In the eighth chapter of the book of Acts, we have both God and Satan at work. Satan, through the person of Saul and other Jewish leaders, is trying to destroy the church (Acts 8:1-3). But God, as He has done so many times in the past, is able to take the efforts of the […]
There are some very important things that we have a tendency to devalue. Sadly, one of those things is the Word of God. While this may be predictable in regard to the infidels of our society today, it should never be the case with those of us who make up God’s elect. The Word of […]
Man has many ideas about what it takes to be a true disciple of Christ. In Matthew 16:24 we have the opportunity to allow Jesus, Himself, to tell us. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” The word “if” in the […]
The Hebrew writer said, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). The salvation that God has provided for mankind is truly a great salvation. Why is it such a great salvation? Let us see. 1. It is a great salvation because it involves a great Savior. Jesus is a great […]
We have seen in this short series of articles that spiritual gifts existed in the first century. Jesus performed miracles, and so did His apostles, as well as many Christians in the first century church. Their miracles were undeniable (Acts 4:16). They did not heal inward ailments that could not be verified. They did not […]
In our last article on this subject, we studied about the purpose of spiritual gifts. We learned from the Bible that the miraculous gifts of the first century were for the express purposes of confirming the Word of God (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:3-4) and for edification (1 Corinthians 14:26). Why were gifts needed for those […]
In our last article we began to look at the purpose of the spiritual gifts seen in the New Testament. As I previously wrote, when one understands the purposes of spiritual gifts, as well as the intended duration of those gifts, ignorance about them will decrease. So, we began by looking at the purpose of […]
Spiritual gifts have always been a topic of much interest among Bible believers. Unfortunately, much error has been taught and practiced regarding spiritual gifts over the years. In the first century there existed an improper attitude towards some of the gifts and misconduct so far as the use of the gifts is concerned. Since the […]
Three times inspired writers of the New Testament said, “The just shall live by faith.” Paul said it twice (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11), and the Hebrews writer once (Hebrews 10:38). Both men were probably thinking of the words from Habakkuk 2:4 where the prophet wrote, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright […]
The APA (American Psycho-logical Association), reports that stress among Americans is on the rise (USA TODAY, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, 7D). The report tells us that women are more likely to experience higher stress levels than men, singles have more stress than those married, and that money, work and high housing costs are the biggest […]