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On a Christian’s Name
“In the first place, I ask that men make no reference to my name; let them call themselves Christians, not Lutherans. What is Luther? After all, the teaching is not mine (John 7:16). Neither was I crucified for anyone (1 Cor. 1:13). St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, would not allow the Christians to call…
Read MoreIt Doesn’t Matter What You Believe
by Perry Hall This might surprise you, but I agree. I spoke with an agnostic whose family had been persecuted by so-called Christians. They fled from their homeland for American freedom, much like many others who believed in Jesus. Ironically, both pagans and believers fled from persecution, seeking religious freedom. The agnostic said she hoped…
Read MorePost-Truth?
by Doy Moyer If we cannot know truth, then we cannot know anything, for any knowledge claim is a truth claim. For the Christian, truth is as fundamental as it gets. It speaks to the heart of what is real, and without a sense of reality, we are indeed lost. Truth is everything, tied to…
Read MoreIn Spirit and in Truth
by Jon W. Quinn I cast a shadow if I were walking down the street and the sun was shining. Its size and shape mimic my own to some degree. It is a lot shorter than I really am at midday. It is a lot taller than I am when the sun is low on…
Read MoreMarshall Keeble
by Hugh Fulford Marshall Keeble (1878-1968) Marshall Keeble was a famous African-American evangelist among churches of Christ who began preaching in 1897 and spent the entirety of his life in evangelistic meetings all across America. He preached in most of the major cities of the U. S. –north, south, east, and west — as well…
Read MoreWhat Happened on that Cross?
by Perry Hall What happened on the cross? Did Jesus become a sinful creature? Classical Calvinism and its modern version of Reformed Theology teach that Jesus’s righteousness is imputed to us. They picture this as an umbrella covering us, which leads to the idea of once saved, always saved because Jesus’s righteousness covers us. “He…
Read MoreThe Crown
by Wayne S. Walker A few years ago, I had to have a gold crown put on a tooth that kept chipping. As I was sitting in the dentist’s chair waiting, I realized that the word “crown” appears quite frequently in the New Testament, so when I arrived back at the office, I studied it.…
Read MoreAI’s Dangers
by Doy Moyer AI (artificial intelligence) is undoubtedly an amazing achievement for humanity, and there are legitimate ways to use it. I’m not talking here about those ways (There is plenty of healthy debate about this). I will, however, express some concerns, especially as one who has been involved in education for several years. When…
Read MoreOnly God’s Righteousness Is in View?
by Terry Wane Benton We need to be careful about what we swallow from preachers and teachers. Search the Scriptures to find out what is so (Acts 17:11). An example of a concern in this regard is in the words of a brother who says that the difference between the Old Law and the New…
Read MoreWhat Was the Issue?
by Bill Hall Church-Supported Orphans’ Homes: What Was the Issue? The Sponsoring Church Arrangement: What Was the Issue? Kitchens and Fellowship Halls: What Was the Issue?
Read MoreWill the Tribulation Come After the Rapture?
by Terry Wane Benton Be careful not to assume that what you hear about the tribulation and the rapture is grounded in sound biblical exegesis. Reading into the Scriptures and twisting the Scriptures can mean destruction to you and others (II Peter 3:16). So, make sure you are not following someone blindly into the ditch.…
Read MoreTrusting God Through the Storms
by Doy Moyer Storms can be frightening. Lightning and thunder can be a bit terrifying when it gets close. Flood waters can overwhelm, winds can level, and human beings can only run and hide. We sometimes wonder why, but we are reminded that we are not the ones who control nature. We are humbled as…
Read MoreChristian Victim Card
by Chadwick Brewer “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you” (I John 3:13). Christians are disdained and hated for their strong convictions of faith, radical morality, and different ways of life. In a world of political correctness, it is still socially acceptable to mock and denigrate Christians. When Christians are maligned and…
Read MoreGod Seems so Mean!
by Zeke Flores One of the objections many have against God is that He seems so … mean. Indeed, throughout a reading of the major prophets, God has consistently warned about the catastrophic devastation He would bring not only upon His own people but also upon pagan nations. Again and again, He denounced their behavior,…
Read MoreDid I do something wrong?
Question: Hello! I have a question for you guys: Does having sex with someone makes you a married couple? If not, then am I obligated to marry the man I had sex with? I have a doubt in my heart that’s been tormenting me. I had sex with some guys before getting married. I was…
Read MoreChurch 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…
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