June 13, 2010

The Certainty of the Scriptures

The faith that God wants us to have is an “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). He does not expect us to take a “leap of faith” — choosing to believe something, even though there is no evidence upon which to base our belief. Instead, He has provided a reasonable basis for our faith.

The most notable example of this is in the coming of Christ. His arrival into this world, His death on the cross, His resurrection and ascension, as well as His reign as King over His kingdom was all prophesied to occur. But can we really believe that it actually happened? Skeptics and critics say that we cannot accept what the Bible says. But Peter gave us two reasons why we can and should accept it.
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March 9, 2010

Choose Life

Life

Shortly before Moses’ death and the Israelites journey into the promised land, Moses spoke to them about the choice they had before them. This choice was so important that it was literally a matter of life or death.
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March 5, 2010

A Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith

It is not uncommon to hear one talk about taking a leap of faith. Often this phrase is used to refer to some aspect of our response to God – believing in His existence, acknowledging His work in Creation, accepting the Bible, meeting His terms of salvation, or trusting that His way is best.

What is a leap of faith? While it may be true that people use this phrase in different ways, it seems that there is one way in which it is generally used. For many, a “leap of faith” is a willingness to believe something even if they have their doubts about it. If something cannot be proven, a “leap of faith” is required to accept it. Again, not everyone will use this phrase in this way, but this is generally the way in which it is used. Therefore, this is the definition we will consider in this article.
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January 25, 2010

Crucified with Christ

Crosses

Paul told the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

These statements Paul made about himself ought to apply to every Christian.
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January 17, 2010

What If Our Prayers Go Unanswered?

Prayer

James wrote, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16). With this in mind, many people pray to God hoping that their prayer will be answered. They want to have a divine response that is visible and tangible. When we pray for the sick, we want to see the sick recover. When we pray for someone’s safe travel, we want to see that they reach their destination without incident. When we pray for help finding a job, we want to actually find a job. There are many other examples as well. We pray and let our “requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Since “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much,” we expect to see – at least some of the time – real and positive responses from God to our prayers.

But what if we do not see this? What if our prayers, as far as we can tell, go unanswered? This is likely something that most of us have perceived at some point. It can be discouraging, but we should not allow it to shake our faith in God. After all, Paul wrote, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). It does not say that true faith comes as a result of something happening that we determine must be God’s answer to our prayer. Sadly, many allow their faith to be either established or shattered based upon their own labeling of certain events as being God’s answers to their prayers. This is purely subjective. This is not true Bible faith.
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January 14, 2010

All Continues Just as it Was

When Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles were there to witness the event. Afterward, two angels appeared to them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Christians today “eagerly wait” for the Lord to return, as the angels said He would, and bring the faithful home to heaven (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

That was about two thousand years ago. Yet we remain watchful, knowing that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:10). But there are many today who will ridicule this idea. They say we should live as we please here because this is the only life we will have. We should not be surprised that there are such people. After all, Peter wrote about them in the first century. As the apostle began discussing the day of the Lord, he wrote, “Knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
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December 23, 2009

Submit to God, Resist the Devil

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

The two words James used to admonish Christians in their walk – submit and resist – both involve action. This should not be surprising. Earlier in the letter he commended an active faith while condemning a passive faith.

Regarding the active faith, James wrote, “Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Further on he said, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).
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