May 7, 2007

The Free Gift of God

Gift

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Many use this verse to show that we are saved by the grace of God and that there is nothing we can do to affect our salvation. In other words, works (acts of obedience) are not necessary for salvation. We all recognize the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), so it is true that all are deserving of spiritual death. But those who say grace is unconditional try to say that those who believe grace is conditional also believe they can earn their salvation.
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May 1, 2007

Romans 14

The “grace-unity” doctrine is one of the biggest dangers facing the church today. It is sometimes called “unity-in-diversity.” It is the old denominational concept that we can each have our own understanding of the Bible and we cannot say that one is right and the other is wrong. Sin and error can be overlooked because of spiritual weakness and differences of understanding. This idea is popular among the religious world. As time goes on, its popularity is increasing in the Lord’s church.

Romans 14 is often used to try to defend the concept of unity-in-diversity. Because of the sharp disagreements that exist, I believe many brethren think that Romans 14 is a difficult passage to understand. It may be true that it is not as simple as some passages (i.e. Mark 16:16), but we certainly can understand what Romans 14 is teaching. I hope this article will help make it a little clearer.
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January 15, 2007

“A Good Work” – Really?

[This article was written by Tim Haile]

Religious people often attempt to authorize their religious practices and programs by labeling them “good works.” This label is too often attached, not upon the basis of Bible authority, but upon the basis of human preference and of the end justifying the means. These folks reason that if some good is accomplished by their action, then God must be pleased with it. Of course, this is human reasoning, and it arrogantly assumes that man’s approval of a thing makes it approved also by God! Jesus taught the danger of this reasoning in Matthew 7:22-23. He said that “many” will stand before Him in the day of judgment and claim justification on the basis that they had performed “many wonderful works.” The modern day my-work-is-a-”good-work” crowd might assume that such people will most certainly be admitted into Heaven, but not so! Jesus said that He is going to tell these people to “depart from” Him, for He “never knew” them! What had they done that was so wrong that they will be barred from Heaven? They had worked “iniquity” (lawlessness) (Matthew 7:23). Though their works were esteemed as “wonderful” by them, they were not so esteemed by God. Jesus classified these so-called “wonderful works” as acts of rebellion against God. It is sinful to invent “good works” and perform them “in the name of” Christ.
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January 1, 2007

The Priesthood of Christ

The writer of the book of Hebrews repeatedly spoke of things under the law of Christ as being better than those under the Law of Moses. With Christ, we have a better hope (Hebrews 6:19-20; 7:19), better covenant (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6), better promises (Hebrews 8:6), and a better sacrifice (Hebrews 9:23-28). The writer told his audience, “Consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession” (Hebrews 3:1). The role of the high priest was to offer sacrifices for sins (Hebrews 5:1) and be an intercessor between God and man (Hebrews 7:24-25). The nature of Christ’s priesthood is one of the things that is better under the new law. Let us consider the priesthood of Christ.
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January 1, 2007

Constants in a Changing World

River

This world is full of constant change. Many things come and go, whether they are people, cultures, governments, trends, or fashions. Yet the writer of Ecclesiastes noted, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The changes we see are just perpetual cycles that exist in this world. But in the midst of the changes we face in this life, there are certain fundamental truths that will always remain constant.
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October 1, 2006

A Brief Review of Calvinism

We are not to believe everything we hear. John warned, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). We test the spirits (teachers and their teaching) by the inspired, infallible word of God (2 Timothy 3:16; John 17:17; Psalm 119:160).

Some of the most common doctrines in the denominational world fall under the heading of Calvinism. Calvinism simply refers to the doctrines and teachings of John Calvin and his followers. Calvin was a theologian from the 1500′s who greatly influenced the Reformation movement. He was a brilliant man, but brilliance does not always translate into faithfulness to God or one accurately handling His word (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26-27). These doctrines are accepted by many, but are not taught in the word of God.
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September 1, 2006

Whose Place Did Jesus Take on the Cross?

Crosses

Jesus’ death on the cross is part of the foundation of our faith. Yet for an event so important and familiar, many have misconceptions about it. One common misconception is the idea that Jesus died in our place or in our stead. We sometimes hear the terminology that calls this sacrifice the vicarious death of Christ. Vicarious simply means a substitute. This is the idea that many have – Jesus died in our place as a substitute for us.

Let us notice a common illustration that is used to emphasize the presumed vicarious nature of Christ’s sacrifice. [I say this is a common illustration because I have personally heard it, or something very close to it, used on multiple occasions by gospel preachers from the pulpit.] The illustration goes something like this: You are a defendant in a court of law and, being found guilty, are sentenced to pay some outrageous fine that you could never be able to pay. Since you cannot pay, you are going to be sent to prison. Then someone you do not know steps forward and agrees to pay the debt for you. He takes your place. It is as if he was the one who committed the offense because the punishment for your offense fell on him. Your debt is transferred to and paid by him. As a result, you are free.

The parable described above is used to depict Jesus as one who willingly took our place and acted as a substitute for us. The punishment we were due for our sin, He endured. We are thus free from the penalty for sin. This is a heart-warming metaphor. But as we shall see, it is not Biblical.
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