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What Is the Law? (Garrison)
Original Author Unknown edited by Michael Garrison Have you wondered just what “the law” refers to in the New Testament? It does not always refer to the Ten Commandments. Note the following: Genesis is called the law. Galatians 4:21-23 refers to Genesis 16:15; 21:1-3. Exodus is called the law in Romans 7:7 which refers to…
Read MoreWhen Jeremiah Wanted to Quit Preaching
by Terry Wane Benton It wasn’t just mental fatigue and having to deal with obnoxious attitudes, but having to constantly deal with brethren undermining him and working against him, some even looking for ways to get rid of him for good! It got to where he dreaded preaching the needed message of repentance. It was…
Read MoreYou Never Know What’s Going to Stick
by Zeke Flores A while back, one of my daughters was going through a box of her papers that we had stored in our attic. She ran across a paper she had written and given to me in her teen years that listed 10 reasons why I should let her get her belly button pierced.…
Read MoreThe Seriousness of Teaching
by Jarrod M. Jacobs Twice in Ezekiel, God warns him about how serious it is to teach God’s truth and warn people when they are in sin. Ezekiel 3:17-21 and 33:2-9 make it clear that Ezekiel served as a “watchman” for the Lord. As such, he had the duty to warn people about sin and the…
Read MoreThey Shall Know a Prophet Has Been Among Them
by Jarrod M. Jacobs When Ezekiel was called to be a prophet, God made certain things very clear to him. God made it clear that these people were a “rebellious house” (Ezekiel 2:3). God does not mince words regarding His people! He lets Ezekiel know the kind of people he will be facing. At the…
Read MoreA Hard-Headed Prophet
by Jarrod M. Jacobs Ezekiel 3:4-11 describes for us God’s intent for the prophet Ezekiel. He was sent to a specific group of people, the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:4). He did not go to foreigners or those who had never heard, but to those who had heard again and again and refused to obey…
Read MoreThe Birth of Jesus
by Doy Moyer Talking about the birth of Jesus Christ is needed at any time of year, but it seems especially fitting to do so when people are thinking in that direction. If we are not careful, we may too easily dismiss an opportunity to speak about one of the most important events in this…
Read MoreI Don’t Go to Church
by Dan Chaney “I’m a Christian, I just don’t go to church.” Maybe you’ve been burned by religious people. Maybe you have social setting anxiety. Maybe you just prefer other recreational activities on Sunday. Individual motivations really aren’t the focus of this post. “I’m a Christian but I don’t go to church” sounds reasonable, possibly…
Read MoreAm I Become Your Enemy?
by Robert F. Turner Paul had done some straight talking to the Galatian churches. He had said, “I am afraid of (for) you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain” (Galatians 4:11). Then, in Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” Paul knew how people often…
Read MoreThe Earliest Manuscripts
by Ferrell Jenkins “In the original Greek, it says…” How many times have you heard that in a Bible class or sermon? The fact is, we have no originals (autograph copies) of any New Testament or Old Testament book. Textual critics, those scholars who work with the available materials to produce Hebrew and Greek texts,…
Read MoreHe Tests the Mind
by Terry Wane Benton “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10). The sum of all our good and bad experiences in this testing ground called life is, in fact, a test of mindset or…
Read MoreFear of Truth
by James W. Adams (1914-2013) in Words Fitly Spoken, p. 60 My daughter’s friend expressed great interest in the doctrine of “Premillennialism.” It so happened that I was at that time engaged in a series of studies involving the subject on a television program. My daughter suggested to her friend that she might tune in,…
Read MoreMy Mom’s Legacy
by Jeremy Dehut I’ve been reflecting on Mom’s legacy. God has used her and Dad in incredible ways. Both of my parents came from broken homes where sin, abuse, alcohol, and other addiction was common. When mom was five her father died in a car accident he caused from drinking. My grandmother met her next…
Read MoreThe Good Life (Moyer)
by Doy Moyer Ask people if they want a good, happy life and they will say, “Yes. Of course.” No one wants a terrible, miserable life. Yet, while we all want the good life, many will think that this is not attainable. Or, if it is attainable, it is to be on our own terms,…
Read MoreThe Sabbath Was Saturday, Not Sunday
by Terry Wane Benton The 7th day of the week is the old Sabbath commanded of the Israelites (Exodus 20:8-11). Are we to keep it? No! We are not under the law of Moses (Romans 7:6). The inspired apostle Paul said that the ordinances of the law were “abolished” in His flesh (Ephesians 2:15). Jeremiah…
Read MoreGod’s Existence Doesn’t Depend on Me
by Perry Hall In Megan Rappinoe’s last game, she injured herself by tearing her Achilles tendon. She is the women’s soccer team captain and outspoken advocate for LGBTQT+. She immediately said afterward, “I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a god, like, this is proof that there isn’t”. Let’s examine her…
Read MoreThey Went Out from Us
by Terry Wane Benton Sometimes it is a hidden blessing to the local church when we lose some people and numbers. John spoke of some who ceased in heart to be “of us” (I John 2:18f). They “went out” because, in heart, they had been secretly drifting away from the truth being preached and could…
Read MoreThe Christian’s Attributes
by Jefferson David Tant “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities…
Read MoreSaved from the Wrath of God
by Doy Moyer To be saved from the wrath of God is generally equated in Scripture with being saved from judgment. It is set opposite of eternal life. For example, Jesus said, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God…
Read MoreJamaica Patois Wisdom – Experience
by Jefferson David Tant The Jamaican Patois dialect is colorful, unique, and humorous. It is my desire to share some of the philosophy shown in this mix of colorful phrases that are witty as well as thought-provoking. I hope the readers both profit and enjoy. In my quarter-century plus of teaching there, I have come…
Read MoreOne Last Verse
by Matthew W. Bassford Throughout my life, there was a series of verses that I identified as “my verse”. These were verses that, in some way, exemplified me or what I needed to become. I kept II Timothy 2:24-25 on my bathroom mirror for years because I needed the reminder. Later, I took great encouragement…
Read MoreRunning Away and Running To
by Perry Hall James 4:7-8 is taking on a more powerful meaning to me. Here’s the text: “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:7-8 CSB). Why…
Read MoreThe Chain of Authority
by David Gibson I am indebted to Owen D. Olbricht, who helped me understand the chain of authority. God the Father He is “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6). Jesus the Son Jesus frequently referred to Himself as having been sent by His…
Read MoreThe Doctrine of the Nicolaitans
by Terry Wane Benton Revelation 2:15 mentions the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and says that God “hates” that doctrine. Whatever it was, the church at Pergamos had members that taught this doctrine as well as the doctrine of Balaam (Revelation 2:14). Because of these doctrines in the church, God had “a few things against you.”…
Read MoreWhy Me?
by Doy Moyer If the blind man of John 9 asked, “Why me?” the answer would be “that the works of God might be displayed in you.” If the paralytic from Mark 2 asked, “Why me?” the answer would be “that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive…
Read MoreIsrael and the Promised Land
by Roger L. Leonard Because the Jews in the time of Jesus rejected the Old Testament prophets who foretold of Him and subsequently rejected Him as the Messiah, He said to them: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together,…
Read MoreKeeping House for the Lord Until the Doors Close
by Perry Hall “Keeping house for the Lord” or, “The church is closing its doors”. These are two phrases that you might have heard. A congregation, once in the 500s, is now “closing their doors.” I just heard of another, once in the 500s, stopped meeting after COVID. Both were in the “Bible belt.” Besides…
Read MoreAt What Moment in Faith?
by Terry Wane Benton Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:6,8). Of this, there is no controversy. The question is, “At what moment in faith does salvation or remission of sins actually become ours through faith?” Has God designated an exact moment? The answer is very clear unless one has an agenda guided by…
Read MoreWhy I Believe We Should Still Marry and Bring Children into the World
by Terry Wane Benton Is having children too risky? Seeing that the majority will end up lost, I have seen a number of faithful Christians lose their children to the world. Answer: That is a pretty defeatist way of viewing things. When was it not risky? I’ve seen people, who go at it already prepared…
Read MoreThings My Mom Taught Me
by Dee Bowman (1934-2021) Christianity Magazine, May 1997 It’s hard losing your parents. You labor under the strain of not having told them more often that you love them. You remember all the things they did for you and sit and wonder if you did much for them. I was home in Lubbock for the…
Read MoreWhat Do We Do with Deborah as a Judge?
by Perry Hall Deborah is a conundrum. And we shouldn’t be surprised because she is a woman! Joking aside, there is still the fact that Deborah is an aberration when it comes to judges because she is a woman. So much so is this true, that proponents on both sides of the debate concerning women’s…
Read MoreNo Man Ever Spoke Like This Man
by Terry Wane Benton On one most revealing occasion, some soldiers were sent to capture Jesus and came back empty-handed exclaiming, “No man ever spoke like this man” (John 7:46). What seems most impressive to me about the whole episode of Jesus is that He was feared, not because He might be physically dangerous to…
Read MoreThe Development of Papal Power
By Andy Sochor Unmasking Sophistry, October-December, 2023, Vol. 3, No. 4 The pope is arguably the most influential religious figure in the world today. Yet there was a time when the one who occupied this office was even more powerful than the current pope. He would not only be the highest-ranking member of the Roman…
Read MoreAnd So All Israel Will Be Saved
by Terry Wane Benton Romans 11:26 is typically misunderstood and misapplied. The church is the true Israel that will be saved. The gospel is the power to save (Romans 1:16). Being a mere Jew in the flesh does not save. There must be the circumcision in heart to make a true Jew (Romans 2:28-29). So,…
Read MoreNearer, my God, to Thee
by Doy Moyer Songs are magnificent. There is a reason God wants us to teach by singing, and I was reminded of this powerfully one night recently after I preached a lesson in a meeting. My lesson was called “Come to Bethel,” and I discussed Genesis 28, Jacob’s leaving the land, the sun going down…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Difference: Local and Universal Church
by Bill Robinson I have a lot of friends that I dearly love and count them as brothers who are going to disagree with this article. Nonetheless, there are others that I dearly love and also count as brothers, for whom I feel compelled to write this. We are fast approaching the idea that these…
Read MoreThorns
by Doy Moyer “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9). Paul had a weakness, a “thorn in the flesh” that he thought was keeping him from being as productive as he could have been without it. He prayed to the Lord three times to have…
Read MoreWhy the Change?
When the gospel was preached at Corinth, those who were fornicators, adulterers, and homosexuals stopped practicing those sins. “Such were some of you” (I Corinthians 6:8-11). Did the preachers actually preach against those lifestyle choices? Did no one worry that this kind of preaching was not politically correct? Are people being convicted of sin in…
Read More45th Birthday
by Matthew W. Bassford Today is my 45th birthday, a time for reflection if ever there was one. From an earthly perspective, this is a grim milestone indeed. It is almost certainly the last birthday I will ever celebrate. When I was in elementary school, I learned about Huntingdon’s chorea, what they call Huntingdon’s disease…
Read MoreIs It Circular Reasoning to Use the Bible to Prove God Gave It?
by Terry Wane Benton No! It might be circular if it was all written at one time. But we can demonstrate that the Old Testament was completed long before Jesus came. Therefore we get to consider the prophecies and how Jesus fulfilled them. The New Testament is eyewitness testimony of Jesus written when unbelievers should…
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