Writing in the modern era has changed in ways that are difficult to assess. We have so many mediums to share ideas that it is hard to imagine the circumstances of writing an epistle in New Testament times. For example, we send a text to someone, and we have conditioned ourselves to receive an immediate response or wonder why we have not received one. Letter writing and delivering then was both time consuming and costly. The materials used were nothing like the quality of materials we have at our fingertips. Writing was not just a task but a profession, and the efforts to preserve that writing were also so formidable that preservation became a form of evidence of validity. The oldest extant copy of Philippians is P46 (A.D. 125-225) and contains all four chapters. Paul’s relationship with this congregation began with the Macedonian Call, circa A.D. 51 (Acts 16:9-10). I always found it interesting that the call was from a man, but when Paul arrived, he met Lydia and a group of women who helped begin the church. How many of our church buildings today remain open due to godly women? The apostle Paul wrote circa A.D. 62 from prison in Rome. His circumstances were dire, but he wrote an epistle of joy that benefited its immediate recipients and all those who have read it through the centuries. One wonders if Paul gave thought to the possibility this would be the last epistle he would write to this congregation and …

To understand the meaning and purpose of baptism as given by God, one needs to prayerfully study the Bible. Cleansed (Acts 22:16; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) There is a God-pleasing washing that cleanses the obedient from the past. God revealed that baptism washes away sins and cleanses one through the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 1:5). “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus…” One goes from spiritual filth to being washed or cleansed beneath the fountain filled with blood provided because of God’s love. Clothed (Galatians 3:26-27) The old identity is covered with Christ, whom we are coming more and more to resemble (Romans 8:29). It’s now our heartfelt intention to let the beauty of Jesus be seen in our lives (1 Corinthians 11:1). We pattern our lives after the Lord. We go from being soiled to the whiteness and brightness made possible through His shed blood. Freedom (Romans 6:16-18; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4) Sin is slavery, and only in Christ can we be freed from sin (Romans 6:20-23). As Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt, we can be led triumphantly from sin’s bondage. Yet, this does not free us to do whatever we please, for liberty is not license but rather freedom to become what we should be through Christ. Imagine the blessing of going from the slavery of sin into the freedom provided by His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Freedom has its price, and let’s remember what it cost our loving Father (1 Corinthians …

Immediately after Jesus promised to build His church, He told Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Lest someone misunderstand this verse to indicate Peter had some kind of supremacy in the church, note that all the apostles were given this instruction about “binding” and “loosing” (Matthew 18:18). Most English translations do not clearly express the true force of the verb tense and meaning. The New American Standard does well by translating, “…whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” This translation indicates that the apostles were only to “bind” and “loose” what God had already “bound” and “loosed.” It has never been the case that the apostles “bound” and “loosed,” then God ratified it in Heaven. Rather, no apostle, no preacher, no elder, no deacon, no one has the right to “bind” or “loose” anything that God has not already “bound” or “loosed”! May God grant us wisdom in properly ascertaining what God has truly bound and loosed! Terminology Challenge When it comes to religion, the terms “liberal” and “conservative” can take on various meanings, depending on the context. For example, in late nineteenth and early twentieth century theological circles, a “liberal” referred to one who held to the view of inspiration that says the …

The ideal congregation maintains faithfulness in doctrine, worship and life. John commented forcefully upon these. Regarding doctrine, he said, “Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God…” (2 John 1:9). Regarding worship, he penned, “God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Regarding life, he transcribed, “…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Thus, we see that the people of God must maintain faithfulness in these matters. To do otherwise constitutes a course that robs us of our present spiritual security and our future celestial inheritance. May we always have the courage to seek out the Lord’s will in all matters wherein He has spoken, as well as to demonstrate the fortitude to live and teach accordingly. Motivation to this end is realized in the observation that doctrine communicates divine principles of truth, while worship regulates our personal relationship with deity, and our course of life will determine our eternal destiny. Lives guided by these observations and principles truly have the hope promised to mankind in the Word of our gracious God.

Sometimes when I write an article, I ask my wife Tomijo to read, criticize and evaluate it, or make whatever suggestions she thinks might improve it. Sometimes I even follow her advice, and when I do not, I still value it. A few moments ago, I took three recent articles to her, in which she found a sentence she thought could be improved. I confess that even gentle criticism from a loving wife, though requested, may sometimes hurt a little, but Solomon said it properly in Proverbs 27:5-6. “Better is open rebuke than love that is hidden. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” I then picked up a book I had been reading. My attention was caught by a paragraph that says, “There is a substitute for criticizing. It’s called love. Love heals. Love protects. Love builds up. And more changes come with love than with criticism.” I agree with what I think is the general intent of the author of the paragraph, but having just asked a loving wife to criticize some articles, I felt constrained to write another one dealing with some implications of the first two sentences of the above paragraph. If one thinks of criticism as a destructive, negative or nagging action, which it often is, then the statement may have validity. However, we have no right to assume that criticism and love are antithetical or mutually exclusive, or that one needs to be substituted for the other. Can my wife find fault with my …

We all know the Bible character King David, and from him one can learn lessons about fear, worry and anxiety. Throughout his life, David had to deal with situations that would naturally bring about these three emotions in anyone. One emotion that he knew about especially was fear. His whole life had been turned upside down when his son Absalom stole the allegiance of the nation of Israel from him and was attempting to take the throne for himself. David didn’t know who was loyal to him and who was against him. His only option seemed to be to run for his life. He said to his servants, “Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword” (2 Samuel 15:14). As David was fleeing for his life, he wrote in a Psalm, “I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His Holy Hill” (Psalm 3:4). All believers must remember that worry is a burden God never meant for us to bear (Matthew 11:28-30). David looked to God in the midst of fear. God showed him grace and restored him to the throne. In Psalm 4:4-5, 8, David showed a very important lesson for how we should handle stressful events in our lives, which can bring up emotions of fear and of worry. We can discover from David how …

Everyone who lives will undergo hard times. Even those of us who are Christians are not exempt from trying times and unfortunate circumstances. Jesus told His disciples that tribulation was guaranteed, but He had overcome the world (John 16:33). Paul told Timothy that all people that live godly will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). There are general hardships that we face just because we are human. Then, there are specific things to happen to us because we are Christians. While we know these things will come into our lives, the area in which we often need help is how to cope with them. How can we survive when we are in the storms of life? How can we keep from giving up when surrender seems like the easier option? See the Benefits of Adversity As Christians, we must remind ourselves that adversity can be used to bring about good in our lives. This does not mean that the adversity itself is good, but God can use all things to bring about what is best for His people, and He does (Romans 8:28). The world may frown upon any type of discomfort or inconvenience, but as the people of God, we must remember that it is often through hard times that the best things come about. Paul told the Romans that tribulation produces patience, patience produces experience and experience produces hope (Romans 5:2-5). When we are going through hard times, we should be asking, “What is it that I can learn …

King Solomon had everything for which anyone could ever wish. He had it all. He had riches beyond compare and wisdom as no one else has had before or since. His fame brought him admiration from all over the ancient world. When he was a young man, he prayed for wisdom, and God was so pleased with his prayer that he gave the young Solomon wisdom like no other. Because he had not asked for riches, God added them to him as well, but Solomon used his riches unwisely. Under the reign of King Solomon, a collection of people who were once desert tribesmen and former slaves became a respected and a much-admired empire. Solomon even married a princess from Egypt, the very land that had once enslaved the Israelites. Kings and queens desired friendship with Solomon and the kingdom of Israel. They brought ambassadors to secure treaties and gave gifts for alliances. However, those alliances led to marriages, and those marriages led to problems in the kingdom. The glamorous princesses brought entourages with fancy clothes and jewelry; they enchanted the women and men of Israel with their exotic ways. The thrill of the new and the novel enthralled and led them astray from God, eventually leading them down the road to idolatry and, ultimately, to national disaster. By the time he penned the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was approximately sixty years old and had lived a life of wild abandon. He had become “a jaded sensualist; the foreign women …

First principles, as enumerated in Hebrews 6:1-2, need to be retaught because some who need to grow beyond them have forgotten them (Hebrews 5:12). For some, first principles mean faith, repentance, baptism, the church and acceptable worship. Those, too, need to be kept before us. However, let’s be sure we do not forget some important things the Bible also labels as first. “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5). “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-38).

As Christians, we often talk of our love for God, but what does it really mean to love Him? Is your love just a feeling or an emotion? Is love a circumstance in and out of which we fall? Or, does true love for God involve action? Jesus made a statement in John 14:15 that tells how our love for God must be demonstrated. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” We can deduce from this statement that love is not just some feeling or emotion, but rather a true love requires obedience to the will of Jesus Christ. The following questions, which when answered, will test if we really love God as we say that we do. Do we put God first in our lives? If we truly love God, then we will do much more than just say it. We will seek to put Him first in our lives. Matthew 6:33 records Jesus saying, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” This means we are to place God in the #1 position in our lives. He comes before our families, our jobs, our hobbies and everything else that we do. He is the center of our consideration. He is at the center of all that we do. Do we enjoy giving gifts to God? This deals with our giving. We are afforded an opportunity to give a portion of our blessings to God as a sacrifice every first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). People will sacrifice everything they own for …

If you ever seriously considered the Book of Deuteronomy, you were sure to see the wonder, the mercy and longsuffering providence of Almighty God as He worked with rebellious Israel. God set before Israel a magnificent land that flowed with milk and honey, and He told them in so many words, “Go get it!” (Exodus 3:8; Leviticus 20:24; Deuteronomy 26:9). An objective look at Israel from the time of their leaving Egyptian bondage to the time of their preparing to enter Canaan reveals a startling situation. Their history was always the same! There would be a period of halfhearted obedience in which they would prosper, and then there would come a period of rebellion and outright apostasy. In this span of time, they questioned every communication from God. Even in times of disobedience, God lovingly entreated them to return to obedience. “The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes” (Deuteronomy 1:30 NKJV). “You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you” (Deuteronomy 3:22). In our day and time, we know that God has not chosen for Himself a national people, whom He blesses exclusively. Note the following scriptures. “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:35). The hope of Heaven is set before …

The average diameter of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is 0.12 micrometers according to a Mayo Clinic article from last April. A lab guide from LSU gives the average human cheek cell diameter as 60 micrometers. The human cheek cell is 500 times larger than the coronavirus. Yet, something so small affects the whole person. The smallest sin has the same devastating effect. Jesus explained to the Pharisees that “whoever commits sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Sin corrupts the mind and causes the sinner to desire it (James 1:14-15). Sinfulness becomes second nature to the sinner (Ephesians 2:2-3). Every single sin separates the sinner from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). The same sin that separates the sinner from God also brings death (Romans 6:23). The worst part about sin is that every human has sinned and will continue to fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Gospel is God’s answer to sin. It tells of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The Gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone (Romans 1:16). Jesus’ death on the cross pays the redemptive price for those who would follow Him (Titus 2:11-14). The cross demonstrates God’s love toward all humanity (Romans 5:8). In truth, God does not desire for any to perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Time will tell if the Covid-19 vaccine proves to be a success. However, God’s plan of salvation holds true one hundred percent of …

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). When God created mankind, male & female, did He show any concern as to what color the dust was? The dust could have been black as coal, tan as desert sand, red as clay, yellow as an Asian desert or white as sand by the seashore. What seemed to be of greater importance to God was that He was making man in His own image. He was more concerned that His creation was to be pure, perfect and sinless. The breath of life that He breathed into man was pure, holy and spotless, and no hue found within the color spectrum can describe the color of the human soul. However, coming from God, it was as He is – pure, clean and without blemish. When Satan came upon the scene, he brought with him temptation. He placed the temptation before the woman (and her husband who was with her), and they both yielded to the temptation. Then, the spotless soul of man was stained with a blackness that he could not wash away no matter how he tried. The hatred and animosity between mankind today is not due to the color of one’s skin. It is because of …

The church is instructed to “rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). The word translated “rejoice” means to be full of cheer. Along with all the other duties in 1 Thessalonians 5, we are instructed to be filled with joy always – not an easy task sometimes. The first century church is our excellent example. It was joyful. Christians “took their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God…” (Acts 2:46-47). Joy is sometimes missing from the hearts of many believers today. We let worry replace joy too often. Christians need to be reminded that we have many reasons to rejoice. When the Ethiopian was baptized into Christ, “he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). Because our sins are washed away and we have hope of life eternal, we should “rejoice evermore.” God has blessed us greatly. Rejoice! Joy comes from within our hearts when we trust in God and believe His promises. If we are not joyful, we may have allowed our faith and trust in God to decline. We may not always be happy about our circumstances, but we can rejoice in our salvation and the blessings of God. Paul and Silas were certainly not happy about being in prison, but they were praying and singing hymns to God at midnight (Acts 16:25). They realized they still had reason to rejoice! How might we exhibit our joy? We can express our joy in worship to God from whom all blessings flow. Worship toward God is a natural outpouring of …

“Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!” (1 Chronicles 16:10). What should cause you to be happy? What should cause you to know that there are value and purpose in life? David, the King in Israel, believed that seeking the Lord and His strength should cause us to be happy – to rejoice. In times of trouble and times of sorrow, in the height of anxiety and the depth of despair, we need to apply our minds to something more important than ourselves. We lose heart when we look at ourselves and our plights too often and for too long. Looking outside of ourselves is the solution to this myopic approach to life, but looking outside to the wrong person or circumstance will not help us either. The writer of Hebrews, guided by the Holy Spirit, wrote it this way, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). When the troubles of life weigh you down, and the despair of hopelessness brings you low, start focusing on Christ, Jehovah, and seek the Lord and His strength. Then, your heart can rejoice! “Rejoice in the Lord …

The Christian life is not an easy one. The life of discipleship is a life of discipline – a life of denying self and living according to a higher standard. Christians were never promised this would be easy. Jesus often warned that to follow Him would lead to persecution, and He instructed those who showed interest to count the cost. The Christian life is not an easy one, but it is the most fulfilling life that can be lived, and it alone awaits the greatest reward. One need to look no further than Saul of Tarsus who gave up his aspiring life in Judaism to become a disciple of Christ. Not only did he give up his old life of being a notable figure within Judaism, but he also gave it up for the life of persecution of which Jesus warned. Yet, no matter how hard things got or how much he suffered, Saul (Paul) kept looking forward, knowing that the end would be far better than anything he could imagine (Romans 8:18). Discipleship is not easy, but there is nothing more rewarding than being a disciple of Jesus Christ!

My StrengthMy RockMy FortressMy DelivererMy GodMy ShieldThe Horn of my salvationMy StrongholdMy HopeMy RedeemerMy Shepherd (Psalm 18:1-2; 19:14; 59:11; 2 Samuel 22:2-3). “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies” (Psalm 18:3).

Many of us have children and grandchildren. They are a blessing. This article is not about them, but rather, it is about spiritual children. Paul considered those who obeyed the Gospel because of his preaching to be his children. He told the Corinthian saints, “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15). Paul called Timothy his “true son in the faith,” which leads us to believe that he was one of his converts (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2). He used him in his various works for the Lord. He, like any good father, watched out for his wellbeing, telling the Corinthians, “And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do” (1 Corinthians 16:10). Paul addressed a letter to Titus by saying, “To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 1:4). He sent him to Corinth to check on the church. Despite the fact that the Lord opened a door to him in Troas, he told the church of God in Corinth, “I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13). Paul’s thinking should stimulate …

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, “See here!” or “See there!” For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you’” (Luke 17:20-21). Jesus’ ministry was characterized by His preaching about the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15; Matthew 6:33; 12:28; 16:19). There was no doubt that when He mentioned His coming kingdom that it piqued interest in those who heard, including His disciples and the Pharisees as well. Most likely, Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom brought about questions regarding what they thought would be true of His Messianic reign. They were anticipating a Messiah who would deliver them from their enemies, provide them with whatever needs they had and always reign over Israel as His earthly kingdom. Clearly, if they had been listening to Jesus, they would know these were misconceptions about His kingdom and His work. So, just what is this kingdom? Jesus made it clear His kingdom is unlike any earthly kingdom with which the Pharisees or His disciples were familiar. It was not a physical kingdom but spiritual in nature. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). It was neither to have an earthly palace from which He would reign nor a militia of soldiers to use physical weaponry to defend its borders. Paul penned, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against …