Dimorare in Cristo non equivale ad essere salvati
In Giovanni 15:5, il Signore dice: “Io sono la vite, voi siete i tralci. Colui che dimora in me, e nel quale io dimoro, porta molto frutto“. Questo versetto è spesso usato da insegnanti biblici, predicatori e persino docenti di seminario per sostenere che tutti i credenti producono frutti spirituali. Essi sostengono che “dimorare in […]
¿Están Zacharias y Ladd en Hades porque tenían adicciones pecaminosas?
Ravi Zacharias, conocido teólogo estadounidense, falleció en mayo de 2020. Su ministerio mundial se centraba en la apologética, que consiste en defender la fe cristiana. Era un autor y conferenciante muy solicitado en el mundo evangélico. Millones de evangélicos lo veían como un valioso colaborador. Todo eso cambió poco después de su muerte. Se reveló […]
Si Zacharias Ba At Ladd Ay Nasa Hades Dahil Sila Ay May Mga Makasalanang Adikisiyon?
Namatay si Ravi Zacharias, isang kilalang Amerikanong teologo noong Mayo ng 2020. Ang kaniyang pandaigdigang ministry ay nakapokus sa apologetika kung saan kaniyang ipinagtatanggol ang Cristianong pananampalataya. Isa siyang madalas hanaping manunulat at mananalumpati sa mundong ebangheliko. Milyong mga Ebangheliko ang tumitingin sa kaniya bilang isang kapakipakinabang na kapartner. Ngunit lahat ng mgay iyan ay […]
The Southern Border and the Message of Grace
For most people in the US, the southern border is an area of grave concern. There is a sharp increase in human trafficking in our country. A flood of deadly drugs is pouring across the border, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans each year. With eight million people coming into the […]
Zacharias e Ladd si trovano nell’Ade a causa della loro dipendenza dal peccato?
Ravi Zacharias, noto teologo americano, è morto nel Maggio del 2020. Il suo ministero mondiale era incentrato sull’apologetica, che consiste nel difendere la fede cristiana. Era un autore e un oratore molto apprezzato nel mondo evangelico. Milioni di evangelici lo consideravano un collega di valore. Tutto cambiò poco dopo la sua morte. Si scoprì che […]
Taking Biblical Warnings Seriously
In April 1980, my wife and I had just moved to Wichita Falls, TX. I had to go downtown to get my telephone service turned on. I was in a room of around 100 people who were there for the same reason. Just as my name was called, a siren went off in the streets. […]
Is Faith a Quantity or a State?
By Ken Yates Recently, I had lunch with some friends at a restaurant. It was a Sunday afternoon and we had just left church, so we were in the mood to discuss a little theology. One of them asked me a question about faith. He asked, “Is it a quantity or a state?” I think […]
Nobody Has Out-Sinned the Grace of God
By Ken Yates Manasseh, one of the kings of Judah, was not a good man. He brought a great deal of grief upon his people. He ruled for fifty-five years and is described by the author of 2 Kings as the evilest king in the nation’s history (2 Kgs 21:1-16). When God gave the Jews […]
Unable to Hear God’s Word (Luke 1:62)
Everybody familiar with the Christmas story knows that Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, was not able to speak for the nine months his wife Elizabeth was pregnant. This was because Zachariah did not believe the word of God spoken to him by Gabriel when the angel told him about John’s coming birth. Many, […]
没有人能胜过神的恩典
玛拿西，犹大的一位国王，他不是一个好人。他给自己的国民带来了极大的痛苦。他在犹大统治了55年，被《列王记下》的作者描述为民族历史上最邪恶的国王（《列王记下》21:1-16）。 当上帝把应许之地交给犹太人时，祂赶走了那里的外族，因为他们自己的罪孽。但玛拿西却做了那些异教国家所做的一切，甚至更糟。他在犹大地重建了敬拜偶像的场所。他推崇拜巴力，甚至敬拜天上的万象。上帝在耶路撒冷的圣殿也变成了一个偶像敬拜的场所。 玛拿西甚至把自己儿子中的一个献祭给偶像。他不依靠上帝的话语来作引导，而是求助于巫术，并寻求死人灵魂的建议。《列王记下》的作者说，玛拿西流了许多无辜的血。虽然没有给出具体细节，但这可能意味着他欺压了弱势群体，他很可能迫害并杀害了上帝的先知。一个犹太人的传说，称是他杀害了以赛亚并把他用锯子锯成了两半。 以色列，犹大北部的犹太姊妹国，被敌人打败并被掳。尽管玛拿西知道以色列人因悖逆所遭遇的事，却不从中吸取教训。当神把迦南地赐给他的子民的时候，神已经因迦南人的罪把他们从迦南地赶出去了;出于同样的原因，祂驱逐了以色列人。玛拿西却犯了更严重的罪，显然应该受到上帝的愤怒。但更糟糕的是，作为国王，他为他的人民建立了一个范例。那就是他使整个民族都背叛了主耶和华，使他的子民受到上帝的愤怒。结果，神宣布祂要把他们全都赶出应许之地，他们将在仇敌的手中经历巨大的灾难。 很难在《旧约》里找到比他更令人憎恶的人了。五十年后，玛拿西使他的百姓陷入毁灭的坑中。由于他的行为和他建立的邪恶的范例，许多男人、女人和孩子都失去了他们的生命。 《列王记下》的作者没有提供玛拿西一生的所有细节，但《历代志下》的作者补充了一些细节。在他生命的最后，上帝因为他的众多罪孽而惩罚了他，并使用亚述王来做这些。亚述将玛拿西掳去，用铁链捆绑他。这是可以预料的；玛拿西因为他的罪孽而受到应得的惩罚（《历代志下》33:10-11）。读者可能会说，“我希望他在监狱里死去。”他是一个邪恶、杀人的、崇拜偶像的人，他导致许多人走向毁灭的行为和死亡。 但是随后发生了令人惊奇的事情。《历代志下》记录了玛拿西，他在锁链中呼求上帝并在上帝面前谦卑自己。他向上帝祷告，上帝听了他的祷告。主就把他带回了耶路撒冷，使他重新坐在在王位上。他高调地结束了他在耶路撒冷的统治。他除去了他在犹大和上帝的圣殿中设立的偶像。他向上帝献祭，感谢祂的恩典和怜悯（《历代志下》33:15-16）。 显然，玛拿西告诉我们，任何人，我是指“任何人”，都可以成为上帝恩典的接受者。任何不信的人——不管他做过什么——都可以相信基督并得到永生。任何信徒——不管他犯了什么罪——都可以承认他的罪，得到赦免，并与主相交。我在神学院有一位老师，他很好地总结了这些事实：从来没有人超越上帝的恩典而犯罪。 但这里还有另一个教训。《历代志下》的作者提供了关于玛拿西生平的另一些信息。尽管他呼求了主并获得了赦免，但他五十年的邪恶对他的国家产生了毁灭性的影响。在他生命的最后，他侍奉耶和华。但经上说，百姓却不效法他。他们继续效仿玛拿西长达五十年所行的恶事。这也将导致整个国家在不久的将来被俘虏。 五十年的恶行也影响了玛拿西的家庭。玛拿西去世后，他的儿子亚们继承了王位。在他的大部分生活中，亚们看到了他父亲的堕落。经上记着，他也像他的父亲一样是个邪恶的国王（《列王记下》21:20）。 教训是什么？尽管任何人都可以蒙主的怜悯和恩典，但罪孽的后果仍然存在。罪孽的赦免是可得到的。但这不是纵容罪恶的借口。如果玛拿西没有过去五十年的邪恶生活，犹大的人民和玛拿西的家庭会过得多好！