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

You Want Christ, But Not His Church?

Perhaps you have heard statements like these: “Salvation is in Christ, not in a church.” “Your relationship with Christ is not defined by your attendance at a church.” “I want Christ, but I don’t want the church.” “Christ did not die for us to be religious, but for us to be like Him.” “I don’t attend church, but I read my Bible and pray every day, so I know I’m right with God.” Do statements like these accurately express what God expresses in His Word?… Read more

Holy Spirit Baptism, or Water Baptism?

When Paul wrote his first inspired epistle to the church at Corinth, he wrote these words: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

When reading the verse above, those who are familiar with the Bible probably automatically think of similar passages, such as Acts 2:38-47, when people were added to the church upon baptism, or Galatians 3:26-28, where Paul said we are “baptized into Christ” and “there is neither Jew nor Greek…neither bond nor free,” etc.… Read more

20 Things to Understand About Romans 10:9, 10

Romans can be a difficult book to understand. Even Peter said some of Paul’s writings are difficult to understand (2 Pet. 3:15-18), but one should not get discouraged like those of John 6:66. Be like Peter, who persevered (Jn. 6:67, 68). Sadly, Romans 10:9, 10 has been misunderstood or twisted by untold numbers of people. Some seem to think this is the only passage in the Bible telling man how to be saved, and many have interpreted this confession to be “the sinner’s prayer.”… Read more

The Times of Refreshing and Restitution (Acts 3:19-21)

Acts 3:19-21 can be a difficult passage to understand, especially when trying to understand it without really examining the surrounding context and comparing with other passages. However, when one notices that the Holy Spirit (via Peter) is actually using the same kind of language He used in many other passages, the meaning becomes clearer. Acts 3 is the second recorded sermon of Peter after Christ’s ascension. Many marveled at the healing of a lame man in the temple, and Peter used the occasion to preach the Gospel, with the last words of the sermon being these (Acts 3:19-26):

(19)  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (20)  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: (21)  Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.Read more

What Does This Mean? (Regarding Baptism)

Years ago a married couple responded to a door knocking campaign by expressing interest in a personal Bible study. My wife and I studied with them, and we eventually got to the subject of baptism. Upon reading various Scriptures, the woman with whom we were studying acknowledged that baptism was necessary for salvation, but her husband was in denial of this fact. After studying other pertinent Scriptures, we all read these words together:

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

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