To be sanctified is to be set apart, separated or holy. The word and its derivatives are variously translated sanctify, hallow, be holy, holiness, and sanctification. Sanctification involves being separated from one thing and being dedicated to another. Sanctification for the Christian means to be separated from the world and consecrated to the service of … [Read more…]
The fashion clothing store sign reads: “New arrivals weekly”. We would rightly say that’s just good advertising. There are many things about “new” that can be exciting. Depending on the product, “new” may imply updated, stronger, faster, better suited to purpose. Think of computers and phones. But what about “new” in the realm of religion? … [Read more…]
“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (Exodus 32:1) Moses delayed coming, … [Read more…]
In the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22, Jesus teaches about the preparation of the kingdom and God’s punishment of those who reject it. While the parable has a primary application to Israel’s rejection of the kingdom, we can also learn of four different and yet equally disastrous responses to the call of … [Read more…]
Abram’s wife Sarai was barren. So she gave to Abram her maid Hagar as a second wife so that she could perhaps obtain children by her. When Hagar conceived a child, she began to despise Sarai. There was friction between the two, and Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar. Hagar fled into the wilderness, abandoned and … [Read more…]
“And why not say, ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? – as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.” (Romans 3:8) Doing evil that good may come could more commonly be called situation ethics. The AHD defines situation ethics as “a system of ethics that … [Read more…]
She’s dressed to the nines. Her wardrobe is attractive. Culturally she is popular, and her fashion never goes out of style. Turn through the pages of the Bible, starting in the beginning, and you will be warned of her deceitful expressions of beauty. Who is this one of whom we speak? She is skepticism. According … [Read more…]
Authority is defined as the right to command to act, but it also means the right to act. A supervisor who has authority over his employees has the right to command or direct their activities. On the other end, the employee can be said to have authority to perform an activity if he has been … [Read more…]
“These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, … [Read more…]
“So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in … [Read more…]