The Gospel Of Repentance

What are these two extremes the writer is talking about? The first one is called Legalism. The second is called Antinomianism. What do these words mean? Legalism was invented by overzealous Jews called Judaizers. Their preoccupation was with the law of  Moses. They insisted that one could not be saved apart from the works of the law. In other words, trusting wholly in Jesus' sacrificial atonement for the remission of sins was not sufficient. One also had to adhere to the law and obey all of its demands in order to be saved; salvation by works and not grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Antinomianism is a compound word. Anti means against. Nomianism comes from the Greek root nomos which means law. So an Antimonian is one who is against the law.   Now, let's put context to these terms as they relate to our salvation.  The Antinomian (lawbreaker) Paul the apostle dealt extensively and clearly with these two matters. He explained why both were danger...

For some perhaps many there is confusion regarding who the 144,000 are in the Bible in the book of Revelation. According to the Jehovah Witnesses organization, these witnesses are a special group that will reign in heaven with Jesus Christ at the end of this age. JW's literature claims that heaven filled up in 1935 so there is no more room for anyone else. In other words, no one else goes to heaven. This is not true! There are and will be an innumerable amount of saints   in heaven. In Revelation 7:9-10 we read, "After this, I (John the apostle) looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every tribe and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" John was seeing one of many visions; visions of the end times. In this chapter, God seals his witnesses on...

Why would the writer James utter the above statement? The statement actually reads, "Count it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience or endurance" (James 1:2). The word count means to consider. The writer James is not saying that tests are joy. They are not, they are painful. And truth be told, none of us want trials in our lives at all. James said to consider them joy because of what trials produce in us, patience or endurance which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  This type of attitude requires a laser focus on God and the truth of his word. If we are to discover that our faith is genuine, it has to be put to the test. The way God has decided to do that is through challenges in our lives. The archetype of the one who was righteous and suffered greatly in the Old Testament was Job. Job lost everything. He became so destitute and despaired of life that he cursed the day of his birth and wis...

The Bible tells us repeatedly that God is love, and that he is (1 John 4:8). That is why mankind is commanded to love one another. Jesus said to the disciples in John 13:35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another." Love is the supreme virtue of all God's attributes. From his love flows everything else. But what I would like to discuss is what God's love isn't.  The world's view of God's love is unbiblical. Why? Because it is viewed through a corrupt human lense. The world has replaced God's perfect love for an unholy tolerance of their sins. You have all heard the phrase, "Well God knows my heart." This phrase is used as an escape hatch to excuse one's guilt for the sin(s) they are committing. In their mind, it gets them off the hook with God - so they think.  Since the world...

Jesus said in the title verses above, "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation." To understand what He meant, we have to understand the entire context. The religious leaders said that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub the prince of demons; in essence Satan (Matthew 12:24). Jesus exposed the foolishness of their logic. He said, "If Satan casts out himself how can his kingdom stand" (Matthew 12:26-27)? In other words, why would anyone fight against themselves? Why would anyone tear themselves down? That is lunacy...

Many of us have heard tales or read stories of those who supposedly sold their souls to the devil for a life of riches, indulgence, and luxury on earth only to want to renege on their deal with the devil when their life is over. Can one offer their soul to the devil for sale? Let's take a look at some Bible passages to gain some insight into this serious matter. To my knowledge, the only person the devil approached about selling his soul to him was the Lord Jesus Christ at the temptation described in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The gospel of John does not record the temptation of Christ. I want to look at the third temptation Satan presented to Jesus. In Matthew 4:8-11 we read, "Again, the devil takes Him up into an exceeding high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory: And says unto Him (Jesus), all these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said unto him, "Get behind me Satan, for i...

There are many people in this world that deny the truth of God's word. There are many that believe none of it is true. There are others that choose that some accounts are true and that other accounts are not true.  So what does one believe? Just because many people believe the Bible is not true does not invalidate its truth. And just because someone believes something is true when it is not will never make it objectively true. We have many people today making the declaration that, "Truth is relative. There is no absolute truth!" Those that make that bold unwise claim have not taken the time to consider that that is a self-refuting statement - a strawman. Let me prove what I mean. For one to say that there is no absolute truth is to deny their own statement is absolutely true. Let me explain further: To say there is no absolute truth means that one cannot say there is no absolute truth. To do so is to contradict oneself.  Wait a minute! What?  Alright, l...