Is a Wife’s Submission Shameful?

Many people today hear the word submission and immediately think of something degrading or humiliating. They associate it with weakness or inferiority, and thus the Bible’s teaching about a wife submitting to her husband is often quickly dismissed without proper consideration. The Scriptures present a very different picture, which is neither shameful nor demeaning. Submission is honorable, reasonable, and an example of God’s wisdom in designing the home. Any group of people requires leadership to be orderly and function properly.… Read more

A Tremendous Lack of Love

If we know the Truth but refuse to live by it, this reveals a tremendous lack of love on many levels.

• A lack of love for God: If we truly loved Him with all our hearts, we would be doing His will to please Him and to be with Him forever (Mt. 22:36-38; 1 Jn. 2:3-4; 5:3).

• A lack of love for Christ: If we truly loved God’s Son, we would be obeying Him out of gratitude for His selfless sacrifice: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn.… Read more

Leaders Must Lead

Throughout history, God has revealed that in any group of people, there is a great need for leadership. A system of authority can bring order out of chaos and peace out of strife. Even in a group of only two people, such as the husband and wife, God has placed one in authority over the other, giving the husband the leadership of the household (Eph. 5:22-24). There is also a type of leadership in the Godhead Itself, in that God the Father is Head (Psa.… Read more

What If Jesus Were Coming Back Next Week?

When asking the question, “What if Jesus were coming back next week?” understand that there is absolutely no way to know when Jesus will return. Jesus said we cannot know when He will return, and even Jesus Himself did not know when He would return: “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). Paul wrote that there is no need to waste time speculating about “times” and “seasons” regarding Christ’s return: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.… Read more

Why Ephesians 2:8-9 Does Not Teach Salvation by Faith Alone

• Acts 19 records the day the Ephesians were saved, and they were not saved by faith alone or told to pray—they were baptized to wash away their sins, just as others had been (Acts 19:5; cf. 2:38; 10:35; 22:16). Ephesians 2 was written after they had been saved by grace through obedient faith, submitting to Christ in baptism (Mt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-16; Gal. 3:26-27).

• Paul was not contrasting faith and obedience, but grace and the Law of Moses.… Read more

Why the Thief on the Cross is Not the Pattern for Salvation Today

  • The New Covenant was not yet in effect. It came into effect after Christ’s death (Heb. 9:15–17; Col. 2:14). The thief was forgiven under the Old Covenant, not the New Covenant of Christ. We now live under a different covenant with different conditions of forgiveness.
  • The Great Commission had not yet begun. Jesus had not yet commanded belief and baptism for the salvation of all nations (Mt. 28:19–20; Mk. 16:15–16).
  • Jesus still had authority on earth to forgive sins personally.
… Read more

Samaria: The Site of Sin for Centuries

From Jeroboam’s corruption to Philip’s Gospel preaching—how a region known for rebellion became ripe for redemption.

When King Jeroboam led the northern kingdom of Israel away from Jerusalem (c. 931 B.C.), he also led them away from God. Fearing that the people would return to Jerusalem to worship, he set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan, saying, “Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kin. 12:28).… Read more

“Christ Sent Me Not to Baptize” – What Paul Meant

Was Paul teaching that water baptism is not necessary for salvation when he wrote these words in 1 Corinthians 1:17: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel…”?  Notice:

1. Paul did baptize. Paul baptized people such as Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas (1 Cor. 1:14–16). His words cannot mean that he never baptized anyone. Paul was carrying out the Great Commission of our Lord for all nations to believe and be baptized for their salvation (Matthew 28:18–20; Mark 16:15–16).… Read more

Recent Headlines vs. Bible Truths

1. No one man pastor system – God’s Word never shows one man as “the pastor” of a congregation (always a plurality who meet God’s strict requirements), and pastors (elders/bishops/overseers/shepherds) are not the same as evangelists/preachers (Acts 14:23; 20:17, 28; Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).

2. No sinner’s prayer for salvation – forgiveness is granted at baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16); prayer is how people get forgiveness after baptism (See Acts 8:12-13, 22-24; cf.… Read more

Why Christians Cannot Be Masons

Freemasonry is a worldwide organization claiming to promote morality, brotherhood, and charitable works through secret rituals and symbols. Though it presents itself as a moral fraternity, its own writings reveal it to be a religious system that contradicts the Bible.

Freemasonry did not originate in Bible times, though some claim it traces back to Solomon’s temple. In reality, the first Grand Lodge was organized in London, England, in 1717, and the first American lodge was formed in Boston in 1733.… Read more

What I Can and Cannot Control

Years ago, an older brother in Christ gave me some advice that is worth sharing. He said if you are stressed about a lot of different things, take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle of the page. On one side of the page, write the things that you cannot control, and on the other side, list the things you can control. Then fold the page in half so you can only see what you can control.… Read more

Men, Keep Your Shirts On

Many people now consider it socially acceptable for men to be shirtless in public, with much of their bodies on display. Is this pleasing to God? For many years, faithful Christians have taught that God set an objective standard for modesty that applies to both men and women when He clothed Adam and Eve in a garment that covered them from the neck to the knees. Scholars and commentators also note this same point.

In Packer and Tenney’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, the Hebrew word translated as “coats” (KJV) or “tunics” (NKJV) in Genesis 3:21 is described as a garment that reached from the neck to the knees, and sometimes to the ankles.… Read more

God Comes First

Jesus left no doubt about the top priority in life: God must come first. No relationship, career, or personal interest should ever take priority over our loyalty to Him. In fact, placing anything above God is a form of idolatry (Col. 3:5).

1. God Comes Before Family – Jesus warned that following Him may cause division, even in our own households: “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.… Read more

Isaac, a Foreshadowing of Christ

Jesus told the Jews who sought to kill Him, “Search the [Old Testament, JPH] scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Christ is seen throughout the Bible, including in the life of Abraham’s son Isaac, who lived about 2,000 years before Christ came to earth:

ISAAC – Son of Abraham, the son of promise (Genesis 17:16ff)
CHRIST – Son of Abraham, the Son of promise (Gen.… Read more