Sometimes a passage of Scripture is misused so much that, when we do study it, we see only how to answer the false teaching and we miss the beauty of the passage. Ephesians 1:4-5 is one example. The text does NOT teach unconditional election or a predestination of select ones to be saved and select ones to be damned. That would contradict the rest of…

In order to prove a point, win an argument, silence opposition or appear intellectually superior, many today are claiming that, in our post-truth era, it is incomprehensible and intolerable to speak of a definite “right or wrong,” “truth or error,” “black or white.” Everything today is relative, and seemingly growing more and more relative. The biggest problem with that is that the Bible…

Paul used the word “mirror” twice in his writings. Can you think of where those are? First, he taught that before the New Testament was completed and while the early Christians were relying on prophets and inspired men to teach them God’s will, those Christians were actually only able to “see in a mirror, dimly” (1 Cor. 13:12), for they did not have the…

Paul was dealing with matters pertaining to the church and especially to the assemblies of the church in First Corinthians chapters twelve through fourteen, but there are some principles therein that we must apply in other parts of our lives. Paul begins “The Love Chapter” (1 Cor. 13) by emphasizing the absolute necessity of agape love. Think about this for a moment. In verse…

Stephen stood before the 71 members of the Jewish Sanhedrin, after having lies stirred up about his preaching (Acts 6:10-14). Upon hearing Stephen’s sharply pointed sermon directed at them, these Jewish supreme court justices “cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him” (6:57-58). The next…

Has someone ever asked you why you are part of the church that you are? There are surely many reasons that someone could offer (and often, very personal reasons) to that kind of question, but can I ask you to think about something? If someone asked you the reason you are part of your church, could you answer, “Because it’s the one you read…

Jesus and the apostle Peter had a necessary and even therapeutic conversation in John 21. Peter had vehemently denied Jesus three times while his Savior and Friend stood on trial. So, in this conversation, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” (21:15-17). Much is often made about the fact that Jesus used two different Greek words in asking Peter of his love. However, let’s…

After a night of anguish, mockery, lies, beatings and fake trials, Jesus was sentenced to execution by crucifixion by the spineless governor Pilate at 6:00 a.m. (John 19:14). He bore His cross to travel from the Praetorium to Golgotha (John 19:17). Apparently, the weight of the cross was too much for His battered, weakened and anemic body to bear, so they laid the cross…