"…the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." —1 Tim. 3:15
What does it mean to “speak in tongues”? Most would likely say “tongues” are languages that are unknown to the human race, and that only God (and perhaps angels) can understand. But they would be wrong. The first thing we must understand is that the word “tongue” is simply a synonym for “language.” Thus, to
What is religious unity? Many would say that the essence of “religious unity” is “agreeing to disagree,” or getting along despite your differences. Well, God is certainly a proponent of “getting along” despite differences (cf. Rom. 12:18); but He is NOT a proponent of “agreeing to disagree” in matters of religion. In The Test of
Do you hate God? Don’t answer yet. Properly ponder over this pragmatically prolific profundity—er, just think about it for a few seconds. In Mark 12:30, Jesus said the greatest commandment is that man love God with every fiber of his being (cp. Deut. 6:4,5). So, what about you? Do you love God, or hate Him? (Thinking
Without controversy, one can declare that God does not change (Mal. 3:6). But what many may not realize is that the same is true of God’s spiritual principles. Among these is the exclusive nature of God’s “positive” commands—that is, “When God says, ‘Do THIS,’ it means, ‘Don’t do THAT.’” Let us briefly consider the clearest
Are you a member of the body, or a citizen of the kingdom? WAIT! Whew, that was close… Before you answer, we have to consider what these two designations mean. Just hold your little horses for a minute… MEMBER OF THE BODY In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul has an extended discussion on the body of
Parents often ask questions to their children that are just plain silly. For instance, when a child spills a drink, a parent may hotly demand, “Why did you do that?” Clearly, it was an accident, and there was no “why” to it! But still we ask. Then there is my personal favorite, the mother of
In Part 1, we began by noticing that God is asking many of us, “Where art thou…on the mission field?” Beyond all doubt, that applies to far too many of us; and the evidence heavily supports it. But there is yet another time when the Lord may direct toward us the question, “Where art thou?” It is a time
In Genesis 3, man falls from the grace and fellowship of Jehovah God. Eve was deceived by the serpent; Adam was tempted by Eve; and both of them ate of the one tree from which God had commanded them to abstain. As a result, “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
Now we look at the protagonist—the heroine—of the story: Dorothy. As we saw that the scarecrow, tin man, and cowardly lion each represent a different type of Christian, so Dorothy represents a kind of Christian as well—a type of Christian that is urgently needed today. Let’s consider three New Testament men who can be compared to
One of the most famous stories of all time—thanks to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s classic 1939 motion picture production—is L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The story features a protagonist, Dorothy, who is swept away by a ravaging tornado in her Kansas home, and mysteriously lands in a fantasy world. Her only objective is to get home,