I am responding to those who asked questions and made pertinent comments about my previous post on ACV’s Facebook page. I do not have a Facebook account and was not able to respond on that platform. ..If faith is genuine and saving then when it is presented with the truth of Christ being the Great I Am, who, as the Word, became flesh, in order to save sinners, such faith will welcome this glorious truth and not oppose it.
Read MoreI am writing this as an appeal to my fellow Advent Christians who personally hold to the full deity and humanity of Christ in his one person but who do not want to challenge those in our ranks who have no conviction regarding this teaching or who actually oppose it. Before I make the particular appeal let me state some assumptions and offer two points for you to consider.
Devin Nicely responds to a reader’s email….
Read MoreI have a friend who attended a legalistic Christian School as a child. He once told me about the day when one of his teachers taught a lesson about the possibility of a lost salvation
Read MoreI was recently befriended by an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), and to my absolute joy, our conversations have been the most cordial and friendly of any I have had with an LDS member…
Read MoreFor some time I have been fascinated by the way the Apostle Paul lays out most of his letters. In a letter like the one he wrote to the Roman believers he lays out the Gospel using the indicative mood. That means that everything he writes from 1:1 to 6:10 is descriptive. There are no imperatives or commands given until 6:11, where he urges his readers to consider themselves to be, by God’s grace in Christ, dead to the rule or dominion of sin. Yet, he really does not give more detailed directives until he comes to 12:1-2.
Therefore, I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your reasonable act of worship; and do not be conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewing of your mind for the purpose of you being able to approve what the will of God is, the good, the pleasing and the perfect.
Read MoreLike me, you’ve probably noticed a rise in the number of people who identify as “progressive Christians”. And if you’re like most people, you’ve wondered, “What the heck does that mean?” Well, that question is difficult to answer for a couple of reasons…
Read MoreRecently I’ve had multiple skeptics tell me that one of the main reasons they don’t believe that Christianity is true is that “Christians can’t agree on anything.” And they go on to point out events throughout history such as the reformation and the formation of literally hundreds of denominations. But while all of these events did in fact happen, is it true that Christians can’t agree on anything? I think not!
Read MoreSome time ago an article was brought to my attention that charges modern Bible translation with changing the meaning of the original text of the Bible. These questions, of course, come up from time to time. There are often those, from inside and outside of the church, who question translation accuracy in order to support a particular agenda. The problem for many Christians is that we generally do not know the original languages. So when one of these challenges arises, it can cause us to question not only the teaching of our own church, but the very teaching of the Bible itself. And so, I have written this article to reassure you that yes, our modern Bible translations are accurate to the original languages.
Read MoreIn Matthew 12, Mark 2, and Luke 6, we have an event recorded of Jesus’ disciples rubbing wheat grains in their hands and eating them. The Pharisees who were with them at the time accused them of performing work on the sabbath, as it seems was their custom. In response, Jesus recounts the time in David’s life when he and his men were fleeing from king Saul and came to the high priest who gave them the bread of the presence and you can read the rest if you so desire, but the focus of this article is what some skeptics take to be a contradiction regarding the high priest in particular…
Read MoreIt is the month of June! And in our day and age, that means that the corporations and politicians of our culture are promoting what has been dubbed “pride month.” I was debating whether to write on this topic, given the sensitive nature of it, but after seeing not just the culture generally going extra hard for pride month this year, but professing Christians also cudgeling the church into submission with the cultural norms of the day, I felt it necessary to address what I believe to be key notions believed by pro-gay Christians, helping biblical Christians to handle this behavior biblically.
Read MoreIn an earlier article, I laid out the basics of the Moral Argument for the existence of God. The most common objection brought by skeptics to the Moral Argument is called the Euthyphro Dilemma. Let’s begin by winding the clock back to the event that is credited with its origin.
Read MoreIn an earlier article, I laid out the basics of the Moral Argument for the existence of God. The most common objection brought by skeptics to the Moral Argument is called the Euthyphro Dilemma. Let’s begin by winding the clock back to the event that is credited with its origin.
Read MoreIn defending the doctrine of the Trinity, and more specifically the deity of Jesus, there is a rule of the Koine Greek language that is important to know. The Granville Sharp rule is used as a fortification of two verses of scripture in particular as they relate to the deity of Christ…
Read MoreDid Jesus really rise from the dead?
Read MoreScrolling through Facebook just the other day, I came across a meme that must have been circulating since the new year; it was a New Year’s Resolution meme. It read, “This year, I resolve to be more like Jesus,” which is great to hear. The list that followed had some good general goals such as, “Love people more,” along with some more whimsical ones like, “Take naps on boats.” But one stood out to me among all of the others; it read, “Hang out with sinners.” Of course, this got me thinking and asking some questions perhaps too deep to be wasted on a trifling thing like a meme, but important questions with real consequences nonetheless.
Read MoreContext; Context; Context. Robert Mayer reflects on how important Bible reading has been in his long journey of Christian faith and suggests how some key ideas for reading the Bible well helps us learn to better follow Jesus in a complex world.
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