What should be the basis of unity? Will just any unity suffice? Jesus prayed to God for unity of His followers by saying “that they all might be one” (John 17:21). How are we to be one? In His same prayer Jesus gives the basis for unity by saying “Sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth” (John 17:17). Unity can only be based on God’s word of truth as found only in the Bible. The problem in today’s…
The New Testament confirms the importance of comprehending our own sinfulness. In the book of Romans, Paul spends three chapters (Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2; Romans 3) declaring the sinfulness of all men (Romans 3:23) before thoroughly discussing the way of salvation. Law is essentially a “tutor” (Gal. 3:24) of the receptive heart, given to teach the utter need for God’s saving grace (Ephesians 2:1-8). Without law and its penalty (1 John 3:4; Romans 6:23), grace is meaningless. And without man’s…
“Jesus said not to judge others,” didn’t He? We are often reminded of this because in today’s culture, one thing is made very clear: we aren’t supposed to judge anyone! Of course, sometimes what’s missed here is that those who say this are, in fact, being quite judgmental against those whom they are rebuking. This type of irony is common. Jesus did not say, “Do not judge” (period). He warned about making bad judgments, not about making any judgments. To…
Christianity is a religion of the heart. This does not mean that Christianity is without commands, laws, or divine expectations. What does it mean? It means that it is up to the individual to practice it personally. That is, no one, other than the individual, is going to enforce it. In Hebrews 8:10, we read, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws…