I've done a courtesy search for the term Keep Your Heart with all Diligence.htm for you. See if you can find what you're looking for in the list below:

• Keep Your Heart With All Diligence

  …ster WongMixxMySpaceNetvouzNewsvineoneviewOnlyWirePlugIMPropellerRedditSegnaloShoutwireSimpySlashdotSurphaceSphinnSpurlSquidooStumbleUponTechnoratiThisNextTwitterWebrideWindows LiveYahoo!Email This to a Friend  Link HTML:  Permalink:  If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.Powered by Bookmarkify™ More »If you are like me you were always a little fearful that you were perhaps not no…

• A Heart Right With God (Test Your Heart)

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

• The 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 …

• The Hardening of the Human Heart

  it is too late to repent, too late because you cannot do it, because you become incapable of doing it.  The heart will not allow it. A person’s heart is not something to be played with.  “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23 NKJV)  Adam Clarke says of this verse, “‘Above all keeping,’ guard thy heart.”  The New Living Translation reads, “Guard yo…

• Healing For the Brokenhearted

  r matters.  The heart is too ill to even think of food.  Hunger has vanished so one can go days with barely a bite and it matters not in the least for the heart is sick.  The stomach feels as though it has taken a body blow.  All the breath has been sucked out of one’s being.  Nothing matters any longer, nothing at all, all feeling is gone, and whether it be life or death matters but little to none? There is no longer any fear for fear has …

• 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.”…

• He Went Away Grieved

  esus runs off a list of commandments, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother” (Mark 10:19 NAS) and the young man tells Jesus, “I have kept all these things from my youth up.” (Mark 10:20, NAS)  Most parents would be pleased to have a son such as this. He had never stolen from anyone nor defrauded anyone.  Being a ruler surely such opportunities had presented th…

• Christian Circumcision

  ded from having a spiritual relationship with God among the Jews.  They could become what we call proselytes as shown by Exodus 12:48, “And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.” (NKJV)  To be uncircumcised was to be unclean and unholy. Circum…

• Does God Really Care?

  Over the course of time just about all of us are confronted with the reality of suffering and abuse not just on newscasts but in our own personal world where we live day by day and experience life up close.  Why are small precious children abused?  Why do many of them from all outward appearances not have a chance from the get go due to the circumstances they were born into?  Why do old people often get in such horrible conditions as you find th…

• 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 …

• Why Do Men Run From God?

  David in the 139th Psalm. “O LORD, You have searched me and known me.   You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.   You comprehend my path and my lying down,  And are acquainted with all my ways.   For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether…Where can I go from Your Spirit?   Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my…

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

  … believe God exists but you have to believe he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.  You have to believe that your efforts to seek him (learn his will and obey it) will be rewarded provided you do such seeking with diligence.  This eliminates the passive believer from salvation.  God is not a rewarder of the passive believer but of the diligent seeker. To the church at Laodicea Jesus said, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither c…

• The Parable of the 10 Virgins–7 Lessons

  …dle East when there was a wedding it was the Jewish custom for the bridegroom to go to the house of his father-in-law to receive his bride and then to return to either his own home or a designated location for the wedding and all that went with it.  There would be appointed a company of virgins to meet him and his beloved with lanterns to accompany them upon their return to the place of the festivities and to enter therein with them and enjoy and…

• The Conscience as a Witness

  … considers to be that which is right and good. The conscience cannot be a man’s perfect guide for it like man’s intellect must be properly trained to be useful.  Throughout history men have committed atrocities in all good conscience against other men.  Men have burned other men at the stake, slit the throats of others, sacrificed their children as burnt offerings all in good conscience because the conscience was misinformed and untau…

• 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…

• Fear God

  …resting passage found in 2 Cor. 7:11 where Paul is recounting how they had repented at Corinth after his first letter admonishing them and he says this, “For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner:  What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear … “ and he goes on.  I have a question.  What were they or what had they been afraid of?  Was there some godly fear?  Was there fear of c…

• 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…

• Never Give Up

  …ut has power over one’s own will.  We become discouraged and cease feeling good about ourselves.  We think I am not good enough; I cannot live the Christian life; I am just not a strong enough person. The truth is that almost all of us at one point in time or another have felt that way, often over extended periods of time.  What do we do when that happens?  Too many just gradually give in to those kinds of feelings and give up.  But, is the situa…

• More on Willful Sin—Can Anyone be Saved?

  er loss from us in nothing.  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.   For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” (2 Cor. 7:9-11…

• Better to Never Have Been Born–Why?

  …h of us sooner or later.  It is a battle we cannot win.  So what then–then after death? The answer is, “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:27 NKJV)  “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.  Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” (…

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

  …sn’t matter; God doesn’t care.  How can we know this?  I repeat, how can we know this?  How can you be sure?  Do you just know it because your heart tells you so? Jeremiah said, (Jer. 17:9 NKJV), “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Again the Lord says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isa. 55:8 NKJV)  Just how can a person know that a thing th…

• One Church—A Thing Hard to Accept

  t convince those who had already made up their mind he could not be the Son of God (Matt. 28:11-14). In his last recorded meeting with the Jews in Rome during his imprisonment there Paul made this charge against the Jews, not all but some: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY: “HEARING YOU WILL HEAR, AND SHALL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND SEEING YOU WILL SEE, AND NOT…

• The Need to Sing in Worship

  ong of the Lamb, saying:  ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!  Just and true are Your ways, O king of the saints!  Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?  For You alone are holy.  For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.’” (NKJV) Every song I have found in the Bible is a song wherein God is being praised, and glorified, and exalted as in the R…

• 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. …

• God’s Willingness to Forgive–King Manasseh

  It is not unusual to find in religion, as it relates to Christianity, two extremes of thought.  There are those who feel God is so full of loving kindness that he will readily forgive us of any and all of our sins if we just ask him.  We may be kind of sorry that we  did whatever it was we did, sorry about the consequences at least, so feel we must ask God’s forgiveness but the truth is if the same set of circumstances were to arise again we wou…

• The Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman

  ould be summed up by saying, “although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Rom. 1:21 NKJV)  This led to all types of specific sins a result of the state of their minds and hearts. Jesus said in his prayer to the Father, “I have glorified you on the earth.” (John 17:4 NKJV)  That is our job as well.  The only way Go…

• The Joy and the Danger of a Clean Conscience

  d not say it.  David who committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed (one could say murdered) could not say it.  Aaron, in making the golden calf, could not say it. Paul’s statement that he had lived in all good conscience before God simply meant that he had never knowingly done anything that at the time he was doing it he knew it to be in violation of God’s law, knew it to be sin while he was doing it.  To live then …

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

  ment for it touches the soul.   When one is unloved and unwanted then what is left when that comes into a person’s life?  “By sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Prov. 15:13 NKJV)  God knew what he was talking about.  All human experience has borne out the truth of this statement of scripture. In Christ one always has family for the church of God is the family of God, people who love one another and care about one another, people who will…

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

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

• Diotrephes Loves To Have the Preeminence

  ament in order to understand how faith can fail we need to try and analyze the cases to see why it happened and what we personally can learn from them that will be of benefit to us. The lust for power is one of the ugliest of all the various kinds of lusts man is subject to.  The desire to be boss, to rule over people, to be seen as top dog, the main man, to set rules and regulations for others, to strut our stuff, and be bowed down to is not onl…

• Must a Man Seek God?

  en pass on into eternity over which God also rules. What does the Bible have to say about seeking God?  It condemns those who fail to do so.  Paul says, “For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.  As it is written:  ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.  They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is …

• Is Holy Spirit Baptism The Baptism That Saves?

  ill do so here thinking I might as well make an article out of my response.  When one reads the gospels the very first mention of the subject of baptism comes with the introduction of John the Baptist.  Mark says, “Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”  (Mark 1:5 NKJV)  We know Jesus when baptized “came up immediately from t…

• Jesus and the Furnace of Fire

  …sus will put them there (although the reality is they really put themselves there the result of the life they chose to live). Hear Jesus, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Mat 13:41-42 NKJV) Many people who think they know Jesus would say…

• Weak, Defiled, and Seared Consciences

  question for every man.  Paul says in the beginning of 1 Cor. 8 in verse 4, “we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.” (NAS)  He then says, “However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.” (1 Cor. 8:7 NAS) It is good to see how this pass…

• 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…

• 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…

• Deeper Spiritual Understanding–How do I Acquire It?

  and so the way is sought to do so. But the question is how do I do this or accomplish this which I so desire?  If I just read the Bible more and pray more will that do the trick?  It would be good if we could say yes that is all it will take but that would not be telling the truth.  We suppose the scribes and the Pharisees of the New Testament era read their Bible (the Old Testament) and prayed and yet to what avail? We are all familiar with the…

• A Good and Pure Conscience

  o be doing it or not and thus cannot do it with a clean, good, and pure conscience.  If he goes ahead and eats thinking it might be wrong what does he do?  He violates his conscience. There is a lesson in that passage we must all learn and live by.  What is it?  “Whatever is not from faith is sin.”  The passage is thus not just about eating meats that were condemned at one time under the Law of Moses, now made clean under the law of C…

• A New Creation in Christ

  collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men–extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.   I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down…

• The Army of the Lord–the Church

  and in our country there is no hardship to be endured as a Christian.  Wrong!  Paul made it clear it is not a matter of whether or not we will be persecuted but more a matter of when or where or degree for he says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12 NKJV) There is, I think, a greater implication in Paul’s statement than we generally are willing to accept.  We think if someone on the nati…

• Lessons for the Church from Isaiah (Chapter 1)

  … God, a Christian, without first having obtained a knowledge of Christ.  “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” (John 6:44-45 NKJV) However, I do not believe Isaiah is talking about an ignorance of God like I might have an ignorance of c…

• Cornelius’ Conversion–Final Thoughts

  ripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and …

• 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…

• Pray For Others Lest You Sin

  …ying for God’s people.  Are we exempt from doing the same?  Are we under no obligation? During Jesus’ ministry he once was asked what the greatest commandment in the law was. (Matt. 22:36)  His response was love for God “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37 NKJV) but he then went on to talk about the second greatest commandment which was “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:39 NKJV)  Do we pray for …

• Demas Has Forsaken Me

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

• Acceptable Prayer

    Well, one is what you ask for and why.  “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3 NAS)  We hardly ever see things that way for to us all our requests are needs, not pleasures.  We develop an expensive lifestyle and have many bills to pay and thus we consider prayers to maintain all of that as necessary and proper. One way to measure whether or not your pr…

• Why Men Do Not Believe

  iting 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 from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.” (2 Thess. 3:2 NAS) The question I want to deal with in this article is why do men not believe?  This is a question that has bothered me over the years for it seems to me only natural to believe.  Yet, …

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

  …n this life has ended.  I list but three of those benefits here. (1)  Hope When one takes hope away from a man or woman what is left?  Nothing!  I doubt there has ever been a suicide committed by anyone who had not first lost all hope unless that person was under the influence of drugs.  The very worse thing about visiting in a nursing home is knowing so many of those people know they have no hope of getting better and getting to go home, knowing…

• Indifference – The Great Destroyer

  …ll make no difference just so you believe in Jesus. That is generally the Christian (?) world we live in here in America today. False teaching along this line has led to a lot of the indifference we see in religion today, not all of it for there are other contributing factors as well but a lot of it. Indifference is one natural byproduct of denominationalism. If it really does not matter what you believe or practice just so you believe in Jesus t…

• Faith and Baptism in Paul’s Preaching

  … in that chapter two conversions made by Paul–that of Lydia (Acts 16:12-15) and that of the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:30-34).  We begin with that of Lydia. The story of Lydia’s conversion is so short we can quote all scripture has to say about it here:  “And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the thing…

• 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…

• 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…

• Behold the Judge is Standing at the Door

  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 sobering thought to all who seriously contemplate it. “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written:  ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ …

• They Loved the Praise of Men

  interested in what you think about us if you are one whom we deem to be better than others.  At a very minimum you must be one of our peers, as we see it, before we are interested in your praise. This attitude itself is sin.  All men stand equal before God.  We are to show partiality to none.  James speaks of this in James 2:1-6, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.  For if there should…

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

  …o not need God, Jesus did not need to die for me (his death was a waste, I did not need it), I am not a sinner.  The very fact we refuse to obey the gospel, a command of God, proves in itself we are in rebellion, in sin. This all being the case how is one born of water and the Spirit?  I say first of all that this is a single birth rather two separate ones.  How do I know?  Because Jesus tells us so just two verses prior to this one.  He says in …

• Regrets

  … was the very first man, our great ancestor.  There is no doubt but what this man had deep regrets.  He once lived in a paradise on earth and had an unending life ahead of him having free access to the tree of life.  For food all he had to do was reach up and pluck it from the tree on which it grew.  There was no need to store it or do hard labor for it, for it was always going to be there.  God walked with him in the garden and thus for a time h…

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

  that is to argue with an inspired apostle–Paul.  If you are thinking that possibly the phrase “washing of water” might mean something else other than baptism then take a look at 1 Cor. 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” (NKJV)  “By one Spirit” is the same as “by the word” in Eph. 5:26 for the word is the mind of the Spirit, the Spirit speaking to us, leading us to faith and obedience. Paul also tells us elsewher…

• 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…

• Looking Down Your Nose

  ve your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’  Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  So speak and so do as th…

• Paul’s Conversion (Justified by Faith)

  …stand what Paul is saying.  Paul considered himself to be chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and said he was “not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1 Cor. 15:9 NKJV)  He said as all Christians must say, “by the grace of God I am what I am.” (1 Cor. 15:10 NKJV)  We must all say I am saved by the grace of God; I am what I am (assuming we are doing our very best to be what God would have us…

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

  le alienated as a teenager and that was the last they ever saw him or heard from him.  The mother died without ever seeing her son again or knowing what became of him.  I cannot imagine the pain that mother and dad dealt with all of their life.  No doubt that mother would have rejoiced in tears to have seen her son at her bedside, just one time, as she passed from this world into the next.  However, that was not to be. When I came to know the mot…

• 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…

• Christian Wars–A Misnomer

  …n 18:36 NKJV) He told the one who sought to protect him by physical force at the time of his arrest, the one who used his sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest, to “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matt. 26:52 NKJV)  And then again, “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” (M…

• Hypocrites in the Church

  be mothers but are not.  One could go on and talk about politicians, friends, you name them, but the question to be dealt with in this article is what shall we do about hypocrites in the church? There are some people who lay all the blame for their own failure to obey the gospel on hypocrites in the church.  They talk as though they want nothing to do with such a bunch of hypocrites and it is beneath them to associate with such.  They are better…

• 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…

• The Fragrance of Christ

  …en you live out in the country as I do.  The smell of new mown hay, the smell of a cornfield in July on a late summer evening about dusk, the smell of the farm field after having just been turned over (plowed) in the spring.  All evoke pleasant thoughts; arouse an inner peace and contentment, a satisfaction with God’s creation, and a comfort in knowing he is out there Lord over all his creation.  Strange how smells can direct one to thoughts of G…

• The Faith of Enoch

  …ophet of God in the seventh generation from Adam (Jude 14) and that he is found in the genealogy of Christ on Joseph’s side in Luke 3 (see Luke 3:23-38, especially verse 37).  So little is known about Enoch we can quote all the Bible has to say about him in the passages that follow along with the passage quoted above. “And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah.  Then Enoch walked with God three hundred year…

• When did Obedience Become Legalism?

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

• The Truth So Called Christians Will Not Accept

  Most people who call themselves Christians are in reality not Christians at all no matter how dedicated they may be to their faith.  The word of God is truth (Jesus speaking–John 17:17) and stands as the one and only standard that is acceptable to the God of heaven and of men.  It, not man, sets the standard for who is a Christian. As there is a political correctness in our land there is likewise a religious correctness that one must adher…

• 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…

• Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation

  pendent and self-sufficient.  Self-sufficiency is good up to a point but I fear we have sometimes succeeded beyond our desires or expectations in raising a generation of people who have come to feel they need no help, none at all, that they can do it all by themselves as little kids are prone to say.  If you can do it all by yourself then you do not need God in your life do you and that is the problem when we take the attitude of self-sufficiency…

• Canaan and Heaven–How God Gives

  …o give other than the desire of my heart to do so.  If God gave the land of Canaan to the children of Israel, as he did, what forced him to do that?  Was he under obligation or was it the desire of his heart? Man can complain all he wants about the children of Israel having to fight all those battles and say to himself “what kind of gift is that?”  It is an argument with God for he is the one who said he was “giving” the land.  Man would say man …

• Is Church Attendance Essential for Christian Salvation?

  …ords.” (John 14:24 NKJV)  Every word found in the New Testament is the word of Jesus either directly or indirectly.  Of the Holy Spirit Jesus said, “He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are mine.  Therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14-15 NKJV) The command to assemble with the saints is a command given by the Holy Spirit but it is just a…

• Things People Do Not Know About the Church

  member of their group).  But, with that said it is a whole different story when it comes to the Lord’s church.  Here is a list of 12 things many people do not know or understand about the Lord’s church–things that make all the difference in the world. (1)  The same process that makes you a Christian adds you to the church the Lord built.  There is no such thing as a Christian who is not a part of the Lord’s church.  “And the Lord added to …

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

  20;put the Spirit of the Lord to the test” (NASB) and died as a consequence. This is the very thing the children of Israel did time and time again.  In Numbers 14:22-23 the Lord says, in speaking to Moses, “Surely all the men who have seen my glory and my signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not listened to my voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to…

• Mt. Sinai and the Day of Judgment

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

• How Was Noah Saved Through Water?

  ow was Noah and his family saved through water?  What was he saved from?  What is an antitype?  Was he saved by grace or by works (he did build the ark)?  There are a lot of questions.  Let us start from the beginning. We are all aware of the story of how the flood came about.  After God made man in due time mankind came to be great sinners before God.  “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of…

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

  …e hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.” (Matt. 20:12 NKJV) It is easy to read this account and at first impulse feel that indeed the earliest workers were mistreated.  We have all been raised to believe in the concept of quid pro quo, so much money for so much work, pay based on the amount of work done, the more work the more money.  The last workers in this parable did not do equal work, far less…

• Repentance–How Can I Be Sure?

  rom the very beginning of the unfolding of the New Testament was a call to repentance.  Jesus said it was a matter so important that it was repent or perish, an either or proposition. (Luke 13:3, 5) Repentance is a command to all men everywhere in all time to come as long as the earth shall stand.  Paul, in his speech in the midst of the Areopagus in Athens, made this statement: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands al…

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

  …20;the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29 NAS)  He was God’s sacrificial lamb who died to make atonement for the sins of man.  God cannot be a just God nor can he maintain his honor if he allows man to violate his law and run amok without consequence.  No one respects a law or its maker if the law can be broken without a penalty being imposed for doing so.  “Sin is the transgression of the law” of…

• 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 …

• Bible Contradictions on Salvation?

  …ist a couple.  “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.” (John 3:36 NKJV)  “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1 NKJV) We all accept these passages and this teaching but too often people do not consider or give thought to what faith is.  Do these passages define faith?  Do they tell you whether this is a living faith or a dead faith as per Jame…

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

  …s based on biblically defined faith (that which comes from hearing) as per Rom. 10:17. I can have faith that a man must repent of sins because God’s word says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30 NKJV)  My faith is based on hearing the word of God.  It is not a matter of opinion whether a man ought to repent.   It is a matter of the revealed word of God.  If I believe it the…

• 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…

• Repent–How Hard It Is To Do

  …el bound by the strict wording of the constitution but feels at liberty to kind of update it, for want of a better way of phrasing it, to the changing times and society’s values.  It is like a rubber band that you can stretch allowing more things inside. The Bible is the same way as regards to how men view it.  I would suggest that a rubber band can be stretched to the breaking point.  We can get so liberal with our interpretations of the Bible t…

• Abortion Luke 1 – All You Need to Know

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

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

  …y name” as found in the Bible is just such a phrase. The exact phrase “my name” is found 118 times in the NAS and a 119 times in the NKJV Bible.  For the purpose of this study I used the NAS and read through all 118 verses where the phrase is used to get at the meaning.  What did Jesus mean when he used the phrase “my name” which he frequently did?  We seldom use the phrase today in personal conversation, certainly n…

• Denominationalism’s Sin Against Peter

  …He used those keys on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 for the first time, did so by preaching God’s plan of salvation for man.  I have never heard anyone argue against that point.  It is considered an established fact by all as far as I know. However, few to no denominationalists believe that what he said that day is bound in heaven thus fight against both Jesus and Peter.  Wow!  Is there no one they will not take on? On that day in Acts 2 w…

• 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 …

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

  The book of Romans begins and ends talking about the “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5 and Rom. 16:26).  In chapter 1 Paul says that “we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.” (Rom. 1:5 NAS)  In Rom. 16 he speaks of the gospel being made known to all nations with the purpose being “obedience of faith.” (Rom. 16:26 NAS) Obedience of faith is simply the obedience that grows out of or is the …

• The Wicked Shall be Turned into Hell

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

• 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…

• The Grace of God in Baptism

  it says. What does the passage teach? It teaches what it says. We are saved by God’s mercy and we are justified by his grace which is one and the same thing. To be saved is to be justified. But, let us be honest–is that all the passage says and teaches? No! It teaches when God saves us by his mercy or grace, whichever term you wish to use; he uses means to do so. What means? Well, what does the text say? It says, “Through the washing …

• Unhappy With the Church of Christ?

  …nd cannot survive without it. If the New Testament church was to exist on earth today with a single name, identity, belief, and practice then it would destroy denominationalism which is the very thing denominationalism cannot allow and will not accept.  If your faith and practice in your congregation was identical to that of a New Testament church, say the church in Jerusalem or Antioch of the first century, do not kid yourself into thinking that…

• 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.  …

• The Cleansing of the Church at Ephesus

  of them. I might also add here I am thankful it is that way.  If salvation was of works a man might well come up short (the Bible teaches he would–see Gal. 3:21).  He would worry continually about what works (do I know all of them I need to do).  The thought would always be in his mind have I done enough. Just about all of us have been involved in working endeavors in our life where we gave it our best, worked as hard as we could, and yet …

• Is Denominational Baptism Scriptural?

  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 all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20 NKJV)  This is the “one baptism” Paul spoke of …

• Non-Offensive Christianity

  …to our faith virtue and godliness in 2 Peter 1.  No doubt we would add humility (1 Peter 5:5), mercy and meekness (Col. 3:12), thankfulness (Col. 3:15), and truthfulness (Eph. 4:25) to our list and our list would still not be all inclusive of the good things to be found in Christian character at its best. It is hard to look back over this list and see anything that should offend anyone.  It is certainly not the Christian’s desire to offend….

• The Case of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit

  … “there is no partiality with God” (Rom 2:11 NKJV) and Paul says there is but “one faith” (Eph. 4:4) while saying also of one who preaches another gospel “let him be accursed.” (Gal. 1:8).  All of this being the case then how does one account for the fact that in the account of Cornelius’ conversion we have the Holy Spirit arriving before, rather than after, baptism?  Has the Holy Spirit suddenly changed …

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

  ….” [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 the Savior.  This is a common misconception.  At first glance, without some thought, John 1:12-13 seems to support that idea.  The reality is that it does not. You can immediately see (if you are a careful student) that as written verse 12 is in conflict with verse 13.  Verse 12 says th…

• The Book of Ecclesiastes

  … caring by those who see it.  Yes, it is depressing to think about it but it is also necessary. We can only live this life successfully and find the greatest happiness when we are able to grasp the big picture of what life is all about and where it will end.  That is the message of the book of Ecclesiastes.  When Solomon says “all is vanity” as he begins to write (Eccl. 1:2) he is simply telling us that to build a life based on the th…

• 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…

• Saved by Jesus Outside the Church?

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

• Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?

  The title here is taken from part of the lyrics from the theme song for the TV show “Cops.”  It is a catchy tune but it raises a question we all have to deal with like it or not and most of us don’t like it.  The undertaker and his helpers are coming for us, no doubt about it, one of these days.  What are we gonna do? In life we confront things that are coming for us.  We see it coming and we do not like it but being rational p…

• 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…

• Jesus the Foundation of and the Builder of the Church

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

• The Church Christ Built–Marks of Identification

  The church Christ built is worthless to man if it is impossible to find it (or establish it), if it only existed in ancient history, and cannot be known today.  Fortunately, like all things that exist, there are marks of identification that allow us to know his church from those made by man.  We are able to distinguish one thing from another in life because of characteristics that each possess that differ from another.   True, there may be many …

• The Christian, Politics, and the Government

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

• Lincoln’s Tomb and Jesus’ Tomb

  e eternal life otherwise? But, lest I stray from my topic, I was reminded of the words of The Preacher (Solomon) in Eccl. 7:2, “Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart.” (NKJV) What does that mean?  Our time on earth is limited.  We need to use it wisely.  Do not get caught up in trivia, things that seem so important to us at the time but in re…

• The Chastening of the Lord

  …most pleasant is abhorrent to their way of thinking. There is no doubt that when one looks at the big picture that God only does what is best for us for our eternal welfare.  Loving parents are like that with their children.  All that they do in regard to their children is for the child’s welfare if they are the kind of parents they ought to be.  Does that mean, however, that all they do is pleasant from the child’s point of view? How about a chi…

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

  of science in our schools today.  They proclaim that position as being the scientific, the reasonable, and the intellectual one.  Save us from the scholars if that is the way one defines reason. The atheist, the evolutionist, all non-believers have staked their eternal well being on their thesis that Christ did not rise from the dead.  Thus the faith of the non-believers and the faith of those who do believe both revolve around the matter of the …

• The Pleasures of Sin

  not found sin to be unpleasurable, just the opposite. Who can say that he has not been attracted to “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life?” (1 John 2:16 NKJV)  Eve was and she is the mother of us all.  That is not to say we inherit sin or have to sin but it is certain we have a strong attraction to it as human beings. The word “pleasures” (plural) is used 4 times in the New King James version of the New Testament.  E…

• Ashamed of Jesus and His Words

  … returns to judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31) – (1) being ashamed of Jesus, (2) being ashamed of the words of Jesus. We might well ask what is there about Jesus to be ashamed of.  The answer is obvious, nothing at all.  But lest we think we are clear on this count and before we begin to pat ourselves on the back thinking we are not ashamed of him let us think a little deeper about the matter.  Is Jesus just talking about our mental st…

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

  …disciples after the resurrection, said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:46-49 …

• 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…

• Ghost Hunting and Consulting the Dead

  Ghost hunting has become popular on TV in recent years.  Just about all of us are curious about those things that are unknown, mysterious, and frightening and we think maybe even a little dangerous.  Some people believe in ghosts and some do not.  The disciples thought they were seeing a ghost when they saw Jesus walking on the water–Matt. 14:26, Mark 6:49–but that may have been simply because they felt there was no other way of acco…

• Peter’s Preaching and the Apostle’s Preaching

  …ne on that occasion.  I want to examine the sermon Peter and the apostles gave in Acts 5 with a view of showing its harmony with Peter’s first gospel sermon in Acts 2 and thus the agreement in preaching the gospel among all the apostles including one yet to come–the apostle Paul who will not be converted until chapter 9 in the book of Acts. In Acts 5 we have the apostles arrested and imprisoned (Acts 5:17-18).  That night while in pri…

• 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 …

• For By Grace You Have Been Saved Through Faith Alone

  glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23 NKJV) Yes, I am thankful for grace for my own sins wear me down but it distresses me to see what man has done to Eph. 2:8-9.  The passage has been perverted; the perversion has been made the be all and end all of God’s teaching on the subject.  It is as if no other verses in the Bible have any authority on the topic of salvation.  If God has spoken elsewhere it makes no difference for these two verses (I shou…

• 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…