Render to God the Things that are God’s

Roman Coin

Matthew recorded an encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees in which they came to test Jesus (Matthew 22:15-22). They were trying to “trap Him in what He said” (Matthew 22:15). So they sent some of their disciples with some of the Herodians to question Him. They prefaced their question with flattery. “Teacher, we know that […]

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A Brief Review of Calvinism

We are not to believe everything we hear. John warned, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). We test the spirits (teachers and their teaching) by the inspired, infallible word of God (2 […]

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The Purpose of Preaching

Man with Open Bible

From the beginning of the New Testament we read about preaching. First we see John the Baptist “preaching in the wilderness of Judea” (Matthew 3:1). A little while later “Jesus began to preach” (Matthew 4:17) and went “throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23). Jesus commanded […]

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But It Feels So Right

[Article written by Matt Nevins. Originally published in his email newsletter “The Lamp.”] Throughout my life I have heard the advice given ‘Let your conscience be your guide.’ The purpose of the advice is to encourage individuals to think about what the alternatives are for a given situation and make the right choice for the […]

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Losing a Sense of Shame

In Jeremiah 6, a warning was given to the people of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. While the army coming against the city was from another nation, the punishment was from the Lord: “‘For I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 6:12). The reason why the […]

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Unity in the Ephesian Church

Unity is one of the predominant themes of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In the second chapter, he wrote of the unity between Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:11-22). Historically, there was hostility between these two groups, but Jesus came and “made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall” (Ephesians […]

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Whose Place Did Jesus Take on the Cross?

Crosses

Jesus’ death on the cross is part of the foundation of our faith. Yet for an event so important and familiar, many have misconceptions about it. One common misconception is the idea that Jesus died in our place or in our stead. We sometimes hear the terminology that calls this sacrifice the vicarious death of […]

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