Water Baptism–A Scriptural Description

…his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. In this passage the analogy of baptism is drawn precisely. And this analogy is not to the Old Testament practice of sprinkling blood or water for purification, but on the central theme of the New Testament,…

Don’t Mess with the Paranormal

…have learned to walk in the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22-23). Thus, I commend you for turning away from the paranormal. However, I also encourage you not to stop with simply turning away from a force that was not good. Rather, I encourage you to consider Jesus Christ. You might want to get a Bible, or read it on-line, and begin with the gospel of John. God freely gives blessings in abundance to those who come to Him, blessings that…

Is the Earth God’s or Satan’s?

Question from a Site Viewer Who owns the earth? Is it God or Satan? The hymn, This is Our Father’s World . . . rings true to me . . . but some suggest that it belongs to Satan based on the answers that Jesus gave to Satan after his 40 days in the desert. Jesus didn’t deny Satan’s comments. Did this change after Jesus arose from the grave? Or is it still the same until the 2nd coming? Tim’s…

How Can a Loving God Allow Suffering & Send People to Hell?

…it dwarfs the problem of those who choose hell? In some ways, the situation is not unlike a small community. We know that in almost any small community, someone will commit a crime and be sent to prison. Should we therefore ban everyone from having children in that community because some will suffer in prison? Would we not say that the good that comes from children is so much greater than the evil of those who choose a life of…

What is an Apostate?

…the New Testament. Twice, in the New Testament, we have the noun “apostasia” which has been translated “apostasy” (Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3). Our understanding of the word as spiritual apostasy makes good sense in the Acts 21:21 passage where the word is used as describing Paul’s departure from the Jewish faith, but the meaning of the word is less clear in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, where the issue exists as to whether the passage is referencing a departure from the…

Do I Have to Go to Church to Be Saved?

…gives us an opportunity to love one another, encourage one another, support one another, and carry out the many “one-another” commands of Scripture. It also provides an opportunity for a community of believers to join together in praising God. And a good church helps shield us from bad teachings. However, many places we call church simply do not do this. And no church is perfect. My encouragement to believers in Christ is to find a sound, Bible proclaiming, loving church,…

Sinners or Saints?

…we are all lost and dead in our sin. However, from my understanding of Scripture neither God nor the Apostles ever call Christians sinners. We are referred to as sons (Ephesians 1:4), children (1 John 2:1), brethren (Colossians 1:2), friends (John 15:15) heirs (Romans 8:1:17), citizens of heaven (Ephesians 2:19) and most commonly as saints (Paul’s greeting in most of his epistles). I feel that we should be defined by who God (and the Scriptures) say we are, not by…

What Is the Significance of Fasting?

…the Lord’s Supper. It is a time for His people to worship Him in awe and holiness, and to let their hearts expand in praise and adoration to Jesus who endured so much to bring about our great salvation. It is not a time of death for us, but of life. I think we should examine our hearts before we ever come to the communion service, so that at the service we may have hearts prepared to adore Jesus. I…

Is the Peace Sign Bad?

…the 1950s. It quickly moved from a symbol of protest against nuclear weapons to the broader protest for peace and against war. For those who see it as an evil symbol, I simply point out that the most evil of all symbols has become the universal mark of Christianity. We have quickly forgotten that the cross was a sadistic, most horrendous, and evil thing. It was a curse to hang on a tree; even Scripture so stated (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians…

Salvation vs Sanctification

…from our sin and from the consequences of our sin including spiritual death. Jesus died to save us from our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3) and from death (Hebrews 2:14-15). So, salvation should be seen as our deliverance from sin and death, both as an act already completed (Acts 2:47; Ephesians 2:8; 2 Timothy 1:9) in our deliverance from the penalty and power of sin through Christ’s death on the cross, and a future deliverance when we will be saved from…