luke-24:47

Let us first consider points one and four of Calvinism’s TULIP: Total Depravity and Irresistible Grace. Without a doubt they are intrinsically linked, and thus it is almost impossible to consider one without mentioning the other. (Moreover, the other three points are built upon these pillars, and if... Read More

We are told that the sudden deaths of Ananias and Sapphira brought fear upon the church and everyone else (5:11). Clearly, that was God's intention. There was such an obvious cause-and-effect relationship between Ananias' and Sapphira's hypocrisy and their demise that the divine message was unmistak... Read More

It is interesting that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness specifically to be tempted by the devil (4:1). It was God's plan. Had Jesus faced no temptation, it could not be truly said that He was sinless, and as I mentioned yesterday, He had to be sinless to atone for our sins. God does n... Read More

Our unique reading plan is designed so that we journey through the New Testament chronologically, with the exception that we are reading one of the four Gospels every quarter. Hopefully, it has been helpful to know that after two decades of the church's existence, the New Testament consisted of only... Read More

Since I mentioned some of today's reading in my last commentary, I think I'll mention some of our last reading in today's commentary! Specifically, I would like to consider Jesus' words about forgiveness in Mark 11: Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that yo... Read More

Agnostic and celebrity astronomer Carl Sagan used to keep a framed postcard near his shaving mirror—just so he could see it every morning. On the back was a penciled message to a Mr. James Day of Swansea Valley, Wales. It read: Dear Friend, Just a line to show that I am alive and kicking and going g... Read More

In last month's e-teaching, Christian Clichés that Contradict Christ, I questioned the truthfulness of six Christian clichés concerning God's "unconditional" love. There was one more cliché that I wanted to mention but didn't have enough space, the very common saying, "God loves the sinner but hates... Read More

With the ratio of favorable to not-as-favorable responses being so lopsided, I debated if I should address, in another e-teaching, the objections of those who disagreed with me. In the end, I decided to respond for at least three reasons. First, because the letters of disagreement were for the most ... Read More

“Sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Gen. 4:7, emphasis added). As was pointed out in the previous chapter, our sanctification is a joint effort on the part of God and ourselves. We grow to be progressively more like Jesus as we cooperate with the Father... Read More

It is always pure joy to discover more people who are focusing on the substance of what following Jesus is supposed to be all about—loving God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. These two commandments are what Jesus said are most important and what encapsulate all the rest (see Matt... Read More