Such a Time as This
In 1 Corinthians 10:11 we are told that the history of the Old Testament was written as an example for us. When we compare the history of Israel with that of the Church we are given great insight into the times in which we live. We will come to understand that the coming of Christ is near, and that we have a role to play in speeding his return.
Continue reading “The Local Church and Pioneer Missions (Part 3)”
All Nations
I am firmly convinced that local churches who have taken the Lord’s Great Commission (summed up in the words win, build and send) as their daily marching orders are uniquely equipped to bear fruit in the unreached nations of the world. I am also certain that congregations who have seen the wisdom of this simple vision by walking in it will not stray far from it, and that fact will ensure our fruitfulness. It is not in the realm of getting off course that such churches have the potential for missing our destiny, but in not recognizing the scope of the Great Commission. These congregations are firmly rooted in the labor of that commission, but we must pay attention to the territory where that labor is to be spent as well. We are to “go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that He has commanded us.”
Continue reading “The Local Church and Pioneer Missions (Part 2)”
In this three part series of posts we will look at the task and the scope of the Great Commission. Special attention will be paid to the role of local churches in fulfilling that commission. These posts were originally written for the fellowship of churches I am a part of. I have attempted to adjust them in order to make them applicable to all local churches that are involved in radical evangelism, personal discipleship and church planting. I am afraid that I was not able make successfully expand all of the examples, so some of them will only apply to a small percentage of local churches. But I think the posts are food for thought nonetheless, so I have decided to post them anyway. I hope they help spur you and your church towards fulfilling the Great Commission.
Continue reading “The Local Church and Pioneer Missions (Part 1)”
In the last post we noted that John the Apostle is the only biblical author that uses the term “antichrist.” My conclusion was that the singular form of that term in 1 John 2:18 was synonymous with the “spirit of antichrist” mentioned in 1 John 4:3, which is also defined as the “spirit of error” in 1 John 4:6. And I also concluded that the plural form of the term used in 1 John 2:18 refers to the false teachers/false Christians.
Continue reading “Beware of Antichrists”
The tendency many have when studying end times theology (i.e. eschatology) is to link everything together too quickly. We want a system we can memorize and check off our list of things we know with certainty. The problem in our rush to have a systematic eschatology we often end up with an unbiblical eschatology. Our goal must be to know what the Scriptures say. We must approach each passage and each term in its own Scriptural context. We mustn’t read our theological systems into the individual passages. If we do read into these passages, we will come away with a perfectly consistent eschatology, but we will not have a biblical eschatology.
A sacrament is a ceremony established by Christ that shows us the meaning of the New Covenant.
The sacraments of the New Covenant are water baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
In baptism a person is immersed in water showing that he has been buried with Christ and has died to sin, and then he comes up out of the water showing that He has been risen with Christ to live a new and holy life for God.
Baptism is only for those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ for salvation.
In the Lord’s Supper the bread is broken representing the body of Christ that was broken for us on the cross, and the wine represents the blood of Christ that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
When people share in the Lord’s Supper they show that they trust in the sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and commit to take up their cross and follow Him.
Only those who have repented, believed and been baptized can share in the Lord’s Supper.
John 11:47-53
So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
Continue reading “Died to Save, Died to Gather – John 11:50-52”
Galatians 2:15-16
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
James 2:18-24
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” -and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Galatians 2:15-16
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Romans 3:28
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
James 2:18-24
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” -and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
When we read these passages side by side they seem to offer conflicting views on how we are justified (i.e. forgiven and accepted by God; considered members of God’s people in good-standing). Paul in the books of Galatians and Romans seems to make it clear that we are accepted by God because of our faith alone, apart from anything we do. But James says with equal clarity that we are “justified by works and not by faith alone.” Knowing whether we are right with God or not, is a very important bit of information to have. So this is something we must wrestle with until we understand what James and Paul are trying to tell us.
Continue reading “Saving Faith According to James”
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