Articles

God’s Plan of Salvation

At the center of who we are is our commitment to be Christians. This section examines the Bible’s instructions for salvation. It also considers commonly asked questions about salvation such as, “Is baptism essential?”. However, these articles assume faith in God and the Bible as His Word for us today, which is covered in other areas.

• God’s Plan of Salvation
• Top 10 Reasons Not to Be a Christian
• The Importance of Baptism
• Which Baptism?
• What about the thief on the cross?
• Judgment Day
• Does Hell Exist and Is it Eternal?
• “Watering Down Hell” — Jim Everett
• Review of “God’s Judgments & Punishments” — Jim Everett
• Can We Fall from Grace?
• Why Should I Care?
• The God Who Forgives
• How Can I Know I am Saved?

The Revealed Nature of God

“What is God like?” “Why should I care what He thinks?” Understanding our Creator and growing closer to Him is one of the primal instincts of any truthseeker. These questions and many related are considered in these articles.

• The Deity of Jesus
• The Triune Nature of the Godhead
• The Eternal Compassionate God
• “Know the Lord”
• Why Should I Care?
• The God Who Forgives
• The God Who Hopes
• Does God Hear the Prayer of Sinners?
• Fellowship With God
• “As He Is In the Light” — Answering Continual Cleansing

Unity and Fellowship

One need not look very far to see that the religious world is full of variation. Some might even call it division. Is the division real, or just apparent? Is God pleased with this division? Should we be concerned? How should we feel, and what should we do about this? What is our responsibility to engage our fellow believer, work out our differences, and even rebuke sin? The following articles examine these topics.

• A Tower to Touch the Sky
• A Prayer for Unity
• “I’m Already a Christian!”
• Can We Understand the Bible?
• “Please Judge Me”
• Word Study: Judge and Judgment
• Degrees of Judging
• Words Fitly Spoken on Judging
• Fellowship With God
• Does Romans 14 Cover Sin?

Correcting Calvinism

Few doctrines have influenced and shaped more modern denominations than Calvinism. Known after its most successful proponent, John Calvin, these doctrines outline a system of justification, faith, salvation, and works that detail the most fundamental aspects of both God and man’s nature. Central to these beliefs is God’s predestination of man’s fate, man’s lack of free will, man’s uncontrollable tendency to sin, God’s arbitrary selection of people to be saved, and God’s irresistible and irreversible conversion of the saved. Because of its far-reaching influence and assaults on God’s character, these doctrines demand study by all people.

• Introduction to Calvinism
• Sovereignty of God
• Total Inherited Depravity of Man
• Unconditional Election
• Limited Atonement
• Irresistible Grace
• Perseverance of the Saints
• Responses to the Calvinist
• Analysis of Romans 9 and Calvinistic Arguments
• Why I am not a Calvinist
• Comments on Matthew 27:46, “Why hast thou forsaken me?”
• Why I Love Jeff Bethke, But Hate Error

Evidences for God and the Bible

This collection of articles considers the most fundamental issues to searching out truth. It deals with questions such as, “How do I know there is a God?”, “How do I know the Bible has not been corrupted over time?”, and “Does the Bible allow for other outside books from God?”.

• The Existence of God
• Historical and External Evidence for the Bible
• Internal Claims of the Bible
• Open Letter to Nancy Grace

Studying the Bible and Determining Right from Wrong

Understanding this topic becomes a foundation upon which we base all of interpretation of God’s Word. If we do not interpret the Bible as God intended and instructed, then we will make erroneous conclusions.

• Fundamental: Internal Claims of the Bible
• Can We Understand the Bible?
• Is It a Salvation Issue?
• Introduction: Establishing Authority
  • “Do All things According to the Pattern”
  • The Old and New Testaments
  • “Do All Things in the Name of the Lord”
  • The Sin and Danger of Presumption
  • Necessity of Necessary Inference
  • An Introduction to Bible Silence
  • Do The Silence of Scriptures Prohibit or Permit?
  • Differentiating between General and Specific Authority
  • Did Jesus Disregard God’s Silence?
  • Did Hezekiah Disregard God’s Silence?
• Binding New Testament Examples and the Bible Pattern
• Studying Error?
• I Am Just a Scribe
• Am I Really a Scribe? (Part II)
• Lessons The Prophet Learned Too Late
• Regarding Opinions and Speculations

Christian Morality and Virtues

Being a Christian is much more than going to church services and participating in worship services. The moral values of a Christian dictates how he treats other people and God - outside of worship services, as well as inside them.

• “Righteousness, Self-Control, and Judgment to Come”
• Metamorphosis
• Overcoming Habitual Sins
• Is Homosexuality a Sin?
• Two Standards of Modest Dress
• Lifelong Diligence - A Godly Work Ethic
• Cursing, Swearing, and Vulgarity
• What Is Wrong with Prom?
• The Burden of Public Expression

The New Testament Pattern for a Local Church

Once we become a Christian, then we must consider how God wants us to live after our conversion. Part of this involves attending and working with a local church. This section investigates the nature of a church that is following God’s pattern found in the Bible.

• “Would You Allow This?” (Church Attendance) — Greg Gwin
• Which Church Should I Attend? God’s Church!
  • The Work of the Church
  • The Offices of the Church
    • Apostles
    • Evangelists
    • Elders
    • Deacons
    • Christians
  • Women Preachers, Elders, and Deacons?
  • Autonomy of the Local Church
  • The Organization of the Church
  • Bible Names of the Local Church
  • The Worship of the Church
    • Overview of The Lord’s Supper, More Questions about the Lord’s Supper
    • Prayer
    • Worship Through Music, The History of Musical Worship, Answering Arguments for Instrumental Music, References to Music in the Bible, Instrumental Music in the Worship of the Church (John L. Girardeau, 1888)
    • Teaching and Preaching
      • The Dilemmas of Teaching
    • Giving First to the Lord — Larry R. Coffey
  • Matthew 18:15-17 and Responding to Public Sin
  • Matthew 18:15-17 and the Role of the Witnesses
• Binding New Testament Examples and the Bible Pattern
• Addressing More Questions about Church Cooperation and Organization

The Days of Creation

This article provided by Bob Waldron examines the question of the “days of creation”. It is intended to be used in parallel with a two-part Bible Audio Lesson that includes more commentary.

• The Days of Creation - Bob Waldron

Personal Exhortation

This sections offers a miscellaneous collection of articles that are most applicable to our personal lives as Christians. These articles provide Biblically based reproofs from God’s Word as well as Scriptural encouragement and exhortation.

• “The Briar Patch”
• A Chapter on the Christian’s Self-Image
• “A Day in the Life”
• The Farsighted, Nearsighted, and Blind Christian
• “He Who Has an Ear”
• “I Was the One Talent Man”
• “In Case of Grief …”
• “In the Wake of Tragedy”
• Lessons The Prophet Learned Too Late
• “Please Judge Me”
• “Pray For a Crop Failure”
• A Prayer for Myself
• Those Who Left Their Place
• The Origin of the Devil
• The Names of the Devil