“But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:31 First Corinthians was written to believers in the brazenly corrupt city of Corinth. All manner of evil prevailed in ancient...
Foundations of the Faith
Believers’ Baptism
This article looks at the significance of baptism for those who have trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. There are several baptisms in Scripture, among others John’s baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There are specific characteristics related to each...
The Union of Two Natures in Christ
The wonder that God was manifested in the flesh! The Scriptures affirm that Christ is the eternal Son of God, an equal member of the Godhead (John 1:1; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). The Bible also teaches that the Father sent the eternal Son into time, with Christ taking upon...
If the Foundations be Destroyed…?
The foundation for a well-functioning society was established by God in Genesis 1. In the beginning of our Bibles, we find answers to important questions such as: What is life? What is the origin of life? What is gender? What is marriage? What is work? Clearly, the...
The Autonomy of the Local Assembly: Independent Yet Interdependent
The New Testament is the only sufficient and authoritative constitution of the church. An understanding of New Testament ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church) will disclose the autonomous and independent nature of the local church. To be autonomous is to be...
The Head Covering – 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
I was not raised in a church that practiced head covering. I had been taught it was cultural but felt uncomfortable with this reasoning. Where do you stop with that kind of thinking? I personally decided to study the topic of Headship and became convinced of its...
Present Service and Eternal Rewards
The subject of crowns and rewards for the Christian is not a salvation doctrine. Salvation is a gift according to Ephesians 2:8-9 and other scriptures: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of...
Great White Throne Judgment
Someone once said, “The book of Revelation is not hard to understand—it is hard to believe!” What they meant by the words “hard to believe” could be open to interpretation, but one thing is for sure: Revelation is trustworthy because the author is Jesus...
The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ
It has been my privilege to be part of an international group studying the Scriptures by Zoom. Just recently, we began a study of the Gospel of Matthew. What a blessing this has been! In the opening verses of chapter 1, we have the genealogy of Jesus Christ, which...
Jesus Christ – God and Man in One Person
Jesus of Nazareth is the unique, one-of-a kind Person in all of history. Having witnessed His miraculous calming of the sea, His disciples asked in wonder and amazement, “What kind of a man is this?” (Matt.8:27). Jesus clearly and directly claimed to be God when He...
Support for the Servants of the Lord
Since the time of the early Church, saints have had difficulty being alert to participating in the work of the Lord and supporting His workers. Paul says that only the Philippian assembly gave financially to provide for his practical needs as he went forward with the...
Foundations of the Faith: The Holiness of God
All of the attributes of God taken together tell us who He is. They are all there in perfection and in harmony with each other. However, there is something different, not more important but different, about His holiness: Holiness is the only attribute of God that is...
Foundations of the Faith: The Goodness of God
The Lords response to the rich young ruler who came to Him was, “There is none good but One, that is, God” (Matt. 19:17). The word He uses signifies moral quality, good in contrast with evil. It is sometimes said of people: for example, Joseph of Arimathea (Luke...
The Church as a Fortress
When Naomi and I were engaged to be married, a brother in Christ offered us this advice: “The world will work relentlessly to separate you.” This warning alerted my wife and me to our need for constant maintenance of our relationship. Since the Scriptures use marriage...
A Pattern to Follow
The purpose of all patterns and types in Scripture is to declare the glory of God through metaphoric form. The pattern of order for the Church to follow is for this purpose—it declares God’s wisdom and grace in the Church (Eph. 3:9-11). God is presently using the...
Reception into Local Assembly Fellowship
The universal body of Christ provides immediate “membership” to believers in Christ (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 4:3-4). This world-wide universal body of Christ is composed of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. The local church assembly needs not to offer...
Foundations of the Faith: Keeping the Unity of the Spirit
Perhaps the most serious consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic is the impact on the church. Almost every local church has experienced some degree of division over differing opinions and reactions. This is regrettable to say the least, particularly in light of Paul’s...
The Christian and the Mosaic Law
Dating back to the early church, believers have questioned their relationship to the Mosaic Law (Acts 15:1-31, Gal. 2:1-21). While Bible believing Christians would agree that the Law cannot save them, some still believe that we must follow the Ten Commandments as our...
Foundations of the Faith
The Lord’s Table and the Lord’s Supper These two phrases are often used interchangeably in assembly circles. This begs the question, are they both referring to the same thing? Do we gather on a Sunday at the Lord’s Table to observe the Lord’s Supper or is there a distinction? Context A proper interpretation of any […]
Foundations of the Faith
The Christian’s Security and Assurance in Christ That “Salvation is of the Lord” is a good thing, for if man had any part in it, it would be inherently unstable (John 2:9). If being saved were a cooperative effort between humans and God, then our moral frailty would engender eternal insecurity within us. Thankfully, well-known […]