I consider myself a good person, not from any genuinely good works that I am doing, but because I’m not doing bad things, or I’m not as bad as “those people.” That’s deceitful thinking, because Jesus said that no one is good except God. We fool ourselves in this area because we do not compare ourselves to the perfect man, Jesus Christ, who always did the will of God. Continue reading
I recently answered a question sent to me from gotquestions.org. This person, who is quoted below, thought her sins were silly little sins and she wondered why she was unable to get over them and stop repeating them. My reply comes from over 30 years of walking with the Lord. I doubt I could have given this reply after just ten years. Continue reading
The frequent run-ins between Jesus and the Pharisees were a clash between the Pharisee’s preoccupation with external things and Jesus’ emphasis on the spiritual kingdom. The Pharisees were interested in keeping their status quo, the rigid forms of religious law, looking good to their peers, and maintaining self-righteousness and a respectable position before the public.
Jesus, on the other hand, cared more about their relationship with God and their inner state. They cared about saying the right thing to look good while Jesus cared about them being real. They wanted rules and laws while Jesus wanted them set free to follow the Spirit wherever He would lead them. Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus was willing to be unpopular if standing for the truth would help some to advance in their spiritual walk with God. Continue reading
Many religious people trust in their spiritual authority for their religious beliefs. They don’t study the religious text for themselves. They don’t understand how their authorities came by their tenets, so theirs is a personal faith without proof. “All I know is that when I die, I go to heaven, right?”
Many people trust in science authorities for their findings. They don’t study science textbooks for themselves. They don’t understand the complex findings by which their authorities arrived at their conclusions, so theirs is also a personal faith without proof. “All I know is that we came from a warm pond and are descended from monkeys, right?” Continue reading
In Philippians 3:4-6, we have a list of beliefs Paul had to disbelieve in order to believe, to unlearn that he may learn. For instance, according to this list, he believed in God and country until God corrected it to just “God.” He prided himself in being a Hebrew of pure Hebrew parents, and not a half breed from a mixed interracial marriage; God persuaded him that his parentage wasn’t enough, but being in God’s family was. Paul pointed to his prestigious Pharisaic denomination as though it put him in a high position, until God pointed out that Jesus didn’t check church attendance as a qualification. So much to unlearn! Little by little, all that he trusted in was refined so that it resulted in trusting just Jesus for righteousness (Philippians 3:7-11).
The popular meaning for faith is to believe something without proof. This is the “popular” meaning, and as with the meanings of several other words, it doesn’t match up with its meaning used in the Bible. For instance, the popular definition of church is the building that worshippers meet in. The popular meaning of saint is someone who did good religious works and died. The Bible doesn’t use these meanings. Continue reading
“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14).
With the truth, we are seeing things as they really are. The truth is not just facts, but facts acted on.
A person may research what the Bible says about idolatry, which is putting something ahead of God or Jesus, and miss seeing his own idolatry. He has all the facts about the idolatry that drove Israel from God in the OT; he can list the idols the NT epistles condemn. But when it comes to his own idolatry – his life emphasis on hobbies and leisure, for example – he doesn’t yet have the truth of idolatry, that he needs to set Jesus first and foremost.
Through the Word, the Spirit impresses the truth of the spiritual state upon the child of God’s heart. Accepting the truth, he repents and puts his idols in their proper place. The truth makes a difference; facts are just the tools the Spirit uses to communicate life-changing light to us. Continue reading
In Hebrews 11, we are introduced to a series of individuals who were known for their faith. Noah prepared an ark, expecting a flood. Abraham moved out of his country at the word of God, not knowing where he was going. Sarah believed God, and birthed a child in her old age. Moses left the pleasures of Egypt to journey with the people of God. They were not just known for faith – but an enduring faith; they were tested in hard circumstances and kept on trusting in God no matter what.
In Hebrews chapter 12, the spotlight swings to the readers of the epistle. “Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” (12:1), the witnesses of God’s faithfulness noted in chapter 11, what are we to do? Continue reading
At the coming of Jesus, God introduced something new. With the death, burial, and resurrection of the Christ, God creates a new covenant with believers that results in a clean conscience. The tenth chapter of Hebrews explains this feature of our salvation that many of us are unaware of, and so have let the shame of our past taint the present. We don’t have to let guilty thoughts from past wrongs paralyze us from moving forward. Let’s cover these verses in detail, because the words of Christ are still true: “the truth shall make you free.” Continue reading
Jesus told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves in Mark 12:31. Some people have said that they cannot love their neighbor as they ought because they do not love themselves. On the contrary, the Bible is clear that we love ourselves too much! In this article, I hope to reveal how we love ourselves, and armed with these thoughts, how we can love our neighbor as ourselves.
If we replace the word love with other words, the commandment becomes easier to comprehend. Replace “love yourself” with “pamper yourself,” “show mercy to yourself,” “take care of yourself,” “do good to yourself,” and then the ideas on how to love others begin to form. Let’s look at some examples of how we love ourselves. Continue reading
What is the salvation of the soul, and what does it look like? The first few verses of 1 Peter chapter one give us a strong sense of this salvation and then concludes with, “receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:9). What is this salvation, and how can we know whether our spiritual growth is heading in the right direction? Continue reading
We tend to seek the Lord’s deliverance when we get into personal trouble. But there is a deliverance that keeps us out of the trouble in the first place. Which would you like – to fall into trouble and try to get out of it, or to avoid it in the first place?
For instance, the word tells us about deliverance from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence (Psalms 91:3). Our first impression of this deliverance is that we’ve fallen into a trap or are experiencing a spiritual plague and the Lord promises to rescue us from it. But that’s not the best way the Lord delivers us. For instance, Proverbs identifies the promiscuous woman and tells us to avoid her (Proverbs 5). Avoiding her, we avoid a terrible fate. Thus, by heeding the warnings of Scripture we identify and avoid the traps beforehand while the more simple-minded don’t pay attention – and fall right in (Proverbs 22:3). Continue reading
A definition is in order. What is faith? If faith means to believe something without proof, as many claim, then how is it different from blind faith? What I find funny is that those who dislike faith because it believes without proof, believe in this definition of faith – without proof!
The word faith appears many times in the Bible in the New Testament, which was written in Greek. If we turn to a Greek scholar’s work, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words and look up faith, we find it is the word pistis, which means “primarily, firm persuasion (akin to peitho, to persuade), a conviction based upon hearing, is used in the N.T. always of faith in God or Christ, or things spiritual.”
To have faith means to have a firm conviction about something. How one comes to faith is not in the meaning of the word. One may have faith based on a wide variety of evidence, or not; the proof is not part of the semantic meaning of the word. The meaning of faith is centered on the persuasion you have, not on how you arrived by that persuasion, or even what you believe in.
Those who say that (true) faith is blind or that it means to believe something against all reason are wrong. Religious faith is based on a Greek word with a real definition found in a Greek dictionary which derives its meaning from the N.T. context in which it appears. Faith means to be persuaded of something. (The only biblically sound reason for faith to mean something different is when it’s said to be “the faith,” in which case it is talking about the Christian life and doctrine in general.)
If you strongly insist (have a firm conviction, have faith) that faith means to believe something in spite of the facts, then your personal faith is real, but based on false information.
A wrong meaning of faith will result in wrong practices and a wrong understanding of the Scriptures in which the word appears. Continue reading
Neither creation nor macro-evolution have physical proof for their positions. Rather, each party looks at the scientific data from their own perspective and looks for evidence to support it. For instance, the people who are convinced that macroevolution has occurred look at all the fossils unearthed over the centuries and concludes, “Well, since we all evolved, then these invertebrates probably evolved one after the other and the vertebrates branched off and evolved their own way. All these bird-like creatures evolved in order and the mammals branched off and evolved, splitting up more and more, based on the similarities among them.” The evidence is plain.
Those who believe God created each kind of creature by itself, seeing the same data the evolutionist sees, concludes, “All fossilize skeletons are full and complete. All parts needed to be a living creature are all accounted for. There are no in-betweens. These skeletons illustrate the biblical account, that God formed each animal according to its kind. They did not evolve but were created as is.” The evidence is plain.
Same data; same science; different viewpoints Continue reading
When the Storm Hits
by Chuck Smith
Copyright 2013 The Word for Today
http://www.twft.com
What do we do when the storm hits; how are we to react when the troubles come?
This book reminded me of several perspectives regarding our trials that I had forgotten. God has a purpose for our trials that Christless people cannot share in. Our trials will not overwhelm us when we see them through God’s eyes. Here are just a few thoughts that were prompted by the pages of this worthwhile book by the late Chuck Smith, who pastored the Calvary Chapel church in Costa Mesa, CA.
One major barrier against the gradual evolution of relatively simple organisms into complex ones rests on the organism’s inability to understand its environment and adapt to it.
For instance, how could a blind organism understand that color is produced by light waves reflected by or absorbed by objects, and correctly deduce that it must create an eye composed of rods and cones to capture these rays and correctly interpret them? How could a blind organism know that light could be too bright or too dark and create a pupil which dilates and contracts to monitor the correct amount of light? It just doesn’t make sense that something blind and primitive could instinctively understand that color is seen according to an object reflecting certain invisible wavelengths of light. Continue reading
A centurion came to Jesus and told Him, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” Have you felt paralyzed at home lately? You have decisions to make, but feel too frozen to move? You have things to do, but can’t get going? You are tormented by things nagging in your mind, but can’t find the energy or will to do them? It’s like a sickness in you that you can’t heal. Continue reading
The TV sit-com Modern Family integrates a technique used in reality shows such as Survivor and Master Chef in which the contestants talk candidly about themselves on camera away from the others. The Office also used this means to comedic effect, and it was a staple of the series. Continue reading
“Why did God allow this to happen?” “Why didn’t God protect us?” “Why doesn’t a good God stop this evil?” These are all variations of the question that recurs — that never goes away — in the aftermath of any great and not-so-great tragedy. “Where is God when it hurts?”
While exploring the question, Philip takes us on trips to some of the saddest places on earth, including Japan following the tsunami, Sarajevo and the ‘ethnic cleansing,’ the child killings at Newtown and Sandy Hook. The question has only slight variations in these places; in asking, the questioner instinctively assumes that God is a good God.
Philip’s hardest task comes when trying to find words to answer the question in a way that would comfort the hearers who have suffered loss. Going from place to place to give talks on this subject, he advances several perspectives. One I remember most is when he asked the parents who lost a child in Newtown (my paraphrase), “Now experiencing the worst pain a parent could feel, where everything seems so empty and lost, and your spirit crushed, how many of you would rather never have experienced the joy of having your child at all?” None of the people raised their hands; though their pain is most unbearable, the joy beforehand was still worth it. Continue reading
The Bible is hard to understand in places. It’s also a thick book – who can remember it all? Therefore, many of us have ultra-simplified our theology, condensing it down to, “When I die, I go to heaven.” That’s simple and easy to remember. But its very simplicity is deceptive.
Consider Hebrews 12:2, for example: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Here, Jesus was not cowering under the shame of being on the cross, nor was He screaming for the pain and agony to end. Jesus on the cross is our example of how to accept the will of God and endure pain for Him (1 Peter 2:21). As a reward for His faithfulness to death, God set Him up on a throne to rule in the kingdom (Philippians 2:5-11). Continue reading
When Paul made an argument for his faith in Acts 24:10-21, he affirmed his belief that both the just and the unjust will be resurrected (24:15). What is the resurrection of the just and the unjust? When we encounter a doctrine in the Bible that isn’t well-developed in our minds, we may change the words a bit to make the verse fit our theology better. In the case of the resurrection of the just and the unjust, we may adapt it to our way of thinking by making it say, “the resurrection of the saved and the unsaved,” or “the resurrection of the believers and unbelievers.” (This makes us feel good about ourselves, too.)
We tell ourselves that Jesus saved us and imputed His righteousness to us, so we are among the “just,” which means righteous ones. Because we are saved, we Christians will surely be resurrected or raptured, and all the unbelievers left behind. I will touch more on this later.
If this thinking were true, then Paul’s next words would not make any sense: “I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (24:16). I used to take it for granted that because I am saved, I would make the first resurrection. But Paul saw two resurrections, not of the saved and unsaved, but of the just and unjust. They are not the same thing. “Just” does not mean “believer” or “saved.” Continue reading
Some atheists claim that the Bible is full of fairy tales that Christians have contrived in order to find order, purpose, and comfort in this life. But what about the fairy tales the atheists believe? And why do they think Christian beliefs are mere fables? Continue reading
“I am a Baptist.” “I am a Presbyterian.” Perhaps when spiritual conversation ebbs and flows around you, at one point the tide may bring you in, and all you can say is that you are a member of a denomination, or that your family has been of that denomination for years.
But when we appear before the Lord in Heaven, Jesus will not be asking us what denomination we belonged to. He will tell us to give an account of our lives to evaluate how we have responded to His Word. Obedience to His Word is high on His list of priorities for His people, so then how does our denomination come into play? Continue reading
A lot of assumptions are found in this statement: “When I die, I’ll go to Heaven.” What’s missing? No mention is made of how you live from now until death, and no mention is made of the eternity-defining event between death and Heaven, Judgment Day. Our eternity will depend more on living than dying. The time between death and Heaven will focus on rendering a judgment on this life, which will determine our riches and honor for in Heaven. More problems with the phrase: where is Jesus and God in this? Continue reading
Skeptics are attacking the Bible on a wide variety of fronts. Thus, Christian apologetics (the defense of the faith) span many subjects, such as defending the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the accuracy of the Bible, and the truthfulness of biblical accounts. Christian apologetics defends the right use of science and philosophy. It exposes the destructive harmful consequences of a culture without God. If this book has whetted your appetite for more resources on defending or strengthening your faith, these Internet sites will expose you to a whole culture of people standing boldly for the Word of God.
Access Research Network – information on science, technology, and society from an intelligent design perspective
arn.org
Answers in Genesis
answersingenesis.org
All About Archaeology
allaboutarchaeology.org
Biblical Archaeology Society
biblicalarchaeology.org
Biblical Archaeology
biblicalarcheology.net
Center for Science and Culture
discovery.org
Center for Science and Culture (CSC)
dissentfromdarwin.org
Discover Creation
http://www.discovercreation.org/
Evidence for God from Science
godandscience.org
NEW! Expelled – No Intelligence Allowed – video clips from the film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEvq4xIHmH4&feature=related
In the Beginning – Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood
creationscience.com/onlinebook/index.html
Origins – scholarly and popular resources concerning intelligent design and philosophical theism
origins.org
Institute for Creation Research – equips believers with evidences of the Bible’s accuracy
icr.org
New Geology
http://www.newgeology.us/
Wintery Knight
http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/
Apologetics – A reasoned defense of Christianity
4truth.net
Apologetics 315
http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/
Ankerberg Theological Research Institute
johnankerberg.com/index.html
Answers In Action (AIA)
answers.org
Apologetics Bible Study Guides
bcbsr.com/topics/apol.html
Apologetics Information Ministry (AIM)
apologeticsinfo.org
Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM) – examining religious systems from a biblical perspective
carm.org
Christian Answers Network – over 45,000 files
christiananswers.net
Christian Apologetics-types of Christian apologetics
wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_apologetics
Institute for Biblical Defense – training Christians to defend the Faith
biblicaldefense.org
Contender Ministries
contenderministries.org
Dr. Gary Habermas – Specializing in Resurrection-of-Jesus Research
garyhabermas.com
NEW! Dr. Gary Habermas on video
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Gary+Habermas
Faith Facts – using evidence and reason to promote Biblical Christianity
faithfacts.org
Alpha International Institute – free apologetics courses, Bible correspondence courses
apologeticscourses.com
All About God – a community of seekers, skeptics and believers
allaboutgod.com
Christian Research Institute – providing well-researched answers to equip believers to intelligently represent their faith
equip.org
Cross Examined
http://crossexamined.org/
Impact Apologetics – making the works of Dr. Norman L Geisler easily available
impactapologetics.com
Institute for Religious Research – resources for investigating today’s competing religious claims
irr.org
Phillip E. Johnson – links to online articles and columns
arn.org/authors/johnson.html
The official web site of the Josh McDowell Ministry
josh.org
NEW! Josh McDowell on video
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Josh+McDowell
King Messiah Project – Christian Apologetics
kingmessiahproject.com
Leadership University
leaderu.com
Lee Strobel – resource for apologetics
leestrobel.com
NEW! Lee Stobel on video
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Lee+Strobel
Manawatu Christian Apologetics Society (MCAS) – understanding and defending the Christian faith intellectually, through reasoned and informed discussion
manawatu.christian-apologetics.org
Probe Ministries
probe.org
Rational Christianity – answers to hard questions about Christianity and Bible difficulties
rationalchristianity.net
Reasonable Faith with William Lane Craig
reasonablefaith.org
NEW! Dr. William Lane Craig on video
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=William+Lane+Craig
Renew Your Mind – information that will help you learn and teach the evidences for the Christian Faith
renewyourmind.org
Spiritual Counterfeits Project – confronting the occult, the cults, and the New Age movement and explaining why they are making an impact on our society
scp-inc.org
Stand to Reason – trains Christians to think more clearly about their faith and to make an even-handed defense for Christian values in the public square
str.org/site/PageServer
Tekton Apologetics Ministries – providing scholarly answers to serious questions
tektonics.org
The Academy of Christian Apologetics – to learn how to articulate and defend their faith in a way that stands up to intellectual criticism
hisdefense.org
The Center For Christian Apologetics – to declare and demonstrate the reasonableness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Bible upon which it is based
answers101.org
NEW! TruthBomb – book library includes apologetics resources
http://truthbomb.blogspot.com/2009/07/free-apologetics-e-book-library.html
Walter Martin’s Religious InfoNet – to encourage and educate Christians to stand up for their faith.
waltermartin.org/index.html
The Contender – The Institute for Christian Apologetics
contender.org
Apologetics Press
apologeticspress.org
Christian Apologetics Blog Directory
apologetics315.blogspot.com
[short link to this page: http://wp.me/pgG8S-7w ]
“How can you prove that God exists?”
“Why did an angry God kill everyone at the Flood?”
“If God is all-powerful, why doesn’t he stop all suffering?”
“Why would the law put a child to death for hitting or cursing his parents?”
These age-old Bible difficulties have caused many people to question the Christian faith. They are tough questions, but they have solid, satisfying answers that can banish your doubts. In this section, Doubt Busters will answer these questions with a friendly, readable style using Bible passages, personal anecdotes, and analogies from nature. The author drew from his years of preaching and writing devotionals to write plainly and root his answers in the word of God.
Who should read this? Doubt Busters is perfect for those whose faith is being crippled by nagging doubts, for it gives plain yet full answers to perplexing Bible questions. It’s a terrific resource for those who want to share their faith, and want to answer the questions that come their way. It’s a great read for young people who are just starting to think about what their faith means to them.
This Doubt Busters online resource is also available in print, as an iPhone app, and on the Kindle as an ebook.
This immensely practical book answers many important questions related to the Judgment Seat of Christ, such as:
***What are the prerequisites for receiving the greatest rewards?
***Will Jesus judge us according to our works?
***Will God remember my sins after I die?
***Since I’m already saved, do I really need to worry about a time of judgment?
How can you face the coming judgment with confidence, prepared to meet Christ?
If you are trusting in your works, that they are good enough, then you need this book. You’ll learn to cease depending on the flesh to find true power in the Spirit. You’ll turn from the Law to live by faith to gain the righteousness needed for a reward. You’ll stop trusting in your works and lean on God’s grace for a fuller salvation. Continue reading
“Why would the law put a child to death for hitting or cursing his parents?”
“Why did an angry God kill everyone at the Flood?”
“If God is all-powerful, why doesn’t he stop all suffering?”
These age-old difficulties have caused many people to question the Christian faith. They are tough questions, but they have solid, satisfying answers that can banish your doubts. Continue reading
