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Bible Study

In Bible Study, Blog, Matthew on
October 18, 2021

Judge Not

We live in a society where judgment is not tolerated. When a person makes certain choices or decisions in their life, they expect everyone to accept and affirm them. But if anyone pushes back or questions the decision, they act as if their identity and personhood is being denied, and they label their questioner as a hateful bigot. And this reaction is amplified if the person who pushes back is a Christian.

The Bible calls Christians to be kind and compassionate (Ephesians 4:32), to love their neighbors (Matthew 22:39), even if their neighbor is their enemy (Matthew 5:44). Because of this, many people, including many believers, think that Christians should not disagree with anyone publicly. Somehow, this is seen as being “unloving,” and if you do try to disagree with someone’s choices or actions, someone is sure to throw the common Bible verse at you: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1, ESV) However, this Bible verse is very often misused, especially in the situation described above. To find out the true meaning of this verse, we must look at it in context.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Genesis on
September 20, 2021

Did God Really Say?

As the popularity of progressive Christianity rises, it appears that more and more “believers” are questioning what God has commanded in Scripture. They ask questions like, Did God really say that homosexuality is a sin? Did God really say that only men can be pastors? Did God really say we should pursue modesty and purity? Did God really say there’s only one way to heaven and those who don’t go to heaven will go to hell? And when those who claim to be Christians continue questioning the Word of God, they tend to move further and further away from the faith until they leave Christianity altogether.

While this questioning of Scripture may seem like a fairly new phenomenon, it’s actually a very ancient temptation from the lips of the devil himself. It goes all the way back to the very beginning, to the story of the Fall in Genesis 3.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Revelation on
August 23, 2021

Lukewarm Laodicea

For a lot of people, Revelation is a scary and daunting to book to read. It talks of various seals, bowls, trumpets, angels, and plagues. It describes a dragon, a prostitute, and a leopard-ish, bear-ish, lion-ish beast with seven heads and ten horns. It speaks of much death and destruction, but also of the final victory of Jesus and the beauty of the New Earth. The book of Revelation is difficult to understand and difficult to interpret, so many try to avoid it at all costs.

But these people often forget that not all of Revelation is filled with frightening images and confusing apocalyptic language. They forget that the first three chapters of Revelation are actually letters from Jesus to seven first-century churches. While these short letters were written almost 2,000 years ago, they are still very applicable to the Church today. And one letter that is particularly relevant for the American Church is the letter to the church of Laodicea.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Jeremiah on
July 26, 2021

Plans to Prosper

I am a big Disney fan. I love watching animated Disney films, listening to Disney movie soundtracks, and going to Walt Disney Word. One of the best parts of Disney movies are the sidekicks. Pascal from Tangled, Olaf from Frozen, and Mushu from Mulan are just a few of my favorites. But we, as believers, run into a problem when we begin to treat God like a Disney sidekick.

What does it mean to treat God like a Disney sidekick? We can think of Him as our very own Fairy Godmother, who instead of giving us a big blue gown and a pumpkin carriage, will give us perfect health, a dream job, or a new relationship. We can think that if we pray hard, do good Christian things, and rub the lamp in just the right way, God will be like our genie, whose wish is our command. We can think that if we wish upon a star and have enough faith all our dreams will come true, just like Jiminy Cricket sang.

We treat God like a Disney sidekick when we begin to see Him as someone whose sole purpose is to give us good things. And while God does certainly give us good things, He does not promise or guarantee that we should or will receive certain things in our lives. This belief is rooted in a misinterpretation of scriptures like Jeremiah 29:11.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Ephesians on
June 28, 2021

Truth in Love

If there’s one thing the American church overemphasizes, it’s this: love. Don’t get me wrong; love is an important thing for Christians to have and to practice in their daily lives. We are called to love God, love our neighbors, and love our enemies (Matthew 22:37-39, Luke 6:35). Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and it’s greater than faith or hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Those who do not love don’t know God. How do we know this? Because God is love (1 John 4:8).

Love is important for the Christian. But many people today, including many in the church, are redefining what love is. To them, love is an acceptance and an affirmation of a person and their lifestyle. To them, love means that you cannot judge someone, regardless of the choices they are making in their lives. To them, love equals avoiding controversial or uncomfortable conversations for the sake of “keeping the peace.”

This love is not a biblical form of love. These practices are not what the Bible calls us to. Instead, God’s Word calls us to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). But what exactly does this mean?

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