The 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…

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Examine the Scriptures

by Doy Moyer We are familiar with the attitude of the Bereans in Acts 17:11: “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” The primacy of Scripture is key to the noble-mindedness of the Bereans.…

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A God of Patterns

by Doy Moyer God is a God of patterns. This means there is order, method, and sequence to His expression and will. To deny patterns is to deny order, to accept that God’s will is disorderly and not subject to method, arrangement, and sequence. Is God’s will so chaotic? When people deny that there are…

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Has “that which is perfect” always been the Bible?

Question: Hello, I have a question regarding whether “that which is perfect” has always been the New Testament. Before the question, let’s consider some verses of Scripture, Jas 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,…

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What If I Want to Eat the Cake I Have?

by Perry Hall “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Well, you can’t eat your cake unless you have it in the first place, so duh! Then again, to “have” can mean to “eat” as a synonym. Why would one have a cake if they didn’t want to eat it? This would all…

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Is the Bible Incomprehensible?

by Gardner Hall A growing number of articles in the last few years emphasize difficulties in translating the Scriptures. Perhaps they are slightly helpful in giving pause to some “hyper rationalists” who declare that all the Bible is easy if you’ll just let them interpret it for you! However, such essays need to be read…

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It’s in the Greek

by Greg Gwin As we study and discuss the New Testament there is sometimes a reference made to things that are contained in the original language. Someone will mention that “the Greek says” this or that. It’s not a bad thing to try to understand something about the meaning of words as used by the…

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You Can’t Understand the Bible Without the Watchtower!

by Jefferson David Tant The September 2007 Kingdom Ministry had a Question Box that said the Governing Body does not want Jehovah’s Witnesses to meet privately to discuss the Bible. That’s strange. For people who claim to be devoted Bible students … it seems that the leadership really doesn’t want them to read the Bible…

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Can We All See the Bible Alike?

by Jefferson David Tant Religious division exists on every hand. In every city and village, buildings are erected as monuments to religion. Some say this is good, but the bottom line is that this represents confusion and division. There are multiplied thousands of sects or denominations within what is called “Christianity.” This division is confusing…

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The Bible Is Understandable

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/The-Bible-Is-Understandable.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 119:97-112   I.         When it comes to religion, people seem to prefer having a mystery             A.        Those in leadership of many denominations prefer it because people depend on them for answers.             B.        Those in the ranks of denominations are satisfied having others tell them what they need to know.             C.        The problem…

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Am 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…

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What am I supposed to get from John 1:12?

Question: Good morning. I really don’t know. What am I supposed to get from reading and studying the Bible? For instance: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” What should this mean to me? Answer: To understand…

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Hard 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…

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Growing Deeper

by Ken Green “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me” (Psalm 42:7). The 17-18th century Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet, Sir Walter Scott wrote of the Bible: “The most learned, acute and diligent student cannot, in the longest life, obtain an entire knowledge…

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Handling the Scriptures Aright

by Terry Wane Benton Confusion is present when the scriptures are not “handled aright” (II Timothy 2:15). False teachers handle the word of God “deceitfully” (II Corinthians 4:2). There are basics to handling the scriptures carefully and correctly. Know who is writing, and who they were writing to. We are reading these documents second-hand. They…

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Bible Stories

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Bible-Stories.mp3 Text: II Peter 1:16-21   I.         “Grandpa, read me a story.”             A.        Children love hearing a story and so stories are selected to teach the children some lessons             B.        Most of us don’t grow out of the desire to hear a story. Whether from reading a book or hearing a podcast or watching a movie, stories have…

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That’s Your Interpretation!

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Thats-Your-Interpretation.mp3 Text: II Peter 1:10-21   I.         When you want to read a book which was written in French, but you don’t know French, what do you do?             A.        You find an interpretation of the French book into a language you know.             B.        An interpreter copies the meaning of something from one language into another language.             C.        But can…

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The People Who Get to Understand

by Matthew W. Bassford Classical Calvinism teaches that it is impossible for the unregenerate to understand the word of God. We first must be anointed by the Holy Spirit before we can comprehend it and be saved. At first glance, Matthew 13:11 appears to support this doctrine. Here, Jesus says to His disciples, “Because the…

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Understanding the Bible

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Understanding-the-Bible.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ezra 7:6-10   I.         God has given us the truths we need             A.        It will make us perfect – II Timothy 3:16-17             B.        It tells us how to live life and to be godly – II Peter 1:2-4             C.        What is written will help us believe – John 20:30-31 II.        The answers we seek…

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Considering the Context

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ConsideringTheContext.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text:   II Timothy 2:14-18   I.         My wife and I have done it numerous times and I’m sure it has happened to you as well. We’ll be talking about someone we know and then a comment is made that leaves you totally puzzled. So-and-so doesn’t have a relative by that name; at…

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The Misunderstood Jesus

by Doy Moyer Understanding people is often difficult. What do they mean? How are they using phrases? Are they being literal or figurative, or both? In person, we can ask and clarify, but when we are reading what others said, we can easily misinterpret because we are not hearing the inflections or seeing their gestures.…

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The Helper

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Helper.mp3 Text: John 16:1-15   I.         Lifting a few statements from their context can often make a writer appear to say things he never intended.             A.        It happens in politics all the time, and it happens in religion as well.             B.        In his last hours, Jesus made a series of promises concerning the Helper…

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Don’t you think we need new methods to interpret the Bible?

Question: I think the reason that churches don’t grow is that they are stuck in the past using outdated methods to interpret the Bible.  What we need are some new methods.  What do you think? Answer: Well, I don’t have anything new – just some very old observations.  In fact, it would be hard to…

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How do you know you’ve understood the Bible correctly?

Question: Hi there, I have a question about the different ways people read the Word of God. Overall each one has something right, but I would mainly like to know of a way of reading the Bible and taking it to heart. How is this specific method obtained through the Scripture? A fellow worker and…

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How do I ensure I am following what the Bible truly means?

Question: Greetings Brother Hamilton, Upon my defending the gospel and the one true church many learned men desire to use the Restoration Movement as an assault against the church of Christ claiming it could not possibly be the true church. How do you deal with such attacks? Also, I do not desire to follow the…

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How can I figure out the truth when so many people disagree?

Question: This is part of the problem I’ve been having: If something is part of the Old Law then why don’t Jews today try to make homosexuality a death penalty in places like Florida, Israel, or anywhere there’s a large Jewish population? It is this inconsistency between people and what’s said in the Bible that…

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How can I check my own understanding if I misunderstand the Bible?

Question: How can I check my own understanding in comparison to the Bible, if I misunderstand the Bible itself? Answer: “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). The first point to realize is that the Bible is understandable. Yes, people do twist the teachings of God,…

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What Do You Expect from Your Bible?

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/WhatDoYouExpectFromYourBible.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 119:1-8   I.         When you open your Bible, what do you expect from it? II.        Some Expect a Rule Book             A.        Just the other day I was asked “Where do I find a list of God’s laws in the Bible?”             B.        The Bible is not a reference book where you can look…

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Is the natural man unable to choose anything that is spiritual?

Question: I had someone quote to me I Corinthians 2:14. Does this mean that the natural man will not choose anything that is of a spiritual nature?  I believe that we have a free will to choose what we so desire, but if we were all in times past a natural man, would we desire…

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Are some passages impossible to understand?

Question: I have some questions about Calvinism if you can please help me with them. I was talking to a friend who believes in Calvinism (or some form of it) and we were talking about God wanting all men saved in regards to whether God chooses to save some above others. I told him that…

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Understanding the Word

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2010Fall4UnderstandingTheWord.mp3 by Skip Sebree Communication Between God and Man

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Novel Understanding

by Doy Moyer I don’t try to be novel in my understanding of Scripture. I am not aware of any particular view I hold on specific passages that is “way out there” compared to how others generally and historically see the same passages. That is not to say that there are no differences or disagreements.…

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Should we always understand a passage literally?

Question: I have a friend who told me that, when we read Bible, if it is possible for us to do so, we should take it literally, but I do not think it is always the case. For example, in Matthew 6:17, Jesus said we should “anoint your head” when we fast, but I do…

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Spiritual Illumination

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/SpiritualIllumination.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 3   I.         What does it take to understand the Bible?             A.        I had one woman object to an article stating that the Ten Commandments were not directly in effect because they were a part of the Old Law.                         1.         She told me to read several verses which stated not…

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Can a person understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit’s help?

Question: Regarding the Ten Commandments: Hi there. My advice is that you take and read the Bible. Do not put your ideas into it. There are other people who do understand the Bible. Therefore, read Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32. This is exactly what you do on your web site. I am sorry. I do not try…

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