January 3, 2024

Renewed Day by Day

Sunrise

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Many see the start of a new year as a time of renewal – an opportunity to change the direction of their lives, to improve themselves in some way, and so on. The basic idea of this is good. However, as with all things, we need to think about it Biblically.

There are a few passages in the New Testament that talk about being renewed. When it is mentioned in the Bible, it is not tied to a certain day on the calendar. It is also not about just anything that might be new in our lives (new job, diet, exercise routine, etc.). Instead, the renewal discussed in the New Testament is always about improving our spiritual lives.

In this article, we will consider what the New Testament says about renewal – when it happens, what it means, and what the result of it is in our lives.Continue Reading

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November 1, 2023

Sowing and Reaping

Sowing

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

God created this world, which operates according to the rules He has established. This was part of the foundation of His promise to Noah after the flood: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). Each of these represented a natural cycle that God established in His creation. Yet one of these cycles – “seedtime and harvest” – referred to more than just a period of time. Harvest indeed follows seedtime or sowing. Yet the outcome of the harvest would depend – at least in part – on what was planted, when it was done, and how it was conducted.

This idea is universally familiar to us. Even if we do not engage in the work of farming, we understand this principle. So this illustration of sowing and reaping is used throughout the Bible to discuss more than just agriculture. We will notice a few passages that teach us about sowing and reaping to see what we are to do, what we are to avoid, and what the consequences are of our choices.Continue Reading

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January 4, 2023

Pressing On Toward the Goal

Mountain Path

At the start of the new year, we focus a lot on goals we want to reach in the future. We may set goals regarding our health, work, or relationships. All of these may be good, but we need to make sure we never lose sight of what should be our primary goal. In writing about his goal to “attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:11), Paul said this:

“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

In these verses, Paul described three things that he was doing and that we also need to do as Christians. Let us consider them here.Continue Reading

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November 2, 2022

An Unknown but Knowable God

Paul preaching in Athens

When Paul was in Athens, Luke recorded that “his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols” (Acts 17:16). This prompted him to teach “in the synagogue” and “in the market place every day with those who happened to be present” (Acts 17:17). His message piqued the interest of the philosophers who brought him to the Areopagus so they could hear more about the “strange things” (Acts 17:20) he was teaching.

Though the people of the city were “very religious” (Acts 17:22), the God of heaven was “unknown” (Acts 17:23) to them. So Paul proceeded to teach them about the one true God.

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are His children.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man” (Acts 17:24-29).

We encounter many today who are like the Athenians. They simply do not know God. How can we begin to teach them? Consider what Paul explained on this occasion to these pagan philosophers.Continue Reading

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October 31, 2022

Answering Basic Questions (Part 7): What Is the Plan of Salvation?

Answering Basic Questions

Jesus came to earth and died on the cross in order to make salvation possible. But how can we take advantage of His sacrifice and be saved? The New Testament shows how this can be done.

So what is the plan of salvation? Let us consider four points in this article.Continue Reading

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October 20, 2021

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

From time to time we sing the song, “O Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The second verse begins with the phrase, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’ve come.” This term (Ebenezer) is not one we use today, yet it is important for us to understand the words we sing. Paul said we are to “sing with the spirit, and…with the understanding also” (1 Corinthians 14:15, KJV).

In this article, we are going to look at the story in the Old Testament about the Ebenezer. This was a stone set up to remind the Israelites of an important lesson. As we look at this, we will see some lessons for us as well.Continue Reading

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January 20, 2021

Practicing Church Discipline

Empty pews

Church discipline is often not a pleasant topic to discuss and is even more difficult to practice. Because of this, some congregations hardly discuss it at all. Then when a situation arises that requires it, they are either unsure how to proceed or they ignore it altogether and hope the problem simply goes away.

However, while church discipline is often difficult and painful to practice, there are times when it is absolutely necessary. Furthermore, the Scriptures show us that when it is done for the right reason and in the right way, it is actually for the good of the congregation and of the one from whom the church withdrew fellowship.

In this article, we are going to consider several passages in the New Testament that talk about this topic; but we will use Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 5 as the outline for our study.Continue Reading

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