September 6, 2021

Road Trip (Part 4): The Road to Damascus

The Road to Damascus

On our final excursion in this series, we are going to see a man who was traveling down the road to Damascus. At this last stop, we are going to learn about converting the enemy.

“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

“As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.’ The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

“Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:1-9).

Saul would later be known as the apostle Paul and would go on make an incredible impact in spreading the gospel throughout his life. Yet at this point, he was an enemy of Christ and a persecutor of the church. Let us consider some lessons from his example.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Road Trip Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
August 30, 2021

Road Trip (Part 3): The Road to Gaza

The Road to Gaza

On our next stop in this series, we are going to find a man who was going down the road to Gaza. Here we will learn about preaching Jesus.

“But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot.’ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

“Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: ‘He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.’ The eunuch answered Philip and said, ‘Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?’ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

“As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:26-39).

This occurred at the time in which the disciples were “scattered” from Jerusalem due to persecution and “went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Philip was among this number, but the Lord specifically directed him to go to this place. Let us notice some lessons from this.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Road Trip Tagged With: , , ,
July 3, 2019

Obedient to That Form of Teaching

Romans 6:17

Romans 6 is a critical chapter in the New Testament. It discusses the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. It concisely explains why this difference exists and what happened in the life of a Christian to bring about this difference. This chapter can be summarized in the following two verses:

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

Paul was writing to Christians in Rome. Previously, they were “slaves of sin.” But at this time, they were “slaves of righteousness.” How did this change occur? They “became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which [they] were committed.”

To better understand what Paul was discussing, let us do a brief overview of this chapter.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
June 12, 2019

How to Determine If One Is a Christian

Paul Before Agrippa

When Paul was on trial before King Agrippa, he used the opportunity to preach the gospel (Acts 26:19-23). One of the apostle’s goals was to persuade the king to become a Christian. Agrippa recognized this because he stated, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28).

We are trying to do the same thing today that Paul was doing on that occasion – trying to persuade people to become a Christian. However, if we are going to persuade them to become a Christian, we need to know what a Christian is. Also, they need to understand what a Christian is before they can be persuaded to become one.

So how can we determine if one is a Christian? How can one determine if he/she is a Christian or not? We can consult the Scriptures to find an answer.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
March 6, 2019

The New Birth

Baptism

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must be born again”’” (John 3:3-7).

When Jesus talked with Nicodemus, He told him about the need to be “born again.” Peter also used this type of language in his first epistle – being “born again” (1 Peter 1:3, 23). There is a reason why Jesus and the inspired apostle used this analogy – this new birth parallels physical birth.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , , , , ,
December 3, 2018

Identifying the Lord’s Church (Part 3): Who Makes Up His Church?

Identifying the Lord's Church

In this study, we have already seen that Jesus built just one church and that His church is to follow His will that is expressed in the New Testament. If we want to be part of this church, we need to be saved since the church is the body of the saved (Ephesians 5:23). Therefore, we need to know who will be saved in order to learn how we can become part of His church. So in this lesson, we are going to ask this important question: Who makes up His church?Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Identifying the Lord's Church Tagged With: , , , , ,
August 20, 2018

The Way (Part 3): Belonging To The Way

The Way: What it Means to Be a Disciple of Jesus

“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2).

Persecution against the church began with the death of Stephen (Acts 8:1). Saul continued this persecution with a plan to go to Damascus to arrest disciples and bring them back to Jerusalem. The ones who were targeted for persecution were those who were “belonging to the Way.” We will discuss the idea of persecution in the next lesson.

However, before these individuals were targeted, they first had to belong to “the Way.” In this lesson, we are going to see what the Scriptures teach about “belonging to the Way” – how to become a part of this group and remain in it.Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: The Way Tagged With: , , , , , , ,