I once asked a woman working in a convenience store if she believed the Bible and if she believed in Heaven and Hell. She nodded her head and said she did. I then asked if she could tell me what I would need to do to go to Heaven if I had never become a Christian. Before she could answer, her female co-worker spoke up rather loudly and said, “Get down on your knees and pray.” … Read more
Did Christ Do ALL the Work on the Cross?
Christ finished His main mission on earth by giving His life on the cross, saying, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30), but today some are twisting His statement into a false doctrine. They claim that since Christ said, “It is finished” on the cross, there are no “works” (no actions) men can do today that will have any affect on their salvation. This has led some to the conclusion that baptism cannot be essential, and that once a person is saved, there is no work he is required to do.… Read more
Questions About the Thief on the Cross
If you believe the account of the penitent thief on the cross being forgiven proves that people do not have to be baptized today to become saved, here are a few questions to consider:
1. Can it be proven that the thief had never been baptized to have his past sins forgiven? (see Matthew 3:2, 5-6; Mark 1:4; John 4:1-2).
2. Is it possible to sin after baptism? (see Acts 8:12-ff).
3. Is it possible to be forgiven of sins committed after baptism?… Read more
Your Greatest Happiness: In the Past or the Future?
Is your greatest happiness in the past, or in the future? If we live our lives always looking back, it’s like running backwards in a race we desperately need to win. That will only slow us down and make it very difficult to reach the goal. We cannot go back to the so-called “good old days,” but we can go somewhere even better. We are getting farther and farther from the past and our youth, but if we are faithful Christians, we are getting closer and closer to Heaven!… Read more
Have Ye Not Read?
Did Jesus emphasize reading God’s Word? The following is from Matthew’s Gospel account:
“Have ye not read…?” (12:3).
“Or have ye not read…?” (12:5).
“Have ye not read…?” (19:4).
“Yea; have ye never read…?” (21:16).
“Did ye never read in the Scriptures…?” (21:42).
“…have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God…?” (22:31).
If we do not know the Scriptures well, we will be easily deceived and may even deceive ourselves into thinking we are saved when we are not.… Read more
The Quran is Not the Word of God
The Bible is the Word of God.
If the Bible is the Word of God, the Quran is not the Word of God, because the Quran contradicts many fundamental concepts found throughout the Bible.
If the Bible is NOT the Word of God, the Quran is not the Word of God, because the Quran claims that the original words of the Bible came from Heaven (Quran 2:87, 136; 3:3; 4:163; 5:46), and that words from Heaven cannot be altered or corrupted (Quran 6:34; 6:115; 10:64).… Read more
Time Does Not Wash Away Sin
Time does not wash away sin. Twenty years or more may pass after a sin is committed, and men’s memories may fade, but God’s memory does not. Children of God can deceive themselves into thinking they are fine or someone they love is fine, even when repentance has not occurred, but the blood of Christ is the only thing that can wash away sin, and simply waiting a certain length of time does not make one contact the blood.… Read more
Would You Dare Pull Someone Away from Christ?
How often have faithful members of the Lord’s church begun teaching a lost person, only to have someone else convince the potential convert that he does not need to listen? How often has someone been baptized into Christ, only to have friends or family convince him to leave Christ’s church and become a part of some group that is not in the Bible and not truly following the Bible? Statements or questions like the following are often posed to the person being pulled away: “Who told you that you had to be baptized to be saved?… Read more
Was Water Baptism Only Required for Jews?
When Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost asked what they should do to be saved, Peter commanded them to “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…Save yourselves” (Acts 2:38, 40). In efforts to explain away the clear teaching of Acts 2 and the necessity of water baptism for salvation today, some claim that water baptism was only required for Jews, not Gentiles, and only for a temporary period.… Read more
Understanding Ephesians 2:8, 9 (slideshow)
Selective Outrage
Have you ever noticed that sometimes people become irate over what a particular person or group does, but they ignore the same actions when others (who are usually in their circle) do the same thing? This is called “selective outrage,” and it often happens in politics, when one party does something, and the other party becomes outraged. Then the same outraged people “turn a blind eye” when someone on their side does the same thing that had previously caused them to get outraged.… Read more
The King’s Law on Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage
Young people especially need to be taught Jesus’ law on marriage, divorce, and remarriage before they get themselves into regrettable, spiritually deadly situations. When God joins a man and a woman together in marriage, the only authorized reason for them to ever divorce is if one of them commits fornication (having sex with someone outside the marriage relationship). The original word translated as “fornication” means “illicit sexual intercourse,” according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon. The spouse innocent of fornication may then divorce the spouse guilty of fornication and remarry an eligible person of the opposite gender.… Read more
The One Body of the Saved
What do the following things from the Bible have in common?
– The body of Christ
– The flock of Christ
– The fold of Christ
– The kingdom of Christ
– The nation of Christ
– The church of Christ
– The nation of Christ
– The family of Christ
– The bride of Christ
They are all Biblical descriptions of the one group of people saved by Christ, the group purchased with the blood of Christ in the first century A.D.… Read more
Regarding Easter
Christians in the first century A.D. did not celebrate anything called Easter. The word “Easter” (which many sources say is derived from the false fertility goddess Ishtar / Ashtoreth / Astarte / Eostre / Eastre, depending on the source) in Acts 12:4 of the KJV is a disappointing translation of the original word “pascha,” meaning Passover. Passover was not the day Jesus was resurrected, but the night they took Him to be slain (Matt. 26:17-ff; cf.… Read more
They Don’t Sing on Sundays Anymore
The following is from a blog post called, “Why They Don’t Sing on Sunday Anymore.” It was written by a man named Thom Schultz, who is not a member of the church of Christ. I am not bidding him Godspeed but using his words to show how man’s “innovations” in worship have backfired on them. By the end of the article, Schultz finds himself desiring the kind of music God requires in New Testament worship–corporate, reciprocal singing from the heart (everyone singing together to the Lord while also singing to one another) (Eph.… Read more