One a Day Through the New Testament (Page 13)
Acts 4: There are No Modern Miracles
I cannot tell you how tired I am with dealing with the purveyors and promoters of modern miracles. I realize that some biblically (and willfully?) ignorant people might be genuinely deceived (cf 2 Thes 2:10-12), but those who perpetrate such on the ignorant masses are charlatans and frauds. No one will EVER convince me that Benny Hinn and other shysters believe they can perform miracles. After the lame man was healed in Acts 3, the apostles were brought into custody.…
Acts 3: Did Peter forget about baptism in Acts 3:19?
In one of our Sunday night class sessions, we were studying various arguments against the necessity of baptism for salvation. We do these studies by examining the arguments of mainline online sources. Among these are Grace to You (gty.org), a work of John McArthur Jr. On that page we found this argument (summarized): ‘Baptism is not necessary to be saved. Baptism is found in Acts 2:38 but is not found in Acts 3:19.’ (The are a host of fallacious arguments…
Acts 2: Will Christ Sit on David’s Throne?
One of the most widespread doctrines among evangelicals is that of premillennialism, that is, (among other things) that Jesus is going to return to this earth to establish a physical kingdom and sit on David’s throne. Is this so? Today’s chapter contains a specific reference to Jesus sitting on David’s throne. But more than that, it defines what it means. After quoting David and his statement about not having his soul left in hell or his flesh see corruption, Peter…
Acts 1: Gems and Nuggets
The Acts of the Apostles is Luke’s second letter to Theophilus, which means “a friend of God.” The purpose of Acts is similar to that of Luke’s gospel account. Whereas Luke’s gospel recorded “all that Jesus began both to do and teach,” Acts records the works and words of the apostles, primarily Peter and Paul. What lesson do we find in this? Like Jesus and the apostles, we must also be both doers and teachers. The multitude present for the…
John 21: That’s how rumors get started.
Did you know that Proctor and Gamble supports the Church of Satan? Well actually, they don’t. Yet here we are, four decades down the road with tens of millions of us still familiar with that rumor which began sometime around 1980. In Jesus’ final conversation with the disciples as recorded by John, Jesus shined a bright light on Peter relative to his denial of the Lord on the night in which he was betrayed. Some remember this as the “Feed…
John 20: “These are written that you might believe”
God seems to be talking to a lot of people these days and saving them. I find that interesting since He was quite discriminating in His personal appearances in both in the Old and New Testaments. In John 20:30-31, we see why: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you might believe…” It was never the purpose of dreams, vision, etc., to…
John 19: They Took Jesus’ Clothes and Never Gave it Another Thought
I have several items of clothing, hats, caps, etc that hold special value to me. I treasure these items because of the person who had them before me. Today’s note concerns some clothing that should have been priceless to those who possessed them but attached no lasting value to them. The practice of taking the clothes of the condemned was common in Jesus’ day. As Jesus was crucified, John records, “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His…
John 19: They Took Jesus’ Clothes and Never Gave it Another Thought
I have several items of clothing, hats, caps, etc that hold special value to me. I treasure these items because of the person who had them before me. Today’s note concerns some clothing that should have been priceless to those who possessed them but attached no lasting value to them. The practice of taking the clothes of the condemned was common in Jesus’ day. As Jesus was crucified, John records, “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His…
John 18: “My kingdom is not of this world.”
From the earliest days of Jesus’ ministry, many believed Him to be a Savior, and He was, but they misunderstood His mission. Laboring under Roman domination and longing for the “good old days” when Israel was a dominant force among the nations, the Jews looked for a leader to break the iron shackles of Rome (see Daniel 2) and restore Israel to prominence. Earlier in John’s gospel, the people sought to take Jesus by force and make Him their king…
John 17: Working to Thwart the Prayer of Jesus
“Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are… I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who shall believe on Me through their word; that they may all be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You; that they may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:11b, 20-21). In the final moments before His…