Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus described Himself in various ways. One term He used is the good shepherd (John 10:11). In the context surrounding this claim, Jesus showed us what His work as a shepherd entails, how He can be called the good shepherd, and why no one else is more qualified than He is to do this work.
So what makes Jesus the good shepherd?
Continue Reading
People often want to think of degrees of sin. They view some sins as particularly heinous (rape, murder, etc.), and others as being virtually innocent (“a little white lie”). Is it accurate to grade particular sins and judge them against one another in this way?
The fundamental question we have is this: Are some sins worse than others? Yes and no. It depends on what aspect of sin one has in mind. In this article, we will briefly examine this question.
Continue Reading
David W. Bercot’s book, Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up, compares Christianity today (defined by the author as the Evangelical Church) with the early Christians (2nd through 4th centuries). The book is very easy to read, but contains some challenging and thought-provoking material, specifically for Evangelicals. But it is helpful for others as well.
This book shows the sharp contrast between what many denominations today teach and what the early Christians taught. The early Christians believed that salvation by grace was conditioned upon obedience, that baptism was tied to salvation, and that predestination refers to God’s foreknowledge, rather than His selection of certain individuals for salvation. Many denominations teach just the opposite (salvation by grace/faith alone, baptism not essential for salvation, God predestined some individuals for salvation and some for damnation).
This book helps one get an insight into what the early church was like and what they taught. But before I can recommend the book, I need to caution you about a few things:
Continue Reading
The book of Revelation was written to encourage Christians to endure the sufferings and persecutions ahead of them in order to receive their reward from God. Generally, the sufferings we face today are much different – often less severe – than what they faced near the close of the first century. But one thing remains the same – we must overcome Satan and his devices in order to be rewarded by God in the end.
So how do we overcome? The letter to the seven churches helps answer that question. John recorded, “And they overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death” (Revelation 12:11). This verse mentioned three things they did, and that we must also do, to overcome the devil and his schemes.
Continue Reading
***UPDATED 09.21.09***
I have decided to take down the article that Jody had written. When I first received it I thought it would be a good idea to post it here because I believed it had some value for those who might read it. But after a week or so, I decided it would be wise to remove it for a couple of reasons.
First, I do not have the time to moderate comments on this post. This is naturally an emotionally charged issue that many people have strong opinions about. On top of that, the spiritual principles that relate to this situation are obviously important as well. I just don’t have time to thoughtfully and responsibly respond to each of the comments as they deserve.
Second, I was afraid that this might become a distraction to the gospel message, if it had not become such already. Paul told the brethren in Corinth that he refrained from doing something that was proper (receiving support from them) in order to “cause no hindrance to the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:12). Even if it was appropriate to post Jody’s article, with everything going on, especially his recent “not guilty” plea, it was a distraction to the valid points he was making, and perhaps indirectly, the rest of the material contained on this site.
For those reasons, I decided to remove his article. I hope you can understand the reasons behind my decision.
I would encourage you to remember the important lessons from this though – don’t flirt with sin. It can destroy your life. It can cause immense damage to the lives of those around you. Even if the sin you are tempted with or are currently caught up in is not like what Jody has done, remember that all sins separate us from God. If you have sin in your life, get rid of it. The momentary pleasure it can provide is not worth the consequences and punishment that come with it.
Many brethren have heard the sad and disturbing news of the gospel preacher from Auburn, KY allegedly having consensual sex with a 13 year old girl over the weekend. He has since turned himself in to the authorities and is being held on rape charges. In addition to being a preacher of the gospel, he is also a husband and father. The thought that such a man would do this is both puzzling and disturbing.
I don’t know this man very well. I met him briefly a year or so ago when I attended a gospel meeting at the church in Auburn where he worked. I won’t speculate as to why he did this or what path he took to get to this point. But there are some very important lessons in this story that all Christians need to remember.
Continue Reading
Genesis 3 records the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. It also contains the first prophecy of the coming Messiah to save man from sin. In addition to these two major points, this chapter also has some lessons for us about modesty, particularly as it relates to our apparel.
Continue Reading
What does “propitiation” mean? How is “justification” connected to salvation? What does “sanctification” look like in our day-to-day lives? The Bible uses some powerful words to describe God’s plan to save mankind. However, these words are not always easy to understand, especially when they are not part of our everyday vocabulary. This book explores key Bible terms that unlock the message of the gospel.
Big Words in the Bible examines five important words – Propitiation, Reconciliation, Sanctification, Justification, and Resurrection – using plain language to see how the Scriptures describe these concepts and how the apostle Paul employs them in his letter to the Romans. This book also contains an appendix with eleven additional articles to explore these topics further.
Whether you are new to the Bible and want to grow in your understanding or want a simple way to explain these core gospel doctrines to others, this book will be helpful. With a focus on the Scriptures, Big Words in the Bible helps break down these fundamental topics to shed light on the life-changing message of the gospel and the salvation found in it.
Available in print and digital format.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
If you have further questions about using any of the material on this site, please contact me.