Browsing Tag:

Obedience

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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In Blog, Book Reviews, Sanctification on
March 20, 2022

The Hole in Our Holiness

According to Barna Research Group in 2006, only thirty-five percent of Americans believe that God call us and expects us to become holy. Less than half of self-proclaimed born-again believers agree with this.[1] And I imagine that over the last fifteen years or so, those numbers have decreased quite a bit. It’s evident that we live in a culture that doesn’t prize holiness. People today do whatever they want to do, whatever feels good and right to them. Even many Christians are throwing biblical values to the wind and doing whatever the world around them is doing: watching inappropriate movies, listening to explicit music, wearing revealing clothing, scrolling through Twitter or TikTok for hours on end, and engaging in actions that were once unheard of.

According to Kevin DeYoung, there’s a hole in our holiness, and it needs to be addressed now.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Psalm on
February 14, 2022

My Heart’s Desire

Today is Valentine’s Day. And like many of you, I will be spending it alone.

I mean, I won’t be completely alone today. I’ll go to work and interact with co-workers and clients, and I’ll likely have dinner with my parents tonight. But I won’t have a boyfriend or husband who will send flowers to me, do something special with me, or profess their undying love for me.

Like every other single Christian, I’ve been told that singleness is a gift and, in some cases, better than marriage. But it truly is my heart’s desire to fall in love, get married, and start a family with a faithful and godly man. I would be lying if I said my heart doesn’t sink a little every time I see someone I know getting engaged, married, or pregnant. But there are no possible marriage prospects in my life at the moment, and it appears that my heart’s desire is not on the horizon of my near future.

However, there are some Christians who believe that they can make their hearts’ desires come to fruition. They think that they can manifest, declare, and claim their desires in Jesus’ name, and all their wishes and dreams will come true. This is based on one of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misapplied verses in the Bible: Psalm 37:4.

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In Blog, Purity, Theology on
December 6, 2021

Pursuing Purity

Growing up, I mostly missed the purity culture movement within the evangelical church. I did sign a True Love Waits abstinence pledge in middle school, and my parents gave me a purity ring when I turned thirteen. But I never attended any purity events, or read any books like I Kissed Dating Goodbye, or listened to talks that compared girls who had sinned sexually to used cars, expired food, or a wilted rose. I was never hurt by “purity culture,” but I know many Christian women who lived their teen years before me were.

While many bad things happened as a result of this purity movement, I fear we are now moving too far in the opposite direction. In response to purity culture’s flaws, many people, mostly those who fall in the progressive Christian camp, claim that God doesn’t really care what you wear or who you sleep with. He doesn’t care about purity or modesty. Want to wear crop tops and tight miniskirts? That’s fine! Want to sleep around before you settle down and get married? That’s good and even healthy.

But the Bible actually has a lot to say about purity and its importance in the lives of believers. Instead of throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater, we should examine what God’s Word teaches us about purity and determine how we can foster a culture of true, biblical purity in our families, churches, and communities.

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In Blog, Ten Commandments, Theology on
November 8, 2021

In Vain

One of my favorite TV shows is Friends (I know—not the most wholesome show, but it does make me laugh). There are several recurring side characters in the show, but one of the most memorable characters is Janice, Chandler’s on and off girlfriend who appears in nearly every season of the series. Janice is mainly known for one thing—exclaiming in her loud, nasally, nails-on-a-chalkboard voice the phrase, “OH. MY. GOD.” And Janice isn’t the only one to make this exclamation. Between Janice, the six friends, and other characters, the phrase is said 1,069 times over the show’s ten seasons.[1]

Growing up in a conservative Christian household, I was taught to never use this phrase. In my mind, I was just asking to be struck down by the Lord if I dared to utter those three little words in a row. It was such a big deal because it was prohibited in the third commandment – “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7a, ESV). But what does it really mean to take God’s name in vain? Is this commandment just telling us we can’t use the phrase, “Oh my god,” or is there more to it?

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