Remember Where You Are (Mark 1:12-13)
I saw one of the most beautiful scenes of my life when I was 19 years old. I was sitting in the living room of a cottage in a valley. There was a large window in front of me. As I looked out the window, there was a crystal-clear stream flowing between two large trees. […]
Do You Believe That Treasure on Earth Is Fleeting? Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” […]
Do Some Gospel Tracts Hinder People from Being Born Again?
Yesterday I worked out at my health club. After my workout I saw a tract sitting on the bench by the lockers. I was tempted to pick it up, read it, and trash it if it was proclaiming a false gospel. But I just left it there. While putting some pomade in my hair, I […]
Do You Have to Turn from Your Sins to Be Born Again? 1 Corinthians 3:1-3
This past Thanksgiving, I spent the week with my eldest daughter’s family. Her youngest son is one and half years old and is my youngest grandson. It has been years since I had a child that age, and I am out of practice in such things. It is always an experience spending time with him. […]
How Could Enoch and Elijah Go to Heaven Before the Cross?
S.W. asked the question that provides this blog’s title. Essentially, he was asking how anyone could go to heaven prior to Jesus’ shed blood on the cross. We know from Luke 16:19-31 that all the dead went to Sheol/Hades prior to Jesus’ ascension to heaven. Abraham and Lazarus were in the good part, and the […]
God Can Do a Lot with a Little (Jeremiah 52:28-34)
Jeremiah is a depressing book. The prophet had preached to the Israelites in the southern kingdom of Judah for 40 years, warning of the coming discipline of God because of their sin. Unfortunately, they did not listen. The consequences were devastating. The Babylonians were used by God to destroy the cities of Judah. Jerusalem was […]
Are You on the Inside or Outside When it Comes to the Lord? (Mark 3:31)
Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. In Mark 3:31 there is a graphic, but sad picture. Jesus is in a house with His disciples. This includes more than the twelve apostles. There are so many disciples inside the house with the Lord that He can’t […]
Do You Know Any Saved Atheists?
The school newspaper at Multnomah School of the Bible (now Multnomah University) ran a fascinating article when I was teaching there (1986-1987). It was about an interview with a Multnomah grad who had become an atheist. The interviewer asked if, when he was at Multnomah, he had believed that Jesus was God, that He died […]
Is There a Difference Between Being Related to God and Having a Relationship with Him?
In my last blog, I discussed how the word relationship has been replacing the word believe in some evangelistic settings. I argued that this term can cause confusion when applied in this way. In this blog, I would like to explore the benefits and pitfalls of another popular application of the church’s current use of […]
Free Grace Pastors’ Conference in Costa Rica
GES has been planning a pastors’ conference in Costa Rica for a couple of years. Lordship Salvation has a very strong presence in that country, and Protestant pastors are exposed to that teaching. Many of John MacArthur’s books, for example, are translated into Spanish and are used by these pastors in their sermon preparations. In […]