forgiveness Archives - Plain Bible Teaching

Andy Sochor November 3, 2021

Lifting Up Our Soul to the Lord

“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, do not let me be ashamed; do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed” (Psalm 25:1-3).

This psalm is about our dependence upon God – something that each one of us needs to be reminded of from time to time. The text describes three areas in which we are dependent upon the Lord.

The psalmist explained this by describing himself as lifting up his soul to the Lord. This denotes a surrender of oneself to Him – a complete trust in God that carried with it a confidence that he would not be ashamed.

Let us consider what this psalm teaches us about our need for the Lord and the three ways in which we are dependent upon what He provides.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: forgiveness, God, word of God

Andy Sochor November 9, 2020

Thankful (Part 3): Thankful for God’s Mercy

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

As Paul wrote to Timothy, he told of his own background as a persecutor of the church and how he considered himself as the “chief” of sinners (KJV). Yet he was able to be forgiven and become a part of the Lord’s work because of the mercy that was shown to him. He explained to Timothy that the Lord’s treatment of him is an example for all believers. As Paul received mercy, we also receive mercy from God. As Paul thanked the Lord for this, we are to be thankful for God’s mercy as well.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Thankful Tagged With: forgiveness, mercy, repentance, salvation, sin, thanksgiving

Andy Sochor June 3, 2020

Practicing the Golden Rule

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

Most people, religious or not, recognize the “golden rule” – do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is based upon Jesus’ statement in our text above. We know the statement, but how do we put it into practice? Let us consider a few thoughts.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: benevolence, forgiveness, love, peace, teaching

Andy Sochor April 22, 2020

Dr. Daniel Hook: Writing His Own Treatment

Dr. Daniel Hook (1795-1870) was instrumental in spreading the gospel in Georgia in the mid-nineteenth century. Though he is not as well-known to us today as men like Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, he helped direct people back to the “ancient order” as “one of the first persons to proclaim the Restoration plea in the Deep South.”

In addition to proclaiming the gospel, he also practiced medicine. The excerpt below describes what he did during the yellow fever epidemic in 1839 in helping others and in dealing with the illness personally.

“In the summer of 1839 a yellow fever epidemic scourged Augusta. Dr. Hook discovered it and remained in town with the stricken. After successfully treating more than 200 patients, and losing only two, he became ill. When he found the fever coming on himself, he sat down on the steps he was ascending to see a patient, and wrote out his own treatment, and directed his driver when he returned to his carriage, to give it to Dr. Johnson (who had adopted his treatment) and tell him to pursue it strictly. He was ill for several weeks, but finally recovered.” (Biographical Sketch on the Life of Dr. Daniel Hook)

Filed Under: Restoration History Tagged With: forgiveness, sin

Andy Sochor January 1, 2020

A Year of Jubilee

The start of a new year is seen by many as a time to restart – enact changes, make resolutions, set goals, and so on. Obviously, these things can be done any time of the year; but the start of a calendar year makes a natural break that can be used to spur us on to start anew in some way.

In the Law of Moses, there were instructions about a time to “restart” or begin again. It was the year of jubilee that occurred every fifty years.

“You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land.

“You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field” (Leviticus 25:8-12).

As we begin a new year, there are several lessons that are good for us to learn from this year of jubilee.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: blessings, family, forgiveness, inheritance, promises

Andy Sochor July 3, 2019

Obedient to That Form of Teaching

Romans 6 is a critical chapter in the New Testament. It discusses the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. It concisely explains why this difference exists and what happened in the life of a Christian to bring about this difference. This chapter can be summarized in the following two verses:

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

Paul was writing to Christians in Rome. Previously, they were “slaves of sin.” But at this time, they were “slaves of righteousness.” How did this change occur? They “became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which [they] were committed.”

To better understand what Paul was discussing, let us do a brief overview of this chapter.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: baptism, forgiveness, freedom, gospel, grace, Jesus, obedience, repentance, sin

Andy Sochor May 1, 2019

Good Things to Do When You’re Older

In a previous article, we discussed some good things to do when one is young. We focused on what young people are to do in order to enjoy life while also pleasing the Lord.

What if we are not young anymore? What responsibilities do we have when we are older?

This is not just about what we are to do when we are “old” (however we want to define that) or at the end of our lives (though it would certainly include that). This is a wide age range, from around 30 years old and up – old enough to influence young adults until death. What does the Bible say about what is good to do when we are older? We will notice six things.Continue Reading