“Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:8-9). Paul had imprisoned and beat Christians. He had punished them often and far and wide, compelling them to blaspheme. Why? Because “I myself … [Read more…]
“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel … [Read more…]
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4). Our hope is that which is laid up for us in heaven: “that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). Only those born … [Read more…]
One memory of high school freshman English class is this: Miss Harrison spent the first two weeks dictating the rules of the class, and she endured many questions from her students. But there was one she came to despise: “What if….?” Expressing her disapproval, she would reply, “Tsk, what if?” She was in essence replying … [Read more…]
“Do all things without murmurings and questionings: that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life” (Philippians 2:14, ASV). Webster defines “murmur” as a low, muttered complaint … [Read more…]
Every parent has probably heard the question from their child, “Do I have to?” While the question can simply be an inquiry of the necessity of doing a thing, it more often reflects the attitude of wanting to get by with doing as little as is possible. The Bible teaches us that this attitude is … [Read more…]
Temptation often comes through the pride of life, and the pride of life is of the world: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, … [Read more…]
In both the epistle to the Romans and the epistle to the churches of Galatia, the apostle Paul speaks of justification. To be justified is to be declared not guilty or to be declared righteous. There must be both a justifier and one who needs to be justified. God is the justifier. Every accountable man … [Read more…]
Someone has said, “If you love the flowers, you have to hate the weeds.” And just as we must give all effort to love God, the truth, and others more, we could all use a little more hate too. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13) Four times in the 119th … [Read more…]
My mother used to tell of the days when she worked at a bank and signatures on checks were verified by the process of matching signatures to a signature record on file. A mismatch would most likely mean forgery. The person forging a signature on a check is pretending to be someone he is not. … [Read more…]