Learning to draw lines. To fathom, even to a limited degree, the depths of God’s wisdom and savor the beauty of His ways, the Bible student must “rightly divide” the Word. If we fail to do so, our view will be distorted, our position unbalanced, and our interpretation faulty. What do we mean by the […]
Their spiritual growth was evident to all. Is ours? Paul the apostle wrote the first letter to the Thessalonian church while he was in Corinth. According to Acts 17, Paul spent approximately three weeks with the fledgling church. After his success in depleting the ranks of the synagogue by exposing them to the light of […]
Not long after I was saved, several of us were at the home of an older believer when another brother and I were invited into the office—the sanctum sanctorum. This was never a good sign. That is to say, in the light of eternity it was beneficial, but at the moment it instilled panic. For […]
I am not sure where the idea of community service as a form of punishment came from, but I know the concept is as old as breaking the law itself. It fits right in with human nature. You broke the law. Now, instead of serving jail time or paying a fine, you perform community service, […]
Whe law of God commands us to do what we cannot do in ourselves, condones nothing of our failure, commends itself to our conscience, but condemns us before God. O praise Him for His matchless grace! One cannot travel far along the Romans Road without bumping into the word “law.” In fact, it occurs 52 […]
In his epistle to the Galatian assemblies, Paul corrected the erroneous teaching that, to “make perfect” the salvation begun by the Spirit (Gal. 3:3), one must continue keeping certain commands of the Law. In doing so, he quoted Deuteronomy 27:26 by saying, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written […]
Reformed theology has long given great importance to the “moral” law given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Reformed teachers argue that obedience to this moral law is an indispensable principle in the life of a Christian. These teachers fully concede that the ceremonial law and civil ordinances and statutes have been done away with by […]
At first glance, it might appear that God is struggling to fund many programs people claim to execute in His name. “Ministries” abound over the airwaves, soliciting money and offering incentives such as anointing oil, prayer cloths, CDs, books, “club membership”, on-air recognition, commemorative bricks, or the promise of repayment with interest by God—most credit […]
The great themes of John’s gospel demand a preacher’s attention. There are six features which are crucial to understanding and proclaiming its message. It is evangelistic in its aim John spells out his purpose explicitly in 20:31. The evangelist wishes each reader to come to stand in the shoes of Thomas and cry out, “My […]