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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 […]
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 […]
The apostle Paul commenting on the perfect deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus wrote “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh…” (1 Tim. 3:16) W.E. Vine defines the word “mystery” as being “outside the range of unassisted natural comprehension and can only be made known by […]
“For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So, then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:10-12 Believers will not face the judgment […]
The wonderful effect of God’s grace is that a sinner can cry out to God for salvation and receive forgiveness of sins. But in salvation, God does more than just forgive. He saves people from their sins and begins the process of changing us from a sinner having a desire to sin to a saint […]
God is the sovereign Lord of the universe and the centrality of divine Lordship is a prominent theme in the Bible. Scripture reveals that God possesses absolute authority and rule as King. He is the living God, the eternal King. “But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God and the everlasting […]
In numerous verses, the Bible declares or assumes itself to be the Word of God. The fact that this Book claims to be the inspired Word of God cannot be denied. It is the constant claim of the New Testament and Old Testament writers, and of Christ Himself. Now, why is this an important subject? […]
It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 13:11 The prophets and the apostles preached the coming kingdom of God (Dan. 2:44, Acts 28:31). But it was Christ Jesus that revealed the mystery phase. 1. What is the Kingdom of God? “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done […]
Orthodox theologians have universally agreed that Jesus Christ never committed any sin. He was sinless, blameless, and holy. The sinlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ is an absolute necessity for the efficacy of His penal, substitutionary death and is a decisive proof of His deity. Any moral failure on the part of Christ would compromise […]
A person may be a citizen of a country and commit treason or in some way embarrass their nation on the world stage. This type of activity may result in punishment but one does not cease to be a citizen of their own country. In the same way, our children may rebel against our authority, […]
Speaking Gifts In the last issue we considered the temporary sign or foundational gifts. Let us now consider the speaking gifts beginning with prophecy (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28; Eph. 4:11). In the early church some received direct revelation through the Spirit and conveyed it to other believers (Acts 11:27-28; 21:11). On some of […]
It is customary for some couples in North America to bring a gift, such as chocolates, flowers, or dessert when invited to someone’s home for dinner. Similarly, when the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us at the time of our new birth (1 Cor. 6:19-20), He comes with a gift. Freely given by God’s grace […]
The Work of the Holy Spirit TodayHe Gives the Believer Gifts (1 Cor. 12:7-11; Rom. 12:3-8; Eph. 4:3-13; 1 Pet. 4:7-11) The Holy Spirit gives every believer something to do. He distributes spiritual gifts so each believer can be involved in building up, binding up, and beautifying the body of Christ. Some gifts were only […]
The Work of the Holy Spirit Today From the first chapter of Genesis (Gen. 1:2), to the final chapter of Revelation (Rev. 22:17), we read about the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. He is described as a Person, having intelligence (Isa. 11:2; 1 Cor. 2:10-11), emotions (Isa. 63:10; Eph 4:30), and a will […]
Its Importance The importance of the Lord’s Supper is established by the very fact that it was instituted by the Lord Himself. It was His personal request that we remember Him in this way. It is also the only New Testament church ordinance reaffirmed in Scripture by a glorified Lord (1 Cor. 11:23). Paul told […]