Church Blog (Page 14)

I am what some call a cessationist. That is, I believe the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit ended in the days shortly following the close of the New Testament. I believe the Bible makes that teaching clear in passages like 1 Corinthians 13:8-11, Ephesians 4:7-16, and 2 Timothy 3:16-17. I believe it because of the Bible’s testimony as to how the miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit was administered in New Testament times as seen in Acts 8:16-19, Acts…

“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Concerning the branches, the primary thing that one should understand in his study and application of the paragraph (John 15:1-8) is this–Jesus identifies the apostles as the branches. This is critical, particularly as we consider the immediate and remote contexts. In the text immediately preceding (14:25-31), Jesus concludes chapter 14 with…

“One of the mistakes humans make is believing there is only one way… There are many paths to what you call God… There couldn’t possibly be just one way… With the millions of people in the world there couldn’t possibly be one way.” So said Oprah Winfrey on her television program back in the early 1990s. You may see it for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb2RUpMDk34 Thankfully, there were two women in the audience who stood up to her baseless pontification and…

Here in northwest Alabama there are a number of fine religious folk who practice foot washing as a religious ordinance, or at least profess to do so. Shortly after I moved to this area, and not being particularly familiar with this group, I inquired of one their preachers concerning the doctrines that set them apart from other groups of the same general persuasion. He told me they believed in foot washing, but he couldn’t remember the last time his church…

In John 12:32 Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” There is one word in this text that I find particularly intriguing and important, namely the word “draw.” This word generally means to take in hand (as a sword -John 18:10), to gather a net of fish (cf John 21:6, 11), to drag against one’s will (cf Acts 16:19; 21:30), or to compel (James 2:6). But there is also…

There are two verses people often hear or use from this text. The first is John 11:35, “Jesus wept,” the shortest verse in the English Bible. The second is Jesus’ in verse 25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die. He shall live.” Few verses are cited more often in funerals than this one. But there are many other lessons to be gleaned from this text. Consider these: God has a…

My failings as a parent were many. But I can honestly say that all I did (or didn’t do) for my kids was an honest attempt for them to have an abundant life then and even now that they are grown and on their own. In John 10:10, Jesus declared, “I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” It is my personal conviction that the abundant life Jesus came to bring is…

A common error concerning God’s grace is to equate it with salvation. Grace is not salvation. Grace is God providing a plan to render to man what man can never hope to accomplish on his own, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared unto all men, teaching us…” (Titus 2:12). God grace is manifest an appropriated in the following fashion: 1) God’s GRACE provides to man 2) God’s LAW, which man 3) by FAITH OBEYS, thereby receiving…

“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceits” (Prov 26:4-5). What appears to be contradictory is not. There is a time to answer a fool and a time not to answer a fool. Today’s reading illustrates how Jesus practiced both principles. An illustration of the former principle of answering fools is seen in verses 41-47, wherein the Jews…

We live in a post truth age. By “post truth age” I mean that in Western societies people are more likely to accept or reject an argument based on their emotions and personal beliefs rather than upon objective facts and truth. This makes our work in carrying out the Great Commission even more difficult. Lest we lament that no others have ever endured such obstacles, we should be reminded that the Lord faced such attitudes concerning the nature of the…