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My Days as a Roman Catholic
by David Weaks I was a Roman Catholic for the first twenty-one years of my life, and during those years, I was truly ignorant about God. That is my answer when people ask what it was like to be a Catholic. My spiritual training came from a catechism book, not the Bible. As a Catholic,…
Read MoreWere Sins “Rolled Forward”?
by Ney Rieber via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 Was there forgiveness of sins for those under the Old Testament? This question is frequently answered in the negative. It is stated that their sins were not forgiven, but were “rolled forward” year by year. The primary passage used to support this idea is…
Read MoreC’mon, Hug a Tree
by Joe Bunting via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 The following article appeared in the American Nurseryman, March 15, 1994: The Canaanites of the biblical days did it. The Druids in ancient Britain did it. And now the practice of tree worship is gaining popularity in the US and elsewhere. Citing the Garden…
Read MoreThat Questionaire
by Floyd Chappelear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 My congratulations are extended to those men who refused to reply to the infamous “Questionnaire” being mailed by some churches. My sincerest concerns are extended to those brethren who responded to it out of fear that support would be cut off. (Do not think…
Read MoreDid Dinosaurs Really Exist? (Moyer)
by Doy Moyer, Standing On Solid Ground (unpublished) via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 3, September 1994 Some, afraid of the repercussions of evolution, really do question the existence of dinosaurs. However, denying the existence of creatures for which there is substantial evidence will not help defend the…
Read MoreWhat Unbelievers Believe
by Kenny Chumbley via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 3, September 1994 Atheists like to portray Christianity as the non-thinking man’s sugar stick. They, we are told, are guided by reason and logic, whereas believers hold to antiquated religious superstitions that have been scientifically debunked. Nothing, however, could…
Read MoreStudies in II Peter 3: Naturalistic Uniformity
by Pat Hardeman via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 The second coming of Christ is the first of those “last” things (Greek: eschatos) scorned by scoffers in mocking words: “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation”…
Read MoreWho Are You Listening To?
by Hugh DeLong Text: Galatians 3 The promise to Abraham – all nations bless in his ‘seed’, which is Jesus. The law was given to Israel, but was their ‘tutor’ or ‘guardian’ to bring them to Christ, and now they are no longer under that tutor (the Law). However, the blessing was for all nations…
Read MoreA Prayer from a Pit
by Bill Boyd On a visit to Jerusalem, I was taken to a church that was built over the traditional house of Caiaphas. In the lower parts of that church, there is a cistern. An ancient tradition says that this cistern is where Jesus was kept the night before his crucifixion. We went down into…
Read MoreSin Leveling
by Gardner Hall What is “sin leveling”? I recently heard this term, and the more I think about it, the more I think it describes a great evil. “Sin leveling” is giving the same weight to depraved or predatory acts that we give to the involuntary shortcomings that all disciples battle. But aren’t all sins…
Read MoreHeirs According to the Promise
by Hugh DeLong Text: Galatians 3 Recall that God made a promise that through Abraham’s seed all nations (peoples) would be blessed. Jesus is introduced as the Seed of Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Between Abraham and Jesus, God repeatedly chose whom He would use to produce the promised ‘seed’ (a person). He chose Isaac, Jacob (Israel),…
Read MoreWhen Wisdom Walks Away
by Cleve Stafford There’s a certain kind of argument that never ends well. No matter how calmly you speak, how clear your reasoning is, or how sincere your intentions are, the other person will not act accordingly. Proverbs 29:9 lays it out plainly: “If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool…
Read MoreCrucified But Lives
by Hugh DeLong “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the…
Read MoreThat Is Not the Way You Learned Christ
by Doy Moyer “But that is not the way you learned Christ!” (Ephesians 4:20). We hear much about how people think Christianity is supposed to be from all sides. This is often debated ad nauseam through the lens of taking partisan sides. Christianity gets culturally hijacked and manipulated to fit a narrative of our own…
Read MoreDo we have eternal life permanently?
by Terry Wane Benton Question: If we have eternal life, doesn’t that mean we have it permanently? Answer: We have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly, we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is to the unbeliever who can change their destiny by belief and repentance. Change your destiny by…
Read MoreA Need to “Reinterpret” Paul?
by Allen Dvorak via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14 No. 8, August 2014 In Matthew 5:41, Jesus said, “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” His statement makes sense to the Bible student who understands that, under Roman law, a Roman soldier could compel any Jew, as a subject in…
Read MoreDon’t Be Surprised by Suffering
by Edwin Crozier Text: I Peter 4 Jesus told the apostles: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the…
Read MoreAin’t Skeered!
by Dennis Strickland While driving around in recent months, I have been seeing stickers on the back windows of trucks that say: “Ain’t Skeered!” It is not very difficult to determine what this means. To one speaking properly, the phrase would be: “I’m not afraid.” In various situations, many people have claimed they were not…
Read MoreThe Foundation of My Belief
by Hugh DeLong What is the foundational base of my belief (and consequently, yours)? Not that my understanding becomes the standard for your belief, but how you read, interpret, and understand the revelation given by the Spirit. Let us start with several observations. There is a revealing of God’s will to men. (OK, first hurdle – what scriptures…
Read More“David” Found at Dan
by Henry Robinson via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 Tel Dan Stele The March/April 1994 edition of the Biblical Archaeology Review (Vol. 20, No.2) reported the following: “It’s not often that an archaeological find makes the front page of the New York Times (to say nothing of Time magazine. But that is what…
Read MoreDo You Know Who I Am?
by Mark Mason via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 There is a story floating around about then-President Bush a few years ago. He was supposedly visiting a nursing home, where he took the hand of an elderly man walking the halls and asked kindly, “Sir, do you know who I am?״ The…
Read MoreUse Your Gifts to Serve
by Edwin Crozier Text: I Peter 4 Let’s get back to what it looks like to keep our conduct honorable among the Gentiles. Peter provides a handful of instructions. We are to be sober-minded and self-controlled. I know this is part of honorable conduct because it mirrors what he told husbands about living with their…
Read MoreClouds Without Water
by Terry Wane Benton Peter spoke of change agents as false teachers who creep into churches, promise liberty from the old way of doing things, but they “despise authority” (II Peter 2). They are “clouds without water”. What does that mean? It means they have no real substance to their own teaching. They can criticize…
Read MoreSuicide Is a Very Complicated Issue
by Kevin Rutherford Suicide is a very complicated issue. It is one that we cannot be flippant about and careless with. This discussion should always be accompanied by caution, compassion, and care. If anyone reading this article has come to such a condition that you have had thoughts of suicide, please seek professional and spiritual…
Read MoreThe Judgment that Matters
by Edwin Crozier Text: I Peter 4. In I Peter 3:18, the apostle explained that when Jesus suffered once for sins, He was put to death in the flesh, but was made alive in the Spirit. Men killed Him, but God raised Him. Man’s rejection mattered little to Jesus personally. God’s assessment and acceptance mattered…
Read MoreIslam and Governments
by Larry Rouse Here is the simplest way to explain what makes Islam fundamentally different from every other major religion, and why it is uniquely destabilizing. Judaism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions, meaning they teach belief in one deity. Islam adds a second, inseparable layer, and that is exactly what makes it problematic.…
Read MoreIf the Devil Wanted to Make a Denomination Out of the Church
by Floyd Chappelear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 2, June 1994 The church of our Lord was fashioned in the mind of God before earth-time began (Ephesians 1:9-10; 3:9-11). It was made according to His purpose and was built by Him after the earthly sojourn of Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18). Everything about it was perfect…
Read MoreVery Costly Perfume
by Hugh DeLong In chapter 14 of Mark, we are introduced to two different worldviews: what is the most important goal of one’s life, and the resulting use of one’s monetary resources. First, the ‘woman’, identified for us in Matthew 26:6-13 and John 12:1-8, is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She takes an…
Read MoreJudah and Jospeh
by Chad Bird Genesis 38 often feels like an unwanted interruption in the Joseph story, a dark and unsettling back-alley detour filled with death, sex, deceit, and judgment. For years, I treated it like a commercial break, impatient to return to Joseph’s story. But that view missed the point. Badly. Genesis 38 is not a…
Read MoreRoots of Repentance
by David Gibson Repentance isn’t easy. Why? Sin is pleasurable. Change is challenging. Confession is humbling. What can prompt a 180°? Fear of punishment Knowing God was about to punish, the Ninevites repented (Jonah 3:4-10). Seeing their penitence, God relented (Jeremiah 18:7-8). Shouldn’t Judgment Day motivate us? “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now…
Read MoreTwo Sons Show Us the Truth
by Terry Wane Benton When we hear those who read the scriptures through Calvinistic lenses tell us that Adam and Eve handed down “Total Depravity” and “Inability”, we turn our attention to two sons, each of whom should have inherited this depraved gene. Cain and Abel show us the opposite. Both brought an offering to…
Read MoreYou Can Be Hurt in the Church—and Still Raise Faithful Children
by Brad Harrub, Ph.D. There are few pains more confusing than being wounded by people who wear the name of Christ. Many parents have sat in pews with a knot in their stomach—betrayed by leadership, ignored in suffering, judged unfairly, or damaged by hypocrisy. Some have endured church splits, public shaming, mishandled discipline, gossip, or…
Read MoreWhat God Does with the Wounded
by Matthew Allan Many are tired. Not just busy, but worn down: disappointment, loss, prayers that feel unanswered, strained relationships, and quiet grief that piles up over time. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit (Psalms 34:18). God draws near, not away When people are wounded, they pull back, isolate,…
Read MoreIs Anything Too Hard for the Lord?
by Terry Wane Benton Genesis shows the Lord creating and organizing the entire universe and all manner of life. Once we admit that the creation and life did not form themselves, which is obvious and undeniable science and fact, we have to follow the rest of the testimony given in Genesis that there is nothing…
Read MoreBorderline Christians
by B. C. Goodpasture There is a story of a county Superintendent of Education who received three applications for one vacancy among the school bus drivers. He devised this scheme for selecting the proper man. The superintendent took the first applicant to a sharp curve on a steep grade along the road and asked, “How…
Read MoreWhen Christians Grow Confused About ICE, Borders, and the Bible
by Brad Harrub, Ph.D. Few issues today generate more emotional confusion among Christians than immigration and the role of ICE. Social media has a way of reducing complex biblical questions into shallow slogans: “Jesus would tear down the walls,” or “Borders are unloving.” Those statements may sound compassionate, but they are not grounded in Scripture.…
Read MoreIs God in Control?
by Doy Moyer We often hear that “God is in control” when things in this world aren’t going well. With all the violence and evil, we wonder, how can God be in control? Are we saying that God makes bad people do bad things? Are we saying that God creates the violence and evil? It…
Read MoreBe Sober
by Terry Wane Benton Deuteronomy 29:19 says the drunkard cannot be included with the sober. Christians are commanded to “watch and be sober” (I Thessalonians 5:6). and “let us who are of the day be sober”(I Thessalonians 5:8). Instead of relaxing our minds with a little alcoholic beverage or a little weed, we are commanded…
Read MoreScoffers in the Last Days
by Terry Wane Benton “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts” (II Peter 3:3). Scoffers are those who would laugh off the pure word of God. For example, they would scoff at the idea of a worldwide flood, Noah, and the animals being saved on an…
Read MoreRich Young Ruler
by Hugh DeLong I find it interesting to see the list of commandments that Jesus quoted to the rich young ruler in Mark 10:19: “You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.” If you compare this…
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