According to the apostle Paul, the presence of false prophets and false teachers within the church is an unavoidable evil with which God's people will have to deal until Jesus returns, banishes sin forever, and reigns with his people (see Rev 21:8). Before leaving Ephesus, Paul warned the elders of the church there about fierce … Continue reading Beware of False Prophets
The Priority of Preaching in the Local Church
As you make your way through Paul’s New Testament writings, you will uncover a common thread woven through each of his individual letters. In twelve of the apostle’s thirteen epistles (Philemon being the exception), Paul devotes large sections of his letters to either expositing sound doctrine or to exhorting the leaders in the church to … Continue reading The Priority of Preaching in the Local Church
Jesus Christ, the Firstborn of all Creation
If you've had much engagement with Jehovah's Witnesses (JW), you've likely been confronted with the Watchtower interpretation of Colossians 1:15: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." The JW translation of the Bible (The New World Translation, NWT) reads the same as any standard English version of Scripture at … Continue reading Jesus Christ, the Firstborn of all Creation
Why We Don’t Evangelize
In the last few posts on evangelism, I have considered what evangelism is, what it isn't, and how to get the gospel right. Now it is time to do the difficult yet necessary heart-work of asking why many of us don’t evangelize while also looking to Scripture to find a remedy for these excuses. The … Continue reading Why We Don’t Evangelize
A Primer on Common Grace
What do Christians mean when we refer to common grace? It's been my observation over the past few years that believers are not well-acquainted with this area of theology. This lack of familiarity is unfortunate because the doctrine of common grace can offer significant insight into our Christian experience if rightly understood and applied. I … Continue reading A Primer on Common Grace
Getting the Good News Right
A couple of post a few months ago I defined what evangelism is and what evangelism isn’t. In our definition we noted that our evangelistic efforts must include the evangel—the gospel—or else it isn’t evangelism. We also said that in order to qualify as evangelism, the evangel we share must include specific components. Let’s look … Continue reading Getting the Good News Right
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
To understand the tax collectors of Jesus’ day and how they were viewed by their fellow Jews, we must first gain some insight into tax system in Israel. At the time of Jesus, Israel was under Roman occupation, and Rome exercised its authority over Israel by placing governors over some of its provinces (e.g., the … Continue reading Jesus, Friend of Sinners
From the Study 