The body of Christ is something bigger than the local church, and believers should in theory be able to serve at one church just as at another. However, heresy, ecumenicism, ungodly living, misunderstanding, and disagreements abound in many churches today, making it necessary for a local church to spell out in detail its confession and… Continue Reading
This post is the last of three in this brief series on congregational singing, and the points below are conclusions made from an examination of Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16. Read these posts here (Eph 5:19) and here (Col 3:16). — A comparison and contrast of Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16 give us some helpful… Continue Reading
Last week, we begin this short series by looking at Ephesians 5:19 with a view towards learning how to worship with singing and music in a congregational assembly. This series continues this week by examining Colossians 3:16. — Having examined Eph 5:19, it will become clear that the terminology and some of the concepts of… Continue Reading
Note: This post is the first of a three-part series. This post examines Ephesians 5:19, the next post examines Colossians 3:16, and the final post will offer some conclusions based upon the examination of these two passages. — The purpose of the discussion below is to examine Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16 in order to… Continue Reading
Among other reasons that could be given, I believe the practice of formal church membership is necessary in our context in light of the presence of denominationalism, false churches, and worldly living that is clearly at odds with the Christian life. Individuals commit to a church’s confession and covenant in order to identify themselves in… Continue Reading
Psalm 110:1 enjoys more references in the NT than any other verse from the OT. It is quoted 5 times and given allusion 15 times. From my own study, I’ve grouped these quotations and allusions into the headings below, and every reference cited is to one of those quotations or allusions.1 Perseverance “Jesus…endured the cross,… Continue Reading
Matthew 28:18–20 states, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have… Continue Reading
While I realize that many disagree with cessationist beliefs (i.e., that special revelation and its occasionally-accompanying sign-gifts such as tongues were limited to the apostolic era and have thus ceased), it is helpful for anyone to study the topic of speaking in tongues as it involves multiple chapters in Acts and 1 Corinthians. I know… Continue Reading
In Acts 2:36, Peter concludes his sermon in this way: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (ESV cf. Acts 2:14–36). Let’s look at these two titles for Jesus. First, Jesus is Lord. David identified Him as his… Continue Reading
In Acts 2:14–41, Luke records Peter quoting or alluding to a half-dozen passages or so in his Pentecost sermon. These passages are listed below along with a snapshot explanation for why Peter quoted each passage. Joel 2:28–32a in Acts 2:16–21 Peter quoted Joel to identify the cause for speaking in tongues as something of the… Continue Reading
What is the filling of the Spirit? This article attempts to concisely answer to this question from the NT as it describes those who were full of or filled with the Spirit. Luke and Acts describe many who were filled with the Spirit for the purpose of speaking the Word of God. John the Baptist… Continue Reading
In the NT, Judas is said three times to have somehow fulfilled the OT Scriptures. First, John 13:18 quotes Psalm 41:9, in which Jesus says of Judas, “But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’” (ESV). Along with this passage, 17:12 quotes no particular verse, in… Continue Reading
In Matthew 27:8 and Acts 1:18–19, a Field of Blood is identified with an explanation for its name. However, the passages differ in how they explain the origin of the name. Speaking of Judas, Acts 1:18–19 records this: Acts 1:18–19 (ESV) 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and… Continue Reading
In awards programs, competition participants who win second place or do something noteworthy are often given some sort of honorable mention. Sometimes, however, participants are disqualified for dishonorable behavior. And it is for this dishonor that they are most remembered. We see something along these lines with Judas Iscariot in the Bible. Judas was chosen… Continue Reading
Acts 1:8 is key to understanding and outlining Acts: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ESV). With this verse in mind, we better understand as… Continue Reading
“All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy” (Gen 46:27). 430 years later (Exod 12:40–41; Acts 7:6; Gal 3:17), for all the interesting observations that could be made about the size of the biblical numbers of Israel’s population (cf. Exod 12:37; 38:26; Num 1:46; 2:32; 26:51),1 conservative commentators who… Continue Reading
Numbers 13–14 records Israel’s failure to initially take the promised land. Concerning this story and others from Israel’s history, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Cor 10:11; cf. 10:5, 10). While the list below is not exhaustive and does not delve into the… Continue Reading
Philemon 4–7 is a prayer by Paul for Philemon, an example for us as to how we can pray for others today. We will look at these verses briefly, only to focus on Philemon 6, which is a wonderful part of this prayer but difficult to translate and piece together. Here is the text: “4I… Continue Reading
Who is “the Israel of God” in Galatians 6:16? Good men have disagreed as to how to answer this question. My purpose in reviewing the debate here is not to explore every argument in detail but to at least review the various views, state my view, and give a snapshot of the primary arguments for… Continue Reading
It was the best of boasts, it was the worst of boasts. By one, all go to direct to heaven, and by the other, all go direct the other way. For the first boast, false teachers were out for “a good showing” of gaining converts to their gospel-denying truth (Gal 6:12). They preached doing the… Continue Reading