitter it cannot be drunk.  In fact, according to the notes in the NET Bible, the Hebrew word “Marah” means bitter.  The Bible says, “The people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” (Ex. 15:24 NKJV)  One has to understand Moses was only G…

• The Lord’s Supper as a Part of a Larger Meal–Right or Wrong?

  Should the Lord’s Supper be incorporated as a part of a larger meal in the worship of God in the Christian religion? Some are today arguing for such a practice. All any of us can know about what we should or should not do is found in the Bible, at least that has been the traditional view of conservatives. Today there is a liberal element in Christianity who feels they no longer need Bible authority for what they do. That being the case they feel…

• The Need to Preach on Sin

  …today will not preach against sin, showing men their sins, confronting them with them, so that they might be made aware of sin and its consequences and be led to repentance, gospel obedience, and forgiveness. If we preach the Bible we must preach about sin.  Have you ever given it thought that if there was no sin there would be no need for the Bible, no need for Jesus the Savior, no need for the cross?  Every man has sin and every man needs to ha…

• Disobedience to Jesus

  …ves the sense of any kind of responsibility to obey God other than mentally assenting to the son ship of Jesus.  Disobedience to Jesus is thus not considered a sin that will damn you just as long as you believe. What does the Bible have to say on the subject?  In John 3:36 we find this passage, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (NAS – …

• Sin in the Desert–Testing God at Massah and Meribah

  One lesson that is clearly taught in the Bible is that man is not to test God.  Moses in speaking to the children of Israel told them, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.” (Deut. 6:16 NASB)  Jesus in speaking with the devil while he was being tempted said, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Matt: 4:7 NASB)  Paul in telling us not to follow t…

• Things God Cannot Do

  The Bible teaches there are things God cannot do.  Why not?  It is certainly not because he is wanting in power or knowledge but it is a matter of who he is, his nature or character.  We can understand that.  There are things you and I could do but our character would never allow it.  I thought it would be good to use an online Bible concordance for the New King James Version and type in the word “cannot” and see what came up.  I was…

• Jesus’ Baptism and You?

  …o for God had commanded it and all of God’s commandments are righteousness. In Matt. 21 Jesus is being confronted by the chief priests and the elders who want to know by what authority he is doing the things he is doing.  The Bible says, (Matt. 21:24-26 NKJV), “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John, where was it from…

• He Feared

  …ke the shield away from the soldier and his prospects for survival were greatly diminished.  Paul is telling us all that if we will build our faith strong enough we cannot be defeated in the battle for our spiritual life. The Bible teaches us clearly that faithfulness is directly associated with obedience and vice versa.  In Hebrews chapter 3 toward the end of the chapter the writer is discussing the children of Israel who came out of Egypt under…

• Never Give Up

  …ins could be mentioned, here are a few.  We begin to put God on the back burner and give him second place in our lives feeling that there is just not enough time to do everything.  Attendance at worship services begin to lag, Bible reading ceases, prayer time diminishes, there is no time for good works, we begin doing whatever it is that is required of us to stay in good standing in our job even if it means sacrificing our Christian life.  It is …

• How Does the Blood of Jesus and Baptism Tie Together

  I know of no one who claims to be a Christian but what believes we are saved by the blood of Jesus.  All believe that for the Bible clearly teaches it stating it plainly, “We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Eph 1:7 NKJV)  There are very few, however, who realize where God has placed that blood spiritually speaking.  Christianity is a religion of the spirit.  No man is saved by coming into physical contac…

• Fear God

  …act that a man has no fear of God does not necessarily prove he is a man whose love has been perfected.  Many who lack fear of God are atheist and godless men.  They are those who should fear God but who do not. What does the Bible say and teach about fearing God?  Noah is the earliest man we read about in the Bible of whom it is said he had godly fear.  In the book of Hebrews, the eleventh chapter, the chapter known as the faith chapter, it is s…

• Did Christ Rise From the Dead or is Faith Folly?

  …he faith of those who do believe both revolve around the matter of the resurrection (did it or did it not occur).  If it occurred there is a God in heaven and Jesus is his Son, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world. The Bible itself teaches this very thing.  Speaking of Jesus the Bible says that he was, “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1:4 NKJV) One does…

• The Hardening of the Human Heart

  There are passages in the Bible that are frightening.  Heb. 3:12-13 is one such passage. “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘TODAY,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (NKJV)  This is a passage addressed to Christians but the idea that the heart can be hardened by sin is appl…

• Faith, Works, and Baptism

  Many are the men and women who believe that since the Bible teaches justification by faith (Rom. 5:1) and not by works (Eph. 2:8-9, Titus 3:5) that baptism is excluded as an act essential to salvation despite many passages that teach the contrary (Acts 2:38, 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21, Titus 3:5, Eph. 5:26, 1 Cor. 12:13 compared with Eph. 5:23, John 3:5, Gal. 3:26-27, etc.).  They are greatly mistaken. In the first place the Bible clearly teaches that …

• Lessons for the Church from Isaiah (Chapter 1)

  …oman to teach or to have authority over a man.” (1 Tim. 2:12 NKJV)  What an inspired preacher had to say about the subject did not matter to her.  She rejected Paul but would have argued all day with you that she believed the Bible. The Jews of Isaiah’s day had recreated God in their own image.  He would become what they wanted him to be.  We have to be very careful today lest we do the exact same thing.  When we begin to say things like that was…

• Jesus Defines Repentance

  The Bible clearly teaches that repentance is a command of God to all men (Acts 17:30) and that if we fail to repent we shall perish (Luke 13:3, 5).  It is essential then that we come to a proper understanding of the meaning of repentance.  What does it mean to repent?  Jesus tells us and we can find no higher authority on the subject than Christ himself.  Let us hear what he has said. “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this ge…

• Christ the Savior of the Body but Which One–the Matter of Timing?

  …not yet established, to something that does not exist.  The church was begun on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 commencing with those who responded to Peter’s preaching that day.  In Acts 2:47 the New King James version of the Bible reads, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”  Much more could be written on the establishment of the church but that is not the purpose of this particular article. Every denomination that…

• The Great Commission and Cornelius

  …d correctly be translated by the word “into?”  That is to say the Greek means “into.”  If you do not believe that check it out for yourself by getting a New American Standard original edition reference Bible and check the side margin, or center column, references out.  If you do not have one here is what you will find, the exact words, “Lit., into“.  Lit. means literal, meaning “into” is the literal…

• Is America a Christian Nation—the Sandra Fluke Controversy

  …he kingdom of God.” He says in 1 Cor. 6:18, “Flee fornication.  Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” (KJV)  Did you get that?  The Bible calls fornication a sin.  Now who is the worse—Rush Limbaugh for calling names or our national leaders whose desire it is to defend the indefensible– defend sin?  God will decide. In an article entitled “Ru…

• Born Again At The Point Of Faith – John 1:12-13

  …#8217;s children meaning they are not yet–not at the point of belief.  Yet, verse 13 says they were born of God. How does one deal with this apparent contradiction?  If you have a New American Standard Reference Edition Bible (one of the best reference Bibles on the market) you will find in the reference notes on verse 13 that the word “born” could have been “begotten”.  It is a translator’s choice as to which word t…

• Abortion Luke 1 – All You Need to Know

  …o his birth?  Was he just fetal matter in the womb or was he the baby Cyrus?   When a woman conceives whose doing is that if not God’s?  (See Gen. 29:31 and Gen. 30:22-23 to find out.  No, don’t be lazy, open your Bible and read.) How many women are trying desperately to have a child but cannot?  If you as a woman have conceived then it was God’s doing.  God is the only giver of human life.  He alone can make it happen.  How man…

• Peter’s Second Gospel Sermon

  …n dispensation of time is again a sermon preached by Peter as found in the next chapter in Acts–chapter 3.  That there was preaching being done between Peter’s first sermon and his second there is no doubt for the Bible says “the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47 NAS) and this was after Pentecost but before the events recorded in Acts 3. Of those sermons, of which we know not…

• Must the Christian Keep the Sabbath?

  There are many people who believe the Christian must keep the Sabbath.  It is one of the Ten Commandments and many believe we are under command to keep all the Ten Commandments.  Are they correct?  What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?  Who was to keep it–was it for all men and for all time?  How was it to be kept?  Let us see what the Bible has to say about the matter. The first time one finds the word “Sabbath” in the Bi…

• The Church as the Body of Christ–Which Means What?

  …in the church you are in the body of Christ, if you are not in the church you are not in the body of Christ. Now what is it that Christ is the Savior of?  It is his body, the body of Christ (Eph. 5:23).  Name one place in the Bible where Christ ever promised or gave hope of saving any one not in the body of Christ.  I am willing to wait for the answer but it will be a long wait for you will not find it. Here is what causes the confusion–peo…

• The Book of Ecclesiastes

  Is the book of Ecclesiastes the most depressing book in the Bible?  Well, it can be–no doubt about it.  I don’t think it would make very many people’s list of favorite Bible books.  I know personally it always kind of depressed me in days gone by when I would read it but that was my fault, not the book’s fault.  I would like to try and show the upbeat side of the book of Ecclesiastes. What the book of Ecclesiastes does is…

• Israel’s Rebellion at the Red Sea

  …g leprous, and water from the Nile being poured on the ground and becoming blood.  The snake when picked up by the tail became a staff again and the hand placed into the cloak after becoming leprous was returned healthy.  The Bible says, “So the people believed.” (Ex. 4:31 NKJV) However, when Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh requesting he let the children of Israel go it seems it made Pharaoh angry and he increased greatly the work …

• Peter’s Preaching and the Apostle’s Preaching

  …an be scripturally baptized who does not believe?  No!  When a thing is clearly implied in scripture it does not need to be mentioned. It is said that the Catholics baptize babies who cannot believe.  Do they?  Where does the Bible teach that sprinkling is baptism?  Men made sprinkling baptism, not God.  In the New Testament a man was baptized when he was buried in water.  There was no other way to be baptized.  Secondly, the Bible teaches, ̶…

• A New Creation in Christ

  …ience will he understand the subject of salvation by faith as taught in the New Testament.  Do you remember the account of the nobleman in Luke 19:11-27 who left his citizens to go to a far country and receive a kingdom?  The Bible says “his citizens hated him” and said, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” (Luke 19:14 NKJV)  When he returned what happened?  He said, “Bring here those enemies of mine, who di…

• Praying to God to Bless the Bread–Really?

  … but merely gave thanks for the emblems.  (3) Jesus did not ask God to bless the bread and/or the fruit of the vine. I think it is very possible modern day error on this subject has come from a bad rendering in the King James Bible of Matt. 26:26-27 where a word was added to the text by the translators but generally read by readers as though it was a part of the original Greek manuscripts.  The text  there reads as follows: “And as they wer…

• Everlasting Life–The Believer of John 3:16

  …at the Son of man–the Son of God–said you are not a believer in him.  If I can’t believe a man’s word out in the everyday world it is quite a stretch to say I believe in him.  It is no different in the Bible as one considers Jesus and his word. When Jesus declares a man has everlasting life based on a certain condition then that condition becomes mandatory and is not a matter of personal preference as to whether it is requ…

• Who is the Believer in John 3:16?

  Sometimes things that are the most obvious are also the easiest to overlook.  No passage in the Bible is better known nor been memorized more than Jesus’ statement in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (NKJV)  This was part of a conversation that Jesus was having with a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who …

• Three Benefits of Being a Christian in This Life – Hope, Love, Peace

  …llows the Christian to not become bitter at life but rather have a long term optimistic outlook.  The darkness of the moment will pass and the sunshine will return.  The Christian believes this for he has hope and hope in the Bible means confident expectation, not an iffy “I hope so” the way we speak today.  “Hope does not disappoint.” (Rom. 5:5 NKJV)  It is the “anchor of the soul.” (Heb. 6:19 NKJV) (2)  Love When one becomes a Christian out of …

• Behold the Judge is Standing at the Door

  …st.  For it is written:  ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’  So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Rom. 14:10-12 NKJV)  If the Bible is true, and I say that it is without a doubt in my mind, then every person who has ever lived, or will live in the future, or who lives now, will someday be found on their knees at the feet of God (Jesus) the creator …

• Assorted

  …hristians Will Not Accept If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implications Lincoln’s Tomb and Jesus’ Tomb Abortion Luke 1 – All You Need to Know Non-Offensive Christianity Ghost Hunting and Consulting the Dead Bible Authority, Foot Washing, the Holy Kiss, and Head Coverings Christianity, Homosexuality, and Gay Marriage When Did Obedience Become Legalism? Healing For the Brokenhearted Better to Have Never Been Born Though He Slay M…

• The Faithfulness of Jesus to God the Father

  …only saying here that in Jesus’ role as the Son of Man he had a dependency on God the Father just as all men do.  Even as the Son of God sons are subject to their fathers and must always show them honor and respect. The Bible says Jesus was “faithful” to God who appointed him as the apostle and high priest of our confession (Heb. 3:1-2).  The text also points out how Moses had also been “faithful.”  What does the wor…

• He Went Away Grieved

  …ternal life but seeking for the bread of this life.  Even today the politicians will be sure and hit the churches before a major election and most certainly not for spiritual enlightenment or uplifting. There was a man in the Bible we read about who came to Jesus for what appeared to be the right motive, a spiritual motive, that he might be saved.  This meant that he saw Jesus as the one who could point him in the right way.  He had faith enough …

• The Case of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit

  …at the gospel is?  Does the Holy Spirit preach one message concerning salvation in one location but a different one elsewhere?  Does God show partiality toward some?  Are some saved one way and others in a different way?  The Bible says, “there is no partiality with God” (Rom 2:11 NKJV) and Paul says there is but “one faith” (Eph. 4:4) while saying also of one who preaches another gospel “let him be accursed.” …

• The Church as the Family of God–Things Found in It

  …ur life–kindness both shown to us and that which we show or should show to others?  In the church one should always find kindness being shown one member to another for we are family.  We should show kindness to all, the Bible teaches that, but certainly we need kindness to one another in the family of God. (4)  Longsuffering or patience.  Life in any family requires patience or longsuffering with one another.  You should find that in the ch…

• If Baptism is Not Essential for Salvation

  …t, one would almost have to say that Peter became a habitual false teacher with regards to the subject of baptism. (6)  If baptism is not essential for salvation then the blood of Jesus is not essential for salvation.  In the Bible blood while literal also stands for or is representative of life itself.   Pilate in washing his hands of the whole affair (if only it was that easy to do) said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” (Matt….

• Abuse of the Old Testament

  …evere as we see what some of those men and women were willing to do and endure to be faithful to God.  We compare our trials with theirs and ours seem but little things and we are given strength to go on and not give up.  The Bible speaks of these as being those “of whom the world was not worthy.” (Heb. 11:38 NKJV) We are told to remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32), told in so many words that we ought to learn from the fact that &#…

• Demas Has Forsaken Me

  The man by the name of Demas is only mentioned in the Bible three times, all three times by the apostle Paul.  Demas was for a time a fellow traveler and fellow worker with Paul.  He is mentioned in the closing of the book of Colossians, a book written around AD 60, as one who with Paul and others sent their greetings to the church at Closse (Col. 4:14). Again in the book of Philemon in verse 23 and 24 he along with Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, …

• What Does The Phrase “Born Of Water And The Spirit” Mean? (The New Birth)

  …t in the difficulty of the passage but rather with theologians, scholars, commentators, and religious leaders (preachers included) who are unwilling to accept the obvious import of the passage. People often fail to understand Bible passages not because of their difficulty but rather due to prejudice–closed minds.  Why was Jesus never accepted by the majority of the Jews of his time?  Why was Jesus crucified?  Was it not prejudice; was it no…

• The Army of the Lord–the Church

  The army of the Lord is a phrase found only one time in the NKJV of the Bible and that in the Old Testament in Joshua 5:14 where Joshua in the vicinity of Jericho meets up with one who says of himself that he is “Commander of the army of the Lord.” (NKJV)  However, having said that, it is clear from many different New Testament passages that while the church is never called an army it is clearly described as an army in that each Christian is con…

• The Church Christ Built–Marks of Identification

  … 5:2), God’s field (1 Cor. 2:9), God’s building (1 Cor. 2:9), the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15), the house of Christ (Heb. 3:6), the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and, of course, the most common name used for the church in the Bible is just the word “church” itself as all Bible readers know. The listing above is not an exhaustive list but it is enough of a list to give you the idea that the church is not given a formal name in the New Testament.  …

• The Washing of Water by the Word–Baptism and Salvation

  …n happen.  Why?  Because Christians are the church and it is Christians that will be saved.  The church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23); “He (Jesus–DS) is the Savior of the body.” (Eph. 5:23 NKJV)  Nowhere does the Bible teach that one can be outside of the Savior (his body, the church) and be saved.  If you can be outside the Savor and be saved then you can be outside the church and be saved but not until then.  Is there anyone who th…

• The Parable of the Talents–the Sin of Fear

  …ne divided his goods up among 3 servants.  He did not divide evenly but gave each what he thought he could reasonably be expected to succeed with.  Upon his return home after returning from “a far country,” as the Bible calls it, the servants were called in to give an account. The first two servants, the two who were given most to care for in his absence, gave him a glowing report telling him they had each doubled his funds in his abs…

• The Pleasures of Sin

  Is there pleasure in sin?  The Bible teaches that sometimes there is–that is for a time.  You are probably familiar with the passage in the Bible found in Heb. 11:24-25 that speaks of the “pleasures of sin for a season” (KJV) or “the passing pleasures of sin” as the New King James puts it.  “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God…

• Mt. Sinai and the Day of Judgment

  …s of the people to the Lord.  The Lord then says to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” (Ex. 19:9 NASB)  All Bible students are well aware this will be the time when God descends on Mt. Sinai in view of the people though he will be hidden in a cloud.  “On the third day (after preparations for the event are made–DS) the …

• Keep Your Heart With All Diligence

  … of it but entertain it finding some satisfaction in doing so then it would seem to pass into the realm of sinful thought.  At least that is the only explanation I can see.  You will have to decide for yourself. Perhaps a few Bible examples would help us out.  I was recently reading of the account of Achan’s sin in Joshua 7:20-21.  The Bible says, “And Achan answered Joshua and said, ‘Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this …

• Fools, Speech, and Christianity

  …ay to one’s fellowman “you fool” puts him in danger of going to hell itself.  That is a frightful thought to think that the words out of one’s mouth are enough to condemn a man for eternity and yet the Bible teaches that. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the e…

• Cornelius’ Conversion–Final Thoughts

  … rejoicing because baptism is for the remission of sins? (Acts 2:38)  Could it be because he knew he had been obedient to the teaching of the Great Commission?  Let the reader judge for himself. I do not know of a case in the Bible where it is said or implied that the Holy Spirit was ever said to be given to a man for the purpose of saving him.  Do you?  Yes, he has the Spirit if he is saved but is that the reason it was given to him–to sav…

• Ignorance Does Not Excuse Sin

  … ourselves, based on emotion, not the truth of God’s word, that if a person lives in a remote land far away where the gospel has not been taught and/or is not readily available to him he will be saved without the gospel.  The Bible teaches just the opposite. Why go preach the gospel anywhere if a man is saved without it?  Why bother a man if he can be saved, and already is, without the gospel?  If a man is saved without the gospel it is better to…

• Is Holy Spirit Baptism The Baptism That Saves?

  …will always be scriptures that can be given in support of any doctrine one proclaims.  That does not mean one has understood them correctly.  There will always be tough passages or verses which are just not clear to one.  Any Bible student who denies that, who makes the claim he completely understands every verse in the Bible is simply a liar.  Nothing more can be made of it.  What then is one to do?  The same thing we do in living our ordinary e…

• Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation

  …ey can do it all by themselves as little kids are prone to say.  If you can do it all by yourself then you do not need God in your life do you and that is the problem when we take the attitude of self-sufficiency too far. The Bible gives an account of just such a man–the parable of the rich fool (a landowner) found in Luke 12:16-21.  “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully….

• Spiritual Mirages

  …he Jews with whom Jeremiah was dealing?  Everything is going well; we see no need to repent thinking our life is pleasing to God and we are being blessed because of our godly life all the while knowing we cannot read specific Bible passages without them condemning us–our life, our faith, or our conduct.  We like the Jews of old will not listen to God’s specific word.  We convince ourselves in one way or another that things have change…

• The Sin of Contempt (Verbal Abuse)

  …h nor do we live under the Law of Moses.  Nevertheless, there is a warning in this teaching that transcends the ages. A good place to begin is with the word “Raca” which is meaningless to the average reader of the Bible.  Consequently, many translations translate the Greek differently using terms or phrases such as “insults his brother” (ESV), “insults a brother” (NET, NRSV is similar), “You good-for-noth…

• Anger

  … which means to me, as I understand it, everyone who has done the same sort of thing out of anger—that is struck out unlawfully against the one with whom he was angry. All such will be found guilty before the court. But some Bible commentators will argue that this passage is all an allusion to God’s judgment of these things in the end of time. I would not say that is impossible. It may well be. John Gill (1697-1771) says, and I quote, &…

• Are the New Testament Scriptures Alone a Sufficient Guide to Heaven?

  …s that are an addition to scripture thus making the scriptures insufficient). What do the scriptures themselves teach on the subject?  If they make the claim to be sufficient then those denying such make it clear they are not Bible believers despite any and all claims to the contrary. The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul the apostle said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc…

• Are Paul’s Writings as Authoritative as Jesus’ Words?

  … of us build confidence in you.  In New Testament times miracles were performed to confirm the word as being from God (Heb. 2:1-4).  We need confirmation of like nature if you are going to start cutting out scripture from the Bible for proof is needed that your word is from God when you do such cutting.   After all you will be giving us a new Bible when your cutting is done. Needless to say all such approaches to scripture end up being faith dest…

• Abel’s Sacrifice by Faith versus Cain’s Sacrifice

  …#8221; or an “it seems to me” faith?  Is that the definition of faith?  That is opinion, not faith. The writer in the book of Hebrews (11:4) says Abel’s sacrifice was by faith.  When one acts by faith in the Bible he is acting in confidence, not in doubt.  He is not guessing or hoping.  Well, how could Abel be so confident about his sacrifice?  There is only one way and that is if he had received instructions from God as to how …

• Repentance–How Can I Be Sure?

  The words repent and repentance are Bible words, words hardly ever used outside of a religious context.  In reading one’s New Testament, beginning with the gospel accounts, the first preaching that is recorded is that of John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2 NKJV)  In Matt. 4:17 we see Jesus preaching the exact same message.  The call to men from inspiration from the very …

• Abraham’s Faith (Faith Accounted for Righteousness)

  Every person who truly believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is interested in having what we might term “saving faith.”  The Bible could not be any clearer than it is on our need for such faith.  Paul tells the Ephesian Christians, “By grace you have been saved through faith.” (Eph. 2:8 NKJV)  To the Christians at Rome he speaks of them “having been justified by faith” (Rom. 5:1 NKJV) and then the…

• Misunderstanding the Grace of God

  …utside the body of Christ and thus outside all of the blessings that are found only in Christ.  All good things are found in Christ, not out of him.  That includes grace as clearly shown for all who will accept 2 Timothy 2:1. Bible faith by which God’s grace comes is a faith that believes what God has said so strongly that he does not question it but if God has said it the matter with him is settled.  The true man of faith does not need to …

• Jesus the Foundation of and the Builder of the Church

  …t himself being the chief cornerstone.” (Eph. 2:20 NKJV)  One has his choice–he can either believe the Catholic Church in what it teaches that Peter is the rock upon which the church is built or he can believe the Bible which makes it plain that Jesus is that rock.  What is impossible is to make a claim to believe both since they directly contradict one another. Yes, Peter is a stone in the church but so is every other Christian.  Pet…

• Christian Circumcision

  …;t worry about what Paul has to say (Col. 2:20) for he is talking only to those who have died with Christ.  Thus for those who claim to be Christians without baptism, the circumcision performed by Christ therein, parts of the Bible do not pertain to you for you never died with Christ.  You die with Christ in baptism.  You were not baptized. Another similar passage is Col. 3:1 where the text says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek t…

• Looking Down Your Nose

  …NKJV) I also want to look at the second part of verse 4 from our text where Paul says if we show partiality we become judges with evil thoughts, the last two words.  What kind of “evil thoughts?”  First of all the Bible teaches that evil thoughts themselves are sin. Hear Jesus, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulte…

• Ghost Hunting and Consulting the Dead

  …edy shows are often a problem today.  Stand up comedians tell off color jokes, use language that is coarse and crude even to cursing and the situation or sitcom comedies are often as bad or worse.  Casual sex, better known in Bible terms as fornication, is played up as though it is something every normal person that is unmarried ought to engage in as just a normal part of life.  Seinfeld is a good example of that kind of show. Well, how about gho…

• The Grace of God in Baptism

  …eir mind one thing only–the saving act of God that brings salvation. The idea is that salvation is all of God’s doing and absolutely none of our doing. Where this idea came from I have no idea as my mind cannot read the Bible and conjure up any such line of reasoning. Noah found grace in God’s eyes (Gen. 6:8) and was saved from drowning in the flood but Noah had something to do on his part to be saved. There was an ark to be built. Was Noah…

• The Mysterious Eloquent Evangelist

  There are a lot of mysterious characters mentioned in the Bible we would like to know a lot more about than we do with Apollos, the eloquent evangelist, ranking right up there near the top among such New Testament characters.  However, the fact that we know but little about him could be said equally of most of the apostles.  The thing that makes Apollos mysterious is what we do know about him. Here is what we know, Acts 18:24-28 (NAS), “No…

• Weak, Defiled, and Seared Consciences

  The Bible speaks of the conscience of man describing it in several different ways as the state of the conscience varies from man to man and sometimes from time to time within the same man.  The conscience can be good, pure, and without offense but it can also be weak, defiled, evil, and even seared.  It is the negative traits of the conscience I wish to discuss in this article.  What is a weak conscience?  The first time one reads about a weak c…

• The Conscience as a Witness

  … him caught in the act of adultery.  They are trying Jesus, trying to get him in a tight spot, but he turns the table on them and says to them that whoever is among you without sin cast the first stone at her (John 8:7).  The Bible then says, “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one.” (John 8:9 NKJV)  What was convicting them?  Their conscience, yes, but the conscience was the heart.  Their he…

• Acceptable Prayer

  …If one only prays once for a thing how badly does he want the thing or how badly does he need it which is a better way of phrasing it?  Why does God not respond to a prayer immediately granting one’s request?  Since the Bible does not say we can only make a man made observation and tell the reader to take it for what it is worth which may or may not be anything. If God was to answer every prayer immediately and positively would that not lea…

• A Good and Pure Conscience

  …beneficial and good for that person.  God is love (1 John 4:16) and his word is based on that love.  Thus the conscience to be what it ought to be must be trained based on correct teaching–the word of God. That said the Bible teaches we must act in good conscience and to do otherwise is sin.  “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:23 NKJV) …

• More on Willful Sin—Can Anyone be Saved?

  …a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” (NKJV)  I want you to hear the words of Albert Barnes, perhaps the best known of all English Bible commentators, in his comments on the willful sin of this passage.  He says: “It is not to be construed here strictly, or metaphysically (he is here talking about the word ‘willfully’—Denny), for all s…

• Waymon Swain’s Audio Sermons

  …e has a son, Bob Swain, who is an excellent preacher in his own right and so here is a link to Bob’s audio sermons as well:  Bob Swain’s Audio Sermons Assorted (22 sermons) Authority (1 sermon) Baptism (4 sermons) Bible Characters (1 sermon) Bible Conversions (5 sermons) Christian Living (26 sermons) Faith (7 sermons) Forgiveness (6 sermons) God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit (10 sermons) Grace (3 sermons) New Birth (7 sermon…

• Deeper Spiritual Understanding–How do I Acquire It?

  … and understand better.  There is an inner longing to draw nearer to God and feel closer to him and so the way is sought to do so. But the question is how do I do this or accomplish this which I so desire?  If I just read the Bible more and pray more will that do the trick?  It would be good if we could say yes that is all it will take but that would not be telling the truth.  We suppose the scribes and the Pharisees of the New Testament era read…

• The Cleansing of the Church at Ephesus

  …1 Peter 1:10, 1 Peter 1:13).  I have listed most of them here so the reader will know I am well aware of them. I might also add here I am thankful it is that way.  If salvation was of works a man might well come up short (the Bible teaches he would–see Gal. 3:21).  He would worry continually about what works (do I know all of them I need to do).  The thought would always be in his mind have I done enough. Just about all of us have been invo…

• The Silence of the Scriptures

  From a book entitled A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins I quote as follows:  “The basic difference between Zwingli and Luther was in their attitudes to the Bible.  Zwingli saw it as a precise blueprint for church life.  For Luther, what is not forbidden is permitted; for Zwingli, what is not permitted is forbidden.” (page 141)  Both Zwingli and Luther lived in the Age of Reformation often called the Protestant Reforma…

• Jesus as the Bread of Life (John 6:48)

  Beginning in about John 6:27 Jesus begins a discussion with those with whom he is conversing that carries through most of the rest of the chapter about himself being the bread of life sent down from the Father (John 6:32-35) that man might eat of this bread and have eternal life.  There are many, many descriptive terms used in reference to Jesus in the Bible of which the bread of life is but one. In the book of John alone Jesus is described as t…

• The Kind of Faith in God That Destroys

  … this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. In verse 13 Jesus says specifically that these men believe.  Are they saved?  How about that class of believers represented by the seed that fell in the thorns?  Are they saved? The Bible clearly teaches men can be believers and yet remain unsaved.  Other examples could easily be given of men who believe but will be condemned for they have the faith that destroys and not the faith that saves. There are …

• The Fragrance of Christ

  …death in those who are rejecting him.  Ever wonder why some just do not want to hear it, the gospel?  I am persuaded that deep down they know their guilt and their need but the desire is to live their life as they please (the Bible in the newer translations sometimes uses the phrase “selfish ambition,” or the word “selfishness,” or “self-seeking” with regards to a certain state of mind) and they thus harden their heart as they do not want to hear…

• How Was Noah Saved Through Water?

  … faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26 NKJV) which is exactly where Noah would have ended up without the works. There is a difference between a work of obedience to God’s command and a work that merits salvation.  The Bible condemns the latter.  You cannot merit your way to heaven by works.  Don’t you think Noah was well aware that the God who caused the flood was just as capable of capsizing the ark Noah had built if he chose to do so?  …

• For By Grace You Have Been Saved Through Faith Alone

  …own but it distresses me to see what man has done to Eph. 2:8-9.  The passage has been perverted; the perversion has been made the be all and end all of God’s teaching on the subject.  It is as if no other verses in the Bible have any authority on the topic of salvation.  If God has spoken elsewhere it makes no difference for these two verses (I should say the perversion of them) are all we will take into account and accept.  We tell God, i…

• Healing For the Brokenhearted

  …ess, hearts can be healed even though a scar may always cover the wound that was received.  Scars are eventually forgotten in the sense that the day comes when they no longer interfere with everyday life and life goes on. The Bible teaches that Jesus too suffered from a broken heart just as we have.  Jesus has often been called the man of sorrows based on Isa. 53.  Listen to a little of the prophet Isaiah as he talks about Jesus as he foresees th…

• Non-Offensive Christianity

  …though God would tolerate the sin). If the Christian considers drunkenness to be sinful who is likely to be offended by that belief if not the one who likes to drink to drunkenness?  You can go right down the list of what the Bible calls sins, name them one by one, and ask the same kind of question and get the same kind of answer.  Christian beliefs themselves are offensive to many–to a great, great many—no matter what subject you end up ta…

• Reconciling With a Brother

  …ithful in the outward observances of Christianity, most concede we are, and the first thing we know we can find ourselves having trouble finding fault with ourselves.  We can end up worshipping ourselves rather than God.  The Bible says of that particular Pharisee that when he prayed he was “praying thus to himself.” (Luke 18:11 NAS) The man who would do such things as Jesus spoke of in our text in Matt. 5:22 seems to be a man much li…

• Religious Titles Forbidden in Christianity

  …efore God.  No one is special, no one gets a pass, and no one gets to exalt himself above the rest of the brethren. The reader might find it interesting to note that you will not find the word Rabbi in the Old Testament.  The Bible commentator Adam Clarke says of the word Rabbi, “None of the prophets had ever received this title, nor any of the Jewish doctors before the time of Hillel and Shammai, which was about the time of our Lord.”…

• Christian Living

  …Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman Fear God Regrets If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implications Work Out Your Own Salvation Behold the Judge is Standing at the Door Looking Down Your Nose He Went Away Grieved Bible Authority, Foot Washing, the Holy Kiss, and Head Coverings King Saul–As Long as it Glorifies God When Did Obedience Become Legalism? Christianity–Who Rules Reason or Emotions? Healing For the Brokenhearted …

• Is Church Attendance Essential for Christian Salvation?

  …ed about what God can see. I would add one other thing to what I have said.  We think we fool other people into thinking we are the Christians we ought to be.  Who do we think we are kidding?  If they know two cents about the Bible they are not fooled.  They have eyes, they see.  They just keep quiet and do not throw it up to you. “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26 NKJV)  The answer is, I am sorry to say, freedom to not…

• Christ and Baptism in Colossians

  …  The fact that Eve was deceived by Satan in the garden did not free her of her sin.  “And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.” (1 Tim. 2:14 NAS)  We need to read the Bible, even more we need to study it, “a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of God.” (2 Tim. 2:15 NAS)  We need to read the book of Colossians and see what it teaches about Christ and bapti…

• Gospel Obedience at Corinth

  …ing that is certainly faith but not faith alone apart from repentance, confession of Jesus, and baptism for the remission of sins which places one in Christ.  The reader should not confuse being in the church mentioned in the Bible with denominations.  The thing Paul is discussing is not denominationalism which did not exist when Paul wrote and would not for hundreds of years to come.  One is baptized into the New Testament church, the one Christ…

• The Kingdom of God and the New Birth–A Matter of Timing

  …ed faith)?  What did he, the man with the keys, tell them to do?  Did he not say to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins?” (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  The Bible says, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” (Acts 2:41 NKJV) It is thus not too hard to learn what a man must do to be born aga…

• Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God–the Implications

  ….  It is not a matter of faith that God wants us to build or add on to a building but pure opinion, the subjective opinion of man.  If “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17), and that is what the Bible says, then where there is no word there is opinion only. True, we are commanded to assemble together (Heb. 10:25) but that does not necessarily require a building owned by the brethren.  The church could rent, they cou…

• Faith Based On Deception–Gen. 37:31-33

  …eople we have the utmost trust in. In Jacob’s case it was deliberate but certainly one can also be misled by those who themselves sincerely believe error and propagate it. In the case of the first sin ever committed the Bible teaches that Eve was indeed deceived, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (Paul in 2 Cor. 11:3 NK…

• Be Faithful to the Lord (The Conversion of Lydia)

  … word, that he does not do and that he condemns in us.  None of us believe that.  Lydia’s heart was opened by God’s word in the same natural way yours and mine is.  For example, all of us have read passages in the Bible that condemns us in something we have done at one time or another resulting in a pang of guilt and sorrow within us.  Is that the Holy Spirit acting miraculously in my heart or is it the power of the word of God upon a…

• Was Cornelius Saved Before Baptism? (Cornelius’ Conversion)

  …no possibility that Holy Spirit inspired men, some apostles, could have gotten it wrong.  The case of Cornelius is unique in the respect that he appears to have been a godly man even prior to his conversion.  In Acts 10:2 the Bible says of him that he was “a devout man, and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people, and prayed to God continually.” (NAS)  If there was ever a man so good as to be…

• Worship

  The Lord’s Supper as a Part of a Larger Meal–Right or Wrong? Praying to God to Bless the Bread The Need to Sing in Worship Instrumental Music in Christian Worship–Is It God’s Will? Singing and Playing in Christian Worship Confirmation Sunday–No Bibles Required Bible Authority, Foot Washing, the Holy Kiss, and Head Coverings King Saul–As Long as it Glorifies God Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) The Lord’s…

• The Church

  …8211;Marks of Identification Can One be Just a Christian in Christ’s Church Without being in a Denomination? Christ the Savior of the Body but Which One–the Matter of Timing Who Governs the Church if we Follow the Bible? Who Gets to Decide–God or the Church? The Church as the Body of Christ–Which Means What? The Army of the Lord–the Church Unhappy With the Church of Christ? Lessons for the Church from Isaiah Chapter …

• Preaching Jesus Means Preaching Baptism–The Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch

  …re was a need? Philip taught the eunuch baptism because as Peter said on the Day of Pentecost baptism is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) without which one cannot be saved. When Philip preached in the city of Samaria the Bible says he preached “the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12 NAS) with the result being that men and women “were being baptized” (Acts 8:12 NAS).  Here in Ac…

• Saul’s Conversion

  …’s conversion from a persecutor of Christians to an apostle of Christ.  In the early years of Christianity when a person heard and believed the gospel, accepting it, it always led immediately to baptism.  The reader and Bible student must ask himself why?   With Saul’s conversion we have the fourth such account thus far in the book of Acts with the same result each time (see earlier articles for details related to those conversions). …

• The Grace of God and the Parable of the Laborers–Is God Just?

  …y of been paid in private and left unaware of what the later laborers received they would have walked away fully satisfied and content.  But, as it was, they were made jealous by the generosity of another, one who gave grace. Bible teaching is that we “rejoice with those who rejoice.” (Rom. 12:15 NKJV)  The proper attitude is to be happy and thankful for the good fortune of others.  I think we know this but we have to battle human nature (which t…

• Things People Do Not Know About the Church

  … Only the saved are in the church.  If you are saved you are in this glorious church. (2)  Jesus is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23) which is the church (Eph. 1:22-23, Col. 1:18, 24).  There is no passage to be found in the Bible where Jesus ever said he would save anyone outside his body, outside the church.  Paul speaking to the Christians at Corinth said, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Cor. 12:27 NKJV) (3)  Je…

• God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit

  Does God Really Care? Things God Cannot Do Jesus as the Bread of Life Jesus and the Furnace of Fire Behold the Judge is Standing at the Door The Need to Preach on Sin What Does the Phrase “My Name” Mean in the Bible?   Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) Wonderful Jesus Who Is Jesus? Born To Die The Appearance of Jesus All Spiritual Blessings Are in Christ Enemies of Christ The Holy Spirit (Part I) The Holy Spirit (Part II) The Ho…

• Are Works Essential for Christian Salvation?

  One of the great dangers we all face in Bible study is that of taking a particular passage, isolating it from all the rest of the scriptures, and make it teach a doctrine it was never meant to teach.  The question asked in the title of this article, are works essential for Christian salvation, is easily answered by taking one such passage and doing exactly that.  The passage is Eph. 2:8-9 which reads, “For by grace you have been saved thro…

• Canaan and Heaven–How God Gives

  …15, 17) To Moses God said, regarding Abraham’s descendants the children of Israel, “I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan.” (Exodus 6:4 NKJV)  Look up the word “given” or “give” in any Bible concordance and you will find time and again passage after passage stating that God either had given the children of Israel the land of Canaan or would do so. But if it is a gift from God freely given then surely there…

• Ashamed of Jesus and His Words

  …t matter and all will speak well of him, they will be glad to hear he feels that way.  One can take the stance that baptism is not for the remission of sins and receive the applause of men.  But, that will not change what the Bible says about either of those subjects.  “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26 NAS)  What we ought to do is quit being asha…

• The Peace Found in Forgiveness of Others

  … received rather than a rebuilding of life that can bring joy and peace. So far I have talked about the common experiences of man but we need to put a biblical perspective on these things not only because we are talking about Bible subjects but also because we are spiritual beings subject to the supreme spiritual being—God himself.  It is not the physical man that gets hurt, who develops anger and bitterness and hatred and who is unwilling to for…

• The Chastening of the Lord

  …ren need to be chastened so they can have a happy future, not necessarily a pleasant here and now. Hebrews 12:5-11 use to be a little hard for me to understand and that is probably true with most people who read and study the Bible.  What is the chastening of the Lord?  How does God do that?  How can I recognize it when it is occurring?  Questions just naturally come to mind. To refresh your memory of this passage I quote it here: “(5) And you ha…

• How Does One Get Into the Church Christ Built?

  …o be in Christ is the same as being in his body, in his church, and that is where salvation is found, in the body of Christ.  “He is the Savior of the body.” (Eph. 23 NKJV)  How does one get into the church Christ built?  The Bible gives the answer, not the local denomination. …

• Parable of the Tares–No Middle Ground

  …people I care about and realize that to them gospel obedience and faithfulness is no big deal.  What they are thinking (or how) I will never know, I guess, and that saddens me too?  I am not sure they know.  Do they think the Bible is a fairy tale?  Do they believe you cannot trust God’s word?  Do they believe God exists or do they believe, as absurd as it sounds, that life somehow evolved from non-living matter?  Or, do they think they are…

• Word of God

  …ist If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implications Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) What a Preacher Must Preach The Power of the Word of God to Change Lives False Standards of Authority What the Word of God is Like Some Great Bible Questions …

• Though He Slay Me

  … God spoken to him.  God’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9 NKJV)  This also may very well be the answer we must accept in our own life. In Hebrews 11 the Bible says, “Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.  They wandered about in sheepskins and g…

• I Can Do All Things Through Christ

  …o strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV) he was both speaking by inspiration and by personal experience.  What kind of things had he done or endured by means of the strength given by Christ?  In 2 Cor. 11, which my reference Bible says was written before the book of Philippians, Paul says he had been “in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.” (2 Cor. 11:23 NKJV) He then goes on and says, “From the Jews five times I …