Holiness and Victory Over Sin #16

By Karl Kemp

Holy Father, we humble our hearts before you; we want to rightly divide your Word; we want to understand it; we want to live in line with your Word by your sufficient grace. Thank you for full salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray in His mighty name. Amen!

Last time when we stopped we were discussing 1 John 1:8. This is a very important verse. Most Christians, something like 80-90 percent of Christians, believe this verse proves we can never stop sinning in this life. As I have mentioned, I believe they are making a serious mistake. The apostle John wrote 1 John 1:8 against the Gnostic heretics, not against Christians who thought they could have the victory over sin. The Gnostic heretics denied that sin was the problem, and they denied that the blood of Jesus is the answer. They denied they were sinners, and they denied the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m very sure that John was dealing with the Gnostic heretics in 1 John 1:8. (more…)

The Antichrist: How Will He Come?

By Henry Bechthold

One of the undeniable quandaries regarding the antichrist, is how will he arrive in such a way and at such a time that will make Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims all be willing to accept this same man as their mutual leader? If he arrives as a Jew or a Christian, the other major world religions will reject him. Likewise, if he arrives as a Hindu or a Buddhist, he will be rejected by the Muslims, Christians and Jews. And, if he arrives as a Muslim, he will receive the same rejection from the other religions. How can he arrive in a manner that will make 500 million Buddhists, two billion Christians, one billion Hindus, one and one-half billion Muslims and millions of Jews all welcome him as their mutual leader? His appearance will obviously have to involve some apparently supernatural or miraculous signs in order to attain this worldwide acceptance throughout all of earth’s major world religions. (more…)

What is God’s Purpose for Sex?

By Angie Lewis

God created us with the desire for sex, and we ought to understand his design that was meant for us in our relationships with others about sex. Christians absolutely need to seek God’s purpose in this area of their lives. God created us male and female and because of that we will be attracted to one another, but we must learn to control our desires because having sex, and even the desire for sex with someone outside of marriage is not God’s plan. (more…)

Wrong Love

By Byron Register

(1 John 2:15 KJV) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

John uses a strong prohibition; “??? ?????????”Love Not the world! The world here doesn’t mean God’s creation but the sinful pleasures that are in the world due to sin. Christians are loving the things that are in the world and not the Creator of the world. We are in love with material things and conforming ourselves after the things of the world. (more…)

The Hardest People to Love

By Jim Barringer

Do you love your neighbor?

When Jesus was asked about the most important commandment in the whole Bible, he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.” The first part, if I may be a bit glib, is easy. All you have to do is think for a while about how badly you messed up your life, and how miraculously God saved you, and you really can’t help but love him. You can love him by yourself in the desert, like the ancient saints used to. Loving people while living in a world surrounded by them, on the other hand, is much harder. (more…)

And they came to Elim.

By Jasti Victor

The Sun was at its scorching peak, beating relentlessly on the soft shimmering desert sand. Centuries of Sun and wind worked persistently turning the once fertile land to endlessly shifting stretching sand, forever changing landscapes.

Not a single insect or a creeping creature dared to risk come out of the shadows to peep out on the burning sand.

Silence so deafening that a cracking rock somewhere deep in the desert due to the intense heat, sends an echo through the length and breath, to and fro till it dies suddenly as it had started.

It’s only the soft crawling sound through the boulders on the treacherous terrain, scampering the snug scorpions and the snakes around, as a sturdy young man tries to seek water and rest, which broke the silence. The young man was crawling, as his feet were blistered and bleeding, the sandals having worn out long time back. (more…)

Christian Tithing – Separating Fact From Fiction

By R. Renee

Some preachers proclaim Christians are promised health, wealth and prosperity when they tithe. They say give God ten percent of your (gross) income. In return, God will prosper you. Is this true? Is this biblical?

A careful study of the Bible shows that Christians are not promised prosperity if they tithe.

Here are the facts about tithing and prosperity: (more…)

Forgiveness is Already Yours so Stop Asking for It

By Michael Shoesmith

There are very few things that bother me more than I when I hear someone call themselves a “Christian” and a “leader” and then move on to teach others certain doctrines that completely conflict with the Gospel message. Just last night I went to a men’s meeting for the first time that I was invited to. The Lord instructed me to just be silent and to listen. What I heard was quite disturbing. (more…)

What are the Commandments that Christians are supposed to keep?

What are the Commandments that Christians are supposed to keep?
By Robert Randle

There are those today who believe that Christians are required to keep the law of Moses, including dietary requirements and observance of the Sabbath; to which the Apostle Paul would say in Colossians 2: 16, Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days. So, the million dollar question which may very well have eternal repercussions is whether believers are required to live according to the teachings of the Law ["Torah"], and if not, since we are led by the Spirit of God, what “Law” measures up to being classified as the commandments of God? The following exhaustive study and commentary is offered for consideration. (more…)

What is the State of the Christian

By Martin Murphy

Christians must examine themselves in light of the word of God. “I wish Mr. (or Mrs.) X could have heard that sermon. It’s just what he needed,” said Mr. Y as he shook my hand after the worship service. The state of the Christian is sad when Christians avoid self-examination. Christian, examine yourself, not your neighbor, the church, or the world. Examine your real self, your inward self, not the outward appearance. Examine yourself at the present time, not the past, nor what you expect to be in the future. Examine yourself according to the word of God, the whole counsel of God, not according to some spoof text to defend your views and not according to your own subjective feelings. (more…)

Isaiah 53:2

By Don Costello

Isaiah 53:2

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

1. “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground”

a. These terms are agricultural and Messianic, in that they speak of Jesus. (more…)

WORLDLY FRIENDSHIP

WORLDLY FRIENDSHIP
By willetta pilcher

When will Christians get real? When do we start discerning what worldliness is?

By definition worldliness is: 1. … experienced in and knowledgeable about human society and its ways 2. … relating to everyday material existence … 3. materialistic: much more interested in everyday materialistic concerns than in the spiritual side of life.

According to James 4:4 “whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” As Christians, do we believe that? (more…)

Giving of thanks

Several months ago, I was preparing for a Sunday sermon on thanksgiving. The Lord brought to my attention the Samaritan leper’s thanksgiving recorded in Luke 17 verses 11 to 19. This is a very familiar story among Christians. The story goes like this, there were 10 Samaritan lepers who asked Jesus for mercy. Jesus told them to show themselves to the priest. While going there, they found out that they were healed. Sadly, only one of them came back to thank Jesus. (more…)

How much is your love for me ?

Those words could be said by lovers in this month of hearts. However such words were not said by one lover to another, rather they were uttered by our Lord Jesus Christ as written in John chapter 21 verses 15 to 17.

Most Christians know about this story. Regrettably only a few really understand the meaning of what Christ said because of their failure to look closely at the words that Jesus Christ used. (more…)

Lead Us Into Triumph

by: Steve Clement