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Kill and Eat
by Terry Wane Benton Peter’s Vision Acts 10:9-12 In Acts 10 Peter was told by God in a vision to kill and eat the animals, and there was a wide assortment, some of which God had forbidden to the Jews under the Old covenant. God explained that those unclean animals (off-limits to the Jews before)…
Read MoreIn Everything Give Thanks
by Terry Wane Benton Paul says, “this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:18). This is what God wants. He doesn’t want us to spend our time complaining and griping. Such a negative disposition! His will is that we spend our time “giving thanks” but doing so “in everything.”…
Read MoreDeparting from the Pattern
by Matthew W. Bassford The biblical plan for the New Testament church is simple. There are a few things we are supposed to do in our assemblies, a few more that we are supposed to do with our money, and that’s it. The scope of the Biblical pattern is extremely narrow. It is unsurprising, then,…
Read MoreThe Reality of Unreason
by Matthew W. Bassford One of the most fascinating exchanges in the New Testament appears toward the end of Paul’s defense before the Jerusalem mob, in Acts 22:17-21. The incident that Paul relates took place shortly after his conversion, after he had fled from Damascus and returned to Jerusalem, still preaching the gospel. While he…
Read MoreThe Messiah and Prophecy
by Jefferson David Tant God has not left himself without witnesses. In every age and in many ways, God has revealed his existence to man. Paul declares this in the words that followed the healing of the lame man in Acts 14:16-17: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their…
Read MoreIn the Bible or Not?
/20 161 Created on December 10, 2021 In the Bible or Not? There are many phrases in our language that we just know are in the Bible, but when we look they aren’t there. Which of the following twenty phrases are from the Bible? Each time you take this quiz a different set of phrases will…
Read MoreBible Literacy Quiz
/20 0 votes, 0 avg 140 Created on December 08, 2021 Bible Literacy How well do you know your Bible? Here are 20 true/false questions. 1 / 20 1. Ehud was a left-handed judge. True False Judges 3:15 2 / 20 2. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light. True False John 14:6…
Read MoreThe Work of the False Teacher
by Matthew W. Bassford In an epistle that contains a number of negative descriptions, Romans 16:17-18 is the last. Here, though, Paul is not concerned with degenerate Gentiles or hard-hearted Jews. Instead, he focuses on troublemakers within the Christian community. They have the following four characteristics: They Create Division Disciples of Christ are supposed to…
Read MoreA Good Sermon
by Terry Wane Benton A sermon is good if it is scripturally full and accurate because all scripture is good (II Timothy 3:16-17). The delivery may be lacking in some way because of human weakness both on the delivery end and on the receiving end. That always needs constant attention on giving the best effort,…
Read MoreName the Hymn
/20 55 You have 180 seconds (3 minutes) to complete 20 questions. Ah! Times up! Created on December 06, 2021 Name the Hymn The clue will be the first phrase of the first verse of the hymn. Guess the title of the hymn from a multiple-choice list. You won’t necessarily get the same set of…
Read MoreHormones
by Joe Fitch “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (II Timothy 2:22) Paul reminds and warns young Timothy of the danger in youthful lusts. Not all youthful lusts are sexual, but surely sexual lusts are included — maybe top…
Read MorePutting on the Lord Jesus Christ
by Matthew W. Bassford As you work your way through Romans, hopefully, the extraordinary quality of the epistle becomes obvious. The Book of Romans has changed the course of human history, and with good reason. The substance of Paul’s argument is astonishing in its scope, and the skill with which he argues is no less…
Read MoreThe History of the La Vista Church of Christ
The La Vista Church of Christ was established in September of 1971. There were two families living in the area and they met for a time in the home of Ken and Rita Hirshey and their children. The other family was Wally and Nellie Bates and their children. Ken worked in a government position and Wally…
Read MoreThe “Come as You Are” Method of Church Growth
by Mike Johnson Churches want to grow in number, but, sadly, many improper methods are used by churches today to increase their membership. One of these is the “Come as You Are” method. This method of growth is prevalent today in denominationalism. Slogans such as “God loves you no matter what” or “We don’t judge…
Read MoreUnconditional Love?
by Terry Benton in Answering Religious Error, April 15, 2015 That God’s love is “unconditional” means one thing to one person and a different thing to someone else. The Bible does not use the expression “unconditional love” but does imply it. God “so loved” the world (John 3:16). That would mean that love is what…
Read MoreNow Thank We All Our God
by Cloyce Sutton II The “Thirty Years’ War” (1618-1648) was a devastating European conflict centered in what’s now Germany. It began as a power struggle between Protestant and Catholic forces within the Holy Roman Empire but spread among various factions throughout Europe, eventually drawing in much of Central Europe, including Spanish, Swedish, French, Dutch, Croatian,…
Read MoreHigh Priest Before AD 70
by Terry Wane Benton Our AD 70 Hyper Preterists claim that the kingdom came in AD 70 and that Jesus did not begin His reign until that point in time when the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem in AD 70. Further, they have two laws and two systems operating from AD 30-70. They have both…
Read MoreDifficult Times and Difficult People
by Doy Moyer Predators prey on gullible people when they think they spot an opportunity. This is one of the points of II Timothy 3:1-9. The difficult times in this context, though spoken of as future, included the time in which Paul was writing (note the present tense in II Timothy 3:6). These difficult times…
Read MoreExamining the Great Commission
by Jefferson David Tant Among the most familiar Bible passages that are known and memorized, are the words Christ spoke to his disciples before he returned to his home that he left 33 years before. There is more to the passage than memorized words, and we want to give some thought to what Christ said.…
Read MoreRecent Evidence Shows?
by Warren E. Berkley Several years ago scientists (especially in the behavior field) formed a research team. The simple question to be studied was: What can be done for people who are depressed? Not severe depression that has some physiological cause. Just people who visit a therapist and they present symptoms of depression; functional but…
Read MoreSpiritual Thoughts, Spiritual Words
by Matthew W. Bassford The fundamental question of our faith is whether the Bible is the inspired word of God. If it is, we can rely on its contents. If it isn’t, everything we believe in, from the creation to the resurrection, is built on a foundation of sand instead of rock. Not surprisingly, then,…
Read MoreLet’s Be Reasonable
by Ken Green “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5 ESV). “Let’s be reasonable, shall we?” We don’t usually say (or hear) those words till we’re in a conflict that has escalated well beyond reasoning. Paul says we should be known for being reasonable. It starts with rejecting…
Read MoreBefore We Post
by Doy Moyer Before we post, before we respond, before we engage, before we meme, before we act… Let this passage sink in: “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should…
Read MoreI am a Christian
By Cecil May, Dean Emeritus, Faulkner University College of Biblical Studies, in the October 2019 Gospel Advocate I am a disciple of Christ; I seek to learn from Him and follow Him…but I am not a Disciple of Christ. I am a methodist; I try to follow the biblical method…but I am not a Methodist.…
Read MoreCalvinism in Romans 9
by Matthew W. Bassford If there is any passage in the Bible that Calvinists love, it is Romans 9:6-24. Upon a casual reading, it seems to confirm the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. It talks at great length about God’s mercy and God’s choice being the deciding factors in human existence, and in the context, Paul…
Read MoreThe Harvest Is Past
by Jarrod Jacobs “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20 KJV). In context, these words were spoken by people desperate for someone to deliver them from the consequences of their decisions. Some Bible versions even use phrases like “we have not been delivered,” “rescued,” and “we have…
Read MoreThe End-Times
by Terry Wane Benton Many do not realize that scriptures have a context, and cannot be applied to everything one wishes. The “end-times” is one of the most abused topics of the Bible. Many take verses out of context. If you take a verse out of context, forget the immediate people first written to, and…
Read MoreBut It’s a Good Work
by Jefferson David Tant From time to time, when discussing the mission and work of the church, questions are raised about certain practices that some will claim are not authorized in Scripture. The response often given is “But it’s a good work.” This has been a standard thought when discussions arise about orphan homes, “Christian”…
Read MoreTraining Young Men to Preach
by Jefferson David Tant Each generation passes and another follows. This has been going on —well, ever since Adam and Eve started the cycle. Included in this cycle are those who preach the gospel. Paul mentioned five functions that were assigned to men in the body of Christ — apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers…
Read MoreJustification by Works in James
by Matthew W. Bassford Earlier, I wrote about Paul’s discussion of justification by works in the first four chapters of Romans. In it, he says that justification by works requires perfect obedience to God, which no one but Jesus has achieved. Thus, Christians must seek salvation by faith apart from works. Similarly, baptism for the…
Read MoreCompare Babylonian “Coming” with the Roman “Coming”
by Terry Wane Benton Both times Jerusalem was destroyed it was the coming of the Lord by means of a powerful nation. When the Babylonians invaded and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC it was the Lord of Hosts (later named Jesus) who came in “glory” (Isaiah 2:12-22). The Lord came in His glory. He came…
Read MoreGodliness in Conflict
by Matthew W. Bassford The book of James has the reputation of being the most practical book of the New Testament, but Paul’s epistle to Titus surely must be considered in the same light. Titus is only three chapters long, but all three chapters are light on abstraction and heavy on concrete application. Especially in…
Read MorePlacing Membership
by Lee Moses Sometimes questions arise as to whether it is scripturally necessary, or even scripturally permissible, to “place membership” with a congregation. A modern brother or sister may raise the objection: “I’m a member of the church of Christ, and that’s good enough for me.” What this person means is: “I am a member…
Read MoreIts Own Body
by Terry Wane Benton Some brethren have gotten caught up in the AD 70 doctrine that the resurrection and only judgment happened in AD 70. They argue that the resurrection of “the body” is just a spiritual resurrection of the collective body of Christ (the church). So, they do some tripping around in I Corinthians…
Read MoreTruth and Law
by Terry W. Benton Today there is lawlessness going on at elevated proportions. Even churches that have claimed to be “of Christ” have been divided by a spirit of lawlessness. Some misuse “we are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:15) to give the undiscerning a scripture on which to justify their rebellion against…
Read MoreThe Church of Christ in 1771
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton In a book titled, “A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia” by Robert Baylor Semple, published in 1810 is a copy of this journal entry: “Wednesday Morning — Met and proceeded as follows: The church of Christ on Black Water, in Bedford, having sent neither letter…
Read MoreThe Reality of Satan
by Doy Moyer “Satan” is a descriptive term that means “adversary.” “Devil” means “slanderer.” These terms aptly describe the being who is known as the enemy of God and His people. The first encounter with the devil is seen in Genesis 3, where the creature here slandered God’s severity by telling Eve that if she…
Read MoreAre Examples Authoritative?
by Jefferson David Tant There is a school of thought among us that Biblical examples are good and instructive, but that an example is not authoritative, i.e., that we cannot bind examples today. I have seen that argument made concerning the Lord’s Supper. While one writer, a young preacher I have known for many years…
Read MoreShould a Christian Gamble?
by R. J. Evans In 1931, the state of Nevada legalized most forms of gambling. The city of Las Vegas, in particular, became the center of gambling in the U.S. Over the course of time, it has been referred to as “Sin City”, which is not surprising. Now, the city has developed a marketing catchphrase—…
Read MoreThe Desire for Justice
by Doy Moyer Justice is an idea that is not made of materials. It is not something we can physically hold, scientifically measure, or weigh with scales. It is conceptual, grasped only by the mind, and based upon an even more foundational notion about right and wrong, good and bad (which also are non-material). Even…
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