Shed His Lifeblood

Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:53-56). He came to shed his lifeblood, which I call a spiritual blood transfusion from Jesus to each faithful believer. Let’s look at five principles to understand the nature of this transfusion…

I could make this the easiest and shortest article I have ever written by simply declaring that the scriptures teach us that a woman’s role in the church is the same as a man’s. But that would not be very persuasive for the majority who feel otherwise. The Apostle Paul opened this discussion 2,000 years ago when he wrote, “There is…neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (KJV throughout; Gal. 3:28). That statement is a very profound truth! Who could have known then that Paul, an unmarried man, was so far ahead of his time, ahead of all the women’s equality movements of the 19th and 20th centuries and beyond?

The term “second death” is found only in Revelation, where it clearly says, “…The lake of fire: this is the second death” (Rev. 20:14). This term begs the question: then what is the first death? Many might quickly respond by quoting Hebrews, which says, “…It is appointed for men to die once…” (Heb. 9:27). This is a reference to the physical death common to all human beings. But is it the first death?

Most if not all Christians have at one time or another wondered why there are so many different Christian sects and denominations, instead of just one. This is a major criticism of unbelievers as to why Christianity cannot be the true religion. So how can the unbelievers’ criticism be refuted?

The usual Sabbath discussion begins with the question: which day is the Christian Sabbath? This question has been argued for centuries, and it is an old, tired, divisive, and useless argument, because it has always been the wrong question. The arguments put forth by both sides for Sunday versus Saturday are so weak, unscholarly, and indefensible, so as to become lamentable if not laughable. The truth is, the New Testament does not specifically endorse either day as being the Sabbath. That is because the New Testament Sabbath is not a specific day…

In his letter to the Roman congregation, the apostle Paul wrote about seven laws. These laws seem to be all-inclusive, as they explain the mind of God, the mind of man, the human condition, mankind’s relationship with God, what God requires of man, and human salvation. Even though it is a lot to bite off, let’s examine these seven laws and see what we can learn about God’s plan for mankind…

The Bible is full of many beautiful and deeply meaningful metaphors which describe the collection of the saints—all Christians. In this article we will briefly examine a number of these metaphors, while giving closer examination to a few which take on the meaning of code words. We will learn how God sees His people, how He works in our lives, and even deepen our understanding of end-time prophecy.

Actually there are three biblical heavens, but we can dispense with the first two—the sky and outer space—and deal primarily with the third. The apostle Paul said he was “caught up to the third heaven…into paradise” in a vision (II Cor. 12:1-4). What is this third heaven, and do Christians go there when they die?

Established the Kingdom of God

The gospel of Mark records, “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel’” (1:14,15). Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God. Since the gospel, the good news, is about the kingdom of God, then what is that kingdom?

The first recorded teaching of Jesus was at the Passover, when he revealed to Nicodemas, “…unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). I think that the fact that this is Jesus’ first message is significant, since it is foundational and central to all that he and his disciples would later preach and write about…