Antinomianism means “against law”, and the term has been used both rightly and wrongly. It has been used rightly to describe someone that uses “liberty for a cloke of maliciousness” (1 Pet. 2:16), “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness” (Jude 4). In other words, it is rightly used to accuse someone who is […]
Related: Spiritual Gifts Is service optional? Yes, and no. Yes in the sense that God’s servants are not robots. Our service is a voluntary thing. Christ does not command us to serve Him. We were once slaves to sin and Satan, but Christ has freed us. But are we now “free” to do our […]
The Collection. One of the most basic Christian privileges is giving. We have a giving God (John 3:16), and we ought to reflect His character. Throughout the New Testament we have instructions and patterns set forward for the assembly to have collections where funds can be gathered and used in the service of the Lord. […]
The Government of God. There is scarcely a more practical and foundational subject in that Word of God than the subject of God’s government in the lives of sinners and saints. The basic principle is this: because God is righteous and sovereign over all things, He generally rewards people on earth according to their deeds, […]
Related: The Intermediate State; The Father’s House Three Heavens. In 2 Cor. 12:2 we read that Paul was caught up to “the third heaven”, which indicates that there are three “heavens”. The first, or physical heaven. The first heaven would be that which we immediately observe above us. We read of this heaven in the […]
Circumcision. As we find in Genesis 17, circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham, just as the rainbow was the sign of God’s covenant with Noah. Circumcision itself did nothing inward for the soul. It was an outward sign of God’s covenant pertaining to outward blessing. In the case of Abraham, “he received […]
Chastening. We have been brought into relationship with God as our Father. In that relationship, God is watching over us, taking care of our every need, and seeking to conform us to the image of His Son. Just as with natural fathers, discipline or chastening is needed often for our blessing. Discipline is not always […]
Homosexuality in the Bible. The Word of God expressly condemns homosexual behavior. Whether in the Old Testament (Genesis 19; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13) or the New Testament (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9), homosexual behavior is labeled by God as an abomination, a shame, and self-abuse. Under the law of Moses, it was punishable by death. The […]
Related: The House of God; The Body of Christ; The Bride of Christ What is the Church or Assembly? One of most important subjects for the Christian to understand is that of the Church or Assembly. Man has an idea of what the church is, and he has built upon those ideas in the […]
Related: Sanctification; Godliness Holiness. The word ‘holy’ is used in scripture in two different ways. It can refer to the character of a nature, or to an objective state. In the first sense, holiness is the character of God’s own nature. It is the love of good and the hatred of evil. As we […]
The Judgment Seat of Christ. In John 5, the Lord Jesus explained that God the Father has chosen to give up His right to judge men, so that the Son of man will have that place exclusively. Judgment as a whole, and in all its forms, is committed to the Son; “that man whom he hath ordained” (Acts […]
Related: The Covenants The New Covenant. The two great Covenants have to do with Israel, not the Church, as we clearly see from Rom. 9:4; “… Israelites; to whom pertaineth … the covenants”. Covenant theologians argue that the New Covenant is with the Church; but if we look at Jeremiah 31:31 we find that […]
Main article: The Sufferings of Christ Christ’s Interpersonal Sufferings are what Christ endured in an emotional, social, or interpersonal way. These sufferings are not so much connected with His office of King, but with His Person as rejected, despised, etc. by fellow men. These interpersonal sufferings were felt by the Lord all through His life […]
Crucifixion. Crucifixion was a method of execution used by the Romans for slaves, pirates, and enemies of the state. It was considered a most shameful and disgraceful way to die (Phil. 2:8). Condemned Roman citizens were usually exempt from crucifixion except for major crimes against the state, such as high treason. The victim was either […]
Related: Light Various forms of Love. There are four different Greek words for love, and the distinctions between them are important to understand. The four words are: Eros, Storge, Philia, and Agape. Eros. This is love in a romantic sense; e.g. love between husband and wife. It the most “fiery” type of love, but also the most shallow […]
Related: Election Corporate Election. A clever denial of sovereign election has emerged and recently grown in popularity. The argument is intended to deny individual election by twisting the scriptures to support a different kind of election. Supporters of corporate election have found a convenient way to dispose of Eph. 1:4 and other verses that are crystal clear on […]
Related: Sanctification; Reconciliation; Rom. 3:24; Rom. 5:1 Justification. The verb “to justify” means ‘to declare a person righteous’. A nice example of this is in Num. 23:21, where God declared that He had not seen any iniquity in His erring people. Likewise, the Christian has been justified in that, while he has not lived righteously, yet God has declared […]
Reconciliation (Col. 1:20-22; Eph. 2:16; Rom. 5:11; 2 Cor. 5:18-19) has to do with God’s work of bringing lost and guilty sinners back to Himself. Reconciliation deals with alienation, and the feelings of enmity that are in the heart of the sinner. Alienation and enmity are the result of man’s sin. The fault is on our […]
The World. When scripture uses the word “world” it usually means one of three things, although sometimes there is a blend between them. The Greek word is kosmos, and in the broadest definition it means an ordered system. The World-place (“the planet”). In the most basic sense, the term refers to the literal planet earth. An […]
Main article: The Prophetic Week Related: The Great Tribulation “And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17). The Jewish remnant is one of the most important people-groups in prophecy. Much […]