A clash because of an opposition, a different point of view is common between people and between nations. We all have experienced such clashing and conflicts because of our diversity of ideals. As we use the word “ideals,” these are what we consider a standard and what we deem as right. We may say of a friend that we admire that he has high ideals of a religious person. This admiration is based on his conduct and his excellence as he practices that which he believes is right. It is vexing when one has a clash of his or her ideals. Sometimes a system of belief, a dogma that was never considered, is propelled into one’s daily life. When that happens, that conflict intrudes and interferes with one’s principles. This will cause confusion and bewilderment and, thus, a clashing of ideals. I have observed many times that God-fearing and Bible-believing folks go through such a clashing of ideals. This happens when their learned doctrines obtained from manmade creeds clash with the Word of God, the Bible. It is also observed that too many choose their religious church creed over what the Bible teaches. This is very worrisome and sad (Matthew 7:13-14)! It has been over forty years since I had an impromptu Bible study with Betty. Betty was basically a good person, yet she was very ignorant of what the Bible teaches. We were at the kitchen table drinking coffee, and she started to ask questions concerning “the Scheme of …

I have read the Bible through multiple times over the course of the last few years. Many of those times have been in a congregational setting as part of a class or group study. One thing that has always kind of shocked me about this sort of thing is the reaction that folks have to the more “fantastic” portions of the Bible. For instance, when we read about Elijah departing his earthly existence in a whirlwind or the ground opening up to swallow Korah and his followers, without fail we like to think about what it would be like to have been there. Almost without fail someone says something like, “It would be surprising to see that it actually happened the way the Bible says it did.” Many of us would never verbalize such, but perhaps have had that thought. It would be surprising to see what God has actually told us is real. Perhaps it is because we do not live in the times of the miraculous—using the word “miracle” in the strictest biblical sense and not as we often do today to describe some unknown, but positive phenomenon. In our age, ministers do not touch the eyes of the blind and heal them instantly. In our age, the paralyzed victims of tragic accidents are not told to instantly “rise, take your bed and walk.” There are most certainly other reasons, but too often when we read these accounts, we fail to connect with the larger meaning and how …

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus charged His apostles to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Further, they were to teach those baptized to observe what He had commanded. So then, are you a disciple of Jesus today? Let us all consider the mindset of a disciple that was displayed by Peter when Jesus called him. During that time Jesus was teaching at the lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1-3). Then, Jesus told Peter to let down his net into the deep (Luke 5:4-5). When Peter and his fellows did as Jesus told them, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking (Luke 5:6). Did you notice the mindset of a disciple of Jesus manifested in Peter? When Jesus instructed Peter to let down his net, he did not think it would do any good (Luke 5:5a). They had been fishing all night, but they had caught no fish. Honestly, wouldn’t a fisherman know more about fishing than a carpenter? Yet, Peter said, “Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5b). As the result of doing the Lord’s word, the catch was overwhelming for one net and even for two boats. Here we see the mindset of a disciple: “Nevertheless at Your word I will.” Peter and his coworkers were astonished at their success (Luke 5:9-10a). Then, Jesus reassured Peter and called him and his partners to follow Him (Luke 5:10b-11). Through …

If we were to take a trip to our favorite drive-through, fast-food restaurant and order a #1 with cheese, fries and a coke, and then when we pulled up to the pay window to discover the total was $43.59, would we have a problem with that? The obvious answer is, “Yes, of course!” Hearing that staggering price for just one meal, we would ask the cashier why the meal was so expensive. She simply states, “You didn’t tell me not to give you one of everything else on the menu.” We would probably just drive to another fast-food place instead of trying to explain to this young cashier the principle of exclusion by silence. It is a very simple principle to understand in the secular world; from the example above, we derive that if I say I want a #1, that’s all I want—nothing less, nothing more. Yet, something that we understand and apply in the secular world is often misunderstood and disregarded in the religious world. Denominationalism normally rejects the law of exclusion based on what it wants (not what God wants). This manifests itself variously as entertainment in their services, instrumental music in worship, not taking the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week, not preaching the whole counsel of God and failing to teach God’s plan of salvation correctly. If we will just read the Bible as it is written, we will understand clearly that when God says to do something, He doesn’t have to say, …

I love the Lord’s church. It is the greatest entity known to man. What, though, makes the church great? How does a church stay healthy? Paul answered this question when talking to the struggling church at Thessalonica. It was not struggling because it was weak but because the resistance to the truth was so strong. They had three qualities that made them strong, the same three that make individuals strong. Paul also talked about those traits in 1 Corinthians 13:13 when he said the three things that matter are faith, hope and love. Those three characteristics that make the individual strong are the same three that keep the church healthy. As the church, we must be full of works of faith. A healthy church will be identified by the good things it does for the community and for the world. A healthy church is marked by its labor of love. Just as in 1 Corinthians 13:13, the greatest is love. Love is the reason that anything we do has meaning. As the church of Christ, we must love as He loved us. Hope is the key to keep us moving forward. No one does anything unless there is something toward which to look forward at the end of the effort. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, and He is trustworthy. We remain steadfast in His Word because we know He has something in store for us if we do continue to abide in the Gospel. When we hang on to …

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah spent his whole life watching his beloved society crumble. Moral decay followed spiritual decay, and this then led to a prophesied and consummating destruction by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Jeremiah was selected before birth (1:5), and called from youth (1:6ff). Due to the hardships that would be coming upon the people of Judah, he was not allowed to marry (16). He would thus not have to endure watching a wife and any ensuing children suffer the miserable fates that others of that nation would suffer. Indeed, Jeremiah would be quite unpopular and even persecuted. While other prophets gained their followings with artificially positive preaching, Jeremiah faithfully told the truth, no matter what it cost him. The false prophets of the day lied to the people, saying those who had already been captured would only be there two years (28:3). This made the people feel good. When Jeremiah prophesied at length that the real duration would be seventy years (25:11; 29:10), it secured him the harsh judgment of governmental and public opinion. He was imprisoned and endured much with the remnant left after the destruction. In the midst of his prophesies warning the people of this impending destruction, there are some passages that stick out as succinct statements of the philosophical tragedies of the society. One of the most remarkable is 5:30-31. “An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; …

Preaching is the proclamation of the Word of God to men by men under assignment from God. It is the means for the transmission of the Word of God to a lost world; it serves also as an official means of grace for the building up and strengthening of the Church of Christ. A sermon is a form of public discourse on a religious or moral subject, usually delivered as part of a church service. Sermons come in various and sundry types. Basically, there are three types of sermons: Expository, Textual and Topical. Expository: Expository preaching concentrates on a specific text and discusses topics covered therein. This type of sermon unfolds a paragraph or unit of thought of Scripture, generally two or more verses. The theme or overall main point of the passages formulates the proposition. The points (major or minor) are derived only from this singular section of Scripture. You may illustrate or explain by using other passages; however, the expositor digs into a paragraph from God’s Word and pulls out the significant, timeless truths. Textual: The textual sermon is a miniature expository sermon covering a few verses, a verse, or part of a verse, but not the whole paragraph. This type of sermon usually develops a single verse of Scripture. The theme (proposition) and main points come directly from the verse, but the major points may be developed from other Scripture passages. This form of sermon is generally good for preaching “Great Bible Texts” or “Favorite Bible Verses” and will …

Forgiveness is one of the great themes of the Bible. Without forgiveness from God, man would be hopeless and destined to eternal torment. Without forgiveness of each other, marriages would be destroyed, children could not be reconciled to their parents and friends would become enemies. Why the need for forgiveness, and what is there to forgive? The answer is contained in one small but profound word with a terrible definition—sin. Man has sinned against the Holy God; he has sinned against his fellow man; he has sinned against himself. When man sins, and until those sins are taken out of the way by forgiveness, he is spiritually dead. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…” (Ephesians 2:1-2). Ultimately, all sin is against God. Joseph recognized this as Potiphar’s wife continued to try to seduce him into committing adultery with her. He refused her advances by saying, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). When man sins, those sins offend the holiness of God. The nature and extent of sin is seen in Paul’s statement in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death,”—spiritual death. Is it any wonder that the Jews on the Day of Pentecost cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” …

There is no question that women have made tremendous strides in the past 100 years as far as achieving certain rights which previously they have been denied. This article’s purpose is not to examine these achievements or to look at both the positive and sometimes negative consequences of such achievements. Instead, this article is focusing on what the New Testament teaches about women and how some are attacking the very teachings of the Bible related to women. A common theme in today’s religious world is that the Bible’s view of women is outdated and not fit for today’s culture. The Episcopalian bishop, John Spong, on page 117 of his book Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality says, “There is no doubt about the fact that the Bible is biased against women… Both the religious and ethical directives of the Bible were formulated out of a patriarchal understanding of life, with the interests of men being primary. Are we willing to return to these destructive definitions of both men and women?” Jesus Elevated Women Jesus treated women much differently than the rabbis of His day. The traditions of the Jews in the time of Jesus forbade a rabbi to speak publicly with a woman. Throughout the Gospels we find Jesus speaking publicly to women. Many of us are familiar with the accounts of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), the woman begging for the life of her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28), the sinful woman at Simon’s house (Luke 7:36-50) and many …

Much of Jesus’ earthly teaching was done in parables. He often used vivid images and illustrations to impress upon His hearers lessons of great importance. Luke 18 begins with two parables of Jesus, both of which are about prayer. The first has to do with persistence in praying (Luke 18:1-8), while the second emphasizes the proper attitude in praying (Luke 18:9-14). Let us examine what Jesus taught in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The Purpose of the Parable (Luke 18:9) Luke informs us that the purpose for which Jesus taught this parable was that some “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” There are two things of significance to note here. (1) Trusting In Ourselves (9a). Trusting in ourselves should cause us to ponder two terrible things. First, there is the defilement of it. To trust in self reveals a lack of trust in God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Second, there is the deception in it. Trusting in self can cause us to believe that we are better than we really are. Jesus said religious people thought they were righteous though they were not. The world is filled with religious people who have deceived themselves that they are righteous. (2) Treatment of Others (9b). Their self-righteousness led them to “despise others.” This violates everything that Jesus ever taught. It certainly contradicts the “golden rule” (Matthew 7:12). Paul said, “Let nothing be …

When I was a lad, I often saw men pour coffee from their cups into their saucers. The reason being was to permit the coffee to cool because it was boiling hot. I can almost hear them slurping the coffee from their saucers. However, the title of this article is based on a religious song that emphasizes the goodness of God. I feel sure that the thought for the song was found in Psalm 23:5 when David wrote, “My cup runs over.” There is an outstanding statement made by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:21, “Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours.” The fact is, you have been made richer than you have ever imagined. I am not necessarily thinking about the physical or the material blessings of life, even though we are recipients of a multitude of blessings from our Heavenly Father (James 1:17). However, if you have given your life in full submission to the will of God and the Lord Jesus Christ as a penitent baptized believer, you are rich toward God. A child of God is “rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (James 2:5). Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). We have been made “alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). We are a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5, 9). Jesus …

Alexander Pope said in the early 1700’s, “A little learning is a dangerous thing: drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring. There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.” The principle he was suggesting is probably true, but the problem is, all of us have to start at zero, and no one ever is possessed of much learning that does not first have a little. Furthermore, all of us have to stop somewhere, and since “shallow draughts” and “drinking largely” are relative terms, we simply have to do what we can, where we are, with what we have. What caused me to start this article was that last night, one of our good Bible teachers was teaching from 1 Timothy 3:2 concerning the qualifications of a bishop. He had been told by some student of the Greek language that “dei,” which is translated “must” in the KJV, is present tense. Therefore, he said, “It is necessary that the bishop continue to be the husband of one wife. Then, it follows that if his wife dies, he must resign.” I come to a different conclusion about that, the reasons for which I shall discuss shortly, but regardless of whether I am right or wrong about that conclusion, the principle about which I am writing is far broader. The principle is: Rules of Greek grammar are not made by some scholars and imposed on the text. They are determined by what we find as we examine the way the language was used. For …

While on the cross, the fifth saying of Jesus was, “I thirst” (John 19:28). What significance does this statement have? A couple points can be considered. First, Jesus was undeniably human in his material makeup. Becoming thirsty was nothing new to the Lord. “Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey” (John 4:6) stopped at Jacob’s well. When a Samaritan woman arrived, He requested: “Give me to drink” (John 4:7). At the beginning of His ministry, after a long period of fasting, He “hungered” (Matthew 4:2). As a man, Jesus experienced all the usual things like hunger, thirst and tiredness. Toward the end of the first century, a theory began to gain popularity that claimed Jesus never actually had a physical body. This stemmed from the misconception that the flesh was intrinsically evil. One test to expose those bringing this false teaching was to ask if they believed Jesus Christ came in the flesh (1 John 4:2; 2 John 7). The Divine spirit of Christ (called the “Word,” John 1:1) actually took up residence in a physical body (John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-8). At His resurrection, that Divine spirit returned from the Hadean realm and reentered the physical body. The one now often called “doubting Thomas” was invited by the risen Lord to “Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27). Jesus rose bodily from the grave. Second, Jesus, the true Messiah, would …

“Guilty, vile, and helpless we; Spotless Lamb of God was He; ‘Full atonement!’ can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!” (Song by Philip P. Bliss – 1875). This song communicates two truths about the sacrifice of our Lord that are important for us to realize, essential for us by which to live. First, we must never forget the price that was paid for our forgiveness from sin to be achieved. The familiarity we have with the cross can sometimes minimize the esteem we hold for it. It is incredible to consider the Son of God coming to earth as the Son of Man, to take flesh and blood and live a human existence, so our sins might be pardoned. For Deity to be humbled and become part of creation is amazing to consider. “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). Not only is the incarnation amazing to consider, but also is the death to which it led. Christ became human knowing it was to die for our sins, the most horrific, painful, shameful death conceivable. What greater act of love can be shown than God offering His Son for our sins? “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps …

L.L. Brigance was a Gospel preacher and educator. He helped prepare outlines for N.B. Hardeman. They are found in the “Tabernacle Sermons” that were presented in the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee from March 28 through April 16, 1922. I have found his outlines to be very helpful in understanding important subjects like one he titled, “The Facts of Life.” Life is made up of time. Benjamin Franklin said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” James put it a little differently, but his point was the same. He wrote, “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (4:14). Paul also urged Christians to use time wisely (Ephesians 5:15-17). Life needs a purpose. Brigance cited a poem from an unknown author, which said, “Half the wrecks upon life’s ocean If some star had been their guide Would have safely reached the harbor But they drifted with the tide.” Paul compared life to the Olympic Games in his first letter to Corinth. He stressed that Christ’s followers are not just practicing like someone shadow boxing. Daily devotion to pursuit of the prize demands daily sacrifice and self-control (9:25-27). Life goes beyond the grave. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the following words. “Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnees, …