Head-dibs

Proof of the deity of Christ. "Jesus Christ ... declared to be the Son of God with power ... by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3-4). An integral part of the gospel. " The gospel ... how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures " (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The seal of the finished work of Christ. " When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high " (Hebrews 1:3). Essential for salvation. " If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins " (1 Corinthians 15:17). " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved " (Romans 10:9). Evidence of the believer's justification. " Jesus our Lord ... was delivered for our offenses, and was raised ...

"How are we to think of the incarnation? The New Testament does not encourage us to puzzle our heads over the physical and psychological problems that it raises, but to worship God for the love that was shown in it." (J.I Packer, Knowing God ) "The New Testament knows nothing of an incarnation which can be defined apart from its relation to atonement . . . Not Bethlehem, but Calvary, is the focus of the revelation, and any construction of Christianity which ignores or denies this distorts Christianity by putting it out of focus." (James Denny, The Death of Christ )

"The Christian faith believes that the Atonement reveals Gods mercy as an ultimate resource by which God alone overcomes the judgment which sin deserves. If this final truth of the Christian religion has no meaning to modern men, including modern Christians, that is because even the tragic character of contemporary history has not yet persuaded them to take the fact of human sinfulness seriously." Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

"The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either: 1. All the sins of all men; 2. All the sins of some men; or, 3. Some of the sins of all men. In which case it must be said: a. That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so none are saved; b. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world, and this is the truth; c. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins? Your answer: because of unbelief. I ask, is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!" (Dr. John Owen, 1616-1683)

July 2004 I went to Kenya, Africa to speak in two Pastor’s Conferences on the subject of Man, Sin and Salvation. At the end of each day I left just over an hour for questions (half the time were questions touching the subject of my lectures, and the other half for “open questions”; that is, people could ask anything). For the next few weeks, I will be sharing the questions that were asked of me, and my answers—and believe me when I say these people really know how to think! Question from Kenya #1: “Men and women who saw God in the Bible: Why did they not all die?” [“ But He said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live! ’” (Exodus 33:20) was the basis of the student’s question]. Answer: First, consider those who did see God—how did they respond when they saw Him? They were instantly aware of their sinfulness, and God’s holiness and righteousness (to name a few. And notice also that each responded in an attitude of worship, bowing down): Abraham built altars, wors...

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a lady in the park. She claimed to have a Christian background, though was surprised to be caught by the law and her exposed sin. She admitted her guilt before God, and that the punishment for sin is death. She also said that though she did not deserve heaven knew she would be there because God “just forgives.” I asked her what she meant by that. She told me that she knew she would go to heaven because her mother was an atheist, and God would not send her mother to hell, so God forgives and lets everyone into heaven. My heart breaks right there. Recently Steve Sanchez shared on his blog : “But what can you say to someone who realizes that a deceased loved one might already be in eternal torment? One lady ran up to me after a recent open air sermon, furious about what she had just heard and shouted at me, ‘You mean to tell me that my 11-year-old son is in Hell for stealing a piece of gum? That’s a bunch of $#%&*!$%!’ Then she stormed away.” ...

“Christ will do.” This is my peace. “Christ will do,” Makes vain toils cease. “Christ will do;” Is covering fleece. “Christ will do.” Is His increase. “Christ will do,” His blood for me. “Christ will do” My cleansing be. “Christ will do,” And all will see How “Christ will do” To set men free. Say, “Christ will do,” Till all have heard. For “Christ will do,” Is life’s watchword. When “Christ will do,” Dead hearts are stirred, That “Christ will do,” Is grace conferred. “Christ will do,” Thus ends the war. “Christ will do.” He is the door. “Christ will do.” Makes praises soar. “Christ will do.” There is no more. (copyright James K. Wilson, Jr. April 23, 2008.)

A number of people called attention to this clip from the popular TV series ER. It really is amazing for secular television. The "Fair Use" law allowed us to teach from it, without violating copyright laws.

Which of the following statements is incorrect: A: ‘God sent his Son to suffer and die on the cross for you.’ B: ‘God loves you so much that he sent his Son to die for you.’ C: ‘Jesus died on the Cross to pay for your sins.’ D: ‘If you die in your sin’s you will go to Hell, that is not God’s will.’ E: ‘Christ died on the cross for sinners.’ F: All of the above. G: None of the above. To see how you did, go here .

Today is Passover and I was thinking of Jesus' crucifixion when I got this huge onslaught of "what if's". The Bible is silent about a lot of things, but I just had to ask. Matthew says "and when they crucified him" (27:35). Mark says "and they crucified him" (15:24) Luke says "there they crucified him" (23:33) John says "when they crucified him" (19:23) But how? How do we know the soldiers crucified him by laying him down on the wood and nailing him to it? How do we know they soldiers raised it up? They certainly did'nt bring the cross up there themselves, so why should they raise it and the man nailed to it? What if Jesus had to set his own cross in place on the hill? What if Jesus had to climb a small ladder, grasping the cross in places, holding onto its sides and balancing, perhaps embracing the cross so as not to fall off because of his blood that was now all over the place? What if he had to get his balance on the ...

Galatians 6:1-5 What kind of person does it take to bear burdens? That depends on the size and/or kind of burden. Well then, what would it take for a large burden? Describe the person who could move, say, a refrigerator/freezer by himself. Well, he could take a dolly or hand truck and . . . By himself, I mean. With no tools. What kind of person could lift that burden? A rather large person, I would think. With broad shoulders, hands like bricks, arms like tree trunks, I suppose. He must have a broad chest and thick legs. His arms must be able to wrap around the burden, or at least his hands must get a good grip on it. What about a little girl? Could she bear the burden? Of course not! She is too small, too frail! A little girl is too delicate and could be injured! Consider this: what if the refrigerator was full? What would the burly man have to do to move his burden so as not to damage the contents? Lift carefully and slowly, I imagine. He would need to squat down, grasp ti...