Baptism

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Being baptized (Rom 6:3) into Christ means being immersed into Christ (Note: The Greek word for baptism in the Apostolic era was associated with a person drowning or a ship sinking, so the idea of immersion is present). Paul puts this another way in 1 Corinthians 6:17 by stating that believers are united with Christ in spirit. In Galatians 2:20, Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the S...

Scripture – Usefulness

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Psalm 19:7-14 offers a great overview on the usefulness of Scripture. In v.7, we learn that Scripture is “perfect” (i.e complete) and it “restores the soul”. Scripture contains everything we need to maintain right belief, right action, and right character. It has the ability to revive (transform) one’s inner person and correctly conform him/her to Christ (i.e. the person God wants them to be). As Romans, 6:15-18 states, Scripture offers a “pattern of teaching” that sets us free from bondage to ...

Scripture – Authority

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Throughout the Bible, God declares Himself to be the only God (Ex 20:3-6). Likewise, Jesus declares Himself to be only Way to God (John 14:6). In 1 Corinthians 12:13, we are told that Christians are “all baptized by one Spirit.” Our Triune God, therefore, is exclusively God and therefore serves as the exclusive authority governing all things. As God’s word (cf. previous discussion in 1a), the Bible alone offers an authoritative message that is perfect (Ps 18:30), holy (Jer 23:9), righteous (Ps ...

Scripture – Inspiration and Truthfulness

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

The Bible is completely reliable (2 Pet 1:19) as its origin is in the will of God and its contents, though written by humans, came from the ministry of the Holy Spirit who delivered the spoken word of God (2 Pet 1:21). Paul therefore declares, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Throughout Scripture, we find many other phrases demonstrating that the Bible is the spoken Word of God, e.g. “This is what the Lo...

Learning How to Pray (Luke 11:1-4)

Posted on October 22, 2020March 17, 2021 by markwchristy

“It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. ‘Give us each day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’” (Luke 11:1-4 NASB) In Luke 11:1-4, Jesus teaches the disciple...

The Inward Battle for Proper Placement of Hope

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Faced with extreme adversity, Job’s hope begins to faulter: Job 6:11-13 NASB ““What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure? Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze? Is it that my help is not within me, And that deliverance is driven from me?” Job seemingly lost everything and was despairing of life. He looks around himself and sees no hope. He sees an utter lack of strength within himself. He for now is struggling to place his hop...

Does Hebrews 6:4-6 Teach that Christians Can Lose Their Salvation?

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Remember, the author of Hebrews defines true believers as those who hold firmly to the end the confidence they had at first (Heb 3:6, 14). He does not define true believers as those who have just “been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, [and] tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age” (Heb 6:4-5). These people would be like the seed that fell in the rock and thorns (Matt 13:20-22). Like these seeds, they will end up not growing to mat...

Thinking and the Bible

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

Jesus confronts wrong thinking in Matt 9:4. In Matt 10:34, he extinguishes incorrect thoughts related to His ministry. He engages Simon with questions to stimulate his thinking (Matt 17:25). In fact, you see Him regularly using questions to stimulate the thoughts of others (Matt 18:12; 21:28; 22:17, 42; 26:53). In Luke 6:8ff, Jesus performs a miracle to counter wrong thinking. He corrects the disciples wrong thinking on who would be greatest in Luke 9:47-48. Consistently, Jesus uses parables to...

Holiness Evangelism (with multiple quotes takes from MacArthur’s commentary on Ephesians)

Posted on October 22, 2020December 23, 2021 by markwchristy

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom [a]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses k...

Cancellation of Christian Truth-Bearers: A Biblical Response

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by markwchristy

While speaking to a crowd, Jesus delivered a scathing rebuke due their chief concern being for a sign of His validity (and that of His message). Specifically, he said, “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Luke 11:32 NASB). According to Jesus, the crowd had completely failed to come under the truth of His message; furthermore, they had failed to us...