A recent news item reports that Iran’s Supreme Court has charged an evangelical preacher with apostasy, and could be executed if he doesn’t recant his beliefs. Human rights groups say apostasy isn’t even codified in Iranian law. Yousef Nadarkhani converted to “Christianity” as a teenager, and has converted an unknown number of people in Iran. While the Iranian regime doesn’t look favorably on personal conversion from Islam, Nadarkhani’s converting others is what really has set this chain of events into motion. Those who know Nadarkhani say he is not likely to recant, and if he doesn’t, his fate is unclear. While this individual is not a New Testament Christian, you can’t help but admire his zeal and conviction for what he believes. His actions show not only his sincerity, but that there are hearts that can be changed, even under oppressive governments and the most difficult of situations. If there are those willing to listen to his message, would there not also be good and honest hearts willing to listen to the complete truth of the Gospel? As Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Beyond all this, such reports should cause us to pause and ask ourselves about our faith and our commitment to the truth. Just how much of an influence does the Gospel make in our lives? While we may wonder about the direction our nation …

There is something winsome and beautiful about the word “faithful”! “Faithfulness,” also known as dependability or reliability, is one of the most sought after and admired characteristics known to man. All desire it in their mates, their teachers, their friends and other relationships. Treason is nothing more than unfaithfulness to one’s country. Failure in faithfulness brings all kinds of disappointment, hurt and sorrow to people every day. However, there is a Being in our universe that will never be unfaithful to His people. Even if people become unfaithful to Him, He is still always faithful to them, and He is there awaiting their return to His love and protection – that Being is, of course, our God. God is faithful in calling people to Himself through His Son, Jesus the Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1:9 Paul wrote, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  From the Day of Pentecost to the present, God has continually called men to Himself by the telling of the rich story of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Paul told these same people that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus make up the fundamentals of the Gospel of Christ. The old, old story of salvation from sin and the giving of a hope of heaven will continue to be told as long as the world stands, for the Lord commissioned it (Matthew 28:18-19). This calling will never cease as long as time exists. God …

God is transcendent (above all). God is absolutely pure. God is holy. The simple answer to “What is holiness?” is: Holiness is separation and purity. Holiness is not something common or unclean. The following introductory material may seem a bit detailed, but it will be of great benefit for the serious Bible student. If one desires to understand the biblical doctrine of holiness, it is necessary to know how the words translated “holy”and “holiness” are use in sacred Scripture. In the Old Testament, the word “holy” is translated from the Hebrew qadosh. This word generally referred to a thing, place or day that was sacred, devoted or dedicated to a particular religious purpose (Exodus 19:6; Leviticus 6:16). It is from a word that literally meant to be clean. The Hebrew word qodesh is translated “holiness” in the Old Testament. It is defined as that which is consecrated, dedicated or hallowed. This word is also translated as “sanctuary” and “holy” (e.g. Exodus 36:1; 3:5). Qodesh comes from a word that means to be, pronounce or observe something as clean and pure whether ceremonially or morally. In the New Testament, there are several related Greek words that are translated variously as “holy,” “holiness,” “sanctification,” “sanctity,” “sanctify,” “sacredness,” etc. Hagiasmos properly means purification and the conduct becoming one who is purified and separated to God. Hagiosune means sacred. It is used in reference to the holiness of Christ in its fullest sense (Romans 1:4). It is also used in reference to believers bringing holiness to full maturity in their lives (2 Corinthians …

Years ago, a young boy was riding on a train through the desert of Arizona on a very hot, dry day. The air was dry and all around him passengers were uncomfortable. As the train continued on, there was little to see besides the same old sagebrush. A kind lady sitting beside the boy asked him if he was tired from the long ride. “A little I guess,” he said, “but I don’t mind at all, because when I get to Los Angeles, my father is going to meet me.” Often we get discouraged on our earthly journey to heaven. We struggle with things such as temptation, sickness, grief and even death. While the road is hard and the journey is difficult, we must remember that when we all get to heaven, the reward will be more than the price paid, because our Father will be there to meet us. “These [the patriarchs] all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” …

Recently, I heard a preacher say, “We are in battle, but we’re not sure why. We are trying to be holy, but many of us don’t really know what it means to be holy. We are trying to be holy, but many of us don’t know how to be holy.” He’s right! The word “holy” simply means, “set apart for God’s use.” Do you want to be holy? Do you want to be “set apart” for His use? Paul said, “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Transformation – the process of becoming holy – begins in your mind. Peter also spoke of this theme in 1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” He challenged us to live holy lives, and he showed us the process of holy living begins with the way we think – holiness begins in the mind. Once we win that battle, we will begin to see changes in the way we live. We will examine three elements of holiness. Preparation “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind…” Girding the loins of your mind means preparing yourself for strenuous mental activity (i.e., your mind has become a battlefield; get ready to fight). Every day, we encounter thousands of events and images that attempt to influence the way we think. If we are not careful and cautious, we …

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5) Have you ever prayed for pain? I doubt that any of us have, and yet over and over, we are told about it and called to understand that there are great benefits to it. For instance, most of us have heard the saying “No pain, no gain.” It is true in spiritual circles as well. Consider Paul’s words in Romans. Notice that Paul says the pathway to hope, that confident, forward-looking expectation of eternal salvation, is laid by trial and tribulation. To put it another way, you cannot find hope until you have seen it through the eyes of pain and suffering. This is often why those who are hurting or suffering can have a clearer picture of spiritual matters. That is why the near-death experience can so radically change a person’s worldview. It is the “how” behind the change we see from time to time in people who go …

What is the Gospel? The apostle Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes” (Romans 1:16). The Gospel is the “good news” or “tidings” of Jesus Christ. It is teaching the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. It is the truth that everyone has sinned and violated the will of God and is without hope until he is reconciled (Ephesians 2:16) to God by the blood of Christ. What is the extent of this Gospel? We see this in Matthew 24:14, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations.” This was a statement that our Lord made during His earthly ministry, and the apostle Paul confirmed that this prophecy did actually occur as stated in Romans 10:18, “Their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world.” The Gospel is for all and, in order to be saved, everyone must have an opportunity to decide whether to obey the Gospel message, so the Gospel was carried to all of the then-known world. Today, it is the job of Christians to take the Gospel to those who do not know Christ or have not accepted Him as their Savior. Paul was instrumental in converting the young preacher Timothy, and he instructed Timothy, “The things that you have heard, the same commit to …

When the questions of life tend to fill my day, When I ask “Why” as I journey on my wayWhen the world does not make much sense to me, When there are no answers that I can seeThen, I must open the eyes of faith inside, under the wings of my Savior I can hideAnd as down this uncertain path I go, He is always there, and He loves me so.Faith is not just a feeling inside my heart, on a firm foundation faith must get its startFrom the Word that God has given to us all, believed by those who will heed His call.And faith does not lie dormant inside of me, instead true faith takes actions for all to see,It leads my steps and it guides my heart so that from my God I should never part.I cannot always answer “why not” or “why,” no matter how often or hard I may tryBut I believe that God is always there, caring for me all the time everywhere.So I will do my best to hold onto His hand, in my perilous journey to the promised land:To fill my heart with faith, fight off the doubt, till I see Him face to face,that’s what it’s all about.

A very wise man gave some very good advice to a young preacher of the Word of God. The wise man was the apostle Paul, and the young preacher was Timothy. The advice was given in 2 Timothy 2:15. What was said was simple, yet profound, short, yet deep in meaning and best of all, it still applies today. The advice was this, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Let us closely examine this advice. Step one here that Paul gave Timothy, and that we need to follow also, is that we study. Study is also translated as give diligence, be diligent. It is the translation of the word meaning be diligent or earnest. Secondly, he was to study to “show thyself” – meaning to present. He was to present himself as distinguished from others. This means that studying and presenting oneself is the responsibility solely of each individual Christian. No one can do it for you. Thirdly, he was to study to show himself “approved unto God.” Approved by God, literally comes from a word meaning tested by trial. This stands in opposition to being reprobate and condemned. Fourthly, we are to be workman, workers in God’s kingdom. Fifthly, we are to work as to not be ashamed. This means that we are to do work that we are not to be ashamed of, as opposed to being deceitful workers. Sixthly, he told him to …

It seems that we hear a lot about homosexuality. Turn on the TV, read the newspaper or search the Internet, and we are bombarded by the homosexual influence. Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of media coverage of homosexual activists in our society. Such news highlights range from the shooting recently in Washington, D.C. by a homosexual activist to the boycott of Chick-fil-A by the homosexuals because of its President’s stance on biblical marriage as well as the boycott of the Boy Scouts of America because of their stance against homosexuals being in Scouting. In addition, the President of the United States came out in support of homosexual marriage lately. It would seem that everyone is homosexual. In reading the Bible, God designed one male and one female for marriage for life (Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:11-12) in which this is the only relationship that is ordained by God for sexual relations (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:22-24; Romans 1:20-32). God has made each person a wonderful creation in His image (Psalm 139:1-16), and He did not create evil in them (Job 34:10-12). God did not make anyone a homosexual. As someone has stated, “Either you side with Chick-fil-A or you do not, but one thing is for certain, if you want chicken, you need a hen and a rooster.” God did not make people into homosexuals or into other types of sinners, but people choose to sin. Each person, including me, has struggles with sin that seems unbearable at …

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer… I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (Isaiah 43:14-15). Although we do not generally associate God’s redemption with Eden, the connection is there. We spend a lot of time painting God as a Redeemer King, seeking to redeem His people from sin and restore an intimate relationship with them. It is significant that Isaiah tied God’s kingly attributes to His creative purpose and redemptive plan. The King is the Creator. The Creator is the Redeemer. The Redeemer is the King. All three are tied together, and it is very important that we see the connections between these three, because they all take us back to Eden. As much as God is Creator of Israel, He is Creator of the entire world. On the sixth day, God, the Creator, created humans and placed them in Eden. Eden was God’s first kingdom – it was there that His people were to dwell, living in agreement with His will. God’s first humans did not live by His will, so they were ejected from Eden. The rest of history has been the story of God redeeming people back from what the first humans started. Adam and Eve fell, and Israel did not live righteously. So God brought forth Jesus, His ultimate plan to restore the atmosphere of Eden. There are plenty of others, but I want to highlight for you two passages that make this very clear, Ephesians 4:17-24 and 2 Corinthians …

In Luke 17:5, the apostles said, “Lord, increase our faith.” They felt a lot like most of us. “If I had more faith, I could do greater things.” At that point, it is my judgment that most commentaries do not do justice to the lesson Jesus is trying to teach. The ones I remember say something like this, “The grain of mustard seed is small. If you just had a small amount of faith you could do great things.” No doubt this is true, provided some other conditions were met, but it appears to me that his statement is concerned with the other conditions, rather than with the “size” of their faith. Why? He already admitted they had a little faith (Matthew 8:26; 14:31; 17:20). So, if just having a little faith would allow them to do the “impossible” tasks, then they could have been already doing them. It is not the size of the faith that He emphasized, but the nature or quality of the faith! That is, I do not think He was saying, “If your faith was as big as even a grain of mustard seed you could do great things,” but “Though you know your faith is small, for you asked for it to be increased, if it were as (not as big as, but had the qualities of) a grain of mustard seed, you could do tasks that seem impossible.” Now, how is a grain of mustard seed? Well, it is small, but that is not the important point, for they already had that kind of faith! The important things are: it …

With the national political conventions, “opportunity” is a word that has been bouncing around quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. In that context, it most often relates to the idea of having the chance to advance oneself, and thereby to improve one’s family, one’s community and nation. When I think of the word “opportunity,” I think of one having an optimistic spirit filled with hope about what could be a potential reality. Each day that God allows you and me to open our eyes and get out of bed is a day filled with new opportunities, not to advance or promote ourselves, but to uphold and spread the body of Christ. Toward that end the apostle Paul wrote, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men…” (Galatians 6:10). Real, heaven-bound Christians, then, are ones who utilize their time to practice good rather than evil. Doing “good” is a wide umbrella that may involve a broad range of things we may (and are to) do to bless the lives of “all men” with whom we come in contact during the day. The possibilities are limitless. The will to do good to one’s fellowman will be intertwined with such traits as courtesy, compassion, respect, thoughtfulness, kindness and love. These are godly qualities instilled in God’s children by the influence of the Spirit. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Being held in …

An epitaph is a memorial inscription. Over the years, after either attending a funeral or having preached someone’s funeral, I have walked through the cemetery to pay attention to the oldest grave marker there and also to notice the different epitaphs inscribed on the tombstones. I have often wondered how different those words would read if God was the one who briefly summarized each life by inscribing an epitaph on each tombstone. On the humorous side, I am reminded of the story of the man who had too much to drink and had decided he would take a short cut home. His wanderings led him through the local cemetery late at night. He stumbled upon a grave, fell down and passed out. When he awakened the next morning, he lifted his eyes to read these words from the tombstone. “As I am now, someday you soon shall be, so prepare yourself to follow me.” He thought on those words for a little while, and then he took a marker from his coat pocket and scribbled underneath the epitaph his own words. “To follow you, I am not content, until I find out which way you went.” Seriously, all of us need to be more concerned about what is going to become of us when this life is over (Job 14:14; 19:25-27; 1 Corinthians 5:10; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)! Good Epitaphs Jesus – A good summary of his life is found in Acts 10:38. He “went about doing good.” …

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution has become one of the most universally accepted ideas of our time. Debates on the subject have highlighted the alleged conflict between science and faith, although capable men and women have shown the two disciplines to be compatible. Unfortunately, evolution’s influence permeates everything today from textbooks to television to children’s toys. As a result, this theory can have a dangerous effect on the way people think about important spiritual matters. Evolution and the Purpose of Life The Bible reveals God’s purpose for man, both in creation through Adam, and re-creation through Christ. God’s power is displayed by man’s weakness (Exodus 9:16), while man’s potential is realized in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). By contrast, evolution essentially teaches that the purpose of life is simply to exist. The weak die; the strong adapt and survive. In effect, this way of thinking is the ultimate form of materialism. However, a man’s life consists neither in the abundance of his possessions, nor in the superiority of his genes. Long life, good health and a large family may all be desirable, but they do not commend men to God. In fact, the absence of these things may well teach men to depend on God for their strength (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:10). “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Evolution and the Value of Life Long before Thomas Jefferson wrote that all …

According to a friend of mine, a conversation he had at work not long ago went something like this (starting with his buddy’s words): “I took my daughter to the mall the other night, and she showed me a pair of shorts she wanted me to buy. They cost $107. Man, there was more cotton in the top of an aspirin bottle than what it took to make those shorts.” “Did you buy them?” “No, I’m not going to buy something like that. Her mother buys her all that stuff.” If I had the opportunity to talk to the three members of that family, here is some advice I would give to each one. I could say a lot more than I will write here to each one, but the short statements here represent a lot more that could be said – especially to the Dad. To the daughter I would say, “Do you have any idea what kind of person you are attracting by the type of clothing you are choosing to wear? Do you really want somebody to be interested in only what you have to offer physically? Are fashion and popularity more important to you than your reputation, your future and your soul?” To the wife/mother I would say, “I do not know what your teen years were like, but do not try to relive it or remake it through your daughter. Please do not encourage her to grow up too fast. You are setting her and yourself up for a lot of heartache. Oh, …

I had thought that I might enjoy having one, but I never dreamed that someone would give me a GPS, though they did. Much to my surprise, some of my children gave me a GPS for a Christmas present. A son took charge of getting the thing ready for me for use in my car. He put the address of a local business into the GPS, and this lady’s voice instructed me when and where to turn in order to get to my destination as I looked at a map where I was to travel. In case you might not be familiar with this gadget, here is a brief definition: “The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.” Theoretically I should never get lost while traveling when I use my GPS. In the beginning of man’s existence on earth, he was in a safe place and in a perfect relationship with Jehovah God. In a sense, man was not saved because he had never been in a lost condition. However, he became estranged from his God and in a lost condition because of his disobedience to the commands given to him from God (Genesis 2:15-17; Isaiah 59:1-2; …

In a long section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees with the spirit of the Law. In the first of this section, Jesus dealt with murder versus anger. The Jews were told that murder was a sin. It was a violation of the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not murder” (Exodus 20:14 NASB; “Thou shalt not kill” KJV). What we have to infer here is that though they were teaching that murder is wrong, hate and anger were permissible. It seems as though they were teaching that it is fine to be angry with one’s brothers (without cause, KJV) and to hate them. You could call them all sorts of evil names (“Raca” or empty-headed) and say bad things about them (“fool” Matthew 6:22), and that would be okay because no one was actually, physically killed. The Law says “Do not kill,” but Jesus said not to hate or to be angry (without cause). Remember, also, that the Law says, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Our relationship with God is important, but our relationship with our fellow man can hinder that relationship with God. This is why Jesus taught that if a brother has something against another brother, he should go and make it right with him before giving his offering (Matthew 5:23-24). We cannot be angry people if we wish to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

How long did it take to create the earth? This question has been argued by scientists, evolutionists and theists for centuries. The best way to find the answer is to see what the Creator has to say about it. We have the Word of God to confirm that the world was created in six days. A day means a day. If God wanted days to mean ages, he would have revealed that to us. In the Hebrew, in which the Old Testament was written, the word “Yom” means a “day.” A look into the Hebrew language shows us that “Yom” or “day” preceding a number always means a literal twenty-four hour day. The next point that upholds God’s Word and the six-day creation is that of contingency. Look at plants, for instance. They rely on something else for their existence. Plants need sunlight and water for survival. The existence of plants began on the third day (Genesis 1:11-12). Light on the earth was introduced in Genesis 1:14 on day four. Anything other than seven literal days would mean plants would have existed without light for millions of years. If that argument is not sufficient, some forms of plants cannot survive without pollination. Insects are not introduced until the fifth day (Genesis 1:24). Therefore, plants could not possibly have existed for hundreds, thousands or millions of years without pollination. The final point is about the first man, Adam. The Scriptures tell us that Adam was created on the sixth day (Genesis …

The noted French naturalist, Jean Henri Fabre’, studied the Pine Processionary Caterpillar in great detail. He observed that these caterpillars would follow a lead caterpillar in a single-file line. This behavior is not only the reason why it was given its name, but it can also be a deadly characteristic. Consider an experiment that Fabre’ conducted with some processionary caterpillars. Allen Campbell described the experiment: “He took a flowerpot and placed a number of caterpillars in single-file around the circumference of the pot’s rim. Each caterpillar’s head touched the caterpillar in front of it. Fabre’ then placed the caterpillars’ favorite food in the middle of the circle created by the caterpillars’ procession around the rim of the flowerpot. Each caterpillar followed the one ahead thinking that it was heading for the food. Round and round went those silly insects – for seven days! After a week of this mindless activity, the caterpillars started to drop dead because of exhaustion and starvation. All that they had to do to avoid death was to stop the senseless circling of the flowerpot and head directly toward the food, less than six inches away from those ever-circling crawlers. However, the processionary caterpillars were locked into this lifestyle and couldn’t extricate themselves from this mindless behavior.” Caterpillars are not the only ones that can wander in circles. We need direction, too! Long ago, the prophet Jeremiah declared: “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who …