Social Issues: Conclusion

Social Issues

Many of the topics we have discussed in this study are controversial and can elicit strong emotional responses from individuals. Because of this, we may be tempted to avoid any type of discussion on these issues, especially if we know there will be disagreement.

However, as we have discussed, there are Biblical principles that apply to these topics. Therefore, discussions on these sorts of issues can provide a way to direct others – especially those who are not Christians – to what the Bible teaches. So we should not avoid discussing these things altogether, but we do need to understand the proper way to discuss contentious topics.Continue Reading

How to Discuss Contentious Topics

Argument

Most have noticed that the world in which we live has become more divided and contentious in the past few years. Many topics that come up for discussion – both in person and especially online – can elicit strong emotional responses from individuals. Because of this, we may be tempted to avoid any type of discussion on potentially controversial issues, especially if we know (or are reasonably certain) there will be disagreement.

However, for many controversial topics, there are Biblical principles that apply to them. Therefore, discussions on these sorts of issues can provide a way to direct others – especially those who are not Christians – to what the Bible teaches. So we should not avoid discussing such things altogether, but we do need to understand the proper way to discuss contentious topics.Continue Reading

Willing to Forgive

Forgiveness

Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

When Jesus taught His disciples about the need to forgive those who had sinned against them, they said, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). They recognized that it is not always easy to forgive, especially when others habitually or consistently sin against us – either “seven times a day” (Luke 17:4) or even “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).

However, as the Lord’s disciples, we must be willing to forgive others as the Lord has forgiven us. Paul wrote, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

We are to be willing to forgive, but what does this willingness to forgive look like?Continue Reading

Sermon on the Mount (Part 2): A Righteous Life

Sermon on the Mount (Part 2): A Righteous Life

After describing the life of a disciple as blessed, Jesus directed His message to a discussion of righteousness. He touched on this in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:6). As we noticed in the previous lesson, to be righteous is to be right by God’s standard, not man’s. The verses we will consider here expand on that idea. We can see from Jesus’ words that the life of a disciple is a righteous life.
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More Righteous than the Religious

Jesus and the Pharisees

The title of this article may sound a little odd. But let me begin by stating that this article is not about how organized religion is wrong – it is not. The point of the article is not to say that religious people are not righteous – many of them are, and they should be. So what is the purpose of this article?

The title is based on one of Jesus’ statements from the Sermon on the Mount:

For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

The scribes and Pharisees were regarded as the religious leaders of that day. Jesus’ point was that in order to follow Him, we must live up to a higher standard than what is commonly accepted – even commended to us – among the religious world. Doing just enough to blend in with those who are religious is not enough to be part of His kingdom.
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