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Church Growth
by Chadwick Brewer When considering how to help the church grow, there is a real temptation to look to the business world and copy their marketing schemes. This has been the path of many mega-churches. But God’s church is not a business. We should not look to the business world to determine how to grow…
Read MoreThe Power of Adjectives
by Terry Wane Benton One of my favorite verses on prayer is Ephesians 3:20. Notice the adjectives used. Taking out the adjectives, Paul said, “God is able to do…all we ask or think.” Putting in the adjectives one at a time: God is able to do above all we ask or think. Then, “God is…
Read MoreInstitutionalism
by Chris Reeves Truth Magazine August 2024 Christians today who were not raised during the institutional battles among brethren in the 1950s and 1960s would do well to learn the issues that divide us today. Having learned these issues, they can then teach others the truth concerning the work and organization of the local church. Today’s…
Read MoreThe Restoration Movement
by Andy Sochor via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol 4. No. 4, October-December 2024 Earlier in this series, we discussed the Reformation Movement. This movement set out to reform the Roman Catholic Church to correct the errors and abuses that had developed over the centuries. While the reformers’ intentions may have been good, the unintended result of their…
Read MoreIs Progressive Repentance Scriptural?
by Osamagbe Lesley Egharevba via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol 4. No. 4, October-December 2024 During my preaching work in Ghana in July and August 2024, I heard the term “Progressive Repentance” for the first time. This is the idea that an alien sinner may not repent of his sins by ending the sins before he gets…
Read MoreIs the New Testament a Law?
by Jonathan Perz The Bible is undeniably divided into two key sections—the Old Testament and the New Testament. This division is described in the Bible in various ways, some literally and some figuratively. One such contrast is seen when the Bible refers to the Old Testament as the “Law of Moses” (cf. John 7:23, et…
Read MoreAccusing God of Murder
by John N. Clayton Skeptics in the media constantly attack the Bible and the biblical concept of God. Writers in The New Yorker, The New Republic, and The Atlantic write as if they were authorities on the Bible while accusing God of murder and condemning Him as being immoral. Taking a Bible passage out of…
Read MoreThe Equivocation of Expediency
by Doy Moyer “Expediency” is one of those words we hear and use often connected to discussions of what is authorized by Scripture. But I’ve noticed something about it that can leave discussions clouded and confused. The term encompasses meanings that, if equivocated or conflated, will lend itself to misunderstandings and abuses. Here are two…
Read MoreThere’s Always Been Two Choices
by Perry Hall There’s always been two choices, two paths, two decisions. It started in the Garden of Eden. The enigmatic tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil can be understood simply: obeying God by not eating led to life and functioning as God intended—good, or eating led to death and dysfunction—evil. Moses taught…
Read MoreForgiveness Without Repentance?
by Mike Johnson via Seeking Things Above The Bible emphasizes the importance of forgiving those who sin against us. In fact, failing to do so is very frightening because, in Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus taught, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men…
Read MoreExtremist
by Terry Wane Benton What does it even mean? To an atheist (who is extreme in claiming to know there is no God), almost any believer in God who takes the Bible seriously is an “extremist.” To people who believe that morals are all relative, I would indeed be considered an extremist who thinks the…
Read MoreA Thought Exercise on John 3:8
by Perry Hall John 3 is commonly known for teaching about being born again. One segment has always baffled me, so we have this Thought Exercise: That segment is John 3:8, “The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.…
Read MoreThe Authority of Scripture
by Terry Wane Benton Two fundamental and opposite approaches to biblical authority are common today: View #1: Everything is permissible unless the Bible expressly forbids it. If the Bible does not say not to, then we can. View #2: We can do nothing unless the Bible permits it, and we can prove it is acceptable…
Read MoreWas Genesis 1-3 Sufficiently Witnessed?
by Terry Wane Benton Jesus was there (John 1:1f); He said the story is factual (Mark 10:1-6) and that Satan was the liar from the beginning (John 8 ). The Spirit confirmed through Paul that death entered the world through Adam (Romans 5), and Satan’s head would be crushed (Genesis 3:15 compares to Romans 16:20).…
Read MoreA Narcissistic Society and Religion
by Stephen Harper I have been reading, when time allows, “The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement,” and it is eye-opening and also something that has validated many of my own observations over the last couple of decades. I am sharing with you a paragraph regarding its effect on churches and religion in…
Read MoreJoseph’s Four Dreams
by Jarrod Jacobs When reading about the birth of Christ, I saw something I had not seen before. Namely, the Bible records Joseph’s four dreams before and after Christ’s birth. Below, we will list the occasions of Joseph’s dreams and then comment on them. (Please read the context of these Bible references on your own.)…
Read MoreYou Believe the Bible? Hilarious!
by Terry Wane Benton They looked at me as if I was some odd, foolish, and gullible person who got conned into believing a fairytale. Because of my studies, I look back at them with pity and sadness, and they don’t realize that they were the ones conned into believing the fairytale that everything got…
Read MoreSame Sex Marriage?
by Jerry Joseph In today’s news, you hear much about what is called “same-sex marriages.” What is promoted by such is a man married to a man or a woman being married to a woman. What about such marriages? Are they approved of God? Many want to leave God out of the picture when discussing…
Read MoreSin and God’s Glory
by Doy Moyer The problem of sin is sometimes difficult to assess because of our perspective. We see what we consider a “small” sin and then react strongly when the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. Because we tend to minimize the sin, we may under-appreciate the consequences. Some will then think badly…
Read MoreThe Commitment of Love
by Terry Wane Benton Love is not a feeling that may come or go. You don’t fall in and out of it. That is more of infatuation and Eros than the valuable love (agape) that is what keeps couples working to forgive and affirm each other through thick and thin. This kind of love is…
Read MoreIs There Just One Way?
by Perry Hall Is there only one way to God? Contrary to popular thought and recent comments made by the head of the Catholic Church, Jesus is the only way. But do we deeply understand what that means? Jesus is called the Way (John 14:6), and Jesus’s followers were so identified with their Lord that…
Read MorePredestination
by Kyle Campbell Are some people predestined to be saved while others are predestined to be lost? If this is true, would it make any difference for one to do right if he is predestinated to be lost? Predestination is definitely a Bible topic, but not in the way that espouses that every individual has…
Read MoreTwo Political Principles
by Doy Moyer Two prime principles should help Christians navigate through the various political systems of this world, whatever they may be: Worldly powers are ultimately in God’s hands. “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Daniel 2:21). Likewise, “the Most High is ruler over the…
Read MoreTrue Love (Moyer)
by Doy Moyer True love is not about infatuation, mushy feelings, and giddy joy. While these may occasionally attend love, true love is found in the trenches of life. Love is knowing that you have each other’s backs at the end of the day. It’s working through difficulties and not fearing that the next disagreement…
Read MoreAmazing Prophecy
by Terry Wane Benton “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go out for me, to be ruler in Israel; and his origins are from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2 LEB). The ruler in Israel would come out of Bethlehem, and he…
Read MoreMy Time
by Chadwick Brewer “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27). One of my biggest self-deceptions is that my time is my own. I often feel and act as if I am the rightful owner of 24 hours each day. The truth is, my…
Read MoreDead and Raised
by Terry Wane Benton Paul describes our pre-conversion state as “dead in trespasses and sin” (Ephesians 2:1). We walked like others in the world, but we were spiritually dead toward God. But from our dead state, He “made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). We were “raised up together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:6). This…
Read MoreThat’s Not a Problem Here
by Heath Rogers Several years ago, I was reprimanded for preaching a rather straightforward sermon on the sin of homosexuality. The language of the sermon had upset a couple in the church, as they did not want their young children exposed to this subject. When I discussed this matter with two older men of the…
Read MoreThe First Day of the Sabbaths?
by Perry Hall Open your Bibles to Acts 20:7, and you will see that the church gathered to break bread on “the first day of the sabbaths.” Go on to I Corinthians 16:2, and we again read how Paul gave instructions about collecting for the poor saints on “every first day of the sabbaths.” The…
Read MoreThe Sabbath
by Terry Wane Benton The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week. It was designated to Israel as their day of rest, patterned after the fact that God rested from creative work on the seventh day (Exodus 20:11). The rules for Israel were expounded upon in other parts of the Torah, telling the rules…
Read MoreI … Have Need of Nothing
by L. A. Stauffer via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 Life was great for the Laodiceans. Business was wonderful, prosperity was abounding, and they flourished with riches. They had the best chariots, top-of-the-line clothing, the finest food from the markets, and palatial homes with plenty of acreage. What else could they possibly…
Read MoreUnity Among Brethren
by Sewell Hall via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 Jesus prayed, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:21). This prayer was not for unity among denominations, nor even for goodwill among congregations. It was…
Read MoreWithout Respect of Persons
by Kyle Pope via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 James 2:1 declares, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (NKJV). The King James Version and the American Standard Version use the phrase “with respect of persons” rather than “partiality.” In the original text,…
Read MoreQuick to Forget
by Zeke Flores How many times have you heard a thing, yet forget what you heard in a matter of minutes? The older we get, the more we are “quick to hear, fast to forget.” Or, as we’ve all heard it, it’s in one ear and out the other. But the malady isn’t merely age-related.…
Read MoreLeaving the Church
by Perry Hall Meditate on this thought: “What I believe about God’s word is more important than how people treat me.” Many people will leave churches where they are mistreated and start worshiping with a friendly church that practices and teaches things contrary to what they believe. Whether they want to admit it or not,…
Read MoreDoes Going to Church Still Matter?
by Clay Stauffer Adapted Pew Research has been tracking trends in America for many decades. Some of the most recent data is very eye-opening, if not alarming. In 2024, roughly 30% of Americans say they attend church regularly, loosely defined as once a month. Less than 50% of Americans now claim membership to any given…
Read MoreThe Dead Sea Scrolls
by Terry Wane Benton Dead Sea Scrolls – 250BC to AD70 Photo by Lux Moundi. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathanjj/8246948498 The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 980 Hebrew documents found in the Qumran limestone caves between 1947 and 2017. Most of the texts are written on parchment. About 40% were copies from the Old Testament. Before the…
Read MoreRoom for All
by Allen Dvorak via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15, No. 1, January 2015 “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 “I will go before you and…
Read MoreHow Do You Take Correction?
by Jefferson David Tant Taking correction is a part of living. It begins when we are children and are rebuked for doing something wrong or for not doing something right, like cleaning up our room. It continues through our teen and adult years. Even Jesus Christ was criticized time and again by his enemies. Preachers…
Read MoreUncompromising
by Sewell Hall Generally speaking, our generation has an aversion to authority, yet those who heard the Lord’s great sermon observed that “He taught them as one having authority.” We prefer sermons that deal in generalities; Jesus dealt with specifics. We prefer preachers who praise rather than condemn; Jesus condemned not only wrong conduct but…
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