Posts Tagged ‘salvation’
The Scheme of Redemption
by Bryan Vinson The Scheme of Redemption in Prophecy The Scheme of Redemption in Type The Scheme of Redemption in Preparation The Scheme of Redemption in Perfection and Presentation
Read MoreWhat God Has Done to Keep You Out of Hell
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/What-God-Has-Done-to-Keep-Us-Out-of-Hell.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreThe Truth About God’s Love
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-Truth-About-Gods-Love.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 5 I. The world is filled with varying and confusing ideas about how God loves us. A. Typically the emphasis is placed so heavily on God’s love that many think that God is incapable of a negative thought against anyone. B. Others see God as so remote and unapproachable that…
Read MoreWhat Calvinists call “the Finished Work of Christ”
by Terry Wane Benton The Calvinists are often heard making of “the finished work of Christ” something that was never intended. They say there is nothing we can do to be saved. They say all doing is “finished” by what Christ did on the cross. But that is a misuse of the verses. Sure, Christ…
Read MoreThe Mystery of Godliness (Moyer)
by Doy Moyer Paul through the Spirit provides what early Christians confessed, possibly even sang. He calls it the “mystery of godliness.” Yet what had been a mystery was revealed and understood through Jesus (Ephesians 3:1-6). “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit,…
Read MoreExpecting the Impossible
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Expecting-the-Impossible.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 19:16-26 I. With God, all things are possible – Matthew 19:26 A. Even the saving of a wealthy man, if he desired to be saved. B. Yet, we must understand that some things are impossible for even God 1. It is impossible for God to lie – Hebrews 6:17-18 2. He cannot…
Read MoreGod with Us
by Doy Moyer The coming of Jesus into this world, with all it entails, is more important than any or all events in this world combined. The light has come into a world of darkness, and darkness could not comprehend it. God is with us. Consider that Joseph was told not to be afraid to…
Read MoreCalling on the Name of the Lord (Thetford)
by Richard Thetford I am sure that our readers have heard people say words to the effect, “If you are not a Christian, all you need to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and you can be saved.” Some will tell you to say, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner,” or…
Read MoreHas This Been God’s Will Always?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Has-This-Been-Gods-Will-Always.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreThe One Thing that Matters
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-One-Thing-that-Matters.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 11:5-13 I. How do you pray? What do you pray for? A. A young Chinese preacher asked me to explain Luke 11:9-10 better so that he could teach others in his area better B. God is all knowing, but God expects us to ask 1. Consider how many people won’t even…
Read MoreSalvation by Grace (Bassford)
by Matthew W. Bassford Recently, I have become an even louder proponent of grace, indeed of the naked necessity of grace, than I ever was before. I can tell from the comments I’ve been getting on social media that this has made some good brethren nervous. They reply with variations of, “Yes, but you have…
Read MoreConsider the Lord’s Loving Kindness
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Consider-the-Lords-Loving-Kindness.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 107 I. Whatever our life, we need to acknowledge God loving kindness toward us – Psalms 107:1-3 A. Many talk of Psalms 107 as a song of God redeeming the nation of Israel from Babylonian captivity. 1. But this isn’t about a nation. It is about groups or categories of…
Read MoreHow did people get saved before Jesus was crucified?
Question: How did people get saved before Jesus was crucified? Answer: Prior to Jesus, people were expected to live in obedience to God. “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not…
Read MoreSaved Through Water
by Matthew W. Bassford Genesis 7:11-24 tells the story of the greatest cataclysm ever to overtake the earth. Because the wickedness of man was great on the earth, God sent a flood to cleanse it by destroying everything that lived on the land. In this flood, every human being died except for eight. The patriarch…
Read MoreIs salvation a miracle?
Question: Hello Brother Jeffrey, Is salvation considered a miracle? I ask because the gospel is described as the power of God and in the Strong’s Concordance, the same word is used in some places for miracles. Also, Ephesians 2:1-10, Titus 3:4-7, II Timothy 1:9-10, John 6:44-45, Colossians 2:11-12, II Timothy 2:24-26, Acts 2:48, Philippians 1:3,…
Read MoreIf One Verse Was All We Needed
by Terry Wane Benton If one verse said it all, and we needed no more than one verse to be saved, I would choose Ephesians 2:5. “By grace you have been saved.” That way, I wouldn’t have to believe, repent, confess, or be baptized. I would rest my case here and just tell people they have…
Read MoreAm I really saved if I didn’t understand Jesus’ resurrection?
Question: Lately, I’ve been struggling with wondering how long I’ve been saved. For a while, I think that I might’ve been under the impression that Jesus’ resurrection was just spiritual rather than both physical and spiritual. I don’t really know why I assumed that for a period of time, but I did. I was later…
Read MoreDoes the grammar of Acts 2:38 mean that the gift of the Holy Spirit can’t be salvation?
Question: I believe the gift and promise of the Holy Spirit is salvation, but a brother in Christ has told me it cannot be, due to the Greek grammar of “shall receive” in verse 38 having “middle voice future tense”. He believes salvation cannot be the gift since the gift is future tense middle voice,…
Read MoreJericho and our Salvation
by Jefferson David Tant After reading the title, some might wonder what the battle of Jericho has to do with our salvation today. The battle when Israel conquered Jericho was about 1410 B.C., over 3,400 years ago. Thus the question might be, “What in the world would some event over three thousand years ago have…
Read MorePrisoners of Hope
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Prisoners-of-Hope.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Zechariah 9:9-12 I. The book of Zechariah is one of both scoldings and exhortation. A. The people after their return from captivity had fallen into complacency and indifference toward their religion. B. Zechariah calls them to change through warnings – Zechariah 1:2-6 C. And he encourages them through visions of the future.…
Read MoreI want my friend to be saved but she isn’t listening
Question: Sir, Keep up the good work. I want my friend to be saved. She is falling away from Jesus Christ constantly and she is only fifteen! She knows the truth, but she just does not want to listen. She is falling away like Sodom and Gomorrah! My question is who are the two witnesses?…
Read MoreThe Sinner’s Prayer – Not Found
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Sinners-Prayer-Not-Found.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreChariots of Fire
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Chariots-of-Fire.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 6:8-23 I. Ben-hadad, king of Syria, caused much grief for the northern kingdom of Israel A. He made many raids into Israel, but he soon ran into problems B. While his strategies were planned in top-secret, the king of Israel always seemed to know them in advance and had…
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 MoreJustification by Works and Baptism
by Matthew W. Bassford At the end of Romans 3 and the beginning of Romans 4, we encounter the most famous of Paul’s teachings: justification by faith in Jesus. Throughout the context, he contrasts it with justification by works. Abraham was not justified by works, nor was David, nor can we be. From this magnificent…
Read MoreHard Sayings
Hard Sayings – Part 1Hard Sayings – Part 2 Text: Hebrews 5:5-14 I. There are hard sayings in the Bible A. When Jesus was followed by a crowd looking for free food, he began explaining that they needed to seek spiritual food that only he could offer – John 6:35 1. Eventually Jesus said something hard to…
Read MoreWas baptism commanded in the Old Testament at the time of John the Baptist?
Question: Was baptism commanded in the Old Covenant at the time of John the Baptist? I thought baptism was not commanded in the Old Testament for salvation. I have always heard that baptism was not commanded in the Old Testament. Am I missing something here? Mark 1:4 mentions John’s baptism of repentance for the remission…
Read MoreNo Condemnation
by Ken Green Text: Romans 8:1-4 The major theme the apostle is dealing with continues to be the results of justification by faith. This thesis was taken up in Romans 5:1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have…” The closing verses of chapters 5, 6, and 7 serve to underscore the direction of the…
Read MoreThe Living Redeemer
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/The-Living-Redeemer.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 49 I. When we get ourselves into difficulties, most of us depend on our family to help us out A. I Timothy 5:8 – A Christian is to provide for his own. B. Proverbs 17:17 – A brother is born for adversity II. In the days of the Old Law a…
Read MoreResist the Devil
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Resist-the-Devil.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: James 4:1-10 I. When we are faced with temptation, it is a struggle to resist A. The urge to give in seems overwhelming. Even when we know we should not, too often we do it anyway – Romans 7:14-15 1. Since the action goes against what we know and want to…
Read MoreBy Grace Through Faith with the Washing of Water
by Terry Wane Benton Notice the prepositions: by, through, and with. The Book of Ephesians uses all three to describe what is involved with our salvation. It teaches we are saved by grace. It teaches we are saved through faith. It teaches we are saved with the washing of water by the word. It is…
Read MoreIs salvation in Acts 2:21 salvation from the destruction of Jerusalem?
Question: A member of the church has told me that Acts 2:21 is talking about rescue from danger or destruction, not salvation. He told me “saved” in verse 21 is not salvation from sin, it is saved from the Jerusalem destruction. Another member of the church said in the immediate context of the quotation from…
Read MoreWhy Water?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Why-Water.mp3 Text: John 3:1-12 I. Jesus stated that unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven – John 3:5 A. We understand, despite efforts by many to avoid it, that Jesus refers to baptism when he said one must be born of water B. Today, I would like to…
Read MoreMy past makes me unworthy of God
Question: I have been doing well concerning abstaining from pornography. I suppose it has been over a year since I last involved myself in that mess. Prior to that, I had gone about three years without giving in to it. I certainly can’t say I have overcome that sin, but I guess I would say…
Read MoreHow Noah Was Saved
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/How-Noah-Was-Saved.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 3:18-22 I. In our reading, Peter draws on the account of Noah’s salvation to illustrate how the Christian is saved. A. Many people object to the straight forward reading of I Peter 3:21 because it stands contrary to what they have accepted. 1. To many people, baptism is simply…
Read MoreWhy would we need to work out our salvation when God is working in us?
Question: In Philippians 2:12, we are told to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. But verse 13 says “for it is God worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” I have never, to my knowledge, heard verse 13 quoted before. It seems most stop at verse…
Read MoreAnother Chance
by Carey Scott Many people in the denominational world embrace doctrines which offer a second chance to everyone. Many realize that they will fail God, and the thought that they might get a second chance intrigues them. For some, this is all the crutch they need to just continue in their sins, for after all:…
Read MoreWhy did God have His Son killed instead of just killing the devil and ending everything?
Question: I’ve seen this reposted on several internet platforms and I just want to know your thoughts on this: why did God have His Son killed instead of just killing the devil and ending everything? Answer: Ending Satan immediately would seem like a just response to the misery Satan has caused in this world. However,…
Read MoreGenealogy Women
by Whit Sasser The genealogy of Jesus Christ, recorded in chapter 1 of Matthew, is interesting and educational in more ways than one. But, one item of interest has to be the women who are mentioned. Generally, it is a list of the male ancestors of Jesus beginning with Abraham, but a few women are…
Read MoreHow can my sins be forgiven without receiving salvation?
Question: Good day, Acts 2:38 says after obeying the gospel our sins will be forgiven and we will receive salvation (gift of Holy Spirit). Please expound on how my sins can be forgiven without receiving salvation. Thanks. Answer: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus…
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