The Gospel Of Repentance

In John 14:13-14 Jesus says the following to His disciples, and whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that I will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. So, what does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name? For a lot of Christians in means simply attaching Jesus name at the end of their petition which supposedly gives the prayer ultimate authority. Saying in Jesus name means to them that God has heard their prayer and is now obligated to answer it for we just read where Jesus, “if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” Saying in Jesus’ name is almost like a magic incantation for some people. Saying in Jesus’ name has no power if one prays amiss (James 4:3). It’s not so much the words that moves God to answer our request, it’s the motivation and intent of the heart that determines whether a request is granted. In verse 12 of John 14 we read, verily verily, or truly, truly I say to you, he that believes on Me, the works that ...

The phrase, “the Church has nothing in it but hypocrites”, and “Christians are nothing but hypocrites” is popular among non believers. They love to use it when a believer is involved in sin which of course blows their witness and makes God look bad in the non believer’s eyes. It is essential as Christians for our walk to match our talk. As someone wisely said, people do not care how much you know they want to know how much you care. In defense of the Christian, it is unfair to stereotype all Christians as hypocrites because of the sins of a few. Those that make these remarks are primarily the ones that have no desire to change their evil lifestyle and can’t wait for the Christian to do or say something wrong so they can say, "I TOLD Y’ALL THOSE CHRISTIANS ARE NOTHING BUT HYPOCRITES! I AINT NEVER GOING TO CHURCH!!” Those that say these things are no better than the Christians they are judging. All of us have been hypocrites and some point in our lives. Since the word is s...

                                        The tribulation is a future seven year period of horrific events. It is the time where God unleashes His Holy wrath against an unholy world of evil doers. As a matter of fact Jesus said it will be the worst time in human history (Matt 24:21).  The last three and one half years in particular will be the worst of all. All one has to do is read Revelation chapters 6-18 which describes the Great Tribulation (the last three and a half years) in great detail. Another important matter that is always the topic of discussion is where is the Church during this time in history? That is what I want to discuss. Regarding the Church there are 3 popular views: 1) Pre-tribulational,  2) Mid-tribulational, 3) Post-tribulational.                        ...

The original Greek word for world is the word cosmos. In the gospel of John world is used several different ways. Let’s go over them. 1.       John 1:10 – He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know  Him. In this verse the word world is making reference to the physical planet earth we live in and the fact that Jesus in eternity past created the universe. Both Col 1:15 and Heb 1:2 tells us that Jesus created all things. 2.       John 1:29 – Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.                In this passage John the Baptist is introducing to His disciples and others that Jesus is the Messiah that will take away sins. Automatically when we see the word world, we conclude that it is inclusive. The word world here has to refer only to the elect and/or chosen of God. Remember Matt 1:21 say...

We are converted as individuals, but function as a body – The Church. We must love God (vertical) and love our brothers/sisters (horizontal). OT word that described the congregation Israel is the Hebrew word  (qahal). Two Greek words that describe the Church are ekklesia (church or congregation), and synagog (as in Jewish synagogue or assembly). The word used for the Universal Church is: katholikos ; means general or universal. This is where we get the English word Catholic. Jesus referred to His Church as a body , a household, and a temple. The Church in relation to Israel – the church and Israel are distinct. But there are four possible views on this relationship: 1.        Unification view – argues the church and Israel are essentially identical 2.        Suppression view – argues the church is not Israel but has replaced or superceded it 3.        Distincti...