Posts Tagged ‘understanding’
The Secret Things
by Matthew W. Bassford Many Christians don’t venture deep into the wilds of Deuteronomy, but Deuteronomy 29:29 is a text that is relevant for everybody who thinks deeply about spiritual things. In it, Moses says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to…
Read MoreKnowing God
by Terry Wane Benton Just because one person does not know God, does not mean that nobody really knows God. The atheist and the skeptic do not know God, and they assume nobody can know God, but that is just their assumption based upon their own ignorance. Just because they don’t know God does not…
Read MoreThree Aspects of Learning
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Three-Aspects-of-Learning-1.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 24:3-6 I. There are three aspects to learning, whether we talk about school work or Bible study A. Proverbs 2:6 – The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding B. Proverbs 24:3-4 – Compared to a house 1. Knowledge is the comprehension of facts. It fills our minds with pleasant and useful…
Read MoreThe Law of Contradiction
by Ken Green Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, delivered a speech on Nov. 17, 2020, which was digested in “Imprimis,” a publication of the school. It is titled, “Orwell’s 1984 and Today.” He says, “I taught a course this fall semester on totalitarian novels. We read four of them: George Orwell’s 1984, Arthur…
Read MoreThe Elephant in the Room
by Jefferson David Tant People use many devices to mitigate or cancel out plain Bible teaching. This ancient practice can be traced to the Old Testament. Seven hundred years before Christ, Isaiah was dealing with a rebellious people. God told him: “Now go, write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a…
Read MoreCan We Know the Truth?
by Ward Hogland Not too long ago I received a phone call from a young preacher in Tennessee. He said, “Brother Hogland, I am in a quandary. My elders called me in on the carpet and told me to stop saying that I preach the truth. They advised me to start saying, I preach what…
Read MoreWho Is Wise and Understanding?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Who-Is-Wise-and-Understanding.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: James 3:13-18 I. The Bible speaks of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom A. Knowledge are the many facts about life and the world we live in. B. Understanding is the ability to take several facts and combine them to arrive at new information. C. Wisdom is knowing when information ought to be applied…
Read MoreThe Problem with a Comprehensible God
by Matthew W. Bassford In my time as a preacher, I’ve had my share of conversations with people who thought they had a moral or philosophical justification for their agnosticism/atheism. They found something in the Bible they didn’t like. Maybe it was God commanding the slaughter of the Canaanite children. Maybe it was God condemning…
Read MoreWill I be judged for not being as smart as another person?
Question: Good evening. I am having trouble understanding intellect. Is intellect a worldly thing or does it come from above? I understand Colossians 3 and how it identifies the things we should be thinking about and the things we need to mortify. It didn’t mention intellect precisely, but I do believe it takes intellect to…
Read MoreWho Is Jesus to You and What Are You Doing About It?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2019Fall7Who-Is-Jesus-to-You-and-What-Are-You-Doing-About-It.mp3 by Andy Cantrell Finding Our Purpose from the Past
Read MorePrecept Upon Precept, Line Upon Line
by Jeffrey Wilkes “The Bible is so difficult to understand,” an acquaintance recently asked. “Why is it written this way?” The Holy Spirit through Peter acknowledges that some things in Paul’s letters are hard to understand: “As also in all his [Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard…
Read MoreHow to Misunderstand the Bible
I. Yet another book appears on the bookshelves claiming to help the casual reader to better understand the teachings found in the Bible. A. “The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart” by Peter J. Gomes. B. The author claims that contents of the best selling book in the world is mostly unknown and misunderstood. C. In…
Read MoreThe Constitution and the Bible
by Terry Wane Benton The debate over the Constitution illustrates some of the same problems in agreeing over the Bible. The problem does not come from these documents. It comes from the agenda of those who approach either one. Some are intent on making laws to fit their own will and so they are not interested…
Read MoreThings a Blind Man Saw
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ThingsABlindManSaw.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreDisbelief in the Coming of Jesus
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/DisbeliefInTheComingOfJesus.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 3:1-15 I. Many false doctrines are rooted in a simple belief that word or phrase that has a particular meaning in one context has the same meaning in all other contexts. A. For example, the Greek word presbuteros in Acts 2:17 means someone advanced in age 1. So does…
Read MoreYou May be Surprised to Learn …
by Doy Moyer Have you ever taken for granted certain things and believed them, just because that is what you have been told? Perhaps you find yourself in that situation now, believing and doing things because that is what you were told. Religious people sometimes believe and practice something because a preacher said it, or…
Read MoreI’m Not a Scholar, But …
by Doy Moyer It’s interesting to me how we sometimes couch our arguments with disclaimers that may end up casting doubt upon the very arguments we are trying to make. I tend to get a little suspicious of the argument when someone starts that way (including my own). Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that the…
Read MoreWhy the Jews Did Not Believe
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/WhyTheJewsDidNotBelieve.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 12:27-43 I. It is a curious thing, the Son of God lived among men (John 1:14) yet He was rejected A. John 1:9-11 – Even among those who were expecting Him, those who had claimed to be God’s children, did not accept him. B. How can this be? II. Because they…
Read MoreLogic in the Bible
by Terry W. Benton While some modern brethren have declared that the logic of “necessary inference” has been made up in recent years by “church of Christ preachers”, the Bible shows that this kind of logic goes back to communication from God and man from the beginning. If anyone should be credited with the origin…
Read MoreMoments that Test Us
by Mike Thomas Persecution reveals the quality of our faith in the same way fire reveals the nature of metal (I Peter 1:7). But persecution is not the only moment that reveals our character. There are other scenes in life that are just as effective in exposing our inner man: Being Alone Photo by Warren…
Read MoreWith so many ways being taught, who am I supposed to follow?
Question: Christ liberated us from legalism. I’m confused about determining what is wrong in our culture. I’ve always been brought up with a tough view on things that aren’t customary. My question is: if we’re called to preach the gospel to the world, how do we do it? Are we to be with the world…
Read MoreSinging with Understanding
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SingingWithUnderstanding.mp3 by Alex Hamilton
Read MoreYou Just Don’t Understand
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/YouJustDontUnderstand.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 119:97-104 I. Some people are confident that no other person can possibly understand what they are going through. A. “You’ve never struggled with addiction” B. “You have more money, so you can’t understand my difficulties.” C. “You grew up in the church, I didn’t.” D. “You’ve never experienced prejudice.” E. Do you have…
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 MoreThree Roads to Learning
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. There are three roads to learning, whether we talk about school work or Bible study A. Prov. 2:6 – The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding B. Prov. 24:3-4 – Compared to a house 1. Knowledge is the comprehension of facts. It fills our minds with pleasant and useful things 2. Understanding is the reasoning…
Read MoreCan a non-Christian truly understand forgiveness?
Question: I understand that it is impossible for a non-Christian to understand the concept of true forgiveness toward another person. Is that correct? Answer: Most spiritual concepts are difficult for non-believers to grasp. Not because the concepts are hard, but because it requires looking at the world from a framework that makes non-believers uncomfortable. “These…
Read MoreIs 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…
Read MoreWhat Can be Known Can be Shown
by Tim Nichols All rational students of the Bible want to be told, by teachers and preachers, not just what to believe, but also why those things are to be believed. Every faithful teacher of the Bible is prepared to deliver both in clear terms. Bible doctrines are all taught by specific Bible passages and…
Read MoreSing with Understanding
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SingWithUnderstanding.mp3 Text: I Corinthians 14:15-20 I. Singing is an expression of joy – James 5:13 A. It is form of worship and a way of teaching – Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16-17 B. Of course, people sing things all the time without thinking about what they are saying – just ask kids today what are the lyrics to…
Read MoreWhat does Matthew 13:12 mean?
Question: In Matthew 13:12 it says, “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” What does this mean? Answer: “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”…
Read MoreGod Expects Us to Think
by Steven Harper According to a well-known American philosopher, “A man full of faith is simply one who has lost (or never had) the capacity for clear and realistic thought” [H.L. Mencken]; another one said, “What has religion to do with facts? Nothing” [Robert Green Ingersoll]; and “Star Trek” creator and producer, Gene Roddenberry, said,…
Read MoreDifferent Views of Truth
by Shane Williams via The Lilbourn light, Vol. 9, No. 11, March 2009. Isn’t it interesting that two people can see the same thing and come away with two different conclusions? The same thing can be said concerning what we hear or what we read. When the twelve spies were sent to explore the Promised…
Read MoreDefinitions for the Songbook
by John Guzetta via “Tower of Strength” Vol.25, No.1. Jan.3, 2010, Lake Wales, FL with some additions by Thomas Thornhill Sometimes, kids come up with comical things. I know a sister in Christ, who, when she was in elementary school, used to think Jesus Arose began, “Low in the gravy lay Jesus my Savior.” What a…
Read MoreNotes on the Words and Terms Used In Our Songs
by Roger and Becky Williams -A- Abba – Aramaic for father; Mark 14:36 abhor – to shrink away from with disgust abide – to continue to stay; remain; wait abode – a dwelling place; home acclamation – strong approval or loud applause accord – being in agreement; harmony adoration – devoted love, respect, and honor…
Read MoreCan the Bible be understood by the common man?
Question: Have you heard of Eli Soriano? What do you think about his teachings? Answer: I looked briefly at Eli Soriano’s website. I’m afraid I didn’t get far because there was a statement on the first page that I knew to be contrary to God’s Word. “The Bible contains many things hard to understand. Such…
Read MoreInterpretation Versus Belief
by Phillip Owens via The Elgin Hills Examiner, Vol. 1, No. 5, May, 2006. “Interpreters” explain or give the meaning of words from one language to another language. No one would knowingly say of a competent interpreter, “Well, that’s just his interpretation,” meaning that his translation is only an opinion, has no solid basis to…
Read MoreThere’s too much to learn. How can you not sin?
Question: In my frustrated life, I began to search for answers and clues and anything that could lead me to answer what on earth am I here for and found your website. I found it insightful and thought-provoking. My question to you is how can you be sure to know God’s plan for your life…
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