Luck (If it Exists) is a Spiritual Force

Posted on January 15, 2021January 15, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In China, many people can be seen wearing amulets or displaying them in their cars and homes. During their wedding ceremonies (at least in Shanxi province), the color red could be seen everywhere with red carpet covering the walking area and red pieces of paper covering any observable man-holes. When asked about these things, the Chinese would begin to discuss the various procedures being undertaken in regard to how their activities produced good luck and warded off b...

The Bereans and Unconditional Election

Posted on January 14, 2021January 14, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In a previous article on this blog, “Acts 13:46 and Unconditional Election,” the doctrine of unconditional election was discussed. Basically, it says that all people who receive salvation through Christ are first chosen by God and regenerated solely by the work of God within their inner persons unto salvation. At the point of salvation when a person expresses repentance and faith (both gifts from God and part of His regenerative work), God’s regenerative work is made ...

Acts 13:46 and Unconditional Election

Posted on January 14, 2021January 14, 2021 by markwchristy

The doctrine of unconditional election holds that no one can be saved unless God chooses to save them. God’s choice, His election, of people, according to this doctrine, ensures the salvation of those chosen in such a way that those who are elect will respond to the gospel in repentance and faith. Given that the two conditions of salvation, repentance and faith, are both gifts of God, it would seem that God’s electing choice plays a vital role in salvation as He is the giver of the conditions n...

The Case of Cornelius and God’s Regenerative Work in the Unsaved

Posted on January 14, 2021January 14, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In a vision, an angel of the Lord appeared to Cornelius (who was unsaved at the time) and called unto him. Although shocked, Cornelius responded, “’What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God’” (Acts 10:4; cf. 10:22, 33-44).[i] From this text, it seems quite clear that God is able and willing to receive prayers of those still unsaved. After all, Cornelius’ prayers and alms were accepted by God. Given this tim...

John 6:35 and the Doctrine of Regeneration

Posted on January 13, 2021January 13, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Robert Wilkin in his book, Is Calvinism Biblical?,[i] offers an argument against the idea that regeneration precedes faith based on Christ’s words in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst[ii].” From the verse that follows, it is clear that Jesus is speaking to non-believers. In John 6:35, he clearly tells non-believers to come first so that they may be saved eternally. With this in view, Wil...

The Offense of John the Baptist and His Modern-Day Counterparts

Posted on January 11, 2021February 6, 2022 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Whether it be on Facebook, television, or almost any other media source, Americans are inundated by a constant stream of material that is at best frivolous and at worst utterly sin-ridden. When God is mentioned in the positive, He is typically rendered as a loving God who loves all people regardless of their intentions and responses toward Him. Unfortunately, many churches have been caught up in this societal purge of God as He is depicted in His fulness in Scripture....

Should a Christian Ask for Forgiveness from God?

Posted on January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 by markwchristy

Mark W. Christy, PhD, Pastor of MBC in Channelview, TX After salvation, all Christians enter into a sanctification process whereby a struggle ensues between the new, redeemed nature in Christ and their old, fallen, and sinful nature. Paul himself recounts his struggle in this regard, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, bu...

The Nature of Christ’s Flesh

Posted on January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 by markwchristy

Mark W. Christy, PhD, Pastor of MBC in Channelview, TX To begin with, flesh in and of itself is not sinful. Sin is disobedience in regard to God’s Law; therefore, it is an action and a rebellion against God (1 John 3:4). It is birthed in the heart of a person whereby their desire is to disobey God. This was Jesus point throughout the Sermon on the Mount. In His sermon, he demonstrates that evil, hate, greed, etc. arise from the heart of a person. it is person inhabiting flesh who is the sinn...

Is God’s Love Unconditional?

Posted on January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 by markwchristy

Mark W. Christy, PhD, Pastor of MBC in Channelview, TX If God’s love is unconditional, why do we call upon people to repent and believe? Paul in Acts 20:21 makes these two conditions quite clear: “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”[i] To this, one could respond that those who express repentance and belief were already chosen by God before having done so. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God ...

The Problem of Christian Mysticism: An Engagement with Joyce Meyer

Posted on January 8, 2021January 8, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In Colossians 2:18-19, Paul writes, “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”[i] After warning the Colossians against legalism in the previous verse, P...