There are two very important reasons for my not being a Calvinist. The first should be obvious: when someone asks a Christian what they believe, Jesus should be the first name on their lips. Not Calvin, Luther, Wesley, Zwingli, or anybody else.
There's a lot of talk about dominion these days, and some comes from a bunch of false teachers. I think it's an important subject, considering the depth of false teaching out there.
Most of us are familiar with the gospel accounts of Jesus cleansing the temple. You know, where He flipped tables and ran out the moneychangers. That happened right before His crucifixion, right? Well... yes, but maybe He did it twice.
There are many arguments for the existence of God. Some suggest that the mere existence of the universe requires a supreme being. Some claim that the order and complexity of the universe is evidence of a creator. Others begin with what it means to be human, and infer the existence of God. Still others rely on simple logic.
I've been asked how much the widow's offering is worth today. There are at least two problems with the question. First, it entirely misses Jesus' point. The widow's offering was a sacrifice, while the offerings of others were apparently not.
How many parables did Jesus teach? What are they about? Where can I find them? Jesus taught many times using parables, which are simple, earthly stories that explain a more complex, spiritual truth.
The Bible isn't one book. It's a collection of 66 books by different authors, in different genres... that is, different categories or kinds of writings. Some are history. Some are biography. Here's a list.
One of the most common questions that Christians ask is how we can know what God wants. We want to hear from Him directly, especially when faced with a difficult decision. So how does God speak to each of us?
What is a pastor? What are they for? The New Testament describes different roles for church leaders, including pastor. Learn why.
"A friend of mine was telling me that there are missing books in the New International Version Bible, but she can't remember which ones they are. Please let me know if this is true."
Christian singer and songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman has the most awards in Christian music history... but his life has been a journey of ups and downs. He shares a bit of his story with the folks at I Am Second.
How does the Bible define marriage? What is marriage in God's eyes? Is it okay for people to have sex before they're married? These questions are not only important, but they're increasingly relevant as people, young and old, revisit their ideas about relationships.
God describes Himself in mostly masculine terms: father, husband. The Hebrew names Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, Kurios, and Theos are all linguistically masculine. At the same time, God also describes Himself in Job as giving birth, and in Isaiah as a mother. It's more complicated than simply "he" or "she."
Writing a definition for God is inherently difficult, and problematic. There are two main problems with each attempt to define God. The first problem is that we only know what He has revealed to us, so any definition will necessarily be incomplete. The second problem is that while we can use words to describe God, none of those words can help us actually understand Him. Still, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
Skeptics of Christianity sometimes claim that Jesus never claimed to be God, and that belief in His divinity was a legend that developed over time. When did this belief develop? How early can it be established?
The Jewish Scriptures - the Old Testament - speak often of the coming Messiah. The New Testament clearly claims that Jesus is that Messiah, and points to many Old Testament prophecies as being fulfilled by Jesus. Here are 40 of the 300+ prophecies associated with Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
In John 14, Jesus said that we who follow Him will do what He did, and - somewhat surprisingly - even greater things. This isn't due to our amazing knowledge and talents, but due to the Holy Spirit working through us. Do we really believe this is true?
Jesus' death fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Even though He paralleled His own death with 'the sign of Jonah,' some have struggled to justify using His words as evidence, believing that Jonah didn't die inside the fish. A careful look at Scripture says otherwise.
Questions about God are always important! Whenever we try to describe God, words will always fall short. We simply don't know everything about God. We don't even have an earthly parallel to God, so we can't study things that are like God to discover more about Him. Every analogy is incomplete in some way.
I'm happy to see that you're looking for a second opinion on whether anyone, including Hank Hanegraaff, is a false teacher. That's wise. This article is based on an email exchange and is a work in progress. It's designed to continue the conversation about false teachers, not to end it.
I don't know if you're asking for yourself, for a friend, or for some other reason... but it's an important question. This is going to be quite long. Hang in there. First, nobody goes to hell for what they WANT.
A lot of GodWords readers consider themselves "Torah-observant." They believe that Christians are to live by the same laws given to the ancient Israelites. A primary verse in their argument is Matthew 5:17, where Jesus says that He came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. Are they right? Are Christians under the law?
Is the Kingdom of Heaven the same as the Kingdom of God? Are they different? If they're the same, why do different books of the Bible use different words to describe the same thing? What does each phrase mean? The Bible is complicated. While it looks like a single book, it's really a group of 66 unique books.
Over the years, a lot of people have asked me to list preachers and teachers of Christianity that I trust. In light of the increasing number of false teachers gaining prominence in our culture, it seems wise to go ahead and make the list. Many find it difficult to know who to trust, and I hope to be helpful. Here is a list of Bible teachers I can recommend.
Genesis tells of people who lived very long lives. Methuselah was the oldest, living 969 years. This chart, and the following table, show each person in the family line from Adam to Abraham. The numbers are taken from Genesis 5 and Genesis 11. While some biblical genealogies are incomplete, listing only prominent people instead of every generation, this list reflects direct father/son relationships.
Finding a good church can be very difficult. Before making recommendations, I'd like to say a few things first. As a churchgoer since age 6, and as former pastor, it seems important to understand WHY some have a hard time finding a church where they feel comfortable. Here are some of the reasons given:
Jesus told Peter he would have the keys to the Kingdom, and that he would bind things and loose things. There's a lot of confusion about this binding and loosing, and a lot of opinions. One reason for the many opinions is that Jesus didn't explain exactly what He meant, in terms we can easily understand today. Let's look at Matthew 16:19 to see what happened.
Is it Once Saved Always Saved? Can we lose our salvation? What does the Bible say? This important issue is an internal debate among Christians and should be addressed not by sharing our opinions, but by looking at Scripture. Disagreements should be handled with grace and truth.
There have been a lot of Bible translations in the 2000+ years since Jesus was born, died, and came back to life. This list is English-based... that is, I want to list the timeline from the original writings to modern English Bibles.
Supersessionism is the idea that the old covenant has been replaced - superseded - by the new covenant. By itself, this idea is entirely biblical. However: some other ideas are often lumped together with supersessionism, so we need to examine each idea separately.
