October 7, 2026

Trusting in Christ for Our Salvation

Baptism

Ask nearly any professed Christian, and they will affirm that one needs to put their trust in Christ in order to be saved. But what exactly does that mean? Interestingly, the New Testament does not use that phrase (trust/trusting in Christ) in reference to salvation, but the concept is certainly there. However, we need to be very careful how we understand and explain this. Just because the New Testament teaches the concept that we must trust in Christ for salvation does not mean that every claim people make about what this means is valid. We want to understand what the Bible – particularly the New Testament – teaches about this. So let us consider it now.Continue Reading

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May 6, 2026

Motivations to Become a Christian

Woman Being BaptizedIt is a thrilling thing to witness someone respond to the invitation at the end of a sermon, make their way to the front of the auditorium, confess their faith in Christ, and then be baptized to have their sins washed away. Of course, this is not the only setting in which one could obey the gospel. Baptisms can occur in bathtubs, swimming pools, rivers, and anywhere else there is sufficient water for someone to be “buried with [Christ] in baptism” (Colossians 2:12) after they made the decision to become a Christian.

But why do people decide to become Christians? What motivates them to obey the gospel? We will briefly consider some possibilities in this article. However, we first need to understand what it means to obey the gospel.Continue Reading

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February 4, 2026

Build on the Rock

House in a TsunamiJesus concluded His sermon on the mount with an illustration of two men who each built a house. While they shared some similarities, there was a key difference between the two, which led to very different outcomes. There are some important lessons we need to learn from this.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27).

First, let us notice what the two men had in common:Continue Reading

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January 7, 2026

Salvation: Past, Present, and Future

BaptismFor many religious people, when they talk about salvation, they talk about “getting” saved. It is common to hear phrases like these:

  • When did you get saved?
  • I got saved when I was fifteen years old.
  • Several people were getting saved at the revival.

However, despite how frequently we hear phrases like those in conversations with religious people, the Bible never talks about salvation in this way. Instead, the New Testament refers to people being saved.

This is significant because it emphasizes our dependence upon God for our salvation. Salvation is not something we “get” on our own. Instead, we are dependent upon God to save us. Even when there are conditions we must meet (which we will discuss), we are relying upon God to save us. Therefore, the New Testament talks about being saved (passive, something that is done for us) rather than getting saved (active, something we do or obtain for ourselves).

In fact, the New Testament describes aspects of our salvation (being saved) that relate to the past, present, and future. Let us consider a few different passages.Continue Reading

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December 8, 2025

Add to Your Faith (Part 6): Add Godliness

Add to Your Faith

As we have discussed the qualities we are to possess as Christians, we have emphasized the fact that faith is the starting point. All of the characteristics must be based upon faith; otherwise, these traits will be manifested in ways that are contrary to God’s will. Whether or not this matters to us will depend on our attitude toward God, which is the point of the next characteristic in Peter’s list – godliness.

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

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August 6, 2025

Steps to Achieving Righteousness

Walking Up Stairs

The book of James is filled with practical instructions for our lives as Christians. In the following passage, James discussed, in practical terms, how to be righteous.

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:19-22).

Our aim is to “achieve the righteousness of God.” How do we do that? James outlined four steps we can take to reach this goal.Continue Reading

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May 7, 2025

How to Please God

Man reading the Bible

It is reasonable to assume that all those who believe in God, understand who He is, and recognize all that He has done for us will want to please Him in the things that they do. But how do we live in such a way as to please God?

Paul wrote to the brethren in Ephesus about “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10). If this is something we are “trying to learn,” then that tells us two things:

  1. It is not something we instinctively know. The prophet Jeremiah said, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).
  2. God is not pleased with just anything we might do for Him. Jesus spoke of those who would claim to do many things “in [His] name” but were rejected by Him because they were practicing “lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22).

If we are going to please God, we need to learn how to please Him and be sure we are learning the proper way to do it. Since we cannot look to ourselves (or other men) to determine this, we need to look to God Himself and the word He has revealed to us. Paul wrote, “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11). Just as you and I do not know what the other is thinking unless we tell each other, we cannot know the mind of God unless He tells us. Thankfully, He has revealed the Scriptures to us so that we may be “equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). In other words, everything we need to know to please the Lord can be learned through a study of the Scriptures.

So what do the Scriptures teach about what we must do to please the Lord? Let us consider a few points:Continue Reading

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