"…the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." —1 Tim. 3:15
One of the rules of correct Bible interpretation (“lesser” though it may be) is this: On any given topic, interpret the more difficult and obscure passage(s) in light of the more clear and obvious one(s). In other words, view a difficult passage through the lens of a clearer passage on the same subject. An easy example is Luke 14:26, where
When we open the New Testament, we have the blessing of reading two invaluable things: 1. The inspired record of the things Jesus did and taught. 2. The inspired record of the things Jesus’ chosen apostles did and taught. In no other place can one find these treasures. In no other place on planet Earth
Does God speak to you? Has God ever spoken to you? Do you know someone who claims that God has spoken to them? Many claims about God today can be easily countered by what God Himself has said in His word. One of those claims is that of God “speaking” to men directly today. But
Did you know there are over 30,000 various “Christian” “churches” in the world today? Did you know that—in the New Testament (NT)—there is only ONE church (Matt. 16:18; Rom. 12:4,5; 1 Cor. 12:12,13,20; et al.)? That leads to this eternally important question: HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CHURCH IS THE CHURCH? In the New Testament—especially in the
QUICK RECAP FROM PART 1: A “tongue” is simply a “language.” The “tongues” that some first-century Christians spoke were actual, intelligible, human languages, the knowledge of which was given to them miraculously by the Holy Spirit. Hence, “the gift of languages.” But there is more. In 1 Corinthians 14, over half of the chapter is
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