An old cliché says there is a silver lining in every cloud. In a sense this is true for the follower of God. In Romans 8:18-39, Paul tells us that God can turn the wicked events that happen to Christians into an advantage for the righteous. Joseph's life is an excellent example (Genesis 39-41). After being sold by his own brothers, Joseph spent 13 years as a slave and in prison. I can't think of ...
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After a few weeks study at St. John's University and Abbey, I am impressed by the perceptive Roman Catholic analysis of the weaknesses of Protestantism. They insist that Protestants are pressed between two unacceptable extremes. One extreme grows out of the assumption that man has an individual obligation to judge Bible truth. As a result, "a principle of disunity is embedded in the very essence of Protestantism." On the other hand, in order to escape ...
Read MoreWhen changes occur, it is common for those who bring in new ideas to reinterpret past events to prove that their ideas are really what people thought and wanted all along. Even when the changes are recent and people still remember what life was like before the changes, they just put a spin on the old ideas. There is a whole generation who have now lived in a United States where abortion has always been legal, where ...
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“The goal of our study has been to help New Testament Christians move toward a new paradigm that is characterized by a confidence in God and an increased assurance of His promise of salvation” (p. 59. Emphasis mine). A paradigm is a pattern. Webster particularly defines a paradigm as “a pattern, example, or model.” So I wonder, what’s wrong with the pattern laid out for us by Christ? Why do we need a new pattern ...
Read MoreIt is no secret that there are many apostate churches in this world. The apostle Paul warned us that many will depart from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1). Even within Churches of Christ there are many congregations that have departed from the truth. Brethren are quite aware of those churches that no longer seek Biblical authority for all their practices though they still consider themselves a church of Christ. In the course of discussion, I’ll ...
Read MoreNot all churches of Christ are the same. Many churches of Christ do not strictly follow God’s word. Some churches of Christ have been “leavened” by carnal members (1 Cor. 5:6-8). A sure sign of this is a church that condones sin among its members (1 Tim. 5:22). Such was the case in the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 5:1-5). Rather than taking action to remove the sinful member, the church in their arrogance, ignored ...
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