October 1, 2006

The Purpose of Preaching

Man with Open Bible

From the beginning of the New Testament we read about preaching. First we see John the Baptist “preaching in the wilderness of Judea” (Matthew 3:1). A little while later “Jesus began to preach” (Matthew 4:17) and went “throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23). Jesus commanded His disciples on different occasions to go out and preach the gospel (Luke 9:1-6; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). Throughout the New Testament, this is what we see – the gospel being preached. Though men may see this as foolish, this is what God desires (1 Corinthians 1:18-21).

God designed preaching to accomplish certain things. Let us notice the purpose of preaching.
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May 1, 2006

The Tempting of Christ

Matthew 4:1-11 contains the account of Satan tempting Christ. When we talk about “tempting” or “temptation,” we need to realize that there are two different uses for these words in the Bible. The first refers to a testing – that which comes from without. An example of this is when the Israelites tested God in the wilderness: “Where your fathers tried Me [tempted me, KJV] by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years” (Hebrews 3:9; cf. Psalm 95:9). The second use denotes a desire for sin – that which comes from within. James talked about this type of temptation: “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (James 1:14). So not everything you are tempted with is a temptation to you. That is, not everything you are tested with produces or reflects a desire to sin on your part. The action of the one acting as the tempter is the same, but the difference is our desire or lack thereof. Failure to make a distinction between the two can lead to confusion.
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April 1, 2006

Must the Days of Genesis 1 Be Interpreted Literally?

Genesis

The first chapter of the Bible records the first miracle God performed – the creation of the universe. This was certainly a miracle because none of the events recorded in Genesis 1 would have happened naturally without the working of God. But the Bible does not just tell us that God created the universe, it tells us how He created everything: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made…For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:6, 9). This is exactly what we see in Genesis. God spoke everything into existence. “All that He had made” was finished on “the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31). “By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work which He had done” (Genesis 2:2).
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April 1, 2006

Positive Preaching

Sometimes we hear people describe a sermon preached as either “positive” or “negative.” The word of God does not use these terms to describe preaching. So to get an idea what these descriptors mean, we need to look to modern dictionaries. That which is positive is “marked by or indicating acceptance, approval, or affirmation” (Merriam-Webster). Conversely, “negative” would indicate “denial, prohibition, or refusal” (Merriam-Webster). Upon looking at these definitions, it is no wonder why people generally prefer “positive” preaching.
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March 1, 2006

Spiritual Warfare

At various times throughout the New Testament, our duty as Christians is compared to that of a soldier in battle. The Ephesians were told to “put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). The evangelist Timothy was told to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) and “suffer hardship…as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). Later, Paul said he had “fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7). As Christians, we are involved in this conflict here on earth.

This is a theme that is continuously emphasized in the New Testament. Another passage that speaks of this is found in Paul’s second letter to Corinth:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

For this article, we will focus on what this passage teaches us about the war in which we are engaged.
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March 1, 2006

Tradition in Worship

Hymn - Amazing Grace

Many of the things we do in worship are a matter of tradition. Some may be surprised by that admission. They read of “traditions” being condemned in the Bible and think that all traditions must be wrong. But the fact is, not all traditions are condemned by God in His word. In fact, some are even required.

There are basically three types of traditions. We will notice each to help us see what sort of traditions are right and which are wrong.
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March 1, 2006

Restoration Principles

King Josiah and the scroll

A movement began a couple hundred years ago in this country to try to restore New Testament Christianity. In this period, men discarded the creeds and churches of men to return to the pattern found in the New Testament. In 2 Kings 22, a similar restoration began. The goal was to return to the pattern found in the Law of Moses. The principles in this chapter show how faithful service to God can be restored and maintained. These principles were held by those who worked to restore New Testament Christianity in this country. The same principles can help us today to restore and maintain faithful service to God. Let us examine some lessons from the restoration of King Josiah’s day.
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