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

  …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 »The word reconciliation is a very emotionally laden word.  There are millions up…

• Does God Really Care?

  …or has God not experienced it himself.  In Genesis 6:6 we read that due to the evil of mankind God “was grieved in his heart.” (NKJV)  In the Old Testament prophets we read time and again of God’s sorrow and pleading after Israel to turn from sin and evil and return to him.  In fact, why could not God justly turn the question around on us and ask does man care?  We ask does he care about us.  He could justly ask if we care about…

• Christianity and Multiculturalism

  …le 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 among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment…

• God’s Willingness to Forgive–King Manasseh

  I read from 2 Chron. 33:12-13, “And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.  He prayed to him, and God moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom.  Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.” (ESV) Manasseh had been taken into Assyrian captivity, taken to Babylon, where his afflictions led him to seek the Lord.  …

• Resource Sites

  …iscussion on faith and opinion.) The Sonship of Christ  (Be sure and scroll down the page once you get to it.  This is an extremely unique and valuable one of a kind sermon.  It details the relationship of Christ the Son with God the Father like nothing else I have ever read, a late 1800′s sermon by Dr. T. W. Brents.) Short Essays in Biblical Criticism  (Have you ever had to deal with someone who would ridicule or find fault with the Bible …

• Repent–How Hard It Is To Do

  …It was another city that did not repent at his preaching. Remember the account of the rich man and Lazarus as told by Jesus?  Both had died but the rich man now found himself in torments due to his ungodly life.  He makes the plea to father Abraham to send someone to his living brothers that they might repent.  “And he said, ‘No father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Mos…

• 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…

• Must a Man Seek God?

  Should a man seek God?  Many men and women who if you were to ask them if they believed there is a supreme being we call God would answer in the affirmative and yet they feel no need to seek God.  With them God is God and he is just and good and so he 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 w…

• Why Do Men Run From God?

  aced God’s stamp of approval on those things without a single word from God voicing his approval.  They took it upon their own authority, forget God, to do it and they want you to take their word for it that God will be pleased.  They are sure of it even though God has not spoken.  This is nothing other than pure presumption.  They know it will please God because it pleases them.  The problem is they listened to man to get the practice as E…

• Fear God

  I have often heard it said that a Christian should have no fear of God.  I have mixed feelings when I hear that for it is one of those truths that can easily lead to false conclusions unless the statement is clarified. John indeed says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”  (I John 4:18 NKJV)  It is true that every Christian can have fear …

• Who Gets to Decide–God or the Church?

  …word of Christ when we cannot decide what is and what is not the word of Christ since the written word is not to be taken literally as the actual word of God.  So you can believe what Jesus said but cannot take it literally.  Please tell me what that means?  Does it mean what he said about Jonah was just a fish story?  How many other fish stories did he tell? You may be saying to yourself this guy is talking crazy.  Hey, I believe the Bible is th…

• Lessons for the Church from Isaiah (Chapter 1)

  Paul says, in Rom. 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning” (NKJV) as he writes to the saints (Christians) in Rome (Rom. 1:7 NKJV).  The prophetic book of Isaiah written hundreds of years before Christ can teach us much about God–what pleases him, what displeases him, his nature, who he is, what or how he feels, his thoughts, his sense of justice, etc.  I think most of us would like to know God better a…

• The Faithfulness of Jesus to God the Father

  …od?  Who did he put his trust in (Heb. 2:13) if not in his God? It was “in all things he had to be made like his brethren” (Heb. 2:17 NKJV) and thus his faith in and dependency upon the Father, God in heaven.  Now please do not misunderstand.  The most difficult subject that a man can study and never really understand is how both deity and humanity dwelt within Jesus at the same time.  I am avoiding that subject in this article like t…

• 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 …

• Acceptable Prayer

  in Prov. 28:9, “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (NAS)  One must be willing to hear what God says and be willing to follow God to have his prayer considered. Please do not misunderstand.  One can truly repent and turn back to God even though in days gone by he had turned away.  Peter told Simon, a Christian, after Simon’s sin, to repent and pray (Acts 8:22 NAS), the prayer …

• 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…

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

  good), or his love (does he really care), or his power (can he really do it), or his character (can you trust him).  To test God is a sin in part because it manifests a lack of faith.  “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” (NASB)  “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 NASB)  But, what h…

• Mt. Sinai and the Day of Judgment

  Day of Judgment.  It is just so foolish and unnecessary that people will throw their lives away and for what?  It was for a golden calf in Moses’ time and often for nothing more than foolish pride and arrogance and the pleasing of self in our own time. Everyone needs to count the cost now of disobedience to God.  “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7 NKJV)  Will your heart fail you for …

• Honestly Deceived

  e has always been pressure to conform our thinking in a way that is acceptable to others.  The prophet from God wanted to believe the old prophet who lied to him.  It was that or call him a liar and that would not have been a pleasant encounter.  He wanted to believe the man was pure.  Eve wanted to believe the serpent as the serpent was giving her more freedom than God was. Well, are we not to believe the best about others?  Yes.  Are we to judg…

• Things God Cannot Do

  then is the teaching for men today as found in this passage?  Exactly the same as it was to the people of that day.  God cannot endure hypocrisy.  Living a life of sinful indulgence and disregard for God’s word did not please God then nor will it now no matter how much “playing church” we do. Need an example or two?  How about all the unscripturally divorced and remarried couples, couples that are living in adultery, that are m…

• The Need to Preach on Sin

  …sh men for their sin?  Not at all!  Man was created to live with God eternally.  “God is not willing that any should perish.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  “‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.’” (Ezek. 33:11 NKJV)  Man was created to give God glory throughout eternity.  “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I …

• A Heart Right With God (Test Your Heart)

  law let alone lay it up within one’s heart.  When we delight to do God’s will, all of it, not just the smorgasbord approach, and have it stored within our heart we will be heading in the direction of the kind of heart God is pleased with. I believe Psalms 119 was written by David but I cannot prove it beyond doubt.  Be that as it may Psalms 119 depicts the attitude that a man after God’s own heart will have toward God’s word.  The Psalmist says,…

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

  e physical building where local Christians met for worship (whether the church needed it was the big question).  To objectors he would say where is your faith?  His assumption was that God would be with this work for it would please God and thus God would see to it that the bills were paid and the work would prosper and the church would grow in numbers. But here was the problem–God’s word does not one time speak of building a house to worsh…

• Praying to God to Bless the Bread–Really?

  .’  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.’” (1 Cor. 11:23-25 KJV)  Please note this 1 Cor. 11 passage comes in the very next chapter after 1 Cor. 10:16, the verse in question just quoted in the prior paragraph. Paul says that Jesus gave thanks for the bread and then says of the fruit of the…

• The Hardening of the Human Heart

  tubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.” (NKJV)  That God was longsuffering with his people in Israel and Judah no one can doubt who has ever read the Old Testament.  Time and again in the prophets one can see God pleading with his people to repent and turn back to him but they refused to do so.  There comes a time when it is too late to repent, too late because you cannot do it, because you become incapable of doing it.  The heart wi…

• 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.”…

• The Wicked Shall be Turned into Hell

  not want to hear what he has to say. It is sad that people sometimes hate God but that is the way it is.  Paul specifically refers to people who are in his words “haters of God” in Rom. 1:30 (NKJV).  They are not pleased with God’s commands as it interferes with them running amok to do as they please and condemns them because of their ungodly living. Recently, I heard an interesting comment made by a man.  To put into my own wo…

• Israel’s Rebellion at the Red Sea

  The children of Israel that God sent Moses to bring out of Egyptian bondage into the Promised Land were a faithless group almost from the very beginning.  Their rebellion against God began before Mt. Sinai and even before the Red Sea crossing.  The Psalmist said, “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of your mercies, but rebelled by the sea–the Red Sea.” (Psa. 106:7 NKJV)  It…

• Faith, Manna, and Grumbling Against God

  In 1 Cor. 10:10 the Christian is commanded to not grumble (NASB).  Taken in context (1 Cor. 10:1-11) the passage is telling us not to follow the example of the children of Israel in the things they did of which grumbling against God was one and which thing seemed to be a national pastime.  If you read the book of Exodus you soon learn they were continually grumbling against God.  They were a dissatisfied and unhappy lot and their dissatisfaction…

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

  in the worship?  Yes there is.  No person who calls himself a Christian has ever questioned the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with the voice only and without the use of musical instruments.  All agree this is pleasing to God without question or doubt of any kind. Paul says we are to speak to one another “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19 NKJV).  See also Col. …

• Christian Circumcision

  ters.  Jesus uses means to cleanse us and puts us to the test.  It is not only a test of obedience but also one of faith.  The man without faith will never submit to a baptism that is acceptable to God.  He may be baptized to please his family, or to join some manmade denomination, or for some other reason but until he believes the scriptures and what they say about baptism and acts out of faith in those scriptures in obedience he will never be c…

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

  The church in the New Testament is described under various appellations the best known perhaps being the family of God.  It is the designation that touches the heart with the greatest force.  We long to be part of a family, to have people that care about us and care how we are doing and who will help us willingly and gladly should we need it, people who do love us.  One of the saddest things one can experience in life, a gut wrenching experience…

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

  …ticle but there are other things we also must believe according to the scriptures. (1) One must believe in God’s existence and that he rewards those who diligently seek him.  “But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)  There will be no atheists in heaven.  There will be no one there who displease…

• Never Give Up

  …eut. 32:48-52.) Moses was such a great man of God that God spoke to him face to face.  “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” (Exodus 33:11 NKJV – see also Num. 12:8 and Deut. 34:10).  Please note that this is said of Moses 16 chapters after the events concerning the water at the rock, after Moses’ sin.  So, what was it that would cause such a great man of God to sin the way he earlier had? The answer is t…

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

  es not desire that any man perish for he is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  As far back as Ezekiel we read the words of God, “‘I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God.  ‘Therefore turn and live.’” (Ezek. 18:32 NKJV)  “God is love.” (1 John 4:8 NAS)  God’s desire for man is man’s salva…

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

  d witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” (Heb. 11:4 NKJV)  Men have long been troubled by this passage trying to figure out why Abel’s sacrifice was pleasing to God while his brother Cain’s was not.  It is a subject worth looking into. In Gen. 4:2-5 we read about the offering as follows:  “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  …

• Jesus and the Furnace of Fire

  …ey know Jesus would say, “No, he would never do that.”  Well, if not he is a liar.  If he is a liar you cannot depend on a single word he ever uttered for who would know when he was lying and when he was not?  But God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Let us take a closer look and see who it is that will be cast into this furnace.  It is “those who practice lawlessness.” (Matt. 13:41 NKJV)  I know vast numbers of people while good i…

• The Church Christ Built–Marks of Identification

  …rship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24).  He then says in John 17:17 that, “Your word is truth.” (NKJV)  This means, obviously, that man is not free to worship God just any old man made up way he chooses and call it worship pleasing to God.  God gets to decide what pleases, not man.  If you recall the church at Corinth in 1 Cor. 11 had a worshipping problem as it pertained to the Lord’s Supper.  Not just any old way of doing things pleases God….

• The Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman

  e flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Rom. 8:5-9 ESV) To set the mind on …

• The Christian, Politics, and the Government

  …h men have lived it speaks to us not in specifics but in general statements on the subject.  As it relates to specifics it is often hard to know exactly what one ought to do under some of the scenarios which arise but we have God given principles by which we can act. I write on this topic not so much out of a desire to do so but because a discussion of the subject is needed especially at this time where here in America I doubt the country has eve…

• The Need to Sing in Worship

  …s a song in which God was exalted and praised. I do want to quote part of verse 1, however, which says, “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD” (Ex. 15:1 NKJV).  This is very important.  Please note that they sang to the Lord.  The singing was worship.  So it is today.  17 times in the Old Testament the phrase “sing to the Lord” is found based on the New King James Version and the E-Sword concord…

• Healing For the Brokenhearted

  … we often pray but fail to take into count, if God is to help us, some things that are necessary on our part.  John says, “Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1 John 3:22 NASU)  Have we led that kind of life–keeping his commandments and doing those things pleasing in his sight?  If not will we repent and begin to live that way?  Will we obey Go…

• Misunderstanding the Grace of God

  …cost as found in Acts 2:38. His position is not unusual.  Millions of people have read Paul’s statement in Eph. 2:8-9, “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (NKJV) and said okay, that is it, no need for further study. I would like to say first of all this is a poor approach to God’s word to isolate and elevate part of his …

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

  …ET 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 God’s representative thus to complain against Moses was to complain against God (see Ex. 16:8).  Moses individually had no power to provide them with water and they knew that so the complaint was against God. This mani…

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

  Why write an article on the topic the kingdom of God and the new birth?  The answer is really quite simple.  As long as people today have a desire to be saved in the way Jesus saved some during his personal ministry on earth–by faith without baptism–there will be a need to show the error of that position.  On this subject timing makes all the difference. When did Jesus become a king with a kingdom over which to rule?  When Jesus was …

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

  … have more than one meaning.  Some meanings are easy enough to figure out for in some few places the phrase is used like we would use it today but I am not interested in those passages.  I want to know the unique way in which God in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament used the phrase.  We start in the Old Testament. Exodus 9:16 is a good place to start.  God has instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh, “for this reason I have allowed …

• Abuse of the Old Testament

  …t, not the Law of Moses. Hear God the Father speak from heaven on the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter wanted to make 3 tabernacles, one each for Moses, Elijah, and Christ.  “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!” (Matt. 17:5 NKJV)  Christ was not to be put on an equal plain with Moses and/or Elijah.  Neither was to be heard any longer as present day authorities.  Henceforth Christ was the one to be heard an…

• Bible Contradictions on Salvation?

  If we believe the Bible is the word of God why do we often interpret it in a way that makes it contradict itself?  Truth is harmonious or else it’s not truth and cannot be.  Jesus says of God’s word, “your word is truth.” (John 17:17)  It does not oppose itself when properly interpreted. Martin Luther was persuaded he had found contradiction in the Bible between what Paul wrote in Romans about salvation being by faith ver…

• Jesus the Foundation of and the Builder of the Church

  Lest the reader be misled by the title reading into it what is not there the church that is being talked about in this article may not be the one you are a member of so proceed if at all with caution having been forewarned.  You can judge for yourself after reading.  I begin with Jesus as the foundation of the church. After Jesus’ arrest he was brought before the Jewish council where he was asked, “‘Are you then the Son of God?…

• Better to Never Have Been Born–Why?

  …they will “go away into everlasting punishment.” (Matt. 25:46 NKJV)  How does one read passages like that and then not fear God’s power in judgment? If you tell me you have no fear of God while living as you please with no concern about keeping his commandments then I say you are a fool.  Paul tells us why man is condemned before God in Rom. 3:10-18.  Here are two of the things listed that are applicable to this article.  (1) &#…

• 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…

• Canaan and Heaven–How God Gives

  all going to play out, why it has to be this way,  and attempt to come up with some way more palatable to ourselves than his way.  The children of Israel would have been glad to walk into Canaan under other circumstances more pleasing to themselves.  They were just not willing to believe God and do it his way.  Will we be that way about going to heaven?  Are we only going to heaven if we can get there our way?  I hope that does not prove to be th…

• Spiritual Mirages

  …s pick up on some signs that should have clued them in all along, signs which at the time were hidden to their eyes.  Sadly, this sort of thing happens all the time and when one comes to the knowledge of the truth it is never pleasant. In the realm of religion, just as in the realm of personal relationships, there are mirages.  People think they see things that are in reality only illusions.  One such example is found in the book of Jeremiah.  Je…

• Paul’s Conversion (Justified by Faith)

  …DS) to the death.” (Acts 22:4 NKJV)  He says, testifying against himself, “many of the saints I shut up in prison … and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.” (Acts 26:10 NKJV) Will God have a man like this, a man this bad?  Saul clearly had personal responsibility in the death of Christians.  Christians died because of his actions whether he ever cast a stone personally or not.  But, the answer to the …

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

  …ow about the need for hope. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” (1 Thess. 4:13-14 NKJV)  The Christian lives “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” (Titus 1:2 NKJV)  When one gr…

• Is Church Attendance Essential for Christian Salvation?

  … of torment “where ‘their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” (Mark 9:44 NKJV) and “shall never be quenched.” (Mark 9:43 NKJV) This is a question that is really very easily answered if one will accept the word of God as being the one and only and final authority on deciding the question.  The answer is no; one cannot be saved if he will not attend church by which is meant the church worship services.  Hear God’s word on the subject. …

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

  …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 correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NKJV) Who was Paul, at …

• Indifference – The Great Destroyer

  …k? If you will read one verse further (verse 17) Jesus goes on explaining, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.’” (Rev. 3:17 NKJV) They were perfectly satisfied. Please note carefully the words from this passage, “have need of nothing” expressing their satisfaction. If lukewarmness is one step above indifference, if it is, and this is what Jesus thinks about the lukewarm …

• Non-Offensive Christianity

  goal and the desire is not to be the best of the average of everyday people but to be Christ-like.  Our desire is to be saved and in order to be saved we must live like Christ and not like the average of men.  We must seek to please God, not man.  “If I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10 NKJV)  The command of God is, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” (2 Cor. 6:17 NKJ…

• Mary of Bethany–Doing What You Can

  …g to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints?” (2 Cor. 8:3-4 NKJV)  Loving God means we long and desire to give to him and his work. We cannot bestow our goods on Jesus directly as did Mary of Bethany but we must remember that the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23, Col. 1:18, 24) and that …

• The Joy and the Danger of a Clean Conscience

  …common reaction from those who finally decide to quit fighting the conscience they have violated and pay the price conscience demands. The apostle Paul said, “I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”  (Acts 23:1 NAS)  He made this statement the day after his arrest in Jerusalem.  How many of us can say what Paul said?  Can you?  Can I?  My guess is very few can. Peter who denied Christ could no…

• 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 …

• Looking Down Your Nose

  …217; and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,’ or, ‘Sit here at my footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?  Listen, my beloved brethren:  Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?  But you have dishonored the poor man.  Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?  D…

• Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation

  apathetic, etc.  Many people will be lost because they do not care enough to be saved.  With this character salvation would have to fall into his lap for him to have it for he will not make a move on his own.  He is very well pleased with the “just believe in God” doctrine (having no idea what it means to believe in God and too disinterested to study and find out) for his nature is such that he is not concerned enough to do anything a…

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

  …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 with the intent of pleasing God, to glorify God, is acceptable to him—anything we can dream up with no scriptural authority required. It has always been terribly difficult for me to see how one gives glory to God by adding to his word and doin…

• The Grace of God in Baptism

  ng, and then finally brought it safely to rest. If you can ever find a passage in the Bible, Old Testament or New Testament, which teaches or shows that any man ever was saved or could be saved by works apart from God’s grace please forward the passage to me. The fact God gives you something to do to be saved does not mean that by complying with that act you no longer need God for you have worked (earned) your way to heaven. Paul says in Titus th…

• Abortion Luke 1 – All You Need to Know

  Luke 1 tells you all you need to know about abortion and a woman’s right to choose.  Abortion in politically correct liberal speech is referred to as a choice today but I am far more concerned with scripturally correct speech than I am politically correct speech and I think you ought to be too.  Our concern ought not to be how society views a matter or how those who have gained power view a subject but how God sees it. I remind you that th…

• Things People Do Not Know About the Church

  …here is no such thing as a Christian who is not a part of the Lord’s church.  “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47 NKJV)  Who is saved?  Is it the Christian or the non-Christian?  If God has not added you to the church there is a good reason–you are not yet one of those who are being saved. It is only the church that Christ sanctified and cleansed “with the washing of water by the word that he migh…

• A Good and Pure Conscience

  … have done in helping others out but which we let slide and failed to do when we knew we should have stepped in and acted. Of course, we have to remember that having a good conscience by itself does not mean we are right with God.  If so in ages past those who worshipped idols, offered human sacrifice, and even cannibals in the distant jungles of Africa and Southeast Asia were justified.  Their cultures said those things were right and thus their…

• 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…

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

  Everyone is pleased to have the grace of God in their life but are we disturbed by it when his grace shows up in the lives of others seemingly more generously than in our own?  I am afraid that is sometimes the case.  The parable of the laborers found in Matt. 20:1-16 is a perfect example and is also an excellent illustration of how man feels he knows more about what is just and right than God does. The passage is too long to quote here but I wi…

• The Prodigal Son–When He Came to Himself

  …hey want to.  You ever notice how it is they never seem to want to?  It is not that easy to do.  It is not easy to do as the prodigal son did and come to yourself.  It is hard to get the want to as long as life is going along pleasingly and pleasantly. However, God did not make us to be the worst we can be but the best.  Deep down inside I think we all want to be good, do we not?  At least most of us do if we will dig down deep enough.  Like the …

• Jesus’ Baptism and You?

  … ourselves, when we refuse to be baptized with Jesus’ baptism, the baptism of the great commission?  If not, why not? One cannot reason his way out of this dilemma but it gets even worse for those who want to reject baptism.  Please note it was a salvation issue with Jesus concerning John’s baptism.  Are you going to say it is not a salvation issue today with Jesus’ baptism? How much difference is there in the meaning of the words, “a baptism of …

• Must the Christian Keep the Sabbath?

  …l had come out of Egypt but had not yet reached Mt. Sinai.  The events that transpire in Exodus 16 occur in the second month of their journey (Exodus 16:1).  This is the time when the children of Israel were grumbling against God (see Ex. 16:2-3, 7), complaining about food, and the time when God gave them manna to eat.  They were given instructions from God through Moses about how to gather the manna, store it, and use it. “This is what the…

• King Saul–As Long as It Glorifies God

  …e meaning seems to be that Saul was determined to do his will rather than God’s.  Would he dare do it?  He did but why?  Surely he had some fear of God. It seems Saul had the same idea many men have today who believe they are pleasing God all the while clearly being disobedient to his word.  They consider themselves godly men and would defend themselves as Saul did before Samuel, at least as long as he could. (1 Sam. 15:20-21)  The idea is preval…

• Behold the Judge is Standing at the Door

  d into too late–too late to obey the gospel and live life eternally with God in heaven. If I could beg you to obey the gospel and it would do any good I would do it but that is not how it works for obeying the gospel to please me would do you no good.  Gospel obedience must be from the heart sincere in its desire to please God not man.  As Paul wrote to the Romans and said to them “you obeyed from the heart” (Rom. 6:17 NKJV) so …

• The Blessing of Affliction and the Goodness of God

  …ry possibly our lives for the rest of our time on earth and so what do we do?  Will we complain about the bitterness of it all or will we take advantage of what should be an eye opening event, get our lives in order, and seek God as we ought?  Life is brief and to be granted an opportunity to have our eyes opened to what life really is and to our ultimate end and accountability before God is indeed a blessing. In the book of 1 Corinthians in the …

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

  …eter, and Jude wrote as well. The truth of the matter is every single word of the New Testament excepting only those words added by translators for clarification (usually marked by being printed in italics) came directly from God the Father including the words of Jesus himself.  In John 1:1 Jesus is called “the Word” (NKJV) but he says later, “He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him—the word t…

• Obedience of Faith and Justification by Faith–Opposing Doctrines?

  …s the result of faith.  No man obeys God who does not first believe God.  Without faith there is no motivation for obedience.  Where there is no faith the natural man prevails–our fleshly human nature.  We do that which pleases us without thought of God. Faith is always the first step in pleasing God.  “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek …

• They Loved the Praise of Men

  y believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12:42-43, NKJV) Sometimes we want to please men too much.  While it is good and proper to want to have a good reputation among men and be well spoken of it is but folly to sell one’s soul for it.  Paul says, “For do I now persuade men, or God?  Or do I seek to …

• Regrets

  …of him having free access to the tree of life.  For food all he had to do was reach up and pluck it from the tree on which it grew.  There was no need to store it or do hard labor for it, for it was always going to be there.  God walked with him in the garden and thus for a time he had full fellowship with God.  Adam gave it all up. Do you not think while he was toiling the soil by the sweat of his brow fighting the thorns and thistles and realiz…

• Though He Slay Me

  The title for this article comes from the Old Testament book of Job, chapter 13 verse 15, where Job makes the statement, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” (NKJV) The story of Job as told in the Old Testament is one of pain, suffering, and sorrow, of the loss of loved ones (sons and daughters), of possessions, of health, and very nearly of hope.  His state got to be such that his wife’s advice was, “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9 NKJV)  De…

• The Sin of Being Unthankful and the Need for Thanksgiving

  …emselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (NKJV)  Did you note “unthankful” and “unloving” in this listing? Actually,…

• How Was Noah Saved Through Water?

  How was Noah and his family saved through water?  Peter, in 1 Peter 3:20-21, says they were but just how is a little hard to understand without some thought and study.  The passage reads as follows:  “when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.  There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the f…

• Demas Has Forsaken Me

  …ve he wanted to go off to commit adultery, cheat, lie, and steal.  I don’t think he left because he wanted a first century equivalent of a 3 car garage and a multi million dollar home.  I don’t think he quit and left Paul and God because he wanted to be rich and famous.  I think he left because he wanted out of the line of fire, wanted an easier life, wanted to live in peace with the world, wanted to live much like others of his countrymen.  Cert…

• How Does One Get Into the Church Christ Built?

  …h daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47 NKJV).  Who were added to the church?  Those who were being saved.  Who then is in the church?  The saved.  Who is outside the church?  The unsaved. Does God just add whoever he pleases to the church unconditionally?  If so it would not be a man’s fault if he failed to obtain salvation.  There would be nothing he could do about it as it would be entirely in God’s hands.  It does not work that way.  …

• What Is Baptism (the Sprinkling Hoax)

  …sed with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”  One is not and cannot be buried by sprinkling or pouring.  Phillip and the eunuch both went “down into the water” (Acts 8:38 NKJV) and “came up out of the water.&#…

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

  One of the wonderful things about America is that we have gotten to be smarter than God (hope you recognize satire when you read it).  We are now wiser than he is, we know better than he does how to love our fellowman and what is inherently right, and we no longer need his word as any kind of a guide to life.  God if you will just take a seat over here to our left behind us and let us handle this we will take care of it.  Yes, maybe you had it r…

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

  Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (NASU) and then a couple of verses later clarifies his statement when he says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5 NASU) This passage has greatly troubled people over the years to the extent that many have just c…

• Is Holy Spirit Baptism The Baptism That Saves?

  … baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”  (Mark 1:5 NKJV)  We know Jesus when baptized “came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”  (Matt. 3:16 NKJV)  So our very first introduction to the subject of baptism relates it to water, not the Holy Spirit.  However, John did prophecy of two other baptis…

• Peter’s Preaching and the Apostle’s Preaching

  …ames or Peter against Paul. The truth is the scriptures do not belong to Paul, or James, or Peter, or to any other writer even if their name happens to be attached to a letter.  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16 NKJV)  The scriptures came by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  God used men’s tongues and pens to …

• Parable of the Tares–No Middle Ground

  …esire is to save, not to cast into the furnace of fire.  “The Lord … is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” (Ezek. 18:23 NKJV)  “For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” s…

• The Chastening of the Lord

  People often have a misconception about God.  They cannot imagine that God would ever bring upon us trials and tribulations, punish us for our sins, or do anything in this life but bring us good–good as we measure it.  God is love, God is grace, and the very idea that God would ever send upon us anything but that which is most pleasant is abhorrent to their way of thinking. There is no doubt that when one looks at the big picture that God …

• Saved by Jesus Outside the Church?

  …de and not found in scripture.  I am not fond of terminology that cannot be found in scripture.  Why not express biblical concepts in biblical language?  Why not use language like “faith in Christ,” “love of God,” and other scriptural language one can readily pop up in a Bible concordance search? All of that aside I want to deal with the idea that one can develop this relationship with Jesus on a personal level that will s…

• The Case of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit

  …ospel in one location and another in a different location so that we can never really know what 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. …

• The Conscience as a Witness

  A man can run from many things but one thing he cannot run from is his own conscience.  Wherever a man goes his conscience follows him just as much as his shadow and is a constant companion.  It is a man’s witness to himself and to God of his character as it relates to his willingness or unwillingness to abide in what he considers to be that which is right and good. The conscience cannot be a man’s perfect guide for it like man’…

• The Silence of the Scriptures

  …given and your name would be erased from the board, gift flags made during worship to symbolize your desire to offer your gifts to God, and on and on it goes.  The fantasies of men dreaming up ways to worship God the way that pleases and satisfies them seems to be endless, anything and everything the mind of man can imagine.  As I said earlier research it on your own. But what do the scriptures teach for those desiring to know?  If there was only…

• He Feared

  … to have faith in sufficient strength to remain faithful.  It is a challenge to all men to develop a strong faith. Paul, in writing to the Christians in Ephesus, in chapter 6 verse 11, tells them to, “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (NAS)  In verse 13 he explains saying, “that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”  In speaking of t…

• The Kind of Faith in God That Destroys

  o firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.  And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of 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 th…

• The Peace Found in Forgiveness of Others

  If you or I or any other were asked to compile a list of the ugliest traits of character that a person could have and that we run across in people I am sure that things like hatred, anger, bitterness, malice, and an unwillingness to forgive would all rank up there near the top of our list.  People who possess these traits are not pleasant to be around.  That is not to say they have no friends but only that the kind of person that takes up with t…

• Why Men Do Not Believe

  …ly God?” (John 5:44 NAS)  This is the kind of man we are talking about, a man centered on achievement or acquisition in this world. Then there are men who simply enjoy sin which the Bible speaks of as the “passing pleasures of sin.” (Heb. 11:25 NKJV)  Jesus said, John 3:19-20, “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.  For …

• Faith, Works, and Baptism

  … and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” (NKJV)  The washing of regeneration is a reference to baptism and is specifically excluded by Paul as being a work of righteousness which we have done.  To the contrary it is a part of God’s mercy as per the teaching of this verse.  One acquainted with the New Testament cannot read Titus 3:5 without being reminded of John 3:5, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the S…

• The Parable of the Talents–the Sin of Fear

  …s been lost.  Would the farmer be happy? The parable of the talents while couched in the language of business affairs is really a story about spiritual matters.  Its purpose is to teach us a lesson about our relationship with God and what he expects of us.  Indeed, the parable begins with the words, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man.” (Matt. 25:14 NKJV)  The man in the spiritual application of the parable is God.  Talents were …

• Christianity–Who Rules Reason or Emotions?

  …ching, he has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 9 NAS)  The side margin note says the literal is “goes on ahead.” Thus, in different words, John is saying the same thing Paul said in Col. 3:17.  You cannot be doing as you please, adding to God’s word, taking from it, going outside the book of authority that you have–the teaching of Christ, the pages of the New Testament. But, when emotions rule scriptures like these do not matter.  We w…

• The Parable of the 10 Virgins–7 Lessons

  …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 point in ex…

• If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implications

  Have miracles ceased?  They have if we are talking about the kind of miracles performed by Jesus, the apostles, and those possessed of spiritual gifts in New Testament times.  The purpose of those miracles was to confirm that the word spoken was from God himself.  Such confirmation was needed.  Put yourself in the shoes of those living back then.  Here one comes into your midst claiming to speak for God.  Is he delusional, a mad man?  Is he a ch…

• Singing and Playing in Christian Worship

  …he very best that could be said about it is that it is a gamble and who desires to play a gambling game with God when you are the only possible loser?  There is no gambling in singing.  You do not have to hope that singing is pleasing to God for you can read your New Testament and see clearly that it is.  No one has ever disputed that (emphasis on “no one”). In years gone by some use to argue that in the Greek the word that is translated “sing” h…

• Faith in the New Testament–Different Meanings

  …b. 5:9 NKJV)  Only those who believe will obey. There is no such thing as saving faith without diligent seeking of God which means in part obeying him in all he commands us to do.  “But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)  A good goal for all of us would be to so live that when we die that it could b…

• Cornelius’ Conversion–Final Thoughts

  … follows that because the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius that he was saved instantly at that point in time. But, I read the verse in context.  One verse above this one, in verse 12, it is stated, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” (1 John 4:12 NKJV)  Two verses down I read this, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15 NK…

• For By Grace You Have Been Saved Through Faith Alone

  No, Eph. 2:8-9 does not read that way but that is the way most seem to want to read it.  Let me quote the verses for you from the New King James version. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” There is no believer in his right mind who would discount the grace of God in man’s salvation.  You do not believe you deserve to be sav…

• Work Out Your Own Salvation

  …fore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:12-13 NKJV) Is this a correct translation of the Greek text?  It is according to the American Standard Version of 1901, the English Standard Version, the Holman Christian Standard, the International Stand…

• I Can Do All Things Through Christ

  …do to keep from crying.  Night after night at bedtime I would go back and the two of us, my son and I, would set there and talk about this verse and it seemed to calm his fears after a while as we would talk.  Is that the way God strengthens us?  I have little doubt that there is strength in the word of God–power to strengthen not only a babe but people of all ages.  If we will only hear the word and believe it with conviction of heart we w…

• The Cleansing of the Church at Ephesus

  this question:  “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2 NAS)  They respond no and that they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit.  Paul then says, “Into what then were you baptized?” (Acts 19:3 NAS)  Please note this one thing–Paul takes it for granted that if they were Christians they had been baptized.  He doesn’t ask them if they had been baptized.  Why not?  Paul doesn’t ask them because he knows what it takes …

• Without Natural Affection and Covenant Breakers

  …n proposed to have the son killed by the sword and both women given a half knowing the real mother would be willing to give up the child to have his life spared.  Natural affection led to this very result with the real mother pleading for the life of the son willing to give him up to the other woman to save his life.  “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” (1 Kings 3:26 NKJV) What is natural affection if it is not God g…

• Weak, Defiled, and Seared Consciences

  …ak conscience?  The first time one reads about a weak conscience in the New Testament is in 1 Cor. 8:7-12.  This entire chapter is devoted to the subject of eating meats offered to idols and whether or not it is acceptable in God’s eyes for a Christian to eat such meats.  One should also read 1 Corinthians 10 beginning around verse 14 through the end of the chapter on the same subject and Romans 14 also has some application even though the …

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

  …selves and set up conferences, and councils, and governing bodies, and tried to make laws for God and in many cases even overrode his will (for their own) setting aside scripture and people say it is okay, all is well, God is pleased, we are saved.  In religious bodies that have done these things it is safe to say Christ may be spoken of as the head but it is not taken seriously by those of us who have a New Testament and have read it and studied…

• Confirmation Sunday–No Bibles Required

  …nnot be baptized as well for there is as much Bible authority to baptize him as there is an infant who can know no more than Tator does about what is going on and why.  The Bible says, “without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)  The infant can clearly not go to God in faith or act by faith nor does he/she …

• Repentance–How Can I Be Sure?

  …led to death (spiritual for he was not saved according to Jesus) we know his sorrow was of the world.  A lesson we ought to learn from this fact is that a man or woman can be as sorry as sorry can be and yet not repent nor be pleasing to God. Paul speaks of another kind of sorrow in the same passage in 2 Cor. 7, a sorrow that leads to repentance.  He says, “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance.  For …

• Deeper Spiritual Understanding–How do I Acquire It?

  of thinking.  People make God after their own image and thus if a teaching seems the right thing to believe or do according to our way of thinking then we proceed and assure ourselves in our own minds that it necessarily must please God.  In fact, we feel God could not be just unless he saw it our way so we end up becoming our own Lord and God and we totally convince ourselves that what we are doing is God’s will despite his word to the contrary….

• Ignorance Does Not Excuse Sin

  God does not consider ignorance an excuse for sin and will not overlook a sin just because you or I were ignorant of the sin when we committed it.  The verse that teaches this is found in Lev. 5:17, “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity.” (NKJV)  (See also Lev. 4:1-2, 13, 22, 27 and Lev. 5:2 and 5:…

• He Went Away Grieved

  … do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother” (Mark 10:19 NAS) and the young man tells Jesus, “I have kept all these things from my youth up.” (Mark 10:20, NAS)  Most parents would be pleased to have a son such as this. He had never stolen from anyone nor defrauded anyone.  Being a ruler surely such opportunities had presented themselves time and again.  He obtained his wealth, and Luke says he was “extre…

• Christian Wars–A Misnomer

  Christians, God’s children, have for years taken a beating by those who make the claim that Christians have been responsible in part, at least, for religious wars that killed tens of thousands of people during the Crusades and in Europe itself during the Middle Ages.  There never was any truth to it and never will be. Just because a Catholic claims to be a Christian does not make him one.  Just because a Protestant makes the claim to be a …

• The Truth So Called Christians Will Not Accept

  taught?  Can you be saved in that kind of state of unbelief?  Can you be saved while rejecting the truth?  What does baptism mean if you have rejected what the bible says about it?  It means nothing other than you got wet and pleased men. If you say well I know what they are teaching but I do not believe it.  My baptism will be for the remission of sins.  It will be to get into Christ.  Will that work?  No!  Why not?  Because you are a liar and d…

• Ways into Christ–How Many Ways Are There?

  …e.  But it goes without saying that our love for one who is not walking in the light of truth cannot change truth itself.  No man is saved “unconditionally” which is to say saved regardless of belief, character, and conduct.  God saves sinners true enough but not while they actively engage in the practice of sin unrepentant. The fact remains that no matter how much we desire another’s salvation it is up to them to bring their life into accord wit…

• The Book of Ecclesiastes

  …s not satisfied.” (Eccl. 6:7 NKJV)  Happiness can only come when the soul is satisfied.  That is why you can pile college degree upon college degree, millions upon millions, fame and popularity upon fame and popularity, pleasure upon pleasure, honor upon honor, and still never be satisfied. Satisfaction for the soul can only come from living a godly life, knowing all is well with you and God and your fellowman for you have lived faithfully …

• Everlasting Life–The Believer of John 3:16

  …ave.  They merely assume they know so every man becomes a law unto himself, declares himself a believer, and is in his mind (and often in his family and friend’s minds) saved without ever offering any real concern about God’s commands or any serious obedience to them.  Many have made no real attempt in years to worship God or read his word let alone put him first in their life yet they are saved.  We go to the funeral home for visitat…

• Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?

  …l about?  What is physical exercise all about?  What is a job all about?  Each is preparation for that which we want whether it be a good job, fitness and health, or money.  One could probably think of many more examples. But please note in the parable of the virgins that the Bible says, “those who were ready went in.”  If we are shut out of heaven it will be our own fault.  No, we cannot save ourselves by ourselves but there are thin…

• Saved by Faith or Saved by Holy Spirit Baptism–Which Is It?

  … angel came to Cornelius and told him to send for Peter his last words to Cornelius were “He will tell you what you must do.” (Acts 10:6 NKJV)  What were those words that were to be spoken that they must do?  Now, please, please note how that passage is worded.  It is what you must do.  What you must do for what?  Obviously, for salvation.  It is not what you must believe but what you, not God but you, must do.  What was that word? On…

• When did Obedience Become Legalism?

  he contrary, is not legalism. Did you ever give it thought that if obedience is legalism that Jesus was the biggest legalist of all time?  He kept every commandment, never sinned once.  He said, “I always do those things that please him.” (John 8:29 NKJV)  He was obedient to death (Phil. 2:8).  He was the only one that ever kept the law of God perfectly, obedient in every detail. Jesus never condemned the Pharisees for keeping the law, not once. …

• A New Creation in Christ

  …now at the point where we must argue that it depends on what the word “if” means?  Are we all so ignorant we do not know what words like “is” and “if” mean?  May God have mercy upon us. Now please note what I have not said in this article.  I did not say we are saved or that we become a new creation without faith, without repentance, without confession of Christ, and I have not said we are saved by baptism alon…

• Is Denominational Baptism Scriptural?

  …criptural baptism?  We would all say that is ridiculous but why so?  It would be because baptism is about more than just being immersed in water.  There has to be purpose and heart behind it of such a nature that will make it pleasing to God. God has told us, if we will accept it, exactly what the purpose of baptism is and what it accomplishes.  Man came along generations later and began denying what he said (how many really believe Peter in Acts…

• Faith is Not Just What You Believe

  …nd not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 NKJV)  He is “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Heb. 5:9 NKJV) Thus a salvation by 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:…

• Are Works Essential for Christian Salvation?

  … close this article saying that I know as well as you we are saved by the grace of God, the blood of Jesus, by faith, by gospel obedience, etc. but I also know we cannot be saved without works.  If so, if we can, then someone please write an article and post it on how Jesus was unjust in his judgment of those in Matthew 25 who did not provide food, drink, clothing, etc. for those in need.  If one can be saved without works then Jesus did not judg…

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

  …spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (NKJV) The phrase “washing of water” is a direct reference to baptism.  “By the word” signifies the reason for the baptism–God’s word.  God’s word directs one to be baptized. Some think they can be saved outside the church.  There is no way that can happen.  Why?  Because Christians are the church and it is Christians that will be saved.  The church is the b…

• The Army of the Lord–the Church

  …r. 10:4-5 NKJV)  Timothy was encouraged to “wage the good warfare.” (1 Tim. 1:18 NKJV)  To Timothy Paul says in the second letter to him, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Tim. 2:4 NKJV)  This was in the very next verse after having told him he must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3). A lot of people enter into the Chris…

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

  …and a denomination to be saved, is that right?  It is if the church Christ built is not sufficient by itself.  But, most denominationalists would say it is not essential to be a member of their denomination to be saved.  Then please tell me of what earthly or heavenly good the denomination serves other than to be a divider of men?  If it is not essential to the salvation of men get rid of the thing that causes all the strife and division. The tru…

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

  …  If he preached baptism to Lydia he preached the same wherever he went and we know he preached it to her.  If Paul did not believe baptism for the remission of sins was essential to gospel obedience (and thus salvation) then please tell me how he could have written what he did in passages such as Rom. 6:3-4 and Gal. 3:26-27?  Tell me why when Ananias told him “now why do you delay?  Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling …

• Who Governs the Church if We Follow the Bible?

  …orn into a world full of denominations and the Roman Catholic Church.  If we are not careful we just inherit a religion from either our parents or our wife or husband and claim it for our own all the while assuming it must be pleasing to God.  The truth often is the one whose example we are following after likely received his/her religion the same way. One of the easiest ways to test one’s religion is by comparing how the church of which he…

• Disobedience to Jesus

  Disobedience to Jesus is far more widespread among people who call themselves Christians than what is generally recognized to be the case.  Over the years the doctrine that man is saved by grace through faith alone without any kind of works has become so prevalent in men’s thinking that it seems it has driven out of men’s lives the sense of any kind of responsibility to obey God other than mentally assenting to the son ship of Jesus….

• Peter’s Second Gospel Sermon

  … “means properly to ‘turn; to return to a path from which one has gone astray; and then to turn away from sins, or to forsake them.’ It is a word used in a general sense to denote ‘the whole turning to God.’” (This is from his commentary on Acts.)  It does not then designate one specific thing but includes everything not covered by the word “repent.” One needs to ask some questions.  Earlier in this sermo…

• 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…

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

  …5:16-17 NKJV)  If Christ did not rise from the dead what hope do we have as we grow old and face the inevitable?  Are we but animals? The evolutionist would say yes we are only animals and talk like it is absurd to think of a God in heaven yet they talk about life evolving from non-life as if it just kind of popped out on its own from dead matter–dead matter evolving into living matter.  Now that is a scholarly concept for you is it not but…

• If Baptism is Not Essential for Salvation

  Baptism is not essential for salvation according to most denominations.  The thought came to me recently if baptism is not essential for salvation what then?  What are the necessary implications of such a doctrine?  (1)  If baptism is not essential for salvation then Jesus taught error when he said, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5 NKJV) for you can enter the kingdom of God without water …

• Diotrephes Loves To Have the Preeminence

  …omeone 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, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’” (NKJV) When Peter and John arrived Simon saw that the Holy Spirit could be conveyed to others by the apostles laying hands upon them.  Simon reverted back to his days prior to his conversion, desired this power, and s…

• Ashamed of Jesus and His Words

  …hat is generally true. We do not speak because we do not want to be embarrassed or shamed by the world that ridicules faith in Jesus thus are more concerned about receiving honor from men rather than the honor that comes from God alone.  We do not speak because we do not want to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3).  We do not speak because we do not want to wield “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17 NAS…

• Religious Titles Forbidden in Christianity

  … 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.” (commenting on Matt. 23:8)  Man had come up with a title to give to himself that pleased his vanity. Jesus likewise forbids our calling anyone Father as a religious title in Matt. 23:9 already quoted.  The word father is used in the New Testament as well as in the Old Testament many times in many differe…

• Fornication–Take It Lightly at Your Peril

  “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:  adultery, fornication…and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21 NKJV)  One of two things is true today–the world either believes it can treat God with utter contempt or no longer believes in him and his word period.  Man has always had to battle sexual desire …

• One Church—A Thing Hard to Accept

  …art has already made up its mind and evidence will not change it.  That was the way it was with Jesus’ miracles, even his resurrection did not convince those who had already made up their mind he could not be the Son of God (Matt. 28:11-14). In his last recorded meeting with the Jews in Rome during his imprisonment there Paul made this charge against the Jews, not all but some: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet…

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

  , 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 free to do as they please and make anything and everything an act of worship that their heart so desires. They are no longer restricted by the Bible. What I say here will be of no value to them for that very reason. But, I do want to investiga…

• Word of God

  Are Paul’s Writings as Authoritative as Jesus’ Words? Are the New Testament Scriptures Alone a Sufficient Guide to Heaven? The Need to Preach on Sin I Can Do All Things Through Christ 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 …

• Keep Your Heart With All Diligence

  …aken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (NKJV)  Please note that Paul says temptation is “common to man.”  That means, of course, that you and I are not the Lone Ranger when it comes to be tempted by evil. Temptation while not a sin can lead to sin.  On the other hand evi…

• Lincoln’s Tomb and Jesus’ Tomb

  … it will not be that long until you too will lie there or in a similar place. We love life.  Very few people have a desire to die save for perhaps those few whose physical condition is such as to make life nearly unbearable.  God gave us life.  We did not volunteer to come into the world but having arrived here we enjoy what we have found even if we are poor and lack what many others have.  God gave us an innate desire for life.  Why do we desire…

• Hypocrites in the Church

  … nothing to do with?  Would they not all have been lost who were caught up in sin there?  Instead, what did Paul do?  He says he wrote to them in tears (2 Cor. 2:4), speaking of his first Corinthian letter, teaching, begging, pleading, exhorting them to repent.  Did any of them do so? Paul says in his second letter, speaking of the results wrought by his first letter, that “though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though…

• The Great Commission and Cornelius

  …were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Rom. 6:3 NKJV)  Gal. 3:27, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (NKJV)  One gets into Christ by water baptism. Please note what Paul said in 1 Cor. 1:13, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (NKJV)  Do you know that the word “in” here should be the word …

• The Fragrance of Christ

  The apostle Paul made the following statement in 2 Cor. 2:15-16, “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other the aroma of life to life.  And who is sufficient for these things?” (NKJV) I like the phrase “the fragrance of Christ.”  When I think of the word fragrance I think of that which has a pleasant smell–a f…

• Pray For Others Lest You Sin

  …of Israel:  “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.” (NKJV) Now I am not a Samuel nor are you but it makes you stop and think does it not?  Samuel was praying for God’s people.  Are we exempt from doing the same?  Are we under no obligation? During Jesus’ ministry he once was asked what the greatest commandment in the law was. (Matt. 22:36)  His response was love for God “with all you…

• 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 Holy Sp…

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

  …eaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38 NKJV)  Whose will are we here to do–ours or God’s?  Whose will do we end up doing?  Jesus said, “I always do those things that please him.” (John 8:29 NKJV)  Are we walking in the footsteps of Jesus?  Are we feeding off his life?  Is our will as Jesus’ was when he said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” (John 4:…

• Denominationalism’s Sin Against Peter

  The apostle Peter has taken a beating among denominationalists.  I would feel sorry for him save for the fact that I would be feeling sorry for the wrong party seeing as how he was an inspired apostle of God and his antagonists are but mere flesh and blood men and totally uninspired. It was not always the way it is today.  For at least a few hundred years after his sermon in Acts 2 he was honored by those who proclaimed faith in God and belief i…

• Christian Living

  Pray For Others Lest You Sin Is Church Attendance Essential for Christian Salvation? Are Works Essential for Christian Salvation? Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? More on Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? Ignorance Does Not Excuse Sin Never Give Up Does God Really Care? Three Benefits of Being a Christian in This Life – Hope, Love, Peace The Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman Fear God Regrets If Miracles Have Cease…

• The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer

  …8220;what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30 NAS)  There is a lot of information that can be gleaned from those few words.  First, it can be fairly inferred that the jailer was convinced that Paul and Silas were men of God who knew God’s will.  Perhaps their reputation had proceeded them as not long before this they had converted Lydia (Acts 16:14-15) and also had cast out a spirit of divination from a slave girl, a spirit that was t…

• 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 …

• The Kingdom of God

  The Kingdom of God and The New Birth   Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) The Seed of the Kingdom …

• Unhappy With the Church of Christ?

  …body (Eph. 1:22-23, Col. 1:18).  Christ is “head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” (Eph. 5:23 NKJV)  If Christ is the Savior of the body and the body is the church and the church is his church then please tell me how you are going to be saved outside his body, the church of Christ?  I would like to hear from you. But it is said we mean the denominational church of Christ that exists today.  How do you know the church o…

• Which Denomination Did Jesus Build?

  …church.  It would be comical if not so serious.  The implication is that doctrine and truth do not matter nor does practice.  Believe what you want, practice what you want, just believe intellectually that Jesus is the Son of God and that is all that matters. What a waste Paul writing all those letters to the church at Corinth trying to correct wrong practices (shall we say sin).  A waste because it did not matter; they believed in Jesus and were…

• Philip Preaching the Gospel in Samaria

  “But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.” (Acts 8:12 NAS) It would be good to read an earlier article on this web site from an earlier time in the book of Acts, an article entitled, “Receiving the Gospel–Acts 2:41,” as Acts 8:12 is pretty much a parallel passage teaching the same thing as Acts 2:41.  …

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

  …ury is so self evident from even a casual glance at scripture I do not want to waste much time on it here.  Many of Paul’s salutations in the epistles establish that fact for he often begins with words like, “To the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV), “To the churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2 NKJV), “To the church of the Thessalonians” (1 Thess. 1:2 NKJV).  It is hard to write to a body not yet established, to something that does n…

• Assorted

  …gs Christianity, Homosexuality, and Gay Marriage When Did Obedience Become Legalism? Healing For the Brokenhearted Better to Have Never Been Born Though He Slay Me The Fragrance of Christ Deeper Spiritual Understanding Things God Cannot Do Without Natural Affection and Covenant Breakers The Christian, Politics, and the Government Why Men Do Not Believe Did Christ Rise From the Dead or is Faith Folly? Denominationalism’s Sin Against Peter Wh…

• Faith

  Paul’s Conversion–Justified by Faith Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God–the Implications Who is the Believer in John 3:16? What is it a Man Must Believe in Order to be Saved? Faith is Not Just What You Believe Obedience of Faith and Justification by Faith–Opposing Doctrines? Disobedience to Jesus The Faithfulness of Jesus to God the Father I Can Do All Things Through Christ If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implicatio…

• Christ and Baptism in Colossians

  … 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 baptism.  What Paul teaches there he teaches elsewhere in the New Testament as well. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,…

• Sin

  Honestly Deceived The Pleasures of Sin Better to Have Never Been Born Jesus and the Furnace of Fire Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? More on Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation Disobedience to Jesus Must a Man Seek God Indifference – The Great Destroyer Looking Down Your Nose Ghost Hunting and Consulting the Dead Christianity, Homosexuality, and Gay Marriage The Wicked Shall be Tu…

• Ghost Hunting and Consulting the Dead

  …ing those things, we are only watching.  Yes, watching and enjoying them while they are committing this sin and with that being the case what is the difference between that and watching a triple X rated video?  Are we to take pleasure in others sinning?  We are to “seek good and not evil…hate evil, love good.” (Amos 5:14-15 NKJV)  “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Psalms 97:10 NKJV)  It kind of becomes a matter of the heart does it not? I clos…

• Faith and Baptism in Paul’s Preaching

  …t of Lydia. The story of Lydia’s conversion is so short we can quote all scripture has to say about it here:  “And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.  And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, com…

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

  John 1:12-13 from the New American Standard Version:  “(12) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name:  (13) who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will on man, but of God.” [verse numbers added by me for clarification—DS] Many believe that they are born again (become Christians) at the moment they come to believe in Jesus as t…

• Christ Did Not Send Paul to Baptize

  …to not hold his peace but to speak up in preaching the gospel (verse 9).  Paul spent 18 months in Corinth preaching (verse 11). In 1 Cor. 6:11 Paul, after speaking of sins that will prohibit one from inheriting the kingdom of God (verses 9 and 10), says to the Corinthians, “And such were some of you.  But you were washed … .” (NKJV)  Now what kind of washing would it be that would make a difference in one’s salvation (as this on…

• Gospel Obedience at Corinth

  …ans that cause some people trouble on the subject of baptism–1 Cor. 1:14.  Paul preached baptism, personally baptized some, was baptized himself, and yet here he says, in writing to the church at Corinth, “I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius.” (NAS)  What gives?  That is a good question deserving a response.  We know Paul preached baptism at Corinth.  How do we know?  In Acts 18:8 we find the result…

• More on Willful Sin—Can Anyone be Saved?

  … phrase could be taken to be merely descriptive of the judgment and how awful it will be. I think we all know Christians who have fallen away simply because they enjoyed sin more than righteousness.  They preferred “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Heb. 11:25 KJV) over an eternity of bliss.  They did not go into another religion but into a sinful life. Here are some words from Neil Lightfoot’s commentary on the passage.  R…

• Children of Israel

  Israel’s Rebellion at the Red Sea Moses, the Waters of Marah, and a Lesson for Today Faith, Manna, and Grumbling Against God Sin in the Desert–Testing God at Massah and Meribah Mt. Sinai and the Day of Judgment Canaan and Heaven–How God Gives The Chastening of the Lord …

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

  …14-15 NKJV) Satan quoted scripture to Jesus while tempting him after his baptism. False teachers can quote scripture. We today are gullible. We believe about anything that is called Christian, whether in doctrine or works, is God approved. We just accept it and go on and assume it is fine with God and in accord with New Testament teaching. We need to beware. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of Go…

• Old Testament Studies

  Abuse of the Old Testament The Book of Ecclesiastes King Saul–As Long as it Glorifies God Canaan and Heaven–How God Gives Must the Christian Keep the Sabbath? Spiritual Mirages  (a lesson from Jeremiah) Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) Moses–The Fork in the Road When Your Walking Stick Comes Home The Valley of Dry Bones The Weaver’s Shuttle Remove Not the Ancient Landmarks On to Canaan But He Lingered The Day of Decision …

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

  …he same subject.  Why do so?  Because there is absolutely 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 continual…

• 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 Mysterious Eloquent Evangelist

  …ew Testament Words, “a learner.”  Vine further says, “it denotes one who follows one’s teaching.”  It does not necessarily denote one who is saved as is commonly thought (although it often does). Please note from Jesus’ own words about who is to be baptized.  “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of a…

• Grace

  Misunderstanding the Grace of God For by Grace You Have Been Saved by Faith Alone The Grace of God and the Parable of the Laborers How Was Noah Saved Through Water   Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) How God’s Grace Works The Gospel of the Grace of God Noah Found Grace …

• Willful Sin–Can Anyone Be Saved?

  …rality and sensuality which they have practiced.” (NAS)  What do we have here?  Christians practicing sin.  That implies certainly that we are not talking of one time acts.  Are they lost? Yes, if they do not repent but please note that is the very thing Paul is saying they can do.  Why is Paul fearful that he may end up mourning?  Because they have not repented but that implies they could if they would and thus would be saved.  We also und…

• New Birth

  Born Again at the Point of Faith – John 1:12-13 Paul’s Conversion (Justified by Faith) What Does the Phrase “Born of Water and the Spirit” Mean? The Kingdom of God and The New Birth The New Birth and Water A New Creation in Christ The Truth So Called Christians Will Not Accept Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) Born Again When One Obeys the Gospel Things That Happen With Gospel Obedience Why I Am a Christian Keeping The C…

• DennySmith.Net

  you profit from the site.  I do know that what will profit some will anger others.  That is just the way it is when one writes on or talks about religion.  Ask Jesus or Paul.  As a guy who is growing older I am only trying to please one person—God—but if I can do some good for others by writing that will be a blessing to me. [Please feel free to use the articles you find here but in accordance with the creative common license found at http://crea…

• The Church

  Things People Do Not Know About the Church How Does One Get Into the Church Christ Built? Saved by Jesus Outside the Church Jesus the Foundation of and Builder of the Church One Church–A Thing Hard to Accept Which Denomination Did Jesus Build? The Church as the Family of God–Things Found in It The Church Christ Built–Marks of Identification Can One be Just a Christian in Christ’s Church Without being in a Denomination? Ch…

• Baptized For the Dead

  …ons in the church at Corinth.  To show the brethren the error they were following in dividing up into followers of men he says, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.” (1 Cor. 1:13-15 NKJV) This does not mean that only a few of those whom Paul converted in Corinth were bapt…

• Receiving the Gospel (Acts 2:41)

  …ed.  God is able to say what he means to say.  He is able to communicate clearly.  If you gladly receive the word Peter preached (I ask again did he preach the gospel?) you will do what he by the Holy Spirit told you to do.   Please note those who did not receive the gospel were those who did not repent and were not baptized and were not added to them (to the disciples) that day.   I know religion is full of emotion and emotion often overcomes th…

• Why Men Today Cannot Be Saved Like The Thief On The Cross?

  …“that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47 ESV) This gives us a beginning point of both time and place of the gospel message God has for us today.  Those desiring to be saved the way the thief on the cross was saved (by faith without baptism) go back too far, past Jerusalem, past the beginning, and in doing so end up with another gospel. The only …

• Baptism

  Baptism has been a hot topic down through the ages–who should be baptized, why, for what purpose, are there any prerequisites, what is accomplished in it, does it matter, is it essential for salvation or have anything at all to do with it, what is baptism (is it sprinkling, pouring, immersion, or take your choice?).  So many questions but are there no answers?  Was God such a poor communicator that he could not make the subject clear?  Wha…

• Forgiveness

  God’s Willingness to Forgive–King Manasseh Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? More on Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? The Need to Preach on Sin The Peace Found in the Forgiveness of Others Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) Forgiveness Contacting the Blood of Salvation No Condemnation Is Your Name Written There? The Goodness and Severity of God Are You Ready? …

• The New Birth and Water

  Having written on the subject of the new birth before I was surprised, although I doubt I should have been, to have gotten some comments back to the effect that the water mentioned in John 3:5 where Jesus says, “most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (NKJV) had reference not to baptism but to the water of childbirth.  Probably shows what a sheltered life I have led to be surp…

• Repentance

  Jesus Defines Repentance Repentance–How Can I Be Sure? Repent–How Hard It Is To Do Peter’s Second Gospel Sermon Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? More on Willful Sin–Can Anyone be Saved? The Chastening of the Lord The Blessing of Affliction and the Goodness of God …

• Waymon Swain’s Audio Sermons

  …rmons as well:  Bob Swain’s Audio 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) Miscellaneous  (22 sermons) New Birth  (7 sermons) Old Testament Studies  (13 sermons) Prayer  (1 sermon) Salvation  (26 sermons) Sin  (21 sermons)…

• 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 …

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

  …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 Acts 8:35-36 he has an audience of only one man and in a different …

• The Heart

  The Heart of Man from a Biblical Perspective A Heart Right With God (Test Your Heart) Keep Your Heart With All Diligence The Hardening of the Human Heart God’s Hardening of the Human Heart He Went Away Grieved Healing For the Brokenhearted Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) Blessed Are the Pure in Heart (Part I) Blessed Are the Pure in Heart (Part II) Love Motives …

• Bible Conversions

  …sion of Lydia The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer Gospel Obedience at Corinth   Audio Sermons  (by Waymon Swain) The Ethiopian Eunuch The Conversion of Saul Philip Preaches the Gospel The Seed of the Kingdom Promises God Has Not Made …

• The Two Covenants

  The Kingdom of God and The New Birth Abuse of the Old Testament Must the Christian Keep the Sabbath? …