One of the great mysteries of Christianity is that God wants to have a relationship with His creation. When we consider the contrasting natures of man and God the mystery deepens. By very definition God is omnipotent. Man, on the other hand, is weak. By very definition God is omniscient. Man, on the other hand is limited in knowledge. By very definition God is omnipresent. Man, on the other hand, is but a speck in the universe. This contrast could…
The topic of the God-head and the Trinity is one that interests and perplexes many people. Do Christians serve one God or three? How can three be one? Is it important? In this brief article, Andrew Richardson tackles a few questions concerning the tri-unity of God.
In Philippians 3:17, Paul encouraged the brethren to be “followers together of me” and to “mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.” When the Apostle Paul told the Philippian brethren to “follow” him, he also instructed them to first make sure he was worthy of being followed. It was not that the apostle thought highly of himself or of his service. In fact, he was quick to point out in a later writing that he…
Genesis 6:5 says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Those who teach the doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity cite several Bible passages which they allege support their doctrine. The purpose of this article is to review one such passage—Genesis 6:5—to determine if it supports the notion of Total Hereditary Depravity.
John MacArthur, of Grace to You, has reasoned incorrectly against baptism’s necessity for salvation on the basis of Acts 15. In his article, “Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation,” he says such texts as Acts 15 and Romans 4 show “no external act is necessary for salvation,” and that “salvation is by divine grace through faith alone.”
It is common to hear people say there are errors in the New Testament. They argue that in the centuries before the printing press (invented AD 1438), those who copied the scriptures by hand made many mistakes. First, a person would copy, say, the book of Matthew from an earlier copy and make mistakes in the process. Later, when someone else used the second copy to make another copy, not only would the previous mistakes be copied, but new mistakes…
I once had a study with two “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” and I asked one of them if it would be acceptable if I bowed down to him exclaiming, “Worthy are you to receive honor, glory, and blessing!” His companion adamantly answered, “No, he’s not God.” I said, “I agree, but you also say Jesus is not God, yet this is what the multitude of angels proclaimed to Him in Revelation 5:11-12: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and…
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, of the “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” teaches that Jesus Christ is a created being; that God first created Him before creating everything else by Him. They say on their website: “…the Bible plainly states that in his prehuman existence, Jesus was a created spirit being, just as angels were spirit beings created by God. Neither the angels nor Jesus had existed before their creation” (http://www.watchtower.org/e/ti/article_05.htm). In short, they are in serious error. Jesus and the Father…
Every person, religious or not, must decide what to do with Jesus. This was the predicament Pilate found himself in when Jesus stood trial. Pilate had tried to be upright in his dealings with Jesus and reached the conclusion He was faultless. However, the crowd demanded, “Crucify him!” (Mk. 15:14). After the crowd chose the release of the murderer and robber Barabbas, Pilate asked, “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” (Mt. 27:22). This very question…
“If I just had a little bit more…” Have you ever found yourself saying that? If we’re honest, we’ve probably all thought that at some point in our lives. Whether it’s a bigger paycheck, a larger home, more vacations, or any number of other things, we often think that we just need a little more to be happy. We don’t need an excess; we just think a little more would do the trick. The truth is, when we find ourselves…