Job asked, “If a man dies, will he live again?” (Job 14:14). Many people wonder about this: Is there life after death?
In this article, we will consider some various theories that people have about the afterlife and compare these theories with what the Bible teaches.
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When Jesus warned of the “leaven of the Pharisees” (Matthew 16:6), He was referring to their influence. There were several reasons why He warned about this. We will address these in our study. Jesus pointed out the Pharisees’ errors in their teachings and the sins in their own lives.
Some today are eager to warn of the “leaven of the Pharisees.” Yet too many do not understand just how the Pharisees were wrong. As a result, the label is often used improperly against those who teach and practice the truth.
So in this series, we are going to examine who the real Pharisees are today. We will do this by considering the sins and errors of the Pharisees in the first century that we are to avoid.
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This week we wrapped up Season 5 of the Plain Bible Teaching Podcast. The theme of this season was the church. You can listen to the audio from all of the episodes on this page. You can also click on the link for each episode to see the show notes and download the audio files if you’d like.
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On one occasion, Jesus’ disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). It is important that we know how to pray as we should. However, when we think of learning how to pray, we usually think in terms of praying for certain things. Yet there are also some things for which we should not pray.
So in this article, let us consider five things for which we should not pray.
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Since the Levites were not given a territory in the land of Canaan like the other tribes, they were given “forty-eight cities” (Numbers 35:7). Six of these cities would be designated as “cities of refuge” (Numbers 35:6). If someone killed someone else unintentionally, he could flee to one of these cities.
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, “When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there. The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation for trial”’” (Numbers 35:9-12).
In this article, we are going to notice five key points about these cities of refuge and how they parallel the church today.
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After the wall around Jerusalem had been rebuilt, the people gathered to hear the law read to them. Ezra and the Levites “read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). What they did was very simple – they read the law and explained it so that the people understood what it meant.
This is the same thing we must do in our preaching today. We want people to understand what God’s word means, but how can we help them do that? We sometimes hear brethren use the phrase “book, chapter, and verse” preaching. This is the kind of preaching that is necessary to accomplish the goal of explaining the Scriptures so that people will understand them. In this article, we will consider why “book, chapter, and verse” preaching is the method we need to use in our preaching.
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“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
When James warned Christians about “friendship with the world,” he did not say that it was possibly unwise or potentially dangerous. Instead, he used very strong language indicating that being “a friend of the world” makes one “an enemy of God.”
Knowing this danger, it is important that we know what the inspired writer meant by “friendship with the world.” In this article, we are going to consider what “friendship with the world” looks like and also see what a Christian’s relationship with the world should be.
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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.
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