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Are the Books of Mormonism from God?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton In the days of Moses, God told His people that prophets would come to tell them what He wanted His people to do. Yet, how would the people know that a person who claimed to be from God really was from God? God pointed out two straight-forward tests: “If there arises…
Read MoreAll Christians Are Priests
by David J. Riggs from Catholic Teaching Examined A study of the New Testament reveals that all Christians are priests. Peter said, “You too are living stones, built as an edifice of spirit, into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5; The New Catholic Translation). Thus, all Christians…
Read MoreAddiction
by William C. Sexton The word addiction is one we usually associate with drugs. An “addict” is defined as “one who has a confirmed habit, as the overuse of drugs…” (Webster’s). If we look, however, we can see that one can be addicted to almost anything; that is, to have a “confirmed habit.” I suggest…
Read MoreOn Using the Bible to Prove the Bible
by Doy Moyer via Mind Your Faith The charge is sometimes made against biblical apologists that they just use the Bible to prove the Bible. The implication, of course, is that this is circular reasoning and, therefore, erroneous. They want other sources outside the Bible that verify it, not the Bible itself. Once they set the…
Read MorePlease Judge Me
by Bryan Gibson That’s right, it’s time we flipped the script on the overused and misused slogan of so many — “don’t judge me.” Me personally, I want to know when I’m wrong — in any area of my spiritual life. I do “examine (my) own work” (Galatians 6:2); I do “judge” myself (I Corinthians 11:31), but…
Read MoreGiven to Change (Benton)
by Terry Wane Benton “My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those given to change; For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring?” (Proverbs 24:21-22) To be “given to change” is to be reckless. This is not a person who is careful to…
Read MoreThe Poor Lame Man and the Church
by Terry W. Benton Just shortly earlier than the scene in Acts 3 is the story of the beginning of the church and the fellowship they had with each other (Acts 2:42f), the selling of possessions to divide among all the saints that had need (due to the unexpected overstay that they, as former unbelieving…
Read MoreShould Paul Have Been Embarrassed?
by Terry W. Benton Matthew wrote a book that aired the “dirty laundry”, so to speak, of his Jewish nation, just as the earlier prophets had done before, only now it was worse because God’s great “blessing to all nations” was now being rejected as a “troubler” in Israel. Matthew even shows Jesus driving some…
Read MoreDid He Say That? John Calvin on Instrumental Music
by Doy Moyer Why is it that those who want to identify with Calvinism are quick to quote Calvin on matters like predestination, but don’t appear to want to quote Calvin on instrumental music in the assemblies? Here are a couple of pieces of Calvinism that modern Calvinists seem to have missed, so I’m just…
Read MoreHandsome Is as Handsome Does
by Aubrey Belue Which “Handsome is as handsome does” means: “back up your words with your actions.” “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and…
Read MoreRuling with Love
by Irven Lee via Truth Magazine, January 1, 1981 An elder is to be “one that ruleth well his own family, having his children in subjection with all gravity; for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” (I Timothy 3:4-5). The elder…
Read MoreCome as You Are
by Dan Gatlin A popular notion of our generation is “attend the church of your choice.” Sectarian bodies, promoting this concept, have tried to make themselves as attractive as possible to the general population in order to increase their membership. There are some churches that focus on a particular group of people, i.e. there are…
Read MoreOn Personalities
by Doy Moyer via Mind Your Faith The thousand faces of the actor. One of the many concepts that come through Scripture is how God can use different personalities to accomplish His work. Paul was not Peter, and John was not Matthew, and these differences in personalities, vocabularies, and ways of phrasing ideas are obvious just…
Read MoreSpina Absentia
by Jefferson David Tant According to my 9th Grade Revised Latin, the title means “no backbone.” Physically, this devastates the body, making it impossible to function. This is tragic. But more tragic is spiritual “spina absentia.” This “spinelessness” is too common in the Lord’s body, and we need the “Great Physician” to stiffen the backbone…
Read MoreYou’re Right! You Don’t HAVE to Be Baptized.
by Jason Smith I have had many discussions about the subject of baptism with people, and it never fails that sometimes, during the discussion, they just deny what the scriptures say about the topic. They at times just say, “I deny what you are saying about baptism,” ignoring the fact that all I am doing is…
Read MoreOn Thinking We Are Right
by Doy Moyer One of the consequences of postmodern thinking is that we can think whatever we want, but we aren’t allowed to think that we are actually right. In other words, there is no capital T in “truth.” To think we are right is to commit one of the gravest mistakes of our day,…
Read MoreQuoting Men
by James P. Needham via Truth Magazine, October 1958 A great deal of confusion prevails among us today on the subject of quoting men. Some brethren quote outstanding preachers and scholars, both dead and alive, for various reasons. Others condemn quoting men in such a broad, sweeping way that the impression is left that quoting men…
Read MoreGod Knows My Heart
by Marilyn LaStrape Those of us who have evangelistic courage for the lost and continuing concern for the unfaithful probably have heard the title of this article in defense of their lifestyle choices. When questioned or challenged about accountability, God “knowing their hearts” is often the response. “I know I need to change my life,…
Read MoreIs Sirach Inspired?
by Mike Thomas There is confusion over whether or not the Apocrypha are inspired and whether or not they belong in the canon of the Bible. We can have confidence in knowing these books were not authored by God. In between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New…
Read MoreHe Who Knows Not
by Irven Lee In my high school days, my biology teacher kept some brief expressions of wisdom written on a small section of the blackboard that was near the ceiling on the front wall of his classroom. He left some of them there for several weeks before he would replace them with others. Five decades…
Read MoreMorality, The Government, and Christians
by Doy Moyer Moral statements and positions will, necessarily, impact political issues. This is not because morality is inherently political, but because the government has the task of recognizing the difference between good and evil, so moral issues will have to be dealt with (Romans 13:3-4). This means that, contrary to what is so often…
Read MoreRecycled “Open Fellowship” Concerns
by Aubrey Belue Solomon truly said, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of…
Read MoreWho is Amenable to God’s Laws?
by Glenn Young The fact that I am a preacher of the gospel has involved me in many discussions about various biblical issues. While working with a particular congregation, I conducted a radio program designed to allow callers to ask Bible questions. On one occasion, a caller questioned us about a marriage situation involving divorce…
Read MoreThe Best Day of the Year
by Forrest D. Moyer July 1986 “Write on your hearts that every day is the best day of the year.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson] There is such a fault among us — especially in myself. We tend to think that somewhere in this year there is going to be a very special day or maybe a…
Read MoreThe New Gnosticism: Intellectualism
by Jeffery Kingry via Truth Magazine, March 22, 1979 The Gnosticism of the first century, which gave the apostles and teachers so much trouble, was a religion, not a philosophy. It was grounded in Dualism, a view that the state of man was divided; that only spiritual things were good, and anything of matter is essentially…
Read MoreSalvation Is Neither Deserved nor Earned
by Doy Moyer Salvation cannot be earned for the simple reasons that: If deserved, it isn’t salvation. We deserve what we are saved from, not what we are saved to. If deserved, it isn’t grace. Grace grants something good that we don’t deserve. Sin makes it impossible to earn or deserve salvation (Romans 3:23; 6:23),…
Read MoreReasoning from Scripture
by Doy Moyer No reasoning takes place without drawing conclusions from implications. Just try it. Statements and examples often come with the expectation that we draw further conclusions. The point of reasoning and discerning is that we are capable of taking what is explicitly given, then reasoning to conclusions that are, in fact, necessary. For…
Read MoreRevelation 14 and the Harps
by Doy Moyer I’m dealing here with a very narrow aspect of the question of instruments in worship. In support of the use of instruments in worship, we often hear Revelation 14 brought up. Because this passage is used positively, and because it involves the use of instruments, then this is supposed to prove that…
Read MorePsallo
by Dan King via Truth Magazine, May 15, 1980 In all likelihood, the most difficult and confusing aspect of argumentation for or against the inclusion of the instrument in worship is that which surrounds the Greek verb psallo. This is true for a number of reasons, but one of the most obvious is the fact that most…
Read MoreWhat Constitutes Obedience? (Thetford)
by Richard Thetford A passage of Scripture comes to mind when I hear the word “obedience” and that is from I Samuel 15:22 which says: “And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and…
Read MoreThe Sovereign Love of God
An Examination of Romans 9 by Bruce Reeves Introduction June 23,24,26,27, 2005, Bruce Reeves debated Calvinistic Baptist Gene Cook on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. The first two nights Mr. Cook affirmed, “The scriptures teach that the alien sinner is forgiven of his past sins by faith only, before…
Read MoreRighteous Judgment (Article)
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Truth is narrow. There is only one truth. We prefer the truth, but often we are attracted by falsehoods. You watch a movie and see the hero do what you know are impossible deeds. You hear the people on screen witness to the impossible deeds as if they were facts. So…
Read More“He Done Good” (Isaac Watts)
by Wayne S. Walker Isaac Watts, who lived in the late 1600s and early 1700s, was a short man. My friend Rob Speer and I occasionally commiserate with each other about the fact that we are both, well, shall we say, somewhat vertically challenged. But Isaac was really small — less than five feet tall;…
Read MoreHow Did the Elephant Get Its Long Trunk?
by Bryan Sharp How did the elephant get its long trunk? In his fairy tale, “The Elephant’s Child,” Rudyard Kipling fictionally describes how the elephant got its long trunk. Originally, we are told, elephants had short noses, but one day a young elephant got too close to the river and was attacked by a crocodile.…
Read MoreThe Redemption in Christ: An Examination of Romans 3:19-5:21
by Sean P. Cavender Paul indicted all people, both Jew and Gentile, as guilty of sin before God (Romans 3:19). It is due to man’s ungodliness that the wrath of God is revealed, and He will judge all sin as worthy of death (Romans 1:18,32). The reality of sin is frightening and condemning. What is…
Read MoreFaith and Works (Sharp)
by Keith Sharp The doctrine of salvation by faith alone is fundamental to Protestant theology. The old Methodist Discipline stated, “Wherefore, that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.” The Standard Baptist Manual, by Edward T. Hiscox teaches, “… the great gospel blessing which Christ secures…
Read MoreYou Shall Not Murder (Dearman)
by Jim Dearman “You shall not murder!” That was God’s command as part of the Ten Commandments, and it is reinforced in the New Testament. In Romans 13:9, the apostle Paul refers to the commandment from Exodus 20:13. There he writes, “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall…
Read MoreA Natural Defense
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton LA Times I found yet another interesting article in the paper today. Bed bugs have been making a comeback and scientists are looking for solutions that don’t involve chemicals. A traditional defense against bed bugs in eastern Europe is to spread kidney bean leaves on the floor and to the scientists’…
Read MoreOn Some Nebulous “CoC” Thing
by Doy Moyer I often see discussions where people keep referencing some “CoC” position, or “CoC” tradition, or “CoC-er” or whatever. So… here are a few thoughts about that adapted from a previous discussion. What exactly is this CoC to which people keep referring? Is there some particular local group of Christians they have in…
Read MoreYou’re in the Minority
by Wayne S. Walker One of the arguments often made by those who promote moral and social change away from God’s standards, for example in the matter of so-called “homosexual marriage,” is that “you conservative traditionalists are in the minority.” It is claimed that more and more people are “coming around” to support “homosexual marriage”…
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