Jesus and Compassion

Posted on by markwchristy
In today’s hypersensitive, me-centered, feelings-driven culture, the biblical understanding of compassion has been all but lost such that anyone who dares to declare the truth, call sinners to repentance, and demand obedience from those who do repent is almost sure to be judged as one who lacks compassion. After this judgment is rendered, the one who dared to minister the gospel in this manner can be sure to face what is often felt to be a just sentence for their perceived error, that is a comp...
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Pretribulational vs. Posttribulational Rapture: A Weighing of the Biblical Evidence

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy The two eschatological camps that support a more literal interpretation of end-time prophetic material both support premillennialism. Historic premillennialists believe the Church will endure the final seven years of tribulation before being raptured, while dispensational premillennialists argue that the rapture occurs before the seven-year tribulation begins. To help readers determine which view is best supported by Scripture, this article will weigh the most significant ...
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Is Gambling Wrong?

Posted on by markwchristy
Mark W. Christy, PhD Those who have read the entirety of God’s Word know that it never says, ‘Thou shall not gamble.’ This being the case, it might be tempting to conclude that gambling is not a divinely prohibited activity. This approach to seeking counsel from God’s Word, however, is inherently flawed because the same reasoning could easily allow one to support all manner of substance abuse (other than alcohol). In this article, various teachings and principles will be extracted from Scrip...
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Christ’s Propitiation and Its Connection to the Love and Holiness of God

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD According to 1 John 2:2, Jesus is the “propitiation” for the sins of all believers.[1] By making His atoning sacrifice on the cross, Jesus enabled God to become propitious, or favorable toward His chosen saints. Despite the biblical usage of this term, many find it to be unhelpful because it causes God to appear wrathful. This makes them feel as if pagan sacrificial rites are being invoked and worshippers are somehow being led to propitiate the gods so as to satiate t...
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Identifying Those Preaching Christ from Envy and Strife in Philippians 1:15

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By Mark W. Christy In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul addresses two different ways that preachers reacted to his present imprisonment. One group responded most graciously, but the other group found offense with Paul. This second group seems to have been legitimate preachers despite their faulty reception of Paul.  To better understand the divergence in response to Paul and his current imprisonment, this article will carefully study both groups and focus more deeply on why one gro...
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A Comparison of the Progressive Dispensationalism of John MacArthur to the Covenant Theology of Reformed Baptists

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD (Note: The author of the article affirms John MacArthur’s progressive dispensationalism as well as his position on the doctrines of grace. Since many in the Reformed community also uphold the doctrines of grace, this article is meant to help both covenantalists and dispensationalists better understand the key differences between their positions.) Given the increased liberalization of many Baptist churches, more and more of their parishioners are turning to Reformed...
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