Swearing is not the sin of “cursing,” but the sin of using oaths to affirm that what is said is true. The Pharisees used all kinds of tricks to sidestep the truth, and oaths were among them. They would avoid using the holy name of God, but would come close...
Every Christian who lives a godly life experiences a certain amount of persecution. On the job, in school, in the neighborhood, perhaps even in the family, there are people who resist the truth and oppose the Gospel of Christ. No matter what a believer says or does, these people find...
Because He is the sinless, eternal Son of God, and because His was the perfect, or “complete,” sacrifice, Jesus Christ is the “author of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9). No Old Testament priest could offer eternal salvation to anyone, but that is exactly what we have in Jesus Christ. Through His...
Why is it so important that we know we have been born of God? There are two kinds of children in this world: the children of God and the children of the devil. You would think that a “child of the devil” would be a person who lives in gross...
Satan would convince us that our Father is holding out on us, that He does not really love us and care for us. When Satan approached Eve, he suggested that if God really loved her, He would permit her to eat of the forbidden tree. When Satan tempted Jesus, he...
If the twenty-four elders of Revelation typify the people of God in heaven, then we must ask, “Why should God’s people praise God the Creator?” If the heavens are declaring the glory of God (Psalm 19), why shouldn’t God’s heavenly people join the chorus? Creation bears constant witness to the...
The mystery of human suffering will not be solved completely in this life. Sometimes we suffer simply because we are human. Our bodies change as we grow older, and we are susceptible to the normal problems of life. The same body that can bring us pleasure can also bring us...
In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus used the illustration of the eye to teach us how to have a spiritual outlook on life. One truth presented in that passage is this: We must not pass judgment on others’ motives. We should examine their actions and attitudes, but we can- not judge their...
It is good to lay the foundations of faith in childhood and youth. For some Christians, the “golden years” are really “leaden years” because they wasted their youth and did not lay solid foundations of faith. This does not mean that an older person who has missed his opportunities to...
A Christian doctor had tried to witness to a very moral woman who belonged to a church that denied the need for salvation and the reality of future judgment. “God loves me too much to condemn me,” the patient would reply. “I cannot believe that God would make such a...