A Different Kind of Church
The title above is the notice on the bulletin board of a non-denominational church in our city. Though we do not know what this church… Read More »A Different Kind of Church
Cross Purposes
The Only Savior
Before the fall into sin there was no need for salvation. Adam and Eve already enjoyed perfect bliss and happiness in paradise. But since the fall and the consequent loss of paradise, restoration of perfect bliss and happiness (eternal salvation) is regained only through the One who was promised by the Father and who came from the Father to rescue mankind from its lost condition.Read More »The Only Savior
Is there a hell?” OR “Has God Indeed Said…?
The devil in the cloak of the serpent posed the question that ensnared Adam and Eve. God said, “…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…” (Genesis 2:17). Satan asked, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1)
God had declared the consequence of disobedience. If Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Flatly contradicting God, Satan said, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).Read More »Is there a hell?” OR “Has God Indeed Said…?
Worth More Than Many Sparrows
When God created the Earth and the world and all that is in it, man was the crowning jewel of creation. Man was created and placed on the Earth as the unique expression of divine creation. Adam was created a special creature—formed from the dust of earth. Into his nostrils was breathed the breath of life “and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). It was “not good that man should be alone” (2:18), but there was none among all the animals God created that was a suitable mate for Adam. Consequently, God took of the rib of Adam and made of it woman, the perfect mate for Adam—spiritually, emotionally, sexually, and morally.Read More »Worth More Than Many Sparrows
Pessimism or Realism?
As witnesses to the love of God in Christ Jesus and as bearers of the Word of God — the substance of which is the… Read More »Pessimism or Realism?
The Confidence of Those Who Know in Whom They Believe
Our confident hope for time and for eternity is inspired by Paul’s confident expression of faith in 2 Timothy.
In this prison epistle Paul recognized that his ministry and his life were drawing to a close. He wrote to Timothy, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (4:6-8).Read More »The Confidence of Those Who Know in Whom They Believe
Turning Back to God
The Lord tells us through the pen of the Apostle Paul: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent [that is, without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…” (2 Tim. 3:1-5).
Where is the thinking Christ-believer who can legitimately deny that the above indictments aptly describe the society as well as the time in which we live?
In the aftermath of the Reformation celebration, we append to this “Cross Purposes” feature a brief but timely commentary by Pastor Fleischer. — Editor
When will They ever Learn?
“Pope John Paul II whipped himself with a belt, even on vacation, and slept on the floor as acts of penitence and to bring him closer to Christian perfection, according to a new book by the Polish prelate spearheading his sainthood case.” Read More
Furthermore, the same apostle said to the elders of Ephesus: “For I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). Who is the faithful Christ-believer who–standing in awe of the Word of God and the manifold grace of God–will deny that that prophecy of St. Paul which came to pass in the early church is being fulfilled also in our day?
Can any true disciple of the Lord who trembles at the Word give a good reason why– except that the Heavenly Father is gracious and does not desire the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his wickedness and live–the Heavenly Father should stay the deserved judgment upon the nation and the church at large? Read More »Turning Back to God