February 3, 2011

God’s Killing of Children in Old Testament Judgments

King Saul received instructions from the Lord regarding the destruction of the Amalekites. “Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (1 Samuel 15:3).

This is not the only time we read of children being killed in the execution of divine judgment. The skeptic sees this as an opportunity to attack God, the Bible, and the faith of those who believe in God. Why would God kill, or instruct others to kill, infants and children?

Tim Haile has put together a good study on this question. If you have wondered how a just God could allow these children to be killed along with the wicked, or you want to better equip yourself to answer the skeptic on this point, I encourage you to read his material.

You can find the article at the following link: God’s Killing of Children in Old Testament Judgments (PDF)

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December 4, 2010

Another Judgment Day Prediction

Man has repeatedly tried to predict the date of the Day of Judgment. Predicted dates have come and gone and been replaced with future dates. These predictions are made by those who twist the Scriptures any way they can to come up with a date that suits them.
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November 30, 2010

The Root of the Problem

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can OvercomeIf you’ve been following this site, you may have noticed that new articles are being posted less frequently than they were a few months ago. This is partially due to a project I’ve been working on since about February – a book – The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome.

In this book I deal with the problem of sin and how we must understand that we sin when we choose to sin. Therefore, if we choose to sin, we can also choose not to sin. So the majority of the book examines the reasons why we sin so we can learn better how to overcome sin.

If you are interested in learning more about the book, or in purchasing a copy, you can click on the link above and find the information you need.

I am hoping that at the first of the year, I can get back into a more regular posting schedule. Lord willing, you can expect to see a few new articles in December, followed by a more consistent schedule of updates in January. Thanks for reading.

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September 28, 2010

Wasting the Teenage Years

The teenage years are an important time in one’s life. Therefore, we ought to think seriously about how these years are spent. How are parents to teach and encourage their teenage children? What should children be pursuing in their teenage years?

I read a post from Jason Hardin that got me thinking along these lines. It contained excerpts from the book, Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. I haven’t read the book, so I’m not qualified to endorse it. But the quotes that Jason shared from it were very good. The basic theme is that we, as a culture, have allowed the teenage years to evolve into a wasted time of short-sighted irresponsibility.

The way many in the world view these years is that it is a time to focus on social interactions, unrestrained fun, freedom from responsibility, and schooling – not for the purpose of life preparation, but simply for the sake of education, even if it is without direction and usefulness.
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June 17, 2010

Lessons From a Lightning-Struck Statue of Jesus

By now you have likely heard of the giant statue of Jesus that caught on fire after being struck by lightning. This event has some wondering what it means. Was this some sort of sign from God? Or was it just some random event?

Tim Haile of the Parkway church of Christ has just written a thought-provoking article about this event in which he briefly discusses divine providence, signs from heaven, and the nature of faith. I encourage you to check out his article — Lessons From a Lightning-Struck Statue of Jesus.

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May 4, 2010

Did Christ Literally Bear Our Sins on the Cross?

Crosses

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Yet there are two conflicting views as to how these sins were dealt with on the cross. On one hand, you have those who believe that our sins were placed upon Jesus and they were done away with as they were nailed to the cross. On the other hand, there are those who believe that Jesus shed His blood on the cross in order to make forgiveness possible for all those who will meet His conditions of salvation.

The first view, that Jesus literally bore our sins, is rank Calvinism. It is rooted in the idea that man cannot be saved by responding to God’s grace through faithful obedience, but rather that our sins were imputed to Christ and His righteousness has been imputed to us. Sadly, many in the Lord’s church have been influenced by Calvin’s doctrines as they relate to the death of Christ.

I came across an article today by Wayne Jackson of the Christian Courier that addresses this question: Did Christ Literally Bear Our Sins on the Cross? In the article, he shows the Calvinistic roots of the doctrine that our sins were imputed to Christ, and explains what the Scriptures actually teach on the subject. Below is an excerpt from his article:
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February 15, 2010

The Possibility of Apostasy

The notion that a Christian cannot fall from grace is held by many people in the religious world. But this “once saved, always saved” doctrine is simply not true. The Bible is filled with warnings about falling away and examples of God’s people who have.

Tim Haile has put together a thorough study on this topic, examining several passages to demonstrate that a Christian can indeed fall away and be lost and that we must therefore be diligent to remain faithful to God. Below is an excerpt of his study:
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