Throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews, the writer emphasized the importance of the future hope. His readers were prone to look back and want to go back, but he encouraged them to follow Christ’s example and look ahead by faith. The heroes of faith named in Hebrews 11 lived for...
God’s Word is one of the best tools for resisting temptation. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He used the Word of God to defeat him. Paul admonished believers to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) in their battle against Satan and...
On January 6, 1822, the wife of a poor German pastor had a son, never dreaming that he would one day achieve world renown and great wealth. When Heinrich Schliemann was seven years old, a picture of ancient Troy in flames captured his imagination. Contrary to what many people believed,...
What is the Christian’s wisdom? Does he look to the philosophies of this world? No! To begin with, Jesus Christ is our wisdom. In Jesus Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). The first step toward true wisdom is the receiving of Jesus Christ as...
Nowhere did the Law teach hatred for one’s enemies. For example, Exodus 23:4 indicates just the opposite: “If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.” Jesus defined our enemies as those who curse us, hate us, and exploit...
The successful Christian learns the vocabulary of the Spirit and makes use of it. He knows the meaning of justification, sanctification, adoption, propitiation, election, inspiration, and so forth. In understanding God’s vocabulary, we come to understand God’s Word and God’s will for our lives. If the engineering student can grasp...
“It is written!” is a statement that carries great authority For the believer. Our Lord used the Word of God to defeat Satan, and so may we. But the Word of God is not only a sword for battle; it is also a light to guide us in this dark...
In selecting the bit and the rudder, the Apostle James presented two items in his epistle that are small of themselves, yet exercise great power, just like the tongue. A small bit enables the rider to control the great horse, and a small rudder enables the pilot to steer the...
Three words in Hebrews 11:1-3 summarize what true Bible faith is: substance, evidence, and witness. The word translated substance means literally “to stand under, to support.” Faith is to a Christian what a foundation is to a house: it gives confidence that he will stand. When a believer has faith,...
Not every believer is equipped to establish other Christians in the faith. Ideally, every Christian should be mature enough to help others grow in the Lord and learn to stand on their own two feet. Unfortunately, some Christians are like those described in Hebrews 5:11-14. They have gone backward in...