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• Repent–How Hard It Is To Do

  …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 hard to repent, no doubt about it.  I remember the comment made by a…

• Repentance–How Can I Be Sure?

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

• 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…

• Does God Really Care?

  …hit by another car?  Who brought on the suffering?  Was it the person who warned us to stop at a sign or was the fault with us for ignoring the warning. (2)  In the second place God begs and pleads with us through his word to repent and turn from disaster and avoid the suffering.  Peter says the Lord is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  He has given us a time …

• God’s Willingness to Forgive–King Manasseh

  …le to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13 NKJV)  We thus go on living pretty much the way we would have had we never obeyed the gospel except that we go through the exercise of asking God’s forgiveness from time to time.  We never really repent from the heart. I do not want to leave the impression that to commit the same sin more than once implies that we have not repented.  It can be very tough to resist the temptation to a sin that we are attracted to.  In…

• Peter’s Second Gospel Sermon

  …ree rather than Jesus thus condemning Jesus to death (Acts 3:14-15).  In view of Jesus’ innocence of all wrongdoing this was sin and sin of the worst sort since Jesus was the Son of God.  What they had done was evil and repentance was needed. Now what is repentance?  Paul says, “Godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation.” (2 Cor. 7:10 NKJV)  Thus godly sorrow precedes repentance and is not itself repentance.  Judas was sorry…

• The Hardening of the Human Heart

  …art can be hardened by sin is applicable to all 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 ma…

• The Prodigal Son–When He Came to Himself

  …hrase “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 the extent he could now see clearly what before had been hidden from his eyes and as a result repentance entered his heart.  As the text says (NKJV), “he came to himself.” To me there is a teaching in that phrase that has generally been overlooked or at least not talked much about.  It indicates that while the prodig…

• Spiritual Mirages

  …elationships, there are mirages.  People think they see things that are in reality only illusions.  One such example is found in the book of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah, God’s prophet, had been prophesying for years to Judah to repent and amend their ways lest God send a foreign force to their country for their destruction and ruin.  They never listened and so God did indeed send the Babylonians resulting in death for many and Babylonian captivity …

• Willful Sin–Can Anyone Be Saved?

  …en 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 come again my God may humili…

• Indifference – The Great Destroyer

  …oved ones having indifference towards God and salvation, toward spiritual matters, is that indifference is one of those types of sins that is nearly impossible to get people to see in their own lives and thus to own up to and repent of. They do not see themselves as being indifferent but are satisfied they are doing all that is necessary for salvation (even though it is nothing) and will be saved as they are. Nothing is necessary for God will tak…

• The Chastening of the Lord

  … idea but if you desire to read more of the same then go ahead and read verses 10 and 11. It becomes clear that the purpose of these troubles, trials, and tribulations was in order that the children of Israel (God’s children) repent and return to him. Why would we think it strange if God was found to still be working today in the same manner in order to get people to repent–that is through trials, tribulations, and troubles? One could say t…

• Peter’s Preaching and the Apostle’s Preaching

  … apostles answered and said: ‘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 s…

• Never Give Up

  …have to confess the same thing at various points in their lives including David, the great man of God.  The point is that it is not hopeless. We all believe we are going to see David in heaven.  Why?  The answer is because he repented and he did not give up.  It would be easy for a man who has committed adultery and murder to go into the depths of despair so deep as to never come out again.  Imagine the shame, the self loathing, and the inability…

• Jesus and the Furnace of Fire

  …me.  I am scared because they have no interest in searching the scriptures to see what they need to do and how they need to live. Should a man fear God?  They do not.  If a man has no fear of God it is not likely he will ever repent.  That is one reason so many today are able to go on day after day, month after month, year after year, living carelessly and indifferently.  They believe God will save them the way they are and have no fear that he w…

• Christian Wars–A Misnomer

  …or of the world.  Heb. 11:6, Rom. 10:9, 1 Cor. 15:1-4, John 3:18, John 3:36, John 8:24, John 11:26-27, and a whole host of other passages far too numerous to mention them all teach this. The Bible also teaches that a man must repent of his sins.  Faith alone will not save one (John 12:42, James 2:19, James 2:24).  The Bible teaches it is repent or perish, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3…

• 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. …

• Receiving the Gospel (Acts 2:41)

  … clearly.  If you gladly receive the word Peter preached (I ask again did he preach the gospel?) you will do what he by the Holy Spirit told you to do.   Please note those who did not receive the gospel were those who did not repent and were not baptized and were not added to them (to the disciples) that day.   I know religion is full of emotion and emotion often overcomes the ability to think and reason correctly.  We have so much invested in a …

• Lessons for the Church from Isaiah (Chapter 1)

  …from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.” (Prov. 28:9 NKJV) We all would do well to memorize Prov. 28:9 just quoted for that is our status with God when we become involved in sin and have not or will not repent of it.  I would like to have people pray for me as I am sure you would as well if you are a believer but that said I know the prayers of a certain class that might pray for me would all be for naught.  Is your life su…

• Jesus’ Baptism and You?

  … since come and gone.  Nevertheless, that was not the case when Jesus came to John to be baptized approximately 2,000 years ago. Mark tells us (Mark 1:4 NKJV), “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”  We know that Jesus never sinned and when Jesus comes to John to be baptized John is hesitant.  In Matthew 3:14 we are told that, “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be …

• Hypocrites in the Church

  …der, will either of these hypocrites be in heaven?  Since one does not want to be with hypocrites in the church one supposes that one feels the same about being with Peter and David in heaven.  Yes, we are sure that these men repented of any and all wrong doing but the point is that for a time they were hypocrites.  Just because a man is a hypocrite today does not mean he will be one tomorrow or that he will never repent.  Maybe if you would beco…

• Misunderstanding the Grace of God

  …is a passage in Rom. 2:4 that bears on the very thing I am trying to get across.  It says, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom 2:4 NKJV)  Is this not God’s grace?  Is not his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering toward us that we might repent of our sins God’s grace? Peter says, “The Lord is not slack co…

• God’s Hardening of the Human Heart

  …their hearts?  We know he does not for “God is love.” (1 John 4:8 NKJV)  He “desires all men to be saved.” (1 Tim. 2:4 NKJV)  He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  “He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” (Lam. 3:33 NKJV)  God does not harden a heart willingly since a heart hardened against God represents a lost…

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

  …ith based on God’s word and opinion that is mistaken for faith by so many.  I start with examples of things 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…

• Healing For the Brokenhearted

  …us person I need 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 i…

• Non-Offensive Christianity

  …end man for that is what it comes down to? No matter how much you and I desire the salvation of all men we do not desire it any more than God does.  God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4 NKJV)  He loved the world (mankind) so much he gave his only begotten son that man mi…

• Demas Has Forsaken Me

  …stances a man can fall away then we all can.  If a man can walk with an apostle and fall away then any man can, every man can, and so the threat is real.  And threat it is for to fall away is to be eternally lost if we do not repent. Can you and I learn anything from the life of Demas worth our while?  I believe we can. Paul says Demas loved the present world.  John says, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If any one loves the …

• Christian Circumcision

  …this spiritual circumcision with baptism.  Paul says, “having forgiven you all trespasses” (Col. 2:13) which ties in perfectly with Peter’s command to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost when they were told to repent and be baptized “for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  We have forgiveness in both passages for when sins are remitted they are done so by God’s forgiveness of them. To develop this line of t…

• When did Obedience Become Legalism?

  …ect to hate speech legislation. The religiously liberal Christians (if there is such a thing) say God loves all men (true) so we say we can rejoice in Christian fellowship with those actively practicing homosexuality–no repentance required.  Of course in doing so we destroy the Bible as written but the national desire today is to either abandon the Bible altogether as a standard of conduct, to say nothing of authority, and to write our own …

• The Need to Preach on Sin

  …d hope of a wonderful life to come. How sad it is then that men today will not preach against sin, showing men their sins, confronting them with them, so that they might be made aware of sin and its consequences and be led to repentance, gospel obedience, and forgiveness. If we preach the Bible we must preach about sin.  Have you ever given it thought that if there was no sin there would be no need for the Bible, no need for Jesus the Savior, no …

• Unhappy With the Church of Christ?

  …entions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.” (2 Cor. 12:20-21 NKJV)  Yes, there is no need to tell me the church is not what it ought to be today for when has it been?  It has not …

• Paul’s Conversion (Justified by Faith)

  …d for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6 NKJV) and thus as a result of Peter’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 …

• Abortion Luke 1 – All You Need to Know

  …sinners, not destroy them.  While abortion is a very serious sin it is no worse than the killing of Jesus on the cross.  As many of those people who were responsible for his death 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 …

• Must a Man Seek God?

  …re God’s offspring (Acts 17:28) and that a man ought to seek his father but the passage gives another reason.  What?  God is going to “judge the world in righteousness.” (Acts 17:31 NKJV)  Men must therefore repent. (Acts 17:30)  The man who is unwilling to seek God will never repent, will thus be condemned, and will find out first hand who is really in charge–God or man. The Bible teaches us to seek in order to find (Matt…

• Ways into Christ–How Many Ways Are There?

  … firmly established that salvation is found “in Christ” how then does one enter into Christ?  How many ways are there?  The Bible teaches there are conditions for entering into Christ, prerequisites if you will, namely faith, repentance, and confession all of which are absolutely essential to salvation but none of those things by themselves or even taken collectively will put you “into Christ.”  Only baptism is said to do that–no not baptis…

• The Wicked Shall be Turned into Hell

  …r evil ways!  For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek. 33:11 NKJV)  Has God changed?  The Bible says, “I am the Lord, I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6 NKJV) God’s desire is that all men come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), obey the gospel, and be saved.  As long as the wicked are made to feel as though all the general public they know is siding with them in their evil ways how can they be brought to repentance?  We mu…

• Acceptable Prayer

  …arrived and told Cornelius what God would have him do he believed and obeyed what he was told. However, if you are one who is not truly seeking God, but only one who is seeking to get out of a tight spot, and there is no true repentance, then you fit into that class mentioned in Prov. 28:9, “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (NAS)  One must be willing to hear what God says and be …

• The Conscience as a Witness

  …#8221; (Acts 2:37 NKJV)  Their conscience was made to feel the guilt of sin.  Until a man’s conscience is greatly bothered by sin, and he must be made to feel sin’s guilt for that to happen, he will not and cannot repent and be saved. A guilty conscience is a blessing from God if a man will allow it to be and will heed its call and repent.  The conscience is a witness to a man about the state of his heart.  Thank God if you have a con…

• Bible Contradictions on Salvation?

  …is shed blood for the remission of our sins there is nothing to have faith in and there is no such thing as grace.  Thus again we see an interrelationship between factors that save. The Bible also teaches that we are saved by repentance.  Paul speaking to the people in Athens said, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30 NKJV)  He says in 2 Cor. 7:10, “For godl…

• Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?

  …ing just what I (Peter) have told you–repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins. So a man can prepare to meet God in death by hearing, believing, and obeying the gospel which includes not only faith but also repentance, confession, and baptism for the remission of sins.  This many have not done and thus wait unprepared for the bridegroom. In Matt. 24:35-44 Jesus is speaking to his disciples and says: “Heaven and earth will…

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

  …ten to Peter.  One is born of the spirit when the spirit working through the tool he uses (the word of God–”the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Eph. 6:17 – NKJV) leads a man to faith and repentance and then born of water when he is baptized for the remission of sins.  It is but one birth but has two aspects to it, either part without the other results in an aborted birth. The man with the keys of the kingdom…

• A New Creation in Christ

  …hat words like “is” and “if” mean?  May God have mercy upon us. Now please note what I have not said in this article.  I did not say we are saved or that we become a new creation without faith, without repentance, without confession of Christ, and I have not said we are saved by baptism alone. Faith is the energizing agent that leads to all further obedience to Christ.  Without faith absolutely nothing else follows.  In th…

• Jesus the Foundation of and the Builder of the Church

  … blueprint for what the church ought to be.  Who among us really believes that any of those congregations could have continued in error forever without eternal consequences?  The rebuking was for the purpose of bringing about repentance and thus salvation. Here is our problem today.  We are not going to get a letter to our church directly from the Lord or from an inspired apostle.  When we start deviating from the blueprint (New Testament teachin…

• How Does One Get Into the Church Christ Built?

  …, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  There are many who will say that yes they believe in order to be saved one must also in addition to having faith repent of his sins.  However, that is where they want to stop.  They want to separate repentance from baptism in the passage and gladly ignore the fact there is a coordinating conjunction there, the word “and,” that joins th…

• I Can Do All Things Through Christ

  …ntains, mountains so high and so steep as to seem to be impossible but Jesus tells us all things are possible “with God.” (Matt. 19:26 NKJV)  “The word of God is living and powerful.” (Heb. 4:12 NKJV)  It has caused people to repent of their sinful lives and make a 180 degree turn in their lives.  There were 3,000 who repented the very first day the gospel of Christ was preached. (Acts 2)   One cannot separate power from God’s word nor can one se…

• Ashamed of Jesus and His Words

  …iveness 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 they repented and as they would put it “received Jesus into their hearts” and so you cannot believe these words about baptism for the forgiveness of sins that Peter spoke on behalf of Christ. You can go to other passa…

• 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…

• Why Do Men Run From God?

  …” (1 John 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 behi…

• 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 …

• One Church—A Thing Hard to Accept

  …:42 again as just one example).  No one wants that kind of faith.  We are interested in saving faith, in the faith where the Lord adds us to his one church because of our faith. Men will generally accept what Peter said about repentance as essential for their salvation but not baptism and that despite as plain a statement as one can find in scripture on any subject.  You can point them to other scriptures that say the exact same thing as what Pet…

• Is Holy Spirit Baptism The Baptism That Saves?

  …. 3:16 NKJV)  So our very first introduction to the subject of baptism relates it to water, not the Holy Spirit.  However, John did prophecy of two other baptisms to come.  He says, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  (Mat 3:11 NKJV)  It is very important to note who will be doing…

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

  … loves man, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16 NKJV), and does not desire that any man perish for he is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  As far back as Ezekiel we read the words of God, “‘I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God.  ‘Therefore turn and live.’” …

• Philip Preaching the Gospel in Samaria

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

• What Is Baptism (the Sprinkling Hoax)

  …ll run out on us before our actual death.  Go into a coma and time has run out even if you still breathe.  We need to obey while we can.  But, I grant you there may be exceptional cases at times.  People come to believe, they repent, but are not able to be immersed.  You say I condemn them because I do not accept sprinkling.  No, I leave them in the hands of a just God who will do what is right and that is far better than to add to or change God&…

• 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 …

• Saul’s Conversion

  … he was going to be the one who did it.  Now what did Ananias tell Saul?  Did he tell Saul you need to have faith in Jesus?  Did he need to tell him that?  Had not Saul become a believer already?  Did he tell Saul you need to repent?  Had he not done that?  If his experience on the road to Damascus had not wrought these things what would it take?  What do you think he told Saul “you must do” as per the words of Jesus when Jesus said i…

• The Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman

  …eventy times seven.” (Matt. 18:22 NKJV)  Jesus was thus saying there is really no end to forgiving and was certainly implying God would likewise forgive us no matter how many times we need forgiveness just as long as we repent, confess our sins to him, and are willing to give it another full faith effort.  So, never ever give up in despair.  Never! How does one maintain a state of spiritual mindedness?  One Old Testament character that stan…

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

  …e 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 includes me when I am doing something I ought not to be doing. But my thesis in this article is that the Bible clearly teaches that homosexuality is a sin and I have a great beef with those who want to call i…

• The Case of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit

  …t for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  Now note, when does the Holy Spirit promise these believers they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?  Is it before repentance and baptism for the remission of sins or after?  The answer is evident.  This raises a question.  Is there one gospel in one location and another in a different location so that we can never really know what the g…

• The Cleansing of the Church at Ephesus

  …o be believed, but within that body of doctrine that constitutes the faith there are things that must be obeyed as well as believed.  In addition to mental assent to the truth about Jesus as revealed in the scripture one must repent of sins (Acts 17:30), one must confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:9-10), and one must be baptized into Christ, baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38, Gal. 3:27).  Faith, the faith that saves, is no…

• The Book of Ecclesiastes

  …; (1 Kings 11:6 NKJV), and “he did not keep what the Lord had commanded” (1 Kings 11:10 NKJV).  He worshipped idols, foreign Gods, and built high places (places to worship these gods by sacrifice). Whether he ever repented or not we are not told.  We do know God spoke to him about his sin. (1 Kings 11:11)  One does know that the book of Ecclesiastes had to be written in or near his old age for he had already experienced all the things…

• Fear God

  …, “this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments”.  (1 John 5:3)  This freedom from fear is available to any Christian living a faithful and dedicated life, one who is observing all the commandments of God, who truly repents when he does transgress, who puts God first in his life in every respect.  Such a man fears neither man, death, nor the judgment. Paul was such a man.  Near the end of his life he says, “I have fought the good fight,…

• Regrets

  …ard others is just as bad as anything else and even more distasteful to others.  It is disgraceful and unbecoming a Christian. It matters not how bad a life a person, or even a Christian, has lived in the past.  When a person repents and comes to God or back to God, as the case may be, they deserve all the honor and respect that can be given one of God’s children whom Jesus came to earth to save.  No matter how bad a life they may have live…

• Diotrephes Loves To Have the Preeminence

  …his conversion, desired this power, and sought it by means of offering to Peter and John money.  You know the rest of the story.  He was condemned for this.  Peter says to Simon, “your heart is not right in the sight of God.  Repent … and pray … .” (Acts 8: 21 -22, NKJV) Simon seemed to have the same problem Diotrephes had, the desire to be seen as special among God’s people, to be the man. In Acts 20 Paul calls the elders of the church at Ephesu…

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

  …llow.” Every one of us knows that there is truth in this.  How so?  Because even if you are a faith only advocate and can come up with verse after verse advocating your doctrine yet you know and will admit (I hope) that repentance is required for salvation.  Who would deny that?  Thus it is evident that the word faith (or believe) must include repentance (I believe it also includes baptism upon a confession of faith) and is thus used very o…

• 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…

• Ignorance Does Not Excuse Sin

  …d (Rev. 3:17) and says, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:16 NKJV)  God’s grace is not for the lukewarm, indifferent, and disobedient unless and until they repent. In closing I reiterate ignorance does not excuse sin with God.  That being the case we have an obligation to live a life of knowledge which means for all of us it is time to get the Bible out and read and study it.  …

• Better to Never Have Been Born–Why?

  …ur death is the day of judgment for us even though the actual day of judgment at the end of the world may be years beyond.  Our fate is sealed the day of our death.  Until that day we have some control.  Until that day we can repent and turn our lives around by gospel obedience.  However, on that day free will ends and the choices we had will then be gone.  It will simply be too late. In Matt. 25 we are given a look into the judgment scene to com…

• 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…

• Without Natural Affection and Covenant Breakers

  … who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing…,” says the Hebrew writer (Heb. 10:29 NKJV).  We must be as good as our word and if we are not we need to repent and get to being that good.  This easy covenant breaking we have today is not going to get it with God whether the covenant we are breaking is with our wife or husband or with God. The other phrase I want to talk abou…

• Fornication–Take It Lightly at Your Peril

  …e sin was still often committed but people generally realized they had done wrong when they became involved in it.  Today there seems to be no conscience of such.  Be that as it may the Bible still teaches that if we will not repent, and obey the gospel if we have not done so, “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.” (Gal. 6:7-8 NKJV) The Greek word behi…

• The Peace Found in Forgiveness of Others

  …crucifying him, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34 NKJV), then surely no one has done such evil to you as that done to him.  (I am not saying those who crucified Christ were forgiven without repentance and obedience to the gospel but only that Jesus’ prayer was from a heart desiring their forgiveness which came to many as they obeyed the gospel on the Day of Pentecost.)  How is our heart toward God and our fello…

• A Good and Pure Conscience

  …g and one which we are in control of–a blessing we can have just by reaching out and taking it.  I equate it to peace of mind which is far superior to turmoil of mind.  The conscience tells us, when properly trained, to repent when we sin.  Only by doing so and doing what God requires for our reconciliation can peace and contentment be found.  Truly the conscience is a gift from God if we will properly train it by God’s word and then …