Browsing Tag:

Forgiven

In 1 Samuel, Bible Study, Blog on
November 7, 2023

Divine Regret

Have you ever been reading the Bible and come across something that appears to contradict what it says elsewhere? Have you ever discovered a verse that seems completely antithetical to what you’ve been taught by pastors and other teachers at your church?

This is not all that uncommon. There are many areas of Scripture that can be confusing and may seem at first glance to be in direct opposition of other Scripture passages. One particular place is 1 Samuel 15, where God declares that he regrets making Saul king.

But is it truly possible for God to regret something? After all, isn’t He all-knowing? Isn’t He sovereign over everything that happens in the universe? Doesn’t the Bible tell us that God can never change?

To answer these questions and gain clarity on the real meaning of 1 Samuel 15, we must examine the biblical context.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Jesus on
November 14, 2022

Confronting Jesus

Every two years, Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research partner together to survey Americans about their theological beliefs. They recently released their 2022 findings, and some of the results are troubling.[1] Fifty-five percent of Americans believe that Jesus was the first and greatest being created by God, and fifty-three percent believe that Jesus was just a good teacher, not God. Thirty-six percent of American adults do not believe Jesus’s death is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of sin, and forty percent do not believe that trusting in Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

Now, these kinds of beliefs are not all that surprising in the secular world. But according to this survey, they were professing Evangelicals who agreed with the sentiments above. Sixty-one percent—nearly two thirds—of professing Evangelicals agree that Jesus was not God, but simply a creation of God. This is absolutely stunning and not in a good way.

The American Church, and American culture in general, do not have an accurate view of Jesus, who He was and what He did on this earth for us. It’s time for us to know the real Jesus. It’s time for us to confront what the Scriptures really teach about Him. And Rebecca McLaughlin’s newest book helps us to do exactly that.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Genesis on
November 6, 2022

The Better Adam

It’s no secret that we live in a cruel and sinful world. You just have to turn on the news or take a scroll down Twitter to catch a glimpse of the terrible events and horrific headlines that are happening every single day. Countries are being demolished by war, natural disasters, and political tensions. Inflation rises as people can no longer afford their basic necessities, like food, housing, and baby formula. Criminals are going virtually unpunished while everyday citizens are being targeted and attacked for what they believe in. Our children are being inundated with godless ideologies at every turn, and the evangelical church is moving farther and farther away from biblical Christianity.

Our world is a dark place, full of wicked men and evil schemes. Sin abounds in every corner and crevice of the earth. And all this death and destruction we see on a daily basis stems from the actions of one man: a man named Adam.

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In Blog, Salvation, Theology on
September 11, 2022

The Transformation of Sanctification

I am a Christian, and I still struggle with sin.

Daily.

Like the Apostle Paul, I do sinful things that I don’t want to do, and I don’t do the things I know I ought to do (Romans 7:18-20). Such is the life of a Christian. Through the work of Christ, we’ve been made righteous in the eyes of the Father and we’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit, who gives us the desire and ability to obey God’s Word and do what is right. But all of us, even the godliest of saints, are still sinners. We still mess up and make mistakes. We hurt and offend people, and we disobey what’s written in the Scriptures. We say and do the wrong things, even if we have the best of intentions.

Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us this way. He doesn’t just save us and say sayonara, leaving us to fend for ourselves and figure out how to behave on our own until Jesus returns. No, God actively works in and through us every single day to make us more and more like Him through a process called sanctification.

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In Blog, Heresies, Theology on
April 3, 2022

Test the Spirits

Everyone is trying to sell us something, whether it be on YouTube ads, interstate billboards, or commercials during the nightly news. Forbes reported in 2017 that the average American is exposed to four thousand to ten thousand ads every single day.[1] Everybody wants to convince us that their product or message will make our lives easier, better, or more enjoyable.

And this isn’t limited to secular media outlets. Even our pastors and churches feed us different messages every week. Many of these messages are rooted in the Word of God and are edifying and uplifting. However, there are also messages being delivered by “pastors” every week that are not rooted in Scripture, that are not truly edifying, and that actually lead people away from the truth of the gospel. Because of this, we must be like the Bereans, examining the Bible to see if what we are hearing lines up with God’s Word (Acts 17:11), and test the spirits (1 John 4:1).

To help you test the messages you’re hearing and discern whether what you’re being taught is biblical truth, I’ve compiled a brief list of nine heresies that originated in the early church and are still popular today and how the Bible disproves them.

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