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 9, 2010
Choose Life
February 11, 2010
Four Contributors to Our Salvation
Peter wrote his first epistle to Christians that were scattered throughout Asia Minor. He addressed them as ones who were “chosen” (1 Peter 1:1). For what were they chosen? Salvation. They were “born again to a living hope” in order to “obtain an inheritance […] reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:3-4). They were waiting “for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).
How had these individuals been chosen? Peter said it was “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood” (1 Peter 1:2). Here the apostle mentioned four contributors that make salvation possible for us:
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January 25, 2010
Crucified with Christ
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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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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November 3, 2009
Keywords in the Prophecy of the Coming Kingdom
Isaiah prophesied of a kingdom that was to come “in the last days” – the age that was ushered in following the coming of Christ into the world (cf. Hebrews 1:2). There are several keywords in this prophecy that we must understand if we are to appreciate what the passage teaches.
“Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all nations will stream to it.
“And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
“And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Isaiah 2:2-4).
Let us briefly consider each of these key terms:
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October 20, 2009
The Fourfold Foundation of the Gospel
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
As Paul wrote to the brethren in Corinth, he reminded them of the fundamental truths in the gospel upon which everything else was built. In the verses above, the apostle mentioned four facts that are “of first importance” to God’s saving message.
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October 8, 2009
Noah Found Favor in the Eyes of the Lord
In Genesis 3, we read about sin being introduced into the world. Just three chapters later, the sins of man had progressed and compounded to such a point that “the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). It is because of this great wickedness that God decided to destroy mankind (Genesis 6:6-7).
In the next chapter, God sent a flood which destroyed nearly all of mankind (Genesis 7:23). But Noah and his household were spared. “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). We read a few things about Noah before, during, and after the events of the flood that show how he was different from the others who perished and why he found favor with God and was saved.
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