January 8, 2020
Like most people, the first time I heard the word apologetics I was befuddled. I was driving down Interstate 5 in Southern California en route to work at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why there was such a stress for Christians to apologize. […]
January 2, 2020
There is a lot of confusion about baptism today, and many end up at one of two extremes. At one end are people who exclaim, “Baptism is necessary for salvation.” At the other end are people who avoid baptism altogether. What do we do with this tension? For starters, realize […]
December 18, 2019
Perhaps you’ve heard the statement, “Getting to heaven is like climbing a mountain. Both have many paths, but they all lead to the top.” While that may be true for climbing a mountain, it’s not true for getting to heaven. Heaven’s architect, Jesus Christ, clearly stated, “I am the way, […]
December 11, 2019
Terry Jones is a Florida pastor who a few years ago promoted the idea of burning copies of the Koran. This infamous Koran-burning fanatic hasn’t helped the church in the reputation department before the broader world. I’m thankful that most people are wise enough to know that Jones doesn’t represent […]
December 4, 2019
In today’s religiously eclectic culture, labeling a group a cult may step on a few toes, but never have ideas moved about so abundantly as they do today. We live in a sound-bite culture where information is multiplying at rapid speeds, and there’s no shortage of false truth claims hanging […]
November 25, 2019
No other doctrine in all of Scripture has troubled me more than the doctrine of hell. The thought of people eternally existing apart from God is heartbreaking—as I suppose it should be. As much as I like the idea that all people will ultimately be saved, I just don’t see […]
November 13, 2019
We’ve all heard the descriptions of heaven being a place where we will float on clouds, play a harp, and inherit our own set of wings. Fortunately, all three of those descriptions are dead wrong. First, we won’t float on clouds. Second, everyone won’t play a harp. And third, no […]
November 6, 2019
Many people wrongly assume that the God of the New Testament differs from the God of the Old Testament. They do so because they perceive the God of the Old Testament as a moody and volatile curmudgeon, while perceiving the God of the New Testament as a judge-free, grace-giving, glorified […]
October 30, 2019
Is God fuming at the world? A sort of enraged deity who’s foaming at the mouth because of the sins of mankind? To answer this question fairly, we must first qualify what we mean by God’s anger. It doesn’t take long when reading the Bible to see that the Scriptures […]
October 23, 2019
Certain portions of Scripture are harder to grasp than others. Such is the case with the stoning passages (see Leviticus 20:27; 24:16; Numbers 15:32-36; Deuteronomy 13:6-11; 21:18-21). I can understand capital punishment, but stoning just seems so barbaric, cruel, and harsh, especially when the commandment is issued to parents to […]