“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life” (1 John 1:1 ESV). It is not uncommon for people to want to see and touch things. “Seeing is believing” we are told. Even if someone plans on purchasing something online he might go to a store and see if he can handle the product. One wants to make sure that it looks and feels right. He wants to make sure it is the right size. The same is often true for other areas of life. If you hear about some strange story, the first thing you want is either to see it yourself or to have some eyewitness whom you trust tell you what he saw. In our justice system, an eyewitness is always preferable to hearsay. In fact, hearsay is not even admitted as evidence. “I heard so and so say that he saw Bob take the cookie.” That’s different than someone saying, “I saw Bob take the cookie.” Eyewitness accounts are important and are, for the most part, seen as reliable. What we have in the opening verses of John’s letter is a clear declaration by John, the beloved disciple, that what he preached and taught came from firsthand experience; he was an eyewitness. The reason that John made this point was because there were some false teachers going around who were saying that John’s

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15 ESV). The Christian life is to be one characterized by love. We are called to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-40). Those who do that, who follow God’s command to love, who love like Christ, belong to Him. Yet, where does our love stop? Is there a limit or are there things that we are not to love? The apostle John answered that question in 1 John 2:15. John started by warning us not to “love the world or the things in the world.” What was he talking about? We might think back to the Gospel according to John and remember that famous passage, the one everyone knows, the one we see at sporting events (John 3:16), which speaks of God’s love for the “world.” This is certainly a great passage of Scripture, one that teaches us the way that God loves the world. God has loved the world or has shown His love for the world by giving His Son, Jesus. However, how can God love the world and yet John instructed us not to love the world? Is this some kind of contradiction? The word “world” is like any other word. It has different meanings depending on the context in which it appears. If I said “grab the mouse,” you might not want to do that if I was

When a person desires to follow Christ and to be reconciled to God, we know and understand that such a one must be baptized, “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Water baptism, for God’s own purpose and pleasure, is how one comes into contact with the blood of Jesus, and that blood is what cleanses us from all our sins (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:7). Yet, many don’t realize that God has used water and the Spirit throughout the Old Testament to bring about life, renewal and salvation. Many Old Testament events are types or shadows of what was to come in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is full of types and shadows that find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ and His church. Consider what Paul said about those who ate the manna and drank the water that came from the rock: “…and did all eat the same spiritual food; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4). Paul commented on events found in Exodus 16:15 and Exodus 17:6. He stated that those events, in a real way, point us to Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said that He was the bread (manna) from heaven (John 6:31-35). Again, the Old Testament is full of types and shadows, and one of those types has to do with water baptism. In Genesis 1, we see God creating the heavens and the earth. In Verse

Introduction It is no surprise to us when we read or hear atheists and agnostics attacking the Word of God, but when the attack comes from those who claim to be Christians, it can take us by surprise. There has been an increasing amount of attacks upon the Bible as God’s infallible and inerrant Word over the past few decades. Many in Christendom are falling prey to a very liberal reading of Scripture, and some are even attacking its inerrancy, using the very same arguments that the unbelieving use. Supposed Contradictions and Errors It is very common when reading books by people like Bart Ehrman and Dan Barker to come across statements like, “The Bible is full of errors and contradictions.” In fact, this is extremely common to hear from those who have never even read the Bible. Some, in an attempt to prove the Bible contains contradictions, will point to the number of horse stalls that Solomon is said to have had in 2 Chronicles 9:25 (4,000) and 1 Kings 4:26 (40,000). They claim that this is a clear contradiction and proof that the Bible contains errors. Is this really a contradiction? For those wishing to disprove the Bible it is, but this may simply be an issue of copyist error (Geisler and Howe 180). The Scriptures, along with all ancient documents, were copied by hand until the printing press was invented, and there were times when copyists would make mistakes. Yet, this may not be a copyist error

In recent years, there has been a great push by some to enlarge and expand the role of women in the church. With this push, some are now asking whether women should be able to preach and to teach to a mixed group gathered for worship or even if it is acceptable for women to be appointed as “elders.” How are we to answer these kinds of questions? Certainly, there has been much ink spilled on this topic along with numerous debates. It is not my intention to engage every aspect of the debate, but to simply present some basic things to keep in mind regarding this issue. First, it is important to recognize and state clearly that women are a vitally important part of the body of Christ. They should never be made to feel like second class citizens or unimportant to the work of the body. Equality in Nature Women are seen in God’s eyes as equal in nature. God created both Adam and Eve in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). Men and women are both fully and completely human; neither is more nor less so. We also see an interconnectedness and interdependence in Genesis because the man is not complete without the woman, nor is the woman complete without the man. That’s what Genesis 2 is all about. God himself said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (ESV). This is not the time

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV). Nevertheless, a very common charge made against the Bible today is, “You can’t trust the Bible. It’s full of all kinds of contradictions and errors.” You may have heard this kind of thing from a friend or coworker. Maybe you have even heard this stated on TV, but is it true? Is the Bible an unreliable book full of errors and contradictions? To answer this question, let us look at some of the more commonly cited “proofs” for the assertion that the Bible contains contradictions and errors. Some, in an attempt to prove the Bible contains contradictions, will point to the number of horse stalls that Solomon is said to have had in 2 Chronicles 9:25 (4,000) and 1 Kings 4:26 (40,000). On the surface this does appear to be a contradiction, but is it really? The 4,000 mentioned in 2 Chronicles is most likely speaking of horse stables while the 40,000 mentioned in 1 Kings is speaking of individual stalls. If each stable housed 10 stalls, then that would account for the supposed contradiction. Another supposed contradiction has to do with John 20:12, which mentions two “angels,” and Luke 24:4, which mentions two “men.” Those who present these texts as contradictions ask us, “Were there two men or two angels