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• God’s Willingness to Forgive–King Manasseh

  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 »It is not unusual to find in religion, as it relates to Christianity, two extrem…

• 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…

• Never Give Up

  again.  Imagine the shame, the self loathing, and the inability to look at one’s self in the mirror–the never ending regret and sorrow. What is the lesson?  Never give up; there is always good reason for hope.  God will forgive you no matter how atrocious your sins may be.  The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Jesus did not come to earth to die on the cross just so men coul…

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

  .” (Eph. 4:2-3 NKJV)  Is that not the way it is with a husband and wife?  We all know it is and that is the way it is in any successful family.  It is that way in God’s family if it is the family God would have it to be. (5)  Forgiveness.  “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32 NKJV)  “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another.” (Col. 3:13 NKJV)  We all feel…

• Repentance–How Can I Be Sure?

  e that also but he chose another course.  Peter, while he had denied the Lord after the Lord’s arrest, came back to the Lord. There are a couple of lessons here for us.  (1) Do not under estimate God’s love and willingness to forgive.  Did Judas do that?  (2) Do not destroy yourself by despair.  I speak of destroying yourself spiritually as did Judas (although, admittedly, he destroyed himself physically as well).  There are men and women who are…

• Does God Really Care?

  t will not let me do it!  My love for you is too strong.” (Hosea 11:8 TEV) Again we read in Joel 2:13, “Come back to the Lord your God.  He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish.” (TEV)  Here is the same verse from the ESV, “Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” Jeremiah in …

• Demas Has Forsaken Me

  n doomed despite the death of Jesus? Peter tells us that God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  When Peter asked the Lord (Matt. 18:21) how many times he should forgive a brother and says, probably thinking he was being generous, 7 times the Lord answers, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (NKJV)   The Lord tells us thus that there is no set lim…

• Lessons for the Church from Isaiah (Chapter 1)

  o good.”  (Isa. 1:16 NKJV)  A little clarification is in order lest there be misunderstanding.  God is not saying that man has it in his own hands to cleanse himself of sin apart from God.  God is saying he will conditionally forgive them if they will meet the conditions and it is in their hands as to whether or not they will do so. The Jews of that day did not have to be living a life of sin.  No one forced it on them.  They lived that way by ch…

• Acceptable Prayer

  our life and there is a time factor built into that. Space is rapidly running out so I mention briefly only a couple of other things.  We cannot expect God to answer our prayers if we hold ill will toward others and will not forgive.  He will not forgive our own sins if we will not forgive others.  If I make myself a sinner before God by refusing to forgive others can I expect to have my prayers answered? We have to pray for things, if we expect…

• A Heart Right With God (Test Your Heart)

  will have toward God’s word.  The Psalmist says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalms 119:11 NKJV)  Do we worry about sinning or do we just take the casual attitude God will always forgive and so do not worry ourselves about any strict obedience that much?  While it is true God will forgive the penitent the heart that takes that kind of casual attitude toward sinning against God is not a heart that is …

• The Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman

  o realize that we will never succeed 100 percent.  John says, speaking to Christians, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 NKJV)  Remember when Peter and Barnabas refused to eat with the Gentiles in Gal. 2:11-13 thus sinning?  Always remember why much of the New…

• Why Do Men Run From God?

  5:3 NKJV)  God is man’s great benefactor.  Why run from one who is the only one who can bestow eternal life?  There is only one ultimate reason, the fact of sin in one’s life, sin that has not been repented of or forgiven.  Every reason we can list as motives for man’s attempt to run away from God ultimately will in every case come back to the matter of sin in the person’s life. But what was the reason behind Adam and Eve…

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

  s even a tragedy, any time a person makes the decision that he will not be reconciled with those against whom he is alienated.  All are losers, none winners. We ought to be reconciled to our fellowman if alienated.  We are to forgive one another that we might be forgiven.  “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matt. 6:14 NKJV)  We ought to grow tired of fussing and fighting, of anger, and hatred, …

• The Joy and the Danger of a Clean Conscience

  gement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (NAS)  Do you not believe along with me that Psalms 51 and the things written therein were for you and me?  Do the things written there not give us encouragement? Can you be forgiven and once again live with a clear conscience?  What do you believe the Bible teaches?  What do you believe God did with David?  Did he forgive him and restore within him a clean heart as David had asked?  Do you thin…

• 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? …

• Resource Sites

  Here are some links to what I consider to be some great sites I highly recommend. Christian Courier  (This site is owned and run by Wayne Jackson who does the writing found on it.  I don’t know where you would go to find more scholarly Christian articles on the web.  The man does his homework which means he does extensive research before he starts writing.  All of this will be readily evident to you once you read an article or two of his. …

• More on Willful Sin—Can Anyone be Saved?

  lves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 NKJV)  Well, then, what is the Christian to do about his sin?  John tells us in the very next verse where he says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV)  Finally, he says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10 NKJV) T…

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

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

• The Church Christ Built–Marks of Identification

  he keys being the gospel message with its requirements) on the day of Pentecost.  When the 3,000 that day heard the message, believed it, repented of their sins (as instructed to do–Acts 2:38), and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins (as instructed to do–Acts 2:38) they were then translated into the kingdom of God by God himself.  It is in that kingdom, not out of it, where salvation is found.  If saved that day, does anyone dou…

• 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…

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

  20;declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1:4 NAS)  Jesus’ resurrection proved he was who he claimed to be, proved him to be God’s son, meaning he had the power to forgive sins and save man.  His resurrection was essential.  Paul goes so far as to say, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless.” (1 Cor. 15:17 NAS)  Why would that be true?  Because without the …

• Looking Down Your Nose

  The expression “looking down your nose” was and is an American idiom used with reference to looking upon someone dishonorably with a degree of contempt.  It is felt that the person so looked upon is beneath the one doing the judging in respect to honor and dignity.  That is the subject of this article. James says: “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.  For if there sho…

• Things People Do Not Know About the Church

  …the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Cor. 12:27 NKJV) (3)  Jesus purchased the church with his own blood (Acts 20:28).  It is by his blood that we will be saved.  “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Eph. 1:7 NKJV)  One is either in the church purchased with Christ’s own blood or he is outside it where the blood has purchased nothing.  “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved….

• 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…

• 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…

• The Conscience as a Witness

  maintain a good witness of our conscience before God. Not everything can be bought with gold.  Some things, in fact many things, are of more value than gold.  Things like a good name, good character, a good hope, love, faith, forgiveness, and a good conscience toward God.  You can take these things with you when you die.  These are the things that matter. …

• Paul’s Conversion (Justified by Faith)

  #8217;s preaching on the Day of Pentecost faith was created, about three thousand (Acts 2:41) responded to the preaching, obeying Peter’s command to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and were forgiven. Would God forgive Saul?  Most certainly!  Paul later says, “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will rea…

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

  we are to have compassion for one another, love as brothers, we are to be tenderhearted, and courteous (1 Peter 3:8).  That is what one finds when one finds a group of committed Christians–love, compassion, friendship, forgiveness. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniqui…

• 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…

• Ways into Christ–How Many Ways Are There?

  It is only human nature to want the way to heaven to be as broad and all-inclusive as possible thus the more ways into Christ that can be found the better from our earthly point of view.  We have people we want to see saved and yet we are pretty sure they are not due to either the way they are living or to the beliefs they hold thus a broad gate and a wide way to heaven would suit us just fine.  But it goes without saying that our love for one w…

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

  ity for all we do in the Christian religion and worship.  We must believe and we must obey to the best of our ability.  There is a throne of grace which we are invited to come to boldly (Heb. 4:16) and a God who is willing to forgive and who desires that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and who “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV) The critic’s desire is that we fi…

• Abortion Luke 1 – All You Need to Know

  eath who were later willing to believe the gospel, repent of their sins, and be baptized were saved (read Acts 2). If you have had an abortion God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).  He will freely and fully forgive if you will but obey the gospel from the heart or having already done that prior to your abortion if you will but repent, confess your sin, and ask his forgiveness it shall be granted.  In any case your aborted child…

• Jesus’ Baptism and You?

  epentance for the remission of sins. The Good News Bible translates Mark 1:4 as follows:  “So John appeared in the desert, baptizing and preaching. ‘Turn away from your sins and be baptized,’ he told the people, ‘and God will forgive your sins.’”  This was the message of God for the people that was rejected by the Pharisees, lawyers, chief priests, and elders. But, the Bible says “even the tax collectors justified God, have been baptized wi…

• Regrets

  tioned I believe we all agree that we expect to see at least 5 of them in heaven.  As for Adam I am only willing to say that I do not know what happened in the many years after his fall in the garden.  Did he repent?  Did God forgive him?  I am willing to leave that with them. Because we are all in the same boat together should we not fully accept one another with all of our faults of the past and count them as but nothing (the assumption being w…

• When did Obedience Become Legalism?

  ries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” (Matt. 19:9 NKJV)  The phrase “sexual immorality” is in the older translations the word “fornication.” (KJV, ASV of 1901) Does God not forgive?  Certainly he does but only on the condition that one quit the sin in repentance.  If we continue to live in an adulterous marriage we continue the sin.  Remember, Col. 3:5-7 teaches one can live in this sin.  Besid…

• Fear God

  s 8 where Paul tells him, “You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.  Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.”  (Acts 8:21-22 NKJV) Thus the point to be made is that this freedom from fear, this perfect love that casts out fear, is not for all but only for a certain class of Christian–the totally dedicated and fa…

• Who Gets to Decide–God or the Church?

  There are approximately 38,000 denominations in the world today calling themselves Christian according to the results I found on the subject doing a Google search.  I was astounded and find that number hard to believe but be that as it may we all know there are a vast multitude of them and I suppose the number you come up with depends on how you decide to count them.  If this number is correct we have gone from 1 church in the New Testament to 3…

• Willful Sin–Can Anyone Be Saved?

  … kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife.” (NAS)  Did this man who was doing this not know it was sin?  You know he did.  Yet, in 2 Cor. 2:7 Paul urges the Corinthians to forgive the man as he had repented.  I remind the reader Paul wrote and spoke by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 2 Cor. 12:21 clinches the meaning of Heb. 10:26 for me.  It reads as follows, “I am afraid that when I co…

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

  I recently had an individual ask the question that if baptism is essential for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) then why did not Jesus tell the rich young ruler?  (This individual does not believe what Peter taught on the subject in Acts 2 where Peter makes baptism essential to salvation.)  It is the wrong question to ask.  Why?  Because when Jesus was talking to the rich young ruler he was not talking to you and me.  The only lessons in the …

• The Faithfulness of Jesus to God the Father

  Hebrews 3:1-2 reads as follows:  “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him who appointed him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house.” (NKJV) Reading this passage and its surrounding context awhile back got me to thinking about the faithfulness of Jesus.  We seldom think about Jesus being “faithful,” that…

• 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 …

• 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

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

• Mt. Sinai and the Day of Judgment

  What do the children of Israel coming to Mt. Sinai have to do with the Day of Judgment?  More than you might think.  The children of Israel reached Mt. Sinai in the third month after they left Egypt (Ex. 19:1-2).  They had had by this time many experiences and had seen God working actively on their behalf in miracle after miracle.  They had seen the plagues in Egypt from many of which they were spared.  They had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground…

• Honestly Deceived

  y yes to that question in view of what the Bible teaches us in the two accounts being discussed? (Please note–I do not say that either the young prophet or Eve were doomed for they both may well have repented and sought forgiveness prior to their deaths that is not recorded.  God only knows that.  I do know, however, their salvation [if such there was] was not and is not the message God wants you and me to get out of the stories of what hap…

• Things God Cannot Do

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

• The Need to Preach on Sin

  eceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 NKJV)  “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23 NKJV)  We all live condemned before the God of the universe based on the sin in our life unless it is forgiven.  Men need to be convicted of sin in order to motivate them to turn from it and turn to God. Well what is sin and what makes it so bad?  “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4 KJV) or as the N…

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

  “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 NKJV)  On its surface this proclamation by Paul is very simple and easy to understand and yet the failure to grasp its implications has brought much division and strife among those who believe Jesus is the Son of God.  Faith and opinion are mixed and it seems no one is able to separate the two.  It appears to the casual observer that one man’s faith is another man’s op…

• Praying to God to Bless the Bread–Really?

  “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24 NKJV) Whose job is it to bless the bread and bless the fruit of the vine when the Lord’s Supper is being  observed in the communion service?  One hears continually prayers or petitions to God to “bless the bread” and to “bless the fruit of the vine.”  Why?  I have no idea other than it has been done so long it has…

• The Hardening of the Human Heart

  men. The fact that a man can be hardened by sin is scary in that the implication is that a person might well get to the point where he/she is so hardened that they can no longer repent and thus lose all possibility of  being forgiven.  Sufficient hardening leads to damnation.  When your heart becomes so hard you cannot repent, for your heart will not allow it, you are done. The spiritual heart of man can be likened to cement in that when cement …

• 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.”…

• 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…

• The Wicked Shall be Turned into Hell

  “The wages of sin (when unforgiven–DS) is death.” (Rom. 6:23 NKJV)  Jesus said he was shedding his blood for the remission of sins (Matt. 26:28).  Paul said, “We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Eph. 1:7 NKJV) Today you could not find a wicked man in 10 counties here in America.  You can find plenty of fornicators, adulterers, liars, coveters, backbiters, proud and boastful, unloving, un…

• Christian Circumcision

  which you also were raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” (NKJV) Forgiveness of sins is found in Christ.  Salvation is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:10).  The phrase “in him” is used 3 times in the passage just quoted.  According to Paul …

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

  I am sure there are millions of people who call themselves Christians who have never given the subject of instrumental music in Christian worship a thought.  It is just taken for granted that it is a part of acceptable worship to God.  I suspect even most of us who were raised in a religious setting where instruments were never used in worship wondered about it at one point in time or another.  Was it really wrong to use them in worship and if s…

• 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…

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

  Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, is the first person listed among many in Hebrews chapter 11 commended by the Holy Spirit for their faith.  Of Abel it is said, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained 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 ou…

• Jesus and the Furnace of Fire

  ‘if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’” (1Peter 4:17-18 NKJV) We have become so accustomed to talk only about the love of God, of his mercy and grace, of his forgiveness and salvation that we scarcely can comprehend anything else from him.  However, God is also a God of justice, of holiness, and righteousness.  What kind of a Father would God be if he said, “Okay, so I sent…

• The Christian, Politics, and the Government

  ntually.  If you think your government is evil and doing wrong and you are right about that God will take care of it in due time one way or another unless there is repentance.  Sin never goes unpunished unless repented of and forgiven.  But the question is for me as an individual–what do I do as it relates to politics and the government?  The answer is I live as a Christian. …

• Misunderstanding the Grace of God

    They essentially see grace as unconditional dependent only upon faith. They reject baptism as essential to salvation.  I see it as another part of God’s grace.  If God tells me to do something in order to have my sins forgiven (“repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”–Acts 2:38 KJV) he was under absolutely no obligation whatsoever to give me that option whereby my s…

• The Need to Sing in Worship

  … a congregation gets you will find some brethren not singing.  If it was just a matter of having a bad cold, a sore throat, or something along those lines there would be no problem.  Sometimes we cannot sing. It is not for me to judge you when you do not sing for I do not know your situation but when Sunday after Sunday rolls around and you never sing while physically able to do so there is a problem.  When you never or only very rarely sing ther…

• Healing For the Brokenhearted

  to take the steps necessary to become one.  That may be by obeying the gospel from the heart if one has never done so.  For those who have but have not been faithful then to be a righteous person one needs to repent, pray for forgiveness, and seek to live righteously henceforth.  For those who are faithful they need to believe the Lord is near them and will deliver them out of their affliction.  They need to pray sincerely that if the affliction …

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

  When the children of Israel left Egypt, led by Moses, the first major event one reads about in the book of Exodus after the Red Sea crossing is found in Exodus  15:22-26, the crisis at the waters of Marah.  I say crisis for that was how the children of Israel perceived it.  They had been traveling three days in the wilderness and had found no water to drink during that time. Was that a crisis?  It was when you consider how much water was require…

• 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 …

• Bible Contradictions on Salvation?

  n which is found only in Christ Jesus. One can believe it or not but make no mistake about it, that is what God’s word says and teaches.  When God says something we ought to believe it and obey it.  One’s sins are forgiven at baptism which is the act where one contacts the blood of Christ. Jesus shed his blood in his death.  Paul say’s we are baptized into his death (Rom. 6:3) which is where Jesus’ blood is located for the…

• Abuse of the Old Testament

  There are many things practiced in the name of Christianity today that have no biblical basis to be found in the law of Christ.  The Old Testament is, at times, appealed to as the source of authority.  Does the Old Testament have the same authority for Christians today as the New Testament?  How should Christians today relate to and handle the Old Testament scriptures?  These are questions we all ought to be interested in for we are saved by tru…

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

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

• Better to Never Have Been Born–Why?

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

• Jesus the Foundation of and the Builder of the Church

  ourself 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?’  And he said to them, ‘You rightly say that I am.’” (Luke 22:70 NKJV)  This fact earlier confessed by Peter in Matt. 16 when he said, “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (Matt. 16:16 NKJV) is th…

• Canaan and Heaven–How God Gives

  How God gives to men is not only an interesting study but also one of upmost importance as it relates to our salvation, a salvation which is clearly set forth in the scriptures as being a free gift of God to man.  “Being justified freely by is grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24 NKJV)  It is by grace through faith that we are saved and not by works. (Eph. 2:8-9)  Salvation is specifically said to be “the gift of God…

• Spiritual Mirages

  It is so easy to be misled in life.  Things appear to be a certain way when the reality is they are just the opposite of what they seem to be.  Ask any young man or woman or husband or wife who has been deeply in love and then found out to their utter dismay that the love they felt sure was mutual between them and their beloved was all just an illusion and the object of their affections was in reality ready to dump them.  The first reaction is o…

• Indifference – The Great Destroyer

  Indifference is one of the scariest words in the English language for it is a word whose companion is another word called failure. The word indifference refers to an attitude held by a man or woman indicating a lack of zeal or commitment or concern regarding whatever that person is indifferent toward. There are many things a person can be indifferent toward and it does not make the least bit of difference. For example, I am indifferent toward wh…

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

  Sometimes we take it for granted that everyone who calls themselves a Christian holds the New Testament scriptures in as high a regard as we do.  However, that is not the case.  Some, while calling themselves Christians, do not believe in the all sufficiency of the New Testament scriptures to save a man.  They feel man needs more guidance and direction than can be found in the scriptures alone. Questions immediately come to my mind.  If the New …

• Non-Offensive Christianity

  If someone was to ask you or me what constitutes Christian character what would we say?  Off the top of our head we would most likely say love for God and our fellowman and faith in the Lord Jesus.  As we thought about it more intently we would add things like the fruit of the spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23 NKJV)  We m…

• Is Church Attendance Essential for Christian Salvation?

  Whether or not a Christian must attend church to be saved is a question of utmost importance.  There is nothing more important than one’s eternal salvation.  Where will one spend eternity?  Will it be in a place of happiness and joy where “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain” (Rev. 21:4 NKJV) or will it be in the place of torment “where ‘their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” (Mar…

• 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 …

• Mary of Bethany–Doing What You Can

  …d Martha, Lazarus, and Mary (John 12:2-3), the latter three being a brother and his two sisters.  This was the same Lazarus that Jesus had raised from the dead (John 12:1, 9).  While Jesus was reclined at the table, according to the custom of the time, Mary comes up behind him with a flask of fragrant oil (John 12:5), burst it open, and anointed both his head and feet with the oil (Matt. 26:7, John 12:3). This angered some among them.  “Whe…

• Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation

  Most everyone is willing to concede they desire to go to heaven after this life is over and live there with God eternally versus dying and going to hell “where ‘their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’” (Mark 9:48 NKJV)  That is the way we ought to feel and God certainly approves of our desire along that line.  Unfortunately, our desire for heaven and our attitudes while living here on earth are often in con…

• The Grace of God in Baptism

  the pages that opened up had a few paragraphs dealing with Christianity. I was amazed to find the following statement that I am going to quote here: “Christians believed that through the rite of baptism their sins were forgiven by the grace of God.”  This had reference to the early years of Christianity. The quote was taken from the textbook World History by Prentice Hall, written by Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis and Anthony Esler, page 170…

• 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…

• A Good and Pure Conscience

  from eating with the Gentile Christians at Antioch fearing the Jews who had come up from Jerusalem for a visit (Gal. 2:11-12).  It is hard to see how Peter did either of these sins without violating his conscience. We can be forgiven of sins committed in violation of conscience.  Yes, there is danger of searing our conscience by continually violating our conscience but that is another article.  The point here is do not give up because you have f…

• 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…

• They Loved the Praise of Men

  Most of us given a choice would like to be well thought of and spoken well of for our life and beliefs rather than to be reviled, criticized, and despised.  This is natural and easily understood but there is danger that this natural desire lead us into sin.  When one gets to the point where he cares more about what people think than what God thinks and what God commands he is in trouble, in trouble with the Lord and Savior. In studying the subje…

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

  e did neither.  With Peter the job was not done.  What was left to be done?  An obedience of faith. What did that consist of?  In Peter’s own words, “repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38 NAS) Paul’s conversion was similar as found in Acts chapters 9, 22, and 26.  When the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus there was no doubt but what faith came instantly to him…

• Behold the Judge is Standing at the Door

  It is sometimes hard for Christians to grasp emotionally that they will be judged by Christ on the Day of Judgment.  So much has been made of the grace of God and God’s love that it is hard to come to grips with the idea of judgment but James in writing to Christians says, “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.  Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” (James 5:9 NKJV)  That ought to be a sober…

• King Saul–As Long as It Glorifies God

  Paul said, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4 NKJV)  The NIV translates the first part of that verse as follows, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us.” Paul had reference primarily to the writings found in the Old Testament when he made that statement.  As we read the Old Testament we need t…

• The Blessing of Affliction and the Goodness of God

  In the book of Psalms 119, verse 71, there is a passage that has come to have personal meaning to me as I have contemplated it over time and made application to the things that have befallen me.  The Psalmist said, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted.” (NKJV)  Earlier in the same chapter the writer had said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” (Psalms 119:67 NKJV) We all learn very early in life that we wi…

• Must the Christian Keep the Sabbath?

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

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

  Many years ago as a young man I heard it said by a young lady of my own age that the apostle Paul just had a thing against women with the idea being that what he wrote on the subject of women had no authority but was merely the expression of personal prejudice on his part.  That young lady many years later became a preacher (?) within her denominational body contrary to Paul’s teaching on the subject in 1 Tim. 2:12. Over the course of the …

• The Prodigal Son–When He Came to Himself

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

• 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

  When we are unthankful it tells a lot about our character.  It tells all who can see that we are unloving and uncaring.  Not only is it a sin to be unloving it is also a sin to be unthankful (actually the two are tied together).  In writing to Timothy, Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit lists a long list of sins in 2 Tim. 3:1-5, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lover…

• Christianity and Multiculturalism

  How does Christianity relate to the concept of multiculturalism?  The answer to that depends in large part on one’s definition of multiculturalism and there are many definitions of it given as you see when you begin researching the topic.  For the purpose of this article I will define it as the idea that all cultures are of equal value, none to be judged as superior to another, that society should be oriented around groups versus a common …

• 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…

• How Does One Get Into the Church Christ Built?

  Not a single denominational church was built by Christ for he built his church, one and only, in the first century hundreds of years before any denominations came into existence.  The New Testament scriptures after the gospels and Acts chapter 2 all refer to the church as a then existing institution.  Paul wrote to various churches in some of his epistles.  Jesus in the book of Revelation instructs John to write concerning the 7 churches of Asia…

• What Is Baptism (the Sprinkling Hoax)

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

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

  t for the Bible and consider it intolerant and unloving.  To them it is “hate speech.”  Are we headed back to the persecutions of the first century? Homosexuality is no more damning than any other sin and one can certainly be forgiven of it.  It is no different than fornication between a man and a woman.  I think no less of a man who is a homosexual than I do a man caught up in any other sin.  Anyone involved in any sin needs to repent and that i…

• Saved by Jesus Outside the Church?

  ith Jesus” while not a member of the church there, the church over which the elders were to oversee or shepherd?  In his letter to the Ephesians Paul said to them, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Eph. 1:7 NKJV)  Who is the “we” in that passage if not the church (the brethren) there?  But, we know that the brethren there were an organized body overseen by elders (Acts 20:28). I…

• 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 …

• Peter’s Preaching and the Apostle’s Preaching

  id: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.  Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.’” (Acts 5:29-32 NKJV) Let us examine this sermon starting by talking about …

• Parable of the Tares–No Middle Ground

  The story of the parable of the tares is found in Matt. 13:24-30 and then explained by Jesus in verses 36-43.  I quote the parable as follows: “Another parable he put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.  But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.  So th…

• Is Holy Spirit Baptism The Baptism That Saves?

  …u were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” (NAS)  Beginning with Abraham if a male child was not circumcised the eighth day he fell out of covenant relationship with God on up through the Mosaical Era.  You can read about it…

• The Parable of the Talents–the Sin of Fear

  The parable of the talents is found in Matthew 25:14-30 with an account that is similar in many respects in Luke 19:12-28 although there are differences.  Only the account given in Matthew is referred to, by men, as the parable of the talents but it is profitable to read Luke along with Matthew.  Differences aside both accounts seem to be teaching about the same lesson and one I have needed throughout my life. The account is too long to quote he…

• Why Men Do Not Believe

  (While this study is meant to be primarily a study of those who reject Christianity on the grounds of disbelief some of what is said would apply equally to those who call themselves Christians but hold to false doctrine in one realm or another.) Paul in writing to the Thessalonians asked the brethren to “pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we may be delivered fro…

• The Case of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit

  “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 NKJV)  They had heard the sermon Peter preached, believed it, and now these men who were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37 NKJV) find themselves in need of forgiveness.  What is Peter’s reply speaking by the Holy Spirit?  It is “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Ho…

• The Kind of Faith in God That Destroys

  There is a faith, a so called Christian faith, which destroys.  Those who hold such a faith, while sincere, do not understand faith from a scriptural point of view.  Faith is all too often defined as “what I believe.”  There is more to saving faith than just believing in Jesus, believing he is the Son of God. If faith alone, defined as what one believes, could save by itself then even the demons could be saved for James says, “…

• Faith, Works, and Baptism

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

• The Silence of the Scriptures

  d or wrist to symbolize their decision to become bondslaves of Christ, repentance windows during communion where you would write your name on a board as a confession of your sin and then have it pronounced that your sins were forgiven 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 …

• He Feared

  Why men become unfaithful varies from man to man.  The faith of Demas failed because he loved the world; the faith of Diotrephes failed because he loved the preeminence; the faith of the man I am about to talk about failed because of fear. Of course, there is a sense in which faith never fails.  It is the man who fails, fails to have faith in sufficient strength to remain faithful.  It is a challenge to all men to develop a strong faith. Paul, i…

• Faith in the New Testament–Different Meanings

  The word “faith” is a word that has different meanings in different places where it is found throughout the New Testament.  It can be a little disconcerting when one first learns this but at the same time we benefit from knowing it. In preparation for this article I looked up the word “faith” in a little paperback Merriam Webster Dictionary that I have being curious as to what I would find.  I found 4 meanings listed as f…

• Singing and Playing in Christian Worship

  I have learned over time that no matter how familiar you are with a subject given enough time you are bound to hear something you never heard before.  It is a historical fact that instrumental music was never used in Christian worship until well over 600 years after the establishment of the church.  A simple Google search on the topic with the word “history” added will get you all the information your heart could desire. This is a historical fac…

• Christianity–Who Rules Reason or Emotions?

  A man is either led in life by his reason or his emotions and which makes all the difference in the world.  A life ruled by emotions is a life destined for disaster, a life where reason is always found in the back seat where it cannot be heard over the roar of the engine of emotion as it propels an individual down the road of life. When emotions rule your life everything is done on the basis of feelings with minimal thought being given to truth …

• 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…

• Cornelius’ Conversion–Final Thoughts

  The idea is in vogue in some quarters that Cornelius was saved when the Holy Spirit fell upon him (Acts 10:44) without any further action on his part.  One of the verses used to support this idea is 1 John 4:13, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (NKJV)  So, it is said that settles it. I went to take a look at that verse and read it in context.  Now understand I believe the Sp…

• The Parable of the 10 Virgins–7 Lessons

  The parable of the 10 virgins found in Matt. 25:1-13 has more to say to us than we often realize. One of the things that troubles a person most, that nags and gnaws at our spirit, is when we mess up, make a bad mistake, and then have to pay for it when we had realized from the beginning what it was we needed to do which would have avoided the whole thing but simply failed to do it for one reason or another.  We blame ourselves for the mess we go…

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

  The church of the New Testament is in the scriptures referred to under several different designations or appellations one of which is the body of Christ.  “And he put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Eph. 1:22-23 NKJV)  “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for th…

• I Can Do All Things Through Christ

  The passage written by the apostle Paul and found in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (NKJV) is a verse I became very familiar with when our young son entered kindergarten many years ago.  Tears and fear is what we had on a regular basis that first year.  It tears a Dad and Mom’s heart out to send them off into what is for them the dark terrifying unknown when as they leave the house it is all they can d…

• Work Out Your Own Salvation

  As I was thinking about doing an article on this famous passage from the book of Philippians (Phil. 2:12-13) I first did a little Google research to see if anyone else had done so and if so to see what they were saying.  I did find a couple of authors whose work I took a look at.  It seemed to me like both had worked themselves almost into a state of frenzy trying to deny what the passage clearly states, that a man must work out his own salvatio…

• The Cleansing of the Church at Ephesus

  e a way to explain away the obvious meaning of the phrase “the washing of water?” But there is much more in proof of the point I am making.  In Eph. 1:7 Paul says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” (NAS)  In him is a reference, obviously, to Jesus who shed his blood for us.  How does one get into him, into Jesus Christ?  Gal. 3:27 says we were “bapti…

• Confirmation Sunday–No Bibles Required

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

• Weak, Defiled, and Seared Consciences

  and feels no regret, nor sorrow, over his sin.  This is a fearful state to be in. Before closing it would be good to give hope for who among men has not defiled his/her conscience at one time or another?  Is it possible to be forgiven and have one’s conscience cleansed?  The seared conscience may be past that but not the defiled conscience, not the conscience that still has some feeling.  Yes, it is possible to restore one to a clear and go…

• Without Natural Affection and Covenant Breakers

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

• He Went Away Grieved

  People came to Jesus while he was on earth for different reasons.  Some came because they felt he could provide them with the necessities of life.  After having fed the 5,000 the crowd intended to take him by force to make him king (John 6:15).  Jesus said to them, “You seek me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” (John 6:26 NKJV) Others sought after him that they might be healed of sickness and dis…

• Deeper Spiritual Understanding–How do I Acquire It?

  A person who is a sincere Christian, a true believer from the depths of his/her heart, is a person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness (Matt. 5:6) desiring deeper spiritual understanding.  There is always a desire to know more and understand better.  There is an inner longing to draw nearer to God and feel closer to him and so the way is sought to do so. But the question is how do I do this or accomplish this which I so desire?  If I just …

• 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:…

• Everlasting Life–The Believer of John 3:16

  Who has everlasting life?  Is it the man Jesus spoke of in John 3:16 when he said, “whoever believes in him (speaking of himself–DS) should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV) or is it the man he spoke of in John 5:24 when he said, “I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life” (NKJV)?  First,  Jesus says in the former passage believe in him for everlasting life wh…

• 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

  t he meant to say, faith that he spoke by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, faith that when Ananias told Saul “arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16 NKJV) he knew that Saul still had sins to be forgiven, that he was not cleansed of sin on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and faith was born.  But, that is the very thing faith only advocates cannot accept which basically means almost the entire denomin…

• The Book of Ecclesiastes

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

• Are Works Essential for Christian Salvation?

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

• A New Creation in Christ

  atisfied is the man who is in trouble as per the parable from Luke 18.  Every man who reaches an age of accountability sins, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23 NKJV) and thus needs forgiveness.  “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10 NKJV)  Every man, woman, and boy or girl who is old enough to know right from wrong, sin from righteousness, needs to have those sins forgiven and …

• Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?

  nd of their sin) and the Bible says they say to Peter and the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 NKJV) What shall we do about what?  The answer is, obviously, what do we do about sin, about forgiveness, about salvation.  Peter did not tell them there is nothing you can do; there is no preparation a man can make to meet God in judgment.  We know he did not tell them that but rather gave them an answer.  The serm…

• Faith is Not Just What You Believe

  Sometimes I think faith is about the only subject everyone is an expert on but faith is a complex subject involving far more than just the mind and its thoughts and is a subject that needs continual study to mine all its depths. Faith is not just thought but action.  It is a driving force, an inward power that drives man to act and do, to sacrifice, to seek, to suffer, to endure, to commit, and drive on when there appears to be no longer reason …

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

  Is a man saved by faith or saved by Holy Spirit baptism?  I personally do not believe either but there are many advocates of one or the other.  (Yes, I believe faith is essential but just not that it is the final step to salvation.) There are a number of people in what is commonly called the Christian community who are thoroughly convinced that one is saved by Holy Spirit baptism.  I do not believe they are in the majority but they are out ther…

• Is Denominational Baptism Scriptural?

  There are many different baptisms being performed today by religious people–different methods and for different purposes.  However, the only baptism that I as an individual facing eternity ought to be concerned with is the baptism that Jesus spoke of when he said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16 NKJV) This is the baptism of the Great Commission when Jesus told the apostles, “Go therefore and make disciples of a…

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

  Baptism is essential to salvation but there are many non-believers.  I want to deal with one passage today that teaches this but which is seldom used because the word baptize is not found in the passage.  The phrase used is “washing of water” as found in Eph. 5:25-27. Eph. 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,…

• The Army of the Lord–the Church

  …rmy of the Lord.” (NKJV)  However, having said that, it is clear from many different New Testament passages that while the church is never called an army it is clearly described as an army in that each Christian is considered to be a soldier, outfitted with battle gear, a weapon, and engaged in warfare.  Since the church is made up of its individual members, each individual member to be a soldier, it follows that the church is the army of the Lor…

• Repent–How Hard It Is To Do

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

• Who Governs the Church if We Follow the Bible?

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

• Peter’s Second Gospel Sermon

  …then told directly in both sermons the necessity of repentance (Acts 2:38 and Acts 3:19).  We are also told in both sermons that if we will do as Peter has said, said by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we will have “the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38) or that which is the same “”your sins may be wiped away.” (Acts 3:19 NAS)  But in both sermons there is something else mentioned in addition to repentance that is…

• 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….

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

  Ananias, I know you have the Spirit of God but the minute I met Jesus on the road I believed and was saved and so both you and the Spirit are in error.  I need not be baptized to “wash away” any sins for they were forgiven me when Jesus appeared to me and I first believed.  Why did he not respond that way?  It astounds me that people can claim to be saved by faith, apart from baptism, in view of the fact their claim to belief is fraud…

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

  Many years ago I asked a lady this very question–can one be just a Christian in Christ’s church without being in a denomination?  Her answer was that while that was once possible it is no longer possible today.  I have never understood that kind of thinking.  To her the church that is Christ’s simply cannot exist today alone by itself outside of denominationalism.  That raises all kinds of problems. If what she said is true then of what va…

• 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?

  Paul, in answer to the question proposed, would say faith is but folly if Christ did not rise from the dead.  “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:16-17 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 l…

• 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

  In the third book of John we read about a man by the name of Diotrephes as follows: “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.  Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words.  And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.” (3 John 1:9-10 …

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

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

• Religious Titles Forbidden in Christianity

  I recently got into a discussion with a messianic Jew who insisted he had the right to use the title “Rabbi” without any violation of scripture.  I pointed him to Matt. 23:8, “but you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (NKJV) to no avail.  He is not alone for you could point a Catholic priest to Matt. 23:9, “do not call anyone on earth your father; f…

• Ashamed of Jesus and His Words

  s ashamed of the words of Jesus.  How many denominationalists will ever preach what Peter preached, by means of the Holy Spirit, in Acts 2;38, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins”? (NAS)  They are ashamed of those words of Jesus and do not believe them and will not abide in them and will not teach them.  To them those gathered on that Pentecost day were saved the minute…

• 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

  …, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36 NKJV)  Based on the next verse, verse 37, it is clear men were brought to faith in Christ by what Peter had preached.  Did Peter then tell them their sins had been forgiven and to go on home and henceforth remain faithful?  Had he told them that we could safely conclude the Lord had added them to the one church and that an intellectual faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord and Savio…

• Lincoln’s Tomb and Jesus’ Tomb

  My wife and I went to visit Lincoln’s Tomb yesterday, March 21, 2009, in Springfield, Illinois.  I must say it is a massive structure, very impressive, and quite a sight to see in a very scenic setting.  As for the cemetery itself I guess one could say as cemeteries go this was and is as beautiful a cemetery as one is likely to see anywhere.  It is very hilly with giant oak trees and quiet as cemeteries generally are, very well kept. It was for …

• Pray For Others Lest You Sin

  Is it a sin to not pray for others?  When we think of sin I am sure a failure to pray for others does not come immediately to mind like say robbery, murder, adultery,  lying, and the list goes on of the more notorious sins.  Yet, in the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 12, verse 23, we read this statement from Samuel spoken to the children of Israel:  “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you….

• Keep Your Heart With All Diligence

  If you are like me you were always a little fearful that you were perhaps not normal.  That is to say you have struggled being the person you ought to be and like Eve have desired the forbidden fruit and the thought has come to your mind that that is not normal, not normal for those who want to do what is right.  We get to the point where we question our heart.  Maybe we just have a bad heart.  Maybe we are just a little more depraved than other…

• 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 …

• Hypocrites in the Church

  …“false brethren secretly brought in.” (NASU)  Hypocrisy is thus an age old problem and one we will never rid ourselves of in this life. There are hypocrites about everywhere you look so why be surprised or shocked to find some in the church?  There is a good chance you work with one or more hypocrites–a man or woman who claims to be laboring but simply does not in reality do the job that he or she was hired to do.  They are slac…

• 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…

• 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…

• The Great Commission and Cornelius

  A great many people believe that Cornelius was saved the moment the Holy Spirit fell on him to which I disagree.  It seems to be a topic of interest so I have decided to write on the subject from a different vantage point than is usual. This is really, at its core, a discussion of whether or not water baptism is for the remission of sins as stated in Acts 2:38.  Since that is the basis of opposition every related subject such as conversion, the …

• Salvation (Becoming a Christian)

  Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) What Must I Do To Be Saved?  (Part I) What Must I Do To Be Saved? (Part II) Factors in Salvation Salvation From Sin Conditions of Salvation Forgiveness Contacting the Blood of Salvation The Gospel of the Grace of God When One Obeys the Gospel Things That Happen With Gospel Obedience What if I Miss Heaven? The Three Fold Nature of the Gospel A Crucial Difference …

• Christian Living

  When Did Obedience Become Legalism? Christianity–Who Rules Reason or Emotions? Healing For the Brokenhearted Deeper Spiritual Understanding They Loved the Praise of Men The Chastening of the Lord The Peace Found in the Forgiveness of Others The Christian, Politics, and the Government Must the Christian Keep the Sabbath? Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation The Sin of Being Unthankful and the Need for Thanksgiving Ashamed of J…

• The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer

  In Acts 16 verses 23 through 34 we have the account of the conversion of the Philippian jailer at the hands of Paul and Silas who preached the gospel to him and his household.  As you recall Paul and Silas had been jailed in Philippi when an earthquake at midnight loosed their bonds and opened all the prison doors.  Being responsible for the prisoners the jailer assumed all had escaped and was ready to take his own life when Paul called out to h…

• 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…

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

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

• 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 …

• Assorted

  This page consists of articles that do not fit well into any of the other categories listed on the menu.  Likewise with the audio sermons at the bottom of the page. Christianity and Multiculturalism Christian Wars–A Misnomer Christianity–Who Rules Reason or Emotions? The Truth So Called Christians Will Not Accept If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implications Lincoln’s Tomb and Jesus’ Tomb Abortion Luke 1 – All You …

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

  In Eph. 5:23 we read where Paul says “Christ is the head of the church; and he is the savior of the body.”  This passage is clear cut and easy to understand save for one thing–what body is it he is the savior of?  The New Testament teaches the body is the church (see Col. 1:24, Eph. 1:22-23) so is it the Baptist church, the Lutheran, the Methodist, the Nazarene, or one of the hundreds of others that could be named?  Many would say it is al…

• Which Denomination Did Jesus Build?

  Years ago I had a lady tell me it was impossible to be just a Christian without being in a denomination.  Did Jesus build a denomination?  Which denomination did Jesus build?  I fear the lady I spoke of above was in grave error those many years ago but she was in a bind.  What do I mean?  Those who are in denominational churches generally all agree that those in other denominations can and will be saved the same as they will be.  Which means wha…

• Unhappy With the Church of Christ?

  as being baptized into his body.  Salvation is in Christ, not outside of him, and we are baptized into him.  “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus…” (Rom. 6:3 NKJV)  Sins are only forgiven when one enters into Christ. Many denominational people will eventually be immersed but if it is for the wrong reason what does it avail?  If I say I am saved before and without baptism, which is the same as saying …

• Philip Preaching the Gospel in Samaria

  , that when the gospel was preached and believed or received it led to people being baptized.  There has to be a reason for that. Is baptism a part of the gospel?  Is it a part of the good news?  It is if it is “for the forgiveness of your sins” as per Acts 2:38.  It is if Peter preached it.  It is if Philip preached it.  It is if these two Holy Spirit inspired men preached it. Only when one receives the word, the gospel, only when on…

• Faith and Baptism in Paul’s Preaching

  How does a person become a Christian?  What does it take to make a person a Christian (a saved individual)?  Over the years there has been an enormous amount of debate over this very question.  It is a question that can only be resolved by seeing what the Holy Spirit inspired apostles preached, taught, and practiced as they went out into the world preaching the gospel.  In this article I want to take a look at the apostle Paul and what he taught…

• Christ and Baptism in Colossians

  heard, believed, and obeyed the gospel and thus are already Christians.  He says they had already been “delivered…from the domain of darkness, and transferred…to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13-14 NAS)  How had that happened? The answer is found in Col. 2:11-13, “And in him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by t…

• 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…

• Ghost Hunting and Consulting the Dead

  …Mark 6:49–but that may have been simply because they felt there was no other way of accounting for what their eyes were seeing. Be that as it may and no matter how great the bravado there are many places we would prefer to not spend the night alone no matter who we are.  Most of us have no interest in spending the night in a morgue, in an abandoned asylum, in a dark country cemetery away from civilization.  There are just places we would ra…

• Sin

  o Hell Ignorance Does Not Excuse Sin The Need to Preach on Sin Denominationalism’s Sin Against Peter Fornication–Take it Lightly at Your Peril Without Natural Affection and Covenant Breakers The Peace Found in the Forgiveness of Others The Sin of Being Unthankful and the Need for Thanksgiving Ashamed of Jesus and His Words Why Do Men Run From God? Audio Sermons (by Waymon Swain) Christ’s Teaching About Sin What About Sin? Thou…

• 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 …

• 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 …

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

  I have written a series of articles on the subject of obeying the gospel in the first century based on the history given in the book of Acts.  The idea has been to cover every such conversion to Christianity listed in Acts.  This is another installment dealing with the 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 Mysterious Eloquent Evangelist

  , quoting from the original ASV of 1901, “Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins.”  When your sins have been forgiven they have been forgiven.  There is no need for a second baptism and so Apollos having been baptized once with John’s baptism did not need to be baptized again. When the church first began it already had charte…

• Gospel Obedience at Corinth

  Did Paul preach the same gospel at Corinth that he taught elsewhere?  Everywhere else he taught, as part of the gospel, baptism for the remission of sins.  One can go to Acts 16 and read two accounts, in the same chapter, of conversions made by Paul–Lydia and the Philippian jailer–in which in both instances those being converted were baptized.  Paul himself, in his conversion, was baptized.  You may recall the words of Ananias to him…

• 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 …

• 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…

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

  Gen. 37:31-33, “So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, ‘We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?’ And he recognized it and said, ‘It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.’” (…

• Christ Did Not Send Paul to Baptize

  Sometimes it is easy to misunderstand passages of scripture and especially so if we are getting all kinds of help doing so.  Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 1:17 is such a passage.  It reads as follows:  “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” (1 Cor. 1:17a NKJV)  What is Paul saying here?  Is he saying that Christ does not care whether or not disciples are baptized?  Is he saying it is unimportant and mak…

• 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…

• Receiving the Gospel (Acts 2:41)

  221;   I guess one who does not believe that baptism is essential for remission of sins can choose his poison here.  What had Peter preached?  “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins ….” (Acts 2:38 NAS)  Will one “believe” what Peter said as per the New Living Translation, or will he “welcome Peter’s message” as per the International Stan…

• Baptized For the Dead

  In 1 Cor. 15:29 Paul says, “Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?” (NKJV)  It is said by commentators that there is broad disagreement as to what is being referred to by the phrase “baptized for the dead.”  It is common to find in most commentaries an extended discussion of the verse with much more space being devoted to it than there is to the average…

• 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…

• 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…

• DennySmith.Net

  Welcome to my website, DennySmith.Net.  DennySmith.Net is a repository for my personal writings on God’s word, Christian articles if you will, and the audio sermons of Waymon Swain of Bastrop, Louisiana.  Waymon is a gospel preacher I have known since childhood, a man who has been preaching for approximately 60 years now.  In addition I have also listed under the “Resource Sites” link at the top of each page links to other webs…

• 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 …

• The Two Covenants

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

• 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 …

• Waymon Swain’s Audio Sermons

  …k to Bob’s audio sermons 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 s…

• Bible Characters

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

• Bible Conversions

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

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

  “And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.  And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:35-36 NAS) This is the account of Philip and his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch.  It shows that when Jesus is preached baptism is preached as a part of preaching Jesus to an alien sinner.  When th…

• 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…