Elymas
The second half of Acts (chapters 13-28) is a history of the activities of Paul as he fulfilled the call Jesus had made to him. When Ananias hesitated to fulfill the direction of the Lord to go preach to Saul, the Lord said, “Go thy way; for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to […]
“The Lord Hath Need of Them”
Acts 12 records the death of the first apostle, James. It also records the third imprisonment of Peter. James and John, sons of Zebedee and Salome, were among Jesus’ earliest disciples. They were apparently the first disciples of John the Baptist. John pointed Jesus out to them and John 1 tells that John and Andrew […]
Does It Matter What We Believe About Creation?
While some of our brethren affirm their belief that the physical world came from a God-guided “Big Bang” several billion years ago, others maintaining faith in the literal interpretation of Genesis still ask what difference it makes if one teaches a God-guided “Big Bang”. They ask if we all believe God did it, does it […]
The First Gentile Christian #3
In past posts we have studied details leading up to the conversion of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, who was the first Gentile to be converted to Christ. Even in in his uncircumcised state, he could stand equal with every Jewish convert already a part of the kingdom of God. When Peter arrived in Caesarea and […]
The Days of Jonah
Jesus said, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40). We have always taken this as a true, actual event (Jonah 1:17). However, with the enlightenment of […]
The First Gentile Christian #2
Cornelius was a Roman centurion who was stationed in Caesarea. Although Cornelius was a Gentile, he was a worshipper of God. Cornelius’ devotion to his religion is described by the historian who said of him that he was a “devout man and one that feared God with all his house, and gave much alms to […]
The Customer Is Always Right?
In the business world, there are many companies that operate on the philosophy that the customer is always right. In other words, do what the customer wants you to do. The idea is, keep the customer happy, keep him coming back. Some religious organizations have adopted this same philosophy. They believe in doing what the […]
A Creator of Dissension
When the apostle Paul was arrested and put on trial before Felix, Tertullus said of him, “For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In modern terms, Paul was said to be a […]
Correction … and a Lesson
Once upon a time, I published a post which contained the following sentence: “If the preacher is speaking sound doctrine, the church will not be sound.” This was an error that should have been caught by proof-reading. It should have said: “If the preacher is not speaking sound doctrine, the church will not be sound.” […]
What Is a Cult?
A four-part documentary recently aired on Amazon Prime entitled “Shiny Happy People.” The documentary exposed the cult of Bill Gothard and his religious movement known as Institute in Basic Life Principles as a cult. However, the documentary also seemed intent on branding all who believe in Jesus as cultists. The term “fundamentalist religions” was used […]