1st century Christianity in the 21st century
– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of Leaven
Jesus has been teaching about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13. We’ve seen the Sower, followed by the Wheat and Tares, and then the Mustard Seed. Now, He uses leaven to illustrate a kingdom characteristic. We read:
The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. (Matthew 13:33)
Continue reading “The Wonderful Leavening Effect Of The Kingdom”
In the gospels we see Jesus inviting those who would become His apostles to “follow” Him. In John 1:40, John the Baptist pointed Andrew and another disciple to Jesus who bid them to “Come and See,” so they followed Him and stayed the entire day with Him. The next day, the Lord called Philip to “follow Me” (John 1:43), which he did, also bringing his friend Nathanael to the Lord. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus approached for fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) and called them to follow Him, that they should become fishers of men. And in Matthew 9:9, Matthew heard Jesus call out “Follow Me,” which he did, leaving his tax office behind.
Continue reading “Follow Me: Jesus’ Call To The World”
In the New Testament, we read about crowds of people being converted to Christ. Many of them are unnamed—we don’t know their stories—just that they heard the gospel and responded in obedience to the Lord. However, the Spirit of God gave us several details about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and not just his conversion but what he did thereafter. Let’s spend a bit of time considering Paul, the convert to Christ.
Continue reading “Saul’s Radical Conversion: A Life Made New In Christ”
Not many weeks ago, we began a series of lessons through Luke’s gospel. In our first lesson, I asked the question, “How many gospels are there?” That question can be answered in a variety of ways.
Nowhere in the Bible will you see gospel in a plural form; nor will you see it with an indefinite article. The Bible speaks of the gospel, not many gospels or a gospel. Paul spoke to the Corinthian church of
Continue reading “How Many Gospels Are There? One? Four? More?”…the gospel which I preached unto you …by which you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you… (1 Corinthians 15:1)
From time to time I go to Bible related chat rooms on Paltalk. In fact, there is one room which I lead a Bible study in each Thurdsay morning. If you are ever on Paltalk, you can look me up with my nickname, Gospel guy.
One night last week, just before heading off to bed, I spent a few minutes in a room. Though there was lots of spiritual talk, there was almost no truth being spoken. One participant challenged another to try something to increase her faith in the Lord and in the work of the Spirit. The challenge was this – every time you come across something that you don’t know the answer to over the next three months, just pray to God for help, opened up your Bible and point your finger. God will lead you to the answer!
Continue reading “Don’t Mock, Gospel Guy”
Should the gospel be preached to everyone? Some verses say it should be (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Acts 8:25; 15:3; 22:21; 28:28), but others say it should not be given to Gentiles or Samaritans (Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24; Acts 16:6). Is there a contradiction?
Continue reading “Is the gospel for all? Answering the Atheist”Is it necessary to keep the Sabbath? Some verses say yes (Exodus 16:29; 20:8; 31:13-15; 34:21; 35:2; Leviticus 19:3, 30; 23:3; Numbers 15;32, 36; Deuteronomy 5:12; Isaiah 56:2), but others say no (Isaiah 1:13; Matthew 12:2; John 5:16; Romans 14:5; Colossians 2:16). Is there a contradiction?
Continue reading “Do you need to keep the Sabbath? Answering the Atheist”
In Acts 8:5 we read, “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.” Later, the text records, “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (Acts 8:12).
Sometimes, when we preach on a controversial topic, people object by asking, “Why don’t you just preach Christ?” It is most assuredly essential to preach Christ. Even though some dishonest preachers were trying to increase Paul’s persecution while he was in prison, he rejoiced “that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached” (Philippians 1:15-18).
What, then, does it mean to preach Christ?
Continue reading “What It Means To Preach Christ”