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The Result of Blood Atonement
The one who understands and appreciates blood atonement, the one who has obeyed the gospel, the one who has been crucified with Christ is the one who can live the “Christ-life.” The Christ-life is a life of freedom from the guilt of sin: if there are sins in our life which are unrepented and unforgiven, guilt will follow. Freedom from sin and its guilt belongs to the one who has availed himself of blood atonement. Our sins are forgiven by…
The Resurrection unto Life
Some day all Christians will follow the glory of Christ and share in His triumph in raising from the dead. Jesus Christ, by His resurrection from the dead, has made death to us but an incident in a never-ending life. As Paul wrote: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through…
How To Have Unity
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…
Law and its Necessity
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…
“How Should We Judge Others”
“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…
The Heart
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…
Become Slow to Anger
Solomon said, “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention” (Proverbs 15:18). We need to become people that are slow to anger. How do we do this? Realize the need to be slow to anger. If we do not see the purpose of being slow to anger, then we will not ever change. We will continue to act with uncontrolled anger and will not change. But we need to see the effect anger…
Humility
A little humility can turn a frown into a smile; a lot of humility can turn an enemy into a friend. The Bible teaches these truths. Paul wrote of Jesus, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). What happened at the cross? Enemies were made friends. “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death…
Be strong and of good courage
As Moses neared the end of his life, he told the children of Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, because God is with you.” Then he said the same thing to Joshua, who would be his successor as the leader of God’s people. “Be strong and of good courage, because God is with you.” When God spoke to Joshua after Moses’ death, the Almighty repeated the same thought three times to his new mouthpiece: “Be strong and of good…
Make a Difference
Regardless of season or the state of the economy, it seems people are always in need physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, and mentally. Some may see this as a challenge. The church should view these obstacles as opportunities to demonstrate benevolence. Benevolence is not just a term used to describe the act of giving someone food, shelter, or money. The noun definition of benevolence is a desire to do good to others. “Doing good” to others may be shaped differently depending…
What’s your Plan?
Parents often tell their children to plan ahead, and they try to encourage them. You often see adults asking children what they want to be when they grow up. In business, it is understood that goals and a vision need to be written down with a plan of action. As the old saying goes, if you don’t write it down, you don’t have a goal, only a dream. What about your soul? Do you continually keep God in the front…
Kindness
Expressing kindness is such a little thing, yet it means so much. An anonymous writer has well said: “The ministry of kindness is a ministry which may be achieved by all men, rich and poor, learned and illiterate. Brilliance of mind and capacity for deep thinking have rendered great service to humanity, but by themselves they are impotent to dry a tear or mend a broken heart.” Despite his busy schedule during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln often visited the…
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