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• Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?

  …ster WongMixxMySpaceNetvouzNewsvineoneviewOnlyWirePlugIMPropellerRedditSegnaloShoutwireSimpySlashdotSurphaceSphinnSpurlSquidooStumbleUponTechnoratiThisNextTwitterWebrideWindows LiveYahoo!Email This to a Friend  Link HTML:  Permalink:  If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.Powered by Bookmarkify™ More »The title here is taken from part of the lyrics from the theme song for th…

• Does God Really Care?

  ny of the most submissive children of the Almighty have been made so as the result of protracted woes.” He further says, “One of the objects of affliction is to lead us ‘to obey God.’  In prosperity we forget it. We become self-confident and rebellious. ‘Then’ God lays his hand upon us; breaks up our plans; crushes our hopes; takes away our health, and teaches us that we ‘must’ be submissive to his …

• Salvation (Becoming a Christian)

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

• The Prodigal Son–When He Came to Himself

  e was meant to be; he was not the person he could have been; he was not the person he could respect; he was not the person who could see reality; he was not the person who could reason correctly. One could almost say sin is a form of insanity.  If the Bible is true (as it is) does any man of reason think he can fight against God and win?  How does one fight against God and win?  A sane man reasoning correctly sees there is only one course of acti…

• Resource Sites

  best definition of faith I have ever read making a clear distinction between faith and opinion and then makes the application to the use of instrumental music.  If there was not a word in this pamphlet [I have it in pamphlet form] on the subject of instrumental music it would be worth its weight in gold just in the discussion on faith and opinion.) The Sonship of Christ  (Be sure and scroll down the page once you get to it.  This is an extremely…

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

  e but it had been prophesied from days of old.  Daniel spoke of it when he said, in interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed … and it shall stand forever.” (Dan 2:44) Israel and Judah of the Old Testament were ruled by kings but both nations ended up in captivity and the kingdoms were destroyed.  The Jewish nation into which Jesus was born, into which he came, h…

• The Pleasures of Sin

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

• Never Give Up

  When we learn the truth of the gospel message, come to believe it, and then sincerely obey it we sometimes expect more of ourselves than is humanly possible for us to deliver.  When we first come out of the water of our baptism we are determined that we will not sin, we are going to live sin free.  This attitude is to be highly commended but is also unrealistic. Many who obey the gospel do so when young and thus their own expectations about life…

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

  nd in the New Testament the case of the prodigal son.  David suffered immensely over Absalom.  It would take up too much space to retell the story of David’s relationship with Absalom so let me speak here only of David’s love for Absalom even after Absalom rebelled and had sought to overthrow David as King and possibly take his father’s life. Prior to David’s army going into battle against the army of Absalom David commanded Joab, the commander o…

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

  One thing that is often overlooked is the value of being a Christian and living the Christian life in the here and now, not just for the benefit of the afterlife to come.  There is nothing as important as where you are going to live in eternity but there are enormous benefits to living the Christian life aside from those benefits to come when this life has ended.  I list but three of those benefits here. (1)  Hope When one takes hope away from a…

• He Went Away Grieved

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

• Lessons for the Church from Isaiah (Chapter 1)

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

• The Kind of Faith in God That Destroys

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

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

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

• Israel’s Rebellion at the Red Sea

  ay. When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush he introduced himself as follows:  “‘I am the God of your father–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’  And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.  And the Lord said:  ‘I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.   So I have co…

• Jesus’ Baptism and You?

  settled law and there was no point in thinking there was any possibility that they might be in error.  When Jesus came along and started questioning some of their beliefs and practices there was nothing to do but crucify him for there was no possibility in their mind that they could be wrong in their religion.  What he had to say had to be heresy. A man ought to be cautious in reaching conclusions in spiritual matters for once this life is over …

• 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 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…

• Though He Slay Me

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

• Why Men Do Not Believe

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

• The 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…

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

  ing held.  The idea is that anything we do in worship with the intent of pleasing God, to glorify God, is acceptable to him—anything we can dream up with no scriptural authority required. It has always been terribly difficult for me to see how one gives glory to God by adding to his word and doing things he has not commanded as acts of worship–a kind of make up your own worship as you go.  Everyone who has ever read the Old Testament knows …

• Abraham’s Faith (Faith Accounted for Righteousness)

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

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

  ed people over the years to the extent that many have just come to accept that which is religiously correct (political correctness in the field of the Christian religion) feeling it is a subject that is just a little too deep for them.  The real problem lies not in the difficulty of the passage but rather with theologians, scholars, commentators, and religious leaders (preachers included) who are unwilling to accept the obvious import of the pass…

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

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

• Why Do Men Run From God?

  Why do men run from God?  It has been a question with me for years and one I have had the deepest interest in because I cannot understand it and things I cannot understand when it comes to the way people behave have a way of bothering me.  I have always wanted to know why men do what they do.  I have wanted to know how men think and why they think the way they do and thus what motivates a man.   The reality is only God can know for sure for only…

• Finding Truth in Divided Christendom

  on thought.  Consequently, it is not unusual to hear sentiments like just as long as you believe in Jesus and are sincere that is all that matters and any church will do, just find the church of your choice. It is easy enough for the sincere seeker after truth to just throw up his/her hands in despair and give up but the Bible makes it clear that truth can be known and that it does matter what one believes and obeys.  Jesus said “to those J…

• The Blessing of Affliction and the Goodness of God

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

• The Cleansing of the Church at Ephesus

  …yet failed in the end.  Every time you watch a ballgame someone who has worked hard falls short and loses.  Many a man or woman has given his/her all on a job and then been let go.  Many a student has worked hard in preparing for a test and failed it.  How many more examples could be given?  So, yes, I think we are all glad salvation is a matter of God’s grace. God’s grace is granted to us as a result of faith we possess.  “Therefore having been …

• Honestly Deceived

  In 1 Kings 13:1-33 we read of a man of God, a prophet, who came from Judah to Bethel to prophecy against the altar there.  Jeroboam, the king of Israel, was present at the altar.  Jeroboam was the king who had made the two golden calves for the children of Israel to worship one of which resided at Bethel (1 Kings 12:25-33).  On the altar there sacrifices were made to the golden calf that resided there.  As the prophet arrived he found Jeroboam a…

• Peter’s Second Gospel Sermon

  Most people who know anything at all about the Christian faith realize that Peter preached the first gospel sermon ever preached on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2.  The second recorded sermon in the Christian dispensation of time is again a sermon preached by Peter as found in the next chapter in Acts–chapter 3.  That there was preaching being done between Peter’s first sermon and his second there is no doubt for the Bibl…

• Non-Offensive Christianity

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

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

  …e to go right down the line and ask about what Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, Peter, and Jude wrote as well. The truth of the matter is every single word of the New Testament excepting only those words added by translators for clarification (usually marked by being printed in italics) came directly from God the Father including the words of Jesus himself.  In John 1:1 Jesus is called “the Word” (NKJV) but he says later, “He w…

• Regrets

  up. Adam 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…

• Unhappy With the Church of Christ?

  nd if it does not exist you cannot be part of it and cannot be saved. The lady’s idea was that no matter what a body of believers was to believe and practice today it would end up being no more than another denomination for it is simply impossible in our day and age to have the original New Testament church.  It is sad we have come to that kind of thinking in our time but denominationalism is dependent on that line of thought and cannot sur…

• Who Gets to Decide–God or the Church?

  rs, knowing the Bible clearly teaches that division among Christians is sinful (1 Cor. 1:10, John 17:20-21), but then on the other hand say the differences are so minor that it does not matter which denomination you belong to for we will all be saved despite our differences or which denomination we might be in. Well, if we are all going to be saved anyway what is the big deal and why be divided?  Where and when did God give a command that his sav…

• Anger

  …assage might have to us today. I suspect most of us have at one point in time or another just read over the passage and gone on. That is what we often do with passages we really do not understand. Yet, if there is a lesson for us in the passage as there was for those who first heard it we need to learn it. I begin with the subject of anger, the first clause of this paragraph. Does Jesus completely forbid anger? Are we never to be angry? Som…

• The Army of the Lord–the Church

  …hip as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim. 2:3 NKJV)  If we are honest we realize that is an admonition to us as well if we desire to be a faithful Christian. We ought to put emphasis on the phrase “must endure hardship” for it is easy to think in our day and age 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 whe…

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

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

• The Silence of the Scriptures

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

• Looking Down Your Nose

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

• 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…

• Is Holy Spirit Baptism The Baptism That Saves?

  hy 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 the baptizing in the Holy Spirit and fire.  Will it be the apostles, will it be man?  No, for the text says “He,” a reference to Jesus, which means what?  If you are going to receive Holy Spirit baptism it will not be at the hands of men.  It will have to come directly from heaven itself.  But, it mea…

• Disobedience to Jesus

  ve?  Why would you obey a man you think is a liar and an imposter?  You are not going to and neither am I.  We are only willing to obey when we believe. But this brings up a very important point–faith leads to obedience for if a man believes then he obeys.  Let me give an example.  If you are in an office and a voice comes over the intercom telling you to lock your door and take cover an armed terrorist has entered the building what you do …

• 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…

• Mt. Sinai and the Day of Judgment

  who attacked them with God’s help (Ex. 17:8-13).  There was also the cloud that accompanied them by day and the pillar of fire that accompanied them by night.  Evidence of God’s presence with them and of his care for them was everywhere to be seen. At Mt. Sinai the Lord spoke to Moses from the mountain (Ex. 19:3) with a message for the children of Israel.  They were to be reminded of what they had seen the Lord do to the Egyptians an…

• 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…

• Mary of Bethany–Doing What You Can

  story of Mary who anointed Jesus with some very expensive oil of spikenard not long before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion you can read the account in Matt. 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-8. I will summarize the story for you briefly.  A supper had been made for Jesus (John 12:2) in the home of Simon the leper (Mark 14:3).  Jesus was there as the invited guest along with others which included his disciples (Matt. 26:8), and Martha, Lazaru…

• Pray For Others Lest You Sin

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

• Fools, Speech, and Christianity

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

• If Miracles Have Ceased–the Implications

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

• Is America a Christian Nation—the Sandra Fluke Controversy

  I write this under the date of March 6, 2012.  By now virtually everyone who follows the news at all has heard of Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law student, who testified before a portion of Congress recently arguing that birth control pills should be covered by her employer’s health care plan.  She argued that it is just too expensive for students to purchase the pills on their own. As you know the President’s health care …

• Christian Wars–A Misnomer

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

• 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, …

• The Hardening of the Human Heart

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

• Spiritual Mirages

  he realm of personal relationships, there are mirages.  People think they see things that are in reality only illusions.  One such example is found in the book of Jeremiah.  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…

• Keep Your Heart With All Diligence

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

• God’s Hardening of the Human Heart

  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.” (Exod. 4:21 NKJV) Why did God do this?  He tells us as he told Pharaoh, “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” (Exod. 9:16 NKJV)  Paul quotes this passage in Rom. 9:17 and then in the very next verse says,…

• Behold the Judge is Standing at the Door

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

• Ashamed of Jesus and His Words

  rrassed or shamed by the world that ridicules faith in Jesus thus are more concerned about receiving honor from men rather than the honor that comes from God alone.  We do not speak because we do not want to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3).  We do not speak because we do not want to wield “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17 NAS)  We want to just get along.  As the saying goes there are two things y…

• Which Denomination Did Jesus Build?

  waste Paul writing all those letters to the church at Corinth trying to correct wrong practices (shall we say sin).  A waste because it did not matter; they believed in Jesus and were going to be saved anyway.  And Jesus too for there was evidently, according to denominationalism, no need for those 7 letters to the churches of Asia found in Revelation, especially those giving warning, for doctrine and practice do not matter if you can be saved i…

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

  s absurd to think of a God in heaven yet they talk about life evolving from non-life as if it just kind of popped out on its own from dead matter–dead matter evolving into living matter.  Now that is a scholarly concept for you is it not but that is the position of the professors 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…

• The Mysterious Eloquent Evangelist

  he way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace; for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” The first great mystery is how could this man have been instructed in the way of the Lord and yet not known ab…

• The Faithfulness of Jesus to God the Father

  … Sometime before the foundation of the world the Godhead made the decision that once the world was created and man placed upon it that Jesus would, at some future point in time, a time known only to God, take upon himself the form of man, enter into the world, and become its Savior by the sacrifice of himself on the cross for the sins of man.  Yes, God knew his creation, man, would sin before man was created. Jesus was our Savior chosen to be so …

• The New Birth and Water

  ther ways as not being baptism but this childbirth explanation came as a little bit of a surprise. In any case I thought it good to write yet another article on the subject dealing this time not so much on biblical arguments, for that I have already done in other articles, but upon the historical record in order to show that today’s interpretations of water in John 3:5 as being something other than baptism are modern day explanations.  While it m…

• 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…

• 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…

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

  ttle mystery to it.  Paul, Silas, and Timothy, as you recall, enter the city of Philippi to preach the gospel.  Their first opportunity, as far as we can tell, is to a group of women out at the river side at a gathering place for prayer.  Lydia is one of the women assembled there.  The first mystery to some people is found in the statement in verse 14 where it is said that “the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.&…

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

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

• Jesus Defines Repentance

  s 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 generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.” (Luke 11:32 NKJV) The book of Jonah where we are told about this is a very short book of only 4 chapters so it is not hard to find out wh…

• 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…

• Jesus and the Furnace of Fire

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

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

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

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

  guage is figurative and the words spoken are spirit.  “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63 NKJV)  Jesus said, “The bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51 NKJV)  For you and I to eat of this bread, keeping in mind the language is figurative and spiritual, means simply that a man must be willing to take advantage of Christ’s de…

• Praying to God to Bless the Bread–Really?

  l find inanimate objects being blessed but if you turn there and take a look at the passage you will see that those objects (fruit of the land, corn, wine, oil) are being increased by God’s blessing, being made abundant for the sake of his people.  Do we want God to “bless the bread” and “bless the fruit of the vine” at the communion table this way–by making more bread and more fruit of the vine?  I think not. …

• 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…

• They Loved the Praise of Men

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

• Is Denominational Baptism Scriptural?

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

• 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…

• Without Natural Affection and Covenant Breakers

  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 inferior translations in an attempt to make reading easier for us. One such example is found in Rom. 1:31.  In Romans 1 Paul toward the middle of the chapter begins to talk about the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (v. 18) and then in the last few verses lists a series of sin…

• The Need to Sing in Worship

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

• The Struggle to be a Spiritually Minded Man or Woman

  is a matter of life and death.  Hear Paul, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those w…

• 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 …

• Peter’s Preaching and the Apostle’s Preaching

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

• 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 …

• 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…

• Cornelius’ Conversion–Final Thoughts

  3:24)  Thus we have a series of items being listed by which we can measure whether or not we are in a faithful relationship with God. The passage (1 John 4:13) is not talking about initial obedience to God (gospel obedience) for there can be no obedience to what is thrust upon you (baptism of the Holy Spirit).  To say that obedience to the gospel (a command of God–2 Thess. 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17) equals Holy Spirit baptism and vice versa is to …

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

  Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, is the first person listed among many in Hebrews chapter 11 commended by the Holy Spirit for their faith.  Of Abel it is said, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” (Heb. 11:4 NKJV)  Men have long been troubled by this passage trying to figure ou…

• Must the Christian Keep the Sabbath?

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

• Faith in the New Testament–Different Meanings

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

• The Great Commission and Cornelius

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

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

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

• 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 …

• The Need to Preach on Sin

  There is a great need to preach on sin today.  I am not at all sure that sin is any worse or more prevalent today than in generations gone by for one can go back in history and find unimaginable sin.  Human sacrifice, cannibalism, idol worship, all forms of sexual debauchery, witchcraft, mass murderers (think Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot), you name it and you can find it in the history of the sins of mankind.  History teaches us just how bad man…

• Healing For the Brokenhearted

  “Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick.  And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.” (Psalms 69:20 NASU)  Read in context one sees clearly that this passage of scripture refers to Jesus toward the very end of his life on earth when facing the cross and perhaps, very possibly, on the cross itself.  The heart has been broken to the point of sickness. Is there a person whose heart has …

• He Feared

  …t times in battle as long as a man had a shield and could keep it placed between his body and the swords, spears, and other weapons of the enemy his safety was assured.  Take the shield away from the soldier and his prospects for survival were greatly diminished.  Paul is telling us all that if we will build our faith strong enough we cannot be defeated in the battle for our spiritual life. The Bible teaches us clearly that faithfulness is direct…

• Paul’s Conversion (Justified by Faith)

  …(NKJV)  Evidently, if it was something he was still doing it was pretty much a habitual thing with him.  This was said at a time when he was setting out to Damascus to find Christians he could bind and bring back to Jerusalem for punishment. (Acts 9:2)  Paul says of himself, “I persecuted this Way (Christianity–DS) to the death.” (Acts 22:4 NKJV)  He says, testifying against himself, “many of the saints I shut up in prison…

• Fear God

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

• The Grace of God in Baptism

  Most Americans of a Christian persuasion believe that baptism has little to nothing to do with the grace of God. One wonders have they never read Titus 3:4-7? The truth about God’s grace and its tie in with baptism is clearly set forth in Paul’s passage to Titus which reads as follows: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he s…

• Who Governs the Church if We Follow the Bible?

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

• 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.  …

• Walk in Truth—the Joy of John the Apostle

  no longer satisfactory.  We will reinterpret it, stretch it, twist it, and do whatever we have to do to make it pleasing to us today no matter what the intent was of the original framers of that document.  It will just not do for today as originally written. The problem with this line of thought is that what has been done has been done and can never be undone.  Once history has been made, an event has taken place, you can reinterpret it all you w…

• Diotrephes Loves To Have the Preeminence

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

• 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 …

• Christian Circumcision

  7 (read especially verses 10 through 14).  It was a fleshly circumcision (v. 11), it was to “be a sign of the covenant between me and you” (v. 11 NKJV), it was to be done on the eighth day after birth (v. 12), and for any male that was not circumcised “that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (v. 14 NKJV) Those who were not fleshly descendants of Abraham were not totally excluded from havin…

• Faith, Manna, and Grumbling Against God

  nd honey that God will give them (Ex. 3:16-17, see also Ex. 6:6-8).  Those of age are all aware of this mission they are on and aware of the promise of God. When God says he will do a thing that thing is certain to come about for God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and he has the power to do all things (see Gen. 18:14, Jer. 32:27 NKJV).  The promise, however, was not unconditional.  They had to trust and obey neither of which they did.  They had a sure th…

• Misunderstanding the Grace of God

  Sometime back I had an article rejected that I had submitted to an article directory, a site that says it is a Christian article directory.  It was a short article entitled “Receiving the Gospel” which, if you like, you can find on this site and read for yourself.  It was deemed to be unfit for a Christian article directory.  The editor of the directory made it clear to me in an e-mail that he believed man was saved by grace without …

• Faith and Baptism in Paul’s Preaching

  ful in Paul and Silas’ eyes. Certainly, they would not have judged her “faithful to the Lord” without faith in the Lord which required an expression of the same (confession of Jesus–Rom. 10:9) in order for them to know of her faith.  Baptism was both an expression of a penitent heart (indicating repentance) and a response to Paul’s preaching (to a command given in that preaching).  If he didn’t preach baptism h…

• Bible Contradictions on Salvation?

  k of the word of God as though it came from man even though I concede we generally know what is meant by such statements.  But, the reality is it is not Paul’s word, then James’ word, and then Peter’s, etc., for “all scripture is given by inspiration of God.” (2 Tim. 3:16 NKJV)  What Paul wrote he wrote by inspiration.  What James wrote he wrote by inspiration. Thus if Paul says we are saved by faith and James says w…

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

  found in Act 10 is where most of the difficulty arises.  People feel that when the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius that saved him or, let me get this straight, did it mean he was already saved before the Spirit fell upon him for God would not place his spirit on an unsaved sinner? Thus my first question is which is it?  It makes a difference.  If the Holy Spirit falling upon Cornelius is what saved him, he being an unsaved sinner before that hap…

• The Book of Ecclesiastes

  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 things of this world is a vain thing that is but for a short time and has no lasting value.  When we die we lose it all. I believe we error greatly, however, when we read the book and get from it the idea that there is no use or value in striving to achieve in this life.  …

• Reconciling With a Brother

  … something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” (Matt. 5:22-24 NAS) Can a man be saved who has contempt for and mistreats his fellowman?  John says no when he says, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not lo…

• Parable of the Tares–No Middle Ground

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

• 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…

• The Case of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit

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

• Gospel Obedience at Corinth

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

• The Sin of Contempt (Verbal Abuse)

  … I believe from my study that the YLT (Young’s Literal Translation) comes the closest of any of the translations in giving the best translation of the Greek. When one takes a look at the various translations given above for the Greek and learns the meaning of the Greek word used behind those translations it becomes obvious that we have a sin that can be committed today even though we might use slightly different terms or words.  The man tha…

• One Church—A Thing Hard to Accept

  Many Americans can remember years ago when O. J. Simpson was arrested and put on trial for the murder of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.  I remember a comment I heard on TV at the time that simply astounded me.  One lady that was being interviewed, for what reason I no longer recall, made the comment that if she had seen O. J. commit the murder with her owns eyes she would not believe it.  I guess her idea was that she could not trust herself, she …

• Must a Man Seek God?

  her than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isa. 55:8-9 NKJV)  God will remain God and you and I will remain flesh and blood, just human beings who are here but for a short while on earth and then 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 …

• Christ and Baptism in Colossians

  … power that tradition and religious heritage exerts on people. Error believed has the same faith affect upon a man or woman as truth believed and can thus provide peace and comfort until the time truth exerts itself with such force that it cannot be denied.  Saul, before he became Paul the apostle, believed error and acted in all good conscience (Acts 23:1) while persecuting Christ (Acts 26:14).  He believed error and was at perfect peace with hi…

• Abortion Luke 1 – All You Need to Know

  …person is conceived in the womb has that person not already previously existed in the mind of God?  David said, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” (Psalms 139:16 NKJV)  God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, spoke about Cyrus the Great fulfilling God’s will in Isaiah 44:28 on through the first part of chapter…

• A New Creation in Christ

  ctor, 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 to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’” One could probably get up several lessons from this one parable but today I want to concentrate on one specific aspec…

• 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…

• If Baptism is Not Essential for Salvation

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

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

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

• Ways into Christ–How Many Ways Are There?

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

• Indifference – The Great Destroyer

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

• Canaan and Heaven–How God Gives

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

• 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 …

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

  …eously?  If so when did that begin?  If so where can I read about it in the Bible?  If so which denomination does it add me to in addition to the Lord’s church?  If so why is it needful now that it do that but was not needful for hundreds of years after the first century had come and gone.  If so when did the gospel lose its power to make me just a Christian, no more, no less?  At what point in time was it that both the gospel and the Lord lost t…

• Hypocrites in the Church

  Are there hypocrites in the church?  Surely, there are some.  Paul dealt with such in his day for he said in 2 Cor. 11:13, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” (NASU)  In Gal. 2:4 he speaks of “false brethren secretly brought in.” (NASU)  Hypocrisy is thus an age old problem and one we will never rid ourselves of in this life. There are hypocrites about everywh…

• Work Out Your Own Salvation

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

• A Good and Pure Conscience

  A good and pure conscience is essential to a person’s happiness and sense of well-being.  One can never depend on his/her conscience as an infallible guide for that it is not the function of the conscience, not its role, but nevertheless violate your conscience and the end result is a sense of guilt, sorrow, and unhappiness. The conscience is that which is within us that pricks us, perhaps troubles us would be a better way of putting it, w…

• Is Church Attendance Essential for Christian Salvation?

  answer is no; one cannot be saved if he will not attend church by which is meant the church worship services.  Hear God’s word on the subject. (1) “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25 NKJV) This passage clearly commands the Christian to a…

• Confirmation Sunday–No Bibles Required

  a search on the word “confirmation.”   I did find it in 2 locations.  Paul spoke about “confirmation of the gospel” in Philippians 1:7 and the writer of the book of Hebrews spoke of how an “oath for confirmation” (Heb. 6:16) is for men an end of all dispute but was just making an observation about secular matters among men in order to make a greater point about the confirmation God has made to man.  Another se…

• Acceptable Prayer

  U)  Then he follows up in verse 15 speaking the words of God, “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen.” (Isa. 1:15 NASU) For a person’s prayer to be found acceptable to God one prerequisite is to be a faithful child of his.  Actually there are two prerequisites in that–(1) be a child of God and (2) be faithful.  Does this mean God …

• Weak, Defiled, and Seared Consciences

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

• The Joy and the Danger of a Clean Conscience

  …no rest or relief. Rest can only be had at what is generally felt to be a hard price to pay.  That price is the shame and humiliation of admitting (confessing) our sin and making whatever restitution, if any, that can be made for it.  It is awfully hard to put oneself through that but that is exactly the price the conscience requires of us before it will let us go free. I know of a man who recently went before the church confessing his unfaithful…

• Lincoln’s Tomb and Jesus’ Tomb

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

• 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…

• Things People Do Not Know About the Church

  One should never minimize the importance of the church, the church Jesus built.  I am not speaking about manmade denominational churches.  They are not one and the same.  However, many people do not understand that and have grown unhappy with the old main line denominations and as a consequence have cast them aside and decided they will take Jesus alone and forget about the church.  Years ago this sentiment was popularized by the saying, “Jesus …

• Are Works Essential for Christian Salvation?

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

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

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

• Better to Never Have Been Born–Why?

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

• Three Attitudes That Destroy the Hope of Salvation

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

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

  lms 19:9-10 NKJV)  Faith based on word from God is faith put on a sure and solid foundation that cannot fail. But, some examples are needed to show the difference between faith 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, the…

• The Chastening of the Lord

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

• Deeper Spiritual Understanding–How do I Acquire It?

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

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

  . 20:1-16 is a perfect example and is also an excellent illustration of how man feels he knows more about what is just and right than God does. The passage is too long to quote here but I will jog your memory and summarize it for you.  A man had a vineyard and needed workers.  He went out to hire workers for his vineyard 5 different times during the course of the day each time sending them directly to work as they were hired.  At day’s end, as wa…

• How Was Noah Saved Through Water?

  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 thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5 NKJV)  God determined to destroy man for his evil, an evil so great it grieved God in his heart and made him sorry he had created man. (Gen. 6:6-7) However, the text then says, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen. 6:8 NKJV)  One cannot emphasiz…

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

  t will flatter us just as well. The subject of this little piece is Christianity, homosexuality, and gay marriage and what we are going to do with what the Bible has to say about it all.  There is really no need to discuss it for it is becoming more obvious what we are going to do with it every day.  We are going to use the Bible as a football and give it a big swift kick, one so hard that it will get it so far away from us we will never have to …

• 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…

• Willful Sin–Can Anyone Be Saved?

  The text for this article is Heb. 10:26-27, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.  But a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” (NKJV) These verses have probably caused Christians about as much anguish as any you will find in the pages of the New Testament.  Make no mistake about it the verse…

• Repent–How Hard It Is To Do

  presence of men in confirmation of his preaching.  Hear Jesus: “Then he began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  ‘Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. … And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if…