Christianity
How To Enter God’s Rest? — Part 2: Maze of Views
In our world there are various kinds of rests. But because neither the writer of Hebrews nor any NT writer ever defines or explains it, many different ideas have evolved during the course of church history concerning what “God’s Sabbath-rest” truly is. The most popular view is it’s attainable only in heaven—i.e., it’s a…
READ MORE →How To Enter God’s Rest?–Part 1: The Problem
I am currently teaching through the book of Hebrews in my weekly Bible study here in Indianapolis. Arguably, the most challenging, least understood, and under- or unrealized portion is “God’s rest” as presented in Hebrews 3:11-4:11, and elsewhere in Scripture. So, I began this section this morning by asking my Bible study group…
READ MORE →Do Failed Expectations Demand a Verdict?
I’m back — rested, relaxed, and ready to rock. One of the books I read on vacation was a historical-critical, religious textbook titled, “Understanding the New Testament” by Howard Clark Kee (Prentice-Hall, 1983). My father gave it to me for Christmas ‘83 (according to his inscription inside), when I was first starting to study…
READ MORE →Want to See the Return of 1st-Century Caliber Miracles and Ministry Effectiveness?
If, as Martin Luther penned in the classic hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God and many Christians believe, “the Spirit and the gifts are ours” (verse 4, line 2), why don’t we see 1st-century caliber miracles and ministry effectiveness today? By caliber, I mean: the quality and quantity of signs, wonders, and miracles as…
READ MORE →The Remedies–How Did Jesus Do It?
If Jesus really did “do away with [put away] sin” (Heb 9:26), “hath destroyed [abolished] death” (2 Tim. 1:10), and destroyed “the works of the devil” ( 1 John 3:8) over nineteen centuries ago as the Bible states in the past tense and as I addressed in my previous blog titled “Sin Forever and Ever?”—how…
READ MORE →Sin Forever and Ever?
Seriously, will sin on earth go on forever and ever? Below are four intimidating questions and a challenging assertion I was confronted with last week on Facebook. How would you respond? “John, in all that you’re saying, you are not saying that sin will just go on and on and on are you? That there…
READ MORE →Pitting Paul Against Jesus
One of the pitiful practices and all-too-common tactics used to support flawed theological positions is pitting Paul against Jesus, and vice versa. As we’ve seen, dispensationalists use this device to defend their Israel/Church dichotomy and exclusivist position that Jesus’ kingdom belongs only to Israel and not to Gentile believers today. (See my blog, “Israel Insanity…
READ MORE →Reactions to Israel Insanity
Since my blog last week, “Israel Insanity or God’s Purpose?,” I’ve received many reactions both PRO and CON. Here are a few excerpts: “Wow, John, that is insane? Where are these teachings coming from?” “a pathetic state of ignorance that abounds today in modern Churchianity.” “I was raised with the view that this group…
READ MORE →Israel Insanity or God’s Purpose?
Believe it or not, here’s the response I got from one of the admins for the Facebook group called “Christians Standing with Israel” after I posted part of my blog titled “What Is the Gospel—Really?” on their site last week. See if you follow her logic or insanity? “The reason the gospel is not what…
READ MORE →What Is the Gospel–Really?
Ask ten Christians at random this basic question, “What is the gospel?” and most likely they either won’t know or won’t be able to provide a definition. Most pastors will probably say, “It’s Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection or our salvation and going to heaven when we died.” The problem with these latter two…
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