November 4, 2026

How to Prevent an Apostasy

Opening the Bible

Paul told Timothy that apostasy was certain: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith…” (1 Timothy 4:1). He warned the brethren in Thessalonica of a great apostasy – “the apostasy” (2 Thessalonians 2:2) – which was coming. This apostasy would be widespread, yet that did not mean that every Christian or church must be doomed to fall away.

Timothy was to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13, NKJV), and he was to pass this on to others (2 Timothy 2:2). He needed to continue teaching without compromise, even if others departed from the truth (2 Timothy 4:2-5). If he did this, there was hope that those who would listen would be saved (1 Timothy 4:16).

So how would Timothy approach his work as a preacher to help prevent apostasy? And how would the brethren need to respond in order to keep from falling away? Let us notice what Paul wrote after warning about the coming apostasy.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , ,
November 2, 2026

Hermeneutics: Conclusion

Hermeneutics

Before we conclude this brief study of hermeneutics, I want us to review what we have learned. God has revealed His word in such a way that we can understand it. Paul affirmed this in his letter to the Ephesians: “By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). He expected them to be able to take what he wrote and arrive at the same understanding of God’s will that he had. We should be able to do the same thing today.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Hermeneutics Tagged With: , ,
October 26, 2026

Hermeneutics (Part 6): What Has Been Bound and Loosed

Hermeneutics

In our study of hermeneutics, we have spent a lot of time discussing the need for authority and how to establish it. However, in a study like this, we must make a distinction between what is required and what is permitted. Understanding the message God has revealed in His word is not just about what we must do; it also includes what we may do. What is the difference? And what does it mean for churches and individual Christians? We will consider this in the final part of our study.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Hermeneutics Tagged With: , ,
October 21, 2026

Learning from the Sabbath

Reading the Bible in bed

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11).

When God, through Moses, gave His law to the children of Israel, it included the instructions above regarding the Sabbath. In fact, this law was part of the Ten Commandments, which formed the foundation of a society that had just been liberated from Egyptian bondage. Each week, God expected His people to observe a day of rest and treat it as holy.

Christians are not under the Sabbath law today.* However, it was part of the Old Testament that was “written for our instruction” (Romans 15:4). There are principles contained in the Sabbath law that we can learn from and apply today. We will notice five of these principles in this article.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , ,
October 19, 2026

Hermeneutics (Part 5): The New Testament Pattern

Hermeneutics

As we have been discussing hermeneutics and how to interpret the Bible, much of our focus has been on what is or is not authorized. In this article, we will study what the Bible teaches about patterns. These patterns allow us to take several things that are authorized and put them together as a complete system, such as how the church is organized or what our worship should look like. God has always used patterns to instruct His people, and we will notice a couple of examples in the Old Testament. But the pattern we follow today is found in the New Testament.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Hermeneutics Tagged With: , , ,
October 18, 2026

The Bible Is Clear About Sexuality

Couple holding hands

In a recent study, a majority of churchgoers expressed the belief that the Bible was not clear in its teachings about homosexuality. In other words, most of them did not believe the Bible was clear about “whether homosexuality is morally acceptable.”

However, the problem is not that the Bible is unclear; it is that people do not want to accept what the Bible teaches or are afraid of offending those who have given themselves over to this sinful behavior.

Let us be reminded of a few points.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Substack Archives Tagged With: , , , ,
October 12, 2026

Hermeneutics (Part 4): The Silence of the Scriptures

Hermeneutics

In the previous articles in our series, we have seen that we need to have authority for what we do in service to God, how to go to the Scriptures to establish authority, and what is the difference between generic and specific authority. So far, our discussion has focused on what the Bible says. But what do we do when the Scriptures are silent on a particular question or topic? We will discuss that in this article.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Hermeneutics