¹⁸ We know that everyone having been born of God does not continually sin, but the one having been born of God, He keeps him and the evil one does not touch him. (1 John 5:18 translated from the NA28 Greek text to English) 

In the 1 John 5:18 (above), in the best manuscripts, the word I translated as “him”  after the word “keeps” is the Greek noun αὐτὸν(auton), a personal pronoun, which is the Accusative, Singular, Masculine case of αὐτός(autos), “he, she, it, self, same.” Continue reading →

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The exclusivity of Christ is a fundamental truth of the Christian faith, and it is a doctrine that is under attack from many quarters today. In an age of increasing pluralism and tolerance, the notion that salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ is often seen as narrow-minded and intolerant. But the Bible is clear that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), and it is our duty as Christians to defend this truth and proclaim it to the world. Continue reading →

4 We will not conceal them from their children, But recount to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, And His strength and His wondrous deeds that He has done. Psalms 78:4 (LSB) 

God is good. He is beyond our comprehension in His magnificence and the depths of His mercy. He is Holy, Righteous, and Just. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Immutable. Oh, let us praise Him from grateful hearts. Continue reading →

6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days. 7 “May my enemy be as the wicked And the one who rises against me as the unjust. 8 For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, When God requires his soul? 9 Will God hear his cry When distress comes upon him? 10 Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times? Job 27:6-10 (LSB) 

One of the easiest accusations that Christians can hurl at one another is the epitaph “Hypocrite!” I probably receive at least half a dozen emails or comments a week with that accusation firmly pointed at me. What is a hypocrite? A hypocrite may be a very neat imitation of a Christian…. Continue reading →

1 Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received the same kind of faith as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 2 Peter 1:1-2 (LSB)

God is good to those who belong to him. Within that he imparts knowledge of himself to us and that includes knowledge of our own fallenness. He uses this knowledge to make sure that those of us in Christ fully understand that we are in him despite our sinfulness and unworthiness to be so…. Continue reading →

4 “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! 5 You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (LSB) 

Several years ago my wife fell down stairs while visiting our daughter in Oklahoma. She broke her leg. She actually shattered one of the bones right above her ankle. It required surgery and some metal plates to be used to hold her bones together. Our former Pastor came and sat with me in the waiting room while my wife’s surgery took place…. Continue reading →

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV)

In John Bunyan’s masterpiece The Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character, Christian, reads a book, which is the Bible, resulting in a huge burden appearing on his back. Day after day as he reads God’s Word the burden becomes more an more overbearing. We learn that he is in rags. He learns of God’s coming judgement upon his city, The City of Destruction. He despairs and calls out to God for help. Then he is approached by a man whose name is Evangelist…. Continue reading →

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. John 6:37 (LSB) 

What a glorious Biblical truth it is that sinners may come to Christ just as they are! They come on the basis of faith and He saves them all (John 3:16). Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:1-10 that salvation is by grace through faith alone, apart from works. God saves His people this way so that none may boast. This means that no one whom He saves must do any work or attain any merit in order to be worthy to come. No, God saves sinners. However, in “today’s gospel” these wonderful truths have been twisted or extended to say that not only does Christ receive sinners just as they are, but He also will let them stay that way. Continue reading →

30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31 (LSB) 

Today’s gospel, that is, the gospel that is prevalently adhered to by most of the visible Church, is one constructed around the goal of persuading people to make a ‘decision for Christ.’ The entire process is one of appealing to either one’s desire for a better life here and now or their fear of hell…. Continue reading →

5 And this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-10 (LSB) Read verses 8-10 on the site.

I was preparing to write this post and just before I started my Bible study of 1 John 1 to get ready I decided to walk outside to check to see if the timer for our Christmas Lights was working. It is cold and windy out there right now, by-the-way. My wife and I worked several hours this afternoon on those lights and both us are still trying to get warmed up again,… Continue reading →

4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord– 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight– 8 we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:4-10 (LSB) Read verses 9-10 on the site.

If you have read very much of what God has had me post here, then you know how much I admire John Bunyan and his fantastic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan understood what real Christianity was all about. He was surrounded by the empty religiosity of the state church of his time and its leaders tried to silence him through intimidation and imprisonment for refusing to stop preaching the Gospel…. Continue reading →

As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. (Titus 3:10-11 ESV)

True Biblical discernment is crucial for the spiritual health of the Body of Christ because there has and always will be a plague of false teaching and teachers upon it until our Lord’s return. I am sure most of you have noticed the recent outrage over the increased security measures by the TSA in the USA that involve full body scans and “pat down” searches at our airports…. Continue reading →

3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “I will not be inquired of by you.”’ Ezekiel 20:3 (LSB)

The Visible Church has become largely corrupt and apostate. Some are going the direction of Joel Osteen’s Word of Faith gospel that tells us that God wants to bless us, but cannot because we are not asking Him for it or we are not doing something right. Then there are those denominations that are affirming same-sex marriage, which is expressly condemned in God’s Word…. Continue reading →

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:21 KJV)

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21 ESV)

(Read 2 Peter 1:21 The Apostolic Bible Polyglot, and 2 Peter 1:21 translated from the NA28 Greek text on Mike’s site.)

It is vital that we “get it” that without the foundation of the inspiration of Scripture, all we have is human subjectivity as the basis for truth and that opens the door to the mindset of “anything goes.” We see this with heretics. We see this in liberal churches and denominations. As soon as they drop the Bible as the authoritative Word of God then all sorts of heresies creep in and it isn’t long before all these people stand for has about as much substance as malformed jello…. Continue reading →

13 Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way leading to destruction and many are the ones entering through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and constricted the way leading to life and few are the ones finding it. Matthew 7:13-14 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

The word “way” on both v13 and v14 translates ὁδός (hodos), which means “a way., road, highway, or street in their many possible forms.” To the Greeks, this could refer to “the narrow path trodden by those who have gone before, or the broad roads made for traffic, on which chariots can travel, troops can march, and processions can be held.” Continue reading →

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. John 15:19 (LSB)

One of the first accusations that comes forth from the apologists for the Purpose Driven paradigm in response to any attempt to show the unbiblical nature of it is that we are being divisive. They insist on unity at all costs regardless of the fact that the doctrinal stances held within the Church Growth movement do not line up with biblical orthodoxy. If we are to be obedient to the commands from scripture to be in the world, but not part of it, we cannot attempt to be unified with those who are not obedient to them.

We live in a culture that has succumbed to relativism. I heard a portion of a speech today given by Barak Obama not long ago. He was addressing a conference of American religious leaders. In his speech he stated quite succinctly that his vision for our country is that all religions become equal because the truth is relative after all. However, our Saviour did not teach any such thing. Instead, we see in Sacred Scripture that the opposite is true. Jesus was divisive. He caused division wherever he went. Those who followed Him had to leave everything to be His disciple. In other words, He is Lord of all or not Lord at all. To follow our Lord as commanded makes us most radical. To this day the greatest division in the world is “because of Him.”

43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. John 7:43 (LSB) 

Even those who were not Jesus disciples were divided over Him. Some admitted none of His claims. Others admitted a portion but denied the rest. Certain admitted His claims but neglected to follow out the legitimate consequences of them. A few became His sincere hearers, going as far with Him as they had yet learned of Him. View article →

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:7-11 (LSB) 

Despite what the Health, Wealth, and Prosperity preachers say or those who preach nothing but positive messages to all who are Christians, the Word of God promises something very different. Like what? How about trials of various kinds? How about fiery trials?… Continue reading →

19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve Yahweh, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” Joshua 24:19-20 (LSB) 

One of the products of the growing apostasy of the Church in our time that is especially tragic is the loss of the understanding of God’s Holiness. Several years ago I wrote a post about our great need to walk in fear of God. Some of the comments I received on that post were heart breaking. Some insisted that Jesus was their buddy or their homeboy or their ‘bro’ and he loved them so much that it really did not matter how they lived. My brethren God has not changed. He is immutable and perfect. He neither changes nor has any need to do so. Continue reading →

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15 (LSB) 

There is a certain type of love that God hates. We find that in John 15:18-20)

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. John 15:18-20 (LSB)  Continue reading →

3 For by the grace having been given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:3 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

Not long ago a good friend showed me this verse and said a fellow brother at our church seemed very confused about the words “measure of faith.” Part of his confusion stemmed from reading several commentaries about it that differed from each other…. Continue reading →

4 And Jesus was saying to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was marveling at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.nMark 6:4-6 (LSB) 

The joy of the Lord is a tremendous gift to God’s people from him. Without it we would be left to deal with far more evil, disappointment, tragedy, distress, and despair than we could ever do on our own. We have prayer and the promise that we can always come boldly to the Throne of Grace. Continue reading →

13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (LSB)

The growing apostasy in the visible Church seems to be accelerating. The spiritual blindness of so many professing believers and their leaders is truly astounding. My brethren, the sad state of the visible Church is both the product of the famine of the Word of God and the cause of it. When the Word of God is seldom heard or read or taught then its purifying power is muted…. Continue reading →