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Equality is a big thing for us today. We want "equal pay" and "equal rights" and equal everything else. The Supreme Court of the United States intentionally redefined marriage to produce "marriage equality" -- what they call "gay marriage." The modern church has all but folded entirely to the notion of equality that requires the ordination of women to church leadership despite clear biblical command to the contrary (1 Timothy 2:12-15). We will have equality by whatever means possible. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that…  ( Click for more )

There is a chilling phrase tucked away in a well-known passage in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. You know the passage. He gives "the gospel I preached to you," how Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again and appeared to lots and lots of witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:1-9). Good stuff. And really important. Almost buried in that text is this interesting and ominous comment. He says that he is reminding them of the gospel they were taught and by which they were being saved "unless you believed in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:2). Wait,…  ( Click for more )

Rick Warren wrote The Purpose-Driven Life. This is not that. This is something else. We are told that we need to find our purpose in life. We are told that we each have a special purpose and if we can find it and fulfill it our lives will be so much better. So we go on searches; we look thither and yon. We take personality tests and life inventories. We try to find ourselves. Because we know if we can find what our purpose is, life will be so much better. Good news! I'm here to help. Scripture says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).…  ( Click for more )

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for…  ( Click for more )

Now, if you will, turn with me in your Bible to 3Peter 2 where we will look at what the Bible has to say about our Internet interactions. Okay, not there. The Bible doesn't talk about the Internet. But that's not entirely correct. It does say some things that might be pertinent. I'm thinking right now about "social media", about Twitter and Facebook, about blogs and vlogs and people commenting on stories. We who care about the truth (and most people claim to care about the truth) will see an offensive statement, position, argument, belief, idea -- whatever -- and…  ( Click for more )

Paul writes to the Ephesians about Christian living. He contrasts the unbeliever with the believer when he says "you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds" (Ephesians 4:17). They operate in darkened understanding and alienation from God due to internal ignorance and hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:18). "But that is not the way you learned Christ," he says (Ephesians 4:20). How, then? "Put off your old self," he says (Ephesians 4:22). That old self is part of the former life and "is corrupt through deceitful desires."…  ( Click for more )

When I was young we had a politically incorrect character from Frito Lay that was in a lot of their commercials. He was the Frito Bandito. He was a bumbling thief with a Hispanic accent trying to steal Fritos. He had a large buddy with him who was apparently much brighter than he was except for the fact that he was following the Frito Bandito around. In one "episode" the Bandito tried to break into the Fritos factory only to find himself, through a series of errors, piled in a heap outside the door with aches and pains but no Fritos. The last lines of the commercial went…  ( Click for more )

I can't tell you how many times I've heard Christians say, "God accepts you just as you are." I understand the sentiment, but the statement is just not factual.

In several places Scripture speaks to the problem of those who will not make it to heaven. One of the obvious (because it comes up a lot) is Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will…  ( Click for more )

The whole "Social Justice" juggernaut has been in full combat mode for some time now, but especially in religious circles. I say "religious" because there is a large, self-identified Christian component, but I question the connection of "social justice" and "Christian". These "Social Justice Warriors" (SJWs) trot out "social justice" as the primary goal and first aim of Christianity itself, and I'm simply asking, "Is that so?" What does the Bible say? In order to understand this properly, we have to figure out…  ( Click for more )

Scripture says, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19). We've run over that so many times that I suspect we aren't even seeing it. So let's look. What is "reconciliation"? Basically, it is the restoration of friendly relations. Included -- required -- in that concept is that we do not currently have friendly relations. So there is a conflict that has to be settled. In the topic at hand, then, who has the conflict? God and us. Who is at fault? Us. So who has to do the reconciling? Us. But, wait! Do you see that this…  ( Click for more )

I have, for most of my life, suffered from the delusion that I'm good for nothing. Okay, so most of the time it wasn't "good for nothing", but certainly inferior. I've never been "best" at anything. At those rare moments when I started to think I wasn't completely worthless, something would happen to remind me that I was ... inferior. Fed by a faulty measure of "worth", I have often had to fight a tendency to think little of myself. It's an ongoing thing for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone in it. God has some interesting things to say about folks…  ( Click for more )

I can't tell you how many times I've heard Christians say, "God accepts you just as you are." I understand the sentiment, but the statement is just not factual. In several places Scripture speaks to the problem of those who will not make it to heaven. One of the obvious (because it comes up a lot) is Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will…  ( Click for more )

We all know that we're supposed to worship God. We (Christians) are clear on this. We get it. Anything else is idolatry. But, just like the kid who asked his dad, "Who made God?", do you ever ask "Who does God worship?" At first look, of course, the question is ridiculous. Well, both of them. Because no one made God and God worships no one. Or, at least, that's how we might respond. But if you look at how people -- Christians -- think, I'm not so sure that is an accurate reflection of their actual beliefs. There have, on multiple occasions, been discussions…  ( Click for more )

"I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:10-11,14…  ( Click for more )

There is a group (I'll call them "PD's") who will tell you that Paul's writings are valid for today -- for the Church -- as opposed to the Gospels, James, John, the Old Testament, Hebrews ... well, any other author in Scripture. Those are not valid for today. They don't give the gospel for today. The primary difference? "They taught," they will tell you, "salvation by faith plus works. Paul teaches salvation apart from works." The rest of us hear this and scratch our heads. Peter said that salvation was by Christ alone (Acts 4:12) and we've maintained…  ( Click for more )

Look around. Things get crazy these days. Yes, I know, those darn liberals are out of control. The feminists and leftists and abortionists and ... you know, all "them" guys ... they're just not right. But even in Christendom it's wacky. There's a big-name, well-known, well-loved guy in Houston that assures Christians that they can live their best life now, that we're all supposed to be wealthy. There are "superstars" who tell us that God wants us all to be healthy and the only thing that is causing you not to be is your lack of faith. There are people who defend…  ( Click for more )

In America the standard is "free speech." It's everywhere. Is Facebook wrong for throttling "free speech" for users or is it absolutely right for blocking what it deems "hate speech"? Should universities allow "free speech" on their campuses or should they be "safe spaces"? Should Christians be allowed to share the Gospel with whomever they want whenever they want or is it right for certain entities, government or not, to limit them? Is making a cake or flower arrangement for a "same-sex mirage" speech or not? What about,…  ( Click for more )

In everything, give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Like ... ... the standards: - Wife - Parents - Kids - Family - Employment - Living in America - Health - Wealth - Comfort - All the good things ... the less noticed: - Running water - A hot shower - A roof over my head - Transportation - Feet on which to put shoes - Eyes with which to see - Functioning body parts - Air to breathe ... the unexpected: - "Unanswered prayers" - Missed opportunities - Red lights - A dead battery - That horribly-timed flu - The lost job - The death of a…  ( Click for more )

We all know that the Garden of Eden was paradise. No sin. No sadness. No error. Until, of course, that crafty serpent (Genesis 3.1" data-version="nasb95" data-purpose="bible-reference" target="_blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(70,149, 156); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Genesis 3:1) came along. What was it that got us thrown under the bus? It wasn't that the serpent was merely making suggestions. It wasn't that the serpent had some good ideas. It wasn't that God was a cosmic killjoy and the serpent was offering…  ( Click for more )

Technically, the term "military drill" refers specifically to the mass marching of soldiers, but we know there is more to it than that. The military has "drills" and "exercises" all the time. They send their troops -- sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines -- through simulated events to practice, practice, practice. Why? The idea is simple. If you can get them used to doing certain things in certain situations, when the real situations arise, they will do them without having to think about it. It's like "muscle memory." Muscle memory is not…  ( Click for more )

There is a mysterious verse in 1John. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)

The topic is "What we will be has not yet appeared." The conclusion is "We shall be like Him." But the reason given is interesting. "Because we shall see Him as He is." In short, then, "What we shall be is like Him because we shall see Him as He is." That's a little strange. How will seeing Him as He is make us like…  ( Click for more )

My wife watched me put together my taco -- cheese, meat, lettuce, onions, sauce, cheese, cheese, cheese. "Isn't that a little too much cheese?" she asked. "I'm not sure there's such a thing," I quipped. But I'm talking now about the gospel. We know what it is, right? Right? I mean, we've heard it, haven't we? We've preached it (Mark 16:15), haven't we? Enough? Too much? Is there such a thing? The word "gospel" first appears in our English Bibles in Matthew 4:23. And He (Jesus) went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming…  ( Click for more )

I've already written about various ways we can know if we have eternal life, if we are among the saved. It's interesting that they are mostly behavioral. They are almost entirely rooted in what we do (Matthew 7:17-20; Luke 8:15; John 15:8). Mind you, what we do doesn't save, but faith without works is dead faith (James 2:17) and the notion that you can be born again, indwelt by the Spirit, empowered by God, and have a new heart and not change is, frankly, nonsense. Biblically, however, there appears to be one test repeated above all others. We've already looked at it, but it…  ( Click for more )

John tells us his purpose in writing his first epistle. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

The whole purpose was that you may know that you have eternal life. Note that it was written to specific people. It's not for everyone. It is written "to you who believe in the name of the Son of God." But the intent is clear. You can know that you have eternal life. It is interesting, then, to read through John's repeated use of the phrase, "By this we know." Since…  ( Click for more )