The threads of salvation are interwoven through every page of Scripture. Certainly, we should do all we can to understand them.
Sometimes the terminology eludes us because we don’t use it in daily life. Propitiation is a prime example. We find it in Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10 and since it pertains to our Lord and our salvation, it’s imperative that we understand it. Continue reading “What is propitiation?”
When we boil things down to survival, our perspective crystallizes. Continue reading They had nowhere else to go
“Unless you repent, you will all…perish” (Luke 13:3).
Most people cannot imagine Jesus saying, “You will go to hell if you do not change your ways.” I’m not sure if the scholars of the Jesus Seminar cut that phrase out, attributing it to some other source than the “real” Jesus, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Most people like the idea of what they deem to be God’s positivity – his love, his longsuffering, his grace – leading us to repentance. But can suffering and death do the same thing? Continue reading “Are some of Jesus’ sayings too harsh?”
The patience God exemplifies is remarkable. Thankfully, he’s longsuffering and loving (Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Continue reading “Break the bad patterns of life”
During the holidays, we pray that you and all of yours may be deeply blessed by your time with family and with your friends and loved ones, and by the food and other things “that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” 1 Timothy 4.3.
Our greatest prayer for those who are not yet in Christ is that they may have faith that obeys the Lord, and not just any faith; that they may know the truth which saves; that they may enter into Christ through repentance and immersion in water.
All other blessings are far inferior to the greatness of knowing God and the call to follow Jesus. Continue reading “The greatest prayer we can pray”
Jesus fashioned a whip of cords and drove the money changers out of the temple because they had made his Father’s house just an ordinary place of business (John 2:16).
Something interesting happened with the Lord’s disciples. These Galileans remembered King David had written, “For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me” (Psalm 69:9 NASB). The disciples applied this verse King David had written of the Christ directly to Jesus. Continue reading “Attitude”
Walk through a shopping mall. Randomly ask people what Jesus can do for their lives. If people are willing to chat, what would they say? For those who know something about Christ, the predominant answer would likely relate to salvation.
To be sure, the good news about Christ crucified centers upon salvation. However if we limit salvation’s impact to being rescued from our sins and becoming God’s people, we will overlook a massive component of God’s work on our behalf.
Continue reading “The impact of salvation: more than just forgiveness”
Sadly, we argue and divide over the proper understanding of grace to the detriment of the Lord’s work. Instead, we should see it from God’s perspective, so we can move past our human frailties. Continue reading “Grace simplified from God’s perspective”
We’re commanded to take the gospel to the world (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16). Utilizing the abilities and opportunities at our disposal, we become useful to the Lord (John 4:35). Continue reading “Tips for teaching the lost”
Money, politics and religion can stir up controversy. Within Christendom, opinions about church run deep. Yet, most agree what the New Testament teaches, such as its insistence there is one church. Disagreement arises over how this teaching should be applied to our world.
Can we understand how the Bible’s teaching regarding one church relates to our world? Can the confusion be untangled? I believe yes. Continue reading “One church: the intersection of scripture and today’s world”