It frustrates me when people talk about “the God of the Old Testament was vengeful, but the God of the New Testament was loving.” They don’t know God! It angers me when people say that “God only wants to send people to hell.” They don’t know God! It riles me when people claim that “God was just looking for people to make…
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Posts by David Sproule (Page 4)
There is very little known about Demas in the New Testament. We know that he was a Christian, who spent time with Paul in Rome, while Paul was imprisoned there for the first time (Col. 4:14; Phile. 24). But by the time Paul was imprisoned in Rome the second time (about 5-8 years later), something had changed in Demas’ life. He had lost his first…
Kids! They know how to make excuses, don’t they! Whew! When they don’t want to do something, they can come up with “the best reasons” to explain their inactivity. “My foot hurts.” “I need to go to the bathroom.” “I’m tired.” As adults, we can see right through their excuses to just how pitiful their efforts to avoid action really are. It makes me wonder. If we can see right…
When it comes to matters of judgment in the church and the Christian life, perhaps there is room for someone to say, “I think this is ok” or “I think that is ok.” For example, what time should the church meet to worship on the first day of the week? If a congregation has Bible classes on Sunday, should they be before…
We use terminology like “falling in love” or “falling out of love,” but what is “love”? We use that word in a variety of ways today, but the Bible explains it very clearly. Do you “love” someone? Here’s how it will be known. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells Christians to “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2). What a way to say that! Make your way of life, how…
There are some highfalutin names that folks use for men who publicly proclaim the Bible today. Some are called “Father So-And-So” or “Pastor So-And-So” or even “Reverend So-And-So.” When you read through the New Testament, did you ever read anything like that? Can you imagine Paul addressing a letter to “Reverend Timothy”? Timothy’s name is found about 24 times in the New Testament. This man, who…
Reasons abound for knowing and loving the book of Acts. The list could go on and on. We have seen that from the book of Acts we can learn about (1) how to become a Christian, (2) the power of the gospel (3) the establishment of the church, and (4) the importance and urgency of evangelism. Let’s add only one more. We…
Don’t you like it when things are made easy for you? We love meals that are “made easy” or tax filings that are “made easy” or online purchases that are “made easy.” What about when activities in a Christian’s life are made easy? A present tense (signifying ongoing activity) imperative verb (indicating a command of God) is recorded in James 5:16 – “Pray for…