The biggest sporting event of the year – the Super Bowl – will kickoff this Sunday evening. The televised game garners much attention, even from those who are not sports fans. Super Bowl parties, large and small, will be held in every part of the country.
Many congregations typically have regular assemblies scheduled during this time. As Christians, what are we to do? We have several options, though not all are equal in merit. Let us examine these in light of the Scriptures.
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The presence of false teachers in the world is a reality that we cannot ignore. Peter warned, “There will also be false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1). These were ones who taught “a different gospel,” which Paul explained “is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).
But how is this done? A false teacher does not come in, take away your Bible, and replace it with one that has different content which supports his error. He also does not refrain from citing or quoting Bible passages. Yet he teaches error. How? As Paul said, the false teacher must distort the gospel. He uses a Bible in proclaiming his error. This should not surprise us. Satan even quoted Scripture in tempting Jesus (Matthew 4:5-6). We need to understand how this is done so we will be better prepared to identify, expose, and combat error.
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A small church in Gainesville, Florida has caused no small disturbance with their plan to host a Quran burning this Saturday to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Terry Jones, the leader of this church, has been urged by Muslims, religious leaders, and government officials to cancel the event for fear of violence that could erupt. The latest news, at the time of this writing, is that the event has been cancelled, but that Jones could still change his mind. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, happens.
But what about this? Is this something a church ought to be doing? Jones and his church are well within their legal and Constitutional rights to burn copies of the Quran (assuming they are their own personal copies and not stolen). But that’s not what we’re going to discuss here. Instead, we want to consider whether or not a Christian should burn copies of the Quran as this church had planned to do.
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One of the fundamental responsibilities that a man has is to “provide for his own,” or else “he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Those who preach the gospel are certainly not exempt from this responsibility. But how is a preacher to make a living?
Paul explained to the brethren in Corinth that God has a plan for preachers to earn an income: “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). This is God’s design – a man devotes his life to proclaiming the gospel and he receives support for his labor. But how does he receive this support? In the New Testament we read of three different ways in which a man can receive support for his work of preaching.
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There is a sharp divide in the religious world over the subject of baptism. Some, including myself, teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. Many others teach that one can be saved before or without water baptism.
Paul made an interesting statement in his first letter to the church at Corinth. Considered independently from the immediate context and the rest of the New Testament, it could easily be used to argue that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Notice what he told the brethren:
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void” (1 Corinthians 1:17).
Paul said he was not sent to baptize. From that, are we to conclude that baptism is not a prerequisite to salvation? Before we jump to that conclusion, let us take a closer look at what the Scriptures teach.
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Although David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), he did make mistakes. The one that usually comes to our mind first was his sin with Bathsheba. But he later committed an offense so severe that the Lord sent a pestilence which killed 70,000 people (2 Samuel 24:15). What was his sin? He took a census of the people.
Satan was the one who influenced David to do this (1 Chronicles 21:1). But what was it about numbering the people that was so wrong. Why was it that David’s counting of the people constituted a victory for Satan?
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Paul gave the young evangelist Timothy this charge: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). Why was it so important for Timothy to do this? Paul continued: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Apostasy was coming. At some point, those who were once receptive to the pure, unadulterated gospel would want something different. How does such a change happen? It certainly does not happen overnight. There is a progression that takes place that leads Christians away from sound doctrine and into false teaching.
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What does “propitiation” mean? How is “justification” connected to salvation? What does “sanctification” look like in our day-to-day lives? The Bible uses some powerful words to describe God’s plan to save mankind. However, these words are not always easy to understand, especially when they are not part of our everyday vocabulary. This book explores key Bible terms that unlock the message of the gospel.
Big Words in the Bible examines five important words – Propitiation, Reconciliation, Sanctification, Justification, and Resurrection – using plain language to see how the Scriptures describe these concepts and how the apostle Paul employs them in his letter to the Romans. This book also contains an appendix with eleven additional articles to explore these topics further.
Whether you are new to the Bible and want to grow in your understanding or want a simple way to explain these core gospel doctrines to others, this book will be helpful. With a focus on the Scriptures, Big Words in the Bible helps break down these fundamental topics to shed light on the life-changing message of the gospel and the salvation found in it.
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