I came away from church
this past Sunday with the distinct impression that we (the corporate church
in the world) do not really understand. It wasn’t
“church” that was disappointing... it was the bible teaching, but I’ll confess,
I could be cynical, or I’m naïve and only think I’m cynical.
Monday, September 22, 2025
Understanding
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Jew and Gentile in the Bible
The Old Testament was (for the Jew) God’s
prophetic message of redemption and
restoration to Israel as a Kingdom of
priests. It was God’s plan for Israel to become a holy nation to then go and reconcile
the rest of the world to God. But they, with exceptions, rebelled continually against
God’s Sovereignty. They never had the faith in God that He would accomplish
what He promised. Israel repeatedly rejected God’s rule over them in their sin
of unbelief. The Old Testament record is of God dealing primarily with the Jews
only. In the 2000 years from Abraham, Gen. 12, to Acts 7, few Gentiles were saved, Eph. 2:11-12.
Monday, September 15, 2025
Discourse or Violence
Charlie Kirk said, “When discourse ends, violence begins.”
And Jesus said, “It is finished.”The dialogue began with Adam (a-dam’ = man). God had much to say to Adam, considering he was a brand new creation, one of his kind, not another like him. Adam may not have had any questions, but God had much knowledge to give him... and a warning-- “Do not eat of that one tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you, dying you shall surely die” Gen. 2:17. And then the violence began.
Monday, September 8, 2025
Salvation Is Of The Lord
Jonah 2:6+9 says, “You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You… Salvation is of the Lord.
There is much in that whole chapter of Jonah that relates to God, and to Jesus, and to Israel, and to us. But I would direct our focus this morning to, “Salvation is of the Lord.” How does God save sinners? By taking the penalty for sin (death) which was due man, onto a body of His own to enter death, undeserving, under His own power wherein death had NO power over Him so He could destroy it, and sin, and satan. That is my nutshell version. There is SO much more there on that theme that you could write a book on it. In fact… He did. You’re holding it.
Latitudinarianism
One great danger of the church today consists in the rise and progress of a spirit of indifference to all doctrines and opinions in religion.
Thursday, September 4, 2025
The Old Concealed - The New Revealed
"What is in the Old concealed, is
in the New revealed" ~Augustine
If you keep reading the Old
Testament you will read about the mysteries of God that even the prophets didn’t
know about as Peter wrote, “Of this salvation the
prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that
would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time (when), the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating
when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories
that would follow (two advents). To
them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to you they
were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those
who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things
which angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:10-12.