October 6, 2011

How God Is Able to Establish You

Bible

As Paul concluded his epistle to the Romans, he praised God for His ability to establish them (Romans 16:25-27). This means He was able to make them strong, complete, and equipped to follow Him and to face the trials that exist in this life. Is God able to establish us today? If so, how?

Earlier in this letter, Paul expressed a desire to come to them in Rome: “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established” (Romans 1:11). What were these spiritual gifts that Paul would impart to them in order to establish them? These miraculous gifts of the Spirit are enumerated in the first letter to Corinth and included such gifts as knowledge, prophecy, and the ability to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). Do we need to have some miraculous spiritual gift in order to be established today? If so, we are in trouble because Paul later said that such miraculous spiritual gifts would be “done away” and replaced with the completed revelation in the word of God (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). This is what we need in order to be established today – the word of God. In our text, Paul described the word in several different ways, showing how it is able to establish us.
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June 14, 2011

Do Not Go Back to the Old Law

Many professed Christians try to go back to the old law to determine what God requires of them today or to justify practices for which they can find no authority in the New Testament. Despite the fact that the Old Testament contains prophecy telling of a “new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and the New Testament tells us the old law was “nailed…to the cross” (Colossians 2:14), many will blur the lines between the two laws; but this is dangerous. Let us notice a few reasons why.
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May 4, 2011

“I Will Build My Church”

Matthew 16:18

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it’” (Matthew 16:16-18).

One of the more significant statements in the revelation of God’s plan was Jesus’ promise to His apostles, “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). Let us break down this statement and see what Jesus is teaching here.
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December 23, 2010

Why Was Jesus Born?

Nativity Scene

At this time of year, much of the religious world is focused on the birth of Jesus. Yet do we understand why He was born? Jesus is eternal (John 1:1-2) and is the all-powerful Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17). What purpose did it serve to have Deity come to earth to dwell in bodily form (Colossians 2:9)?
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October 25, 2010

What the Cross Represents

Cross

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is the focal point of the Bible (1 Corinthians 15:3). All that came before pointed to the cross. All that followed looked back to the cross. It is important that we see the cross as more than just an icon and understand what it truly represents.
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October 3, 2010

The Value of the Old Testament

Bible reading

At the first of the year, I started a Bible reading plan that would take me through the Bible in one year. There are several different reading plans people use to read through the Bible. Some sort the books by chronological order. Others arrange the schedule so that one reads a portion of both the Old and New Testaments each day. The plan I followed this year went through the books of the Bible in the order they appear. I have been able to keep up with the schedule (though there were times I was playing catch-up) and am currently up to date with the readings.

On October 1, I finished the book of Malachi. That means it took just over nine months to finish the Old Testament.

This served as a simple reminder that we cannot ignore the Old Testament Scriptures. Yes, we are under a new law (Hebrews 8:8-10) and the old law was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). But that does not mean the Old Testament is worthless to us today.
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August 9, 2010

Three Branches of Government

Three Branches of Government

The U.S. Constitution specifies three separate branches that make up our government: legislative, executive, and judicial. These branches of government are not unique to the United States. Every government will carry out these functions in one way or another.

When it comes to the rule of God, His government performs the same legislative, executive, and judicial functions. Isaiah wrote, “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us” (Isaiah 33:22). We live under a different covenant today than the Israelites did at the time of this writing. They were part of God’s kingdom in the nation of Israel. We are part of Christ’s kingdom today in the church. But even today, when we examine the rule of Christ, we see that Jesus completely and sufficiently carries out the role of each branch of government in His kingdom.
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