God has called out mankind to change its ways. Why? Well. There are two systems in process from the beginning: The System of Sin, which equates to wages in Paul’s statement. It’s understood that wages are earned as sin is earned and leads to eternal damnation. The System of God, which equates to a gift in Paul’s statement. It’s understood that the gift is unearned and leads to eternal life. There is no Grey area there is only black and white. There is no lukewarm there i

We are compelled to Go make disciples as the Scripture teaches. However, we must be mindful that we cannot, by human effort, add anyone to the Lord’s church. That is the work of God alone. Acts 2:46–47 states: “[46] And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, [47] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as sho

Mark's Gospel in Mark 16:15-16 states, "[15] And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. [16] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned". However, we must not look only at Mark’s Gospel to understand the imperative; we must also take into consideration Matthew 28:19. It states, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, a

God’s Word is true because it is impossible for God to lie. Hebrews 6:18 states, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Since we have this confidence in God’s honesty, we can truly trust the Word of God. Whatever God has said in His Word, the Bible, we must believe. However, humanity has a choice to either believe or reject God’s Word. Jesu

A Savior: As we consider Joshua as a type of Christ, we must understand that Joshua is a foreshadowing of Jesus. Just as Joshua led the Israelites into physical rest (the Promised Land), Jesus leads His people into spiritual rest (salvation). Hebrews 4:4–9 states: “[4] For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. [5] And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. [6] Seeing therefore it remai

As humanity, we understand the cost of things. Those of us who own homes know there are both fixed and variable costs associated with homeownership. The fixed costs represent those regular bills such as your mortgage, home insurance, water bill, electricity, cable, telephone, garbage service, lawn care, and so forth. The variable costs are those expenses that occur unexpectedly, such as repairs that are required from time to time like a leaky roof, broken air conditioner, bro

Considering Romans 6:17–18, which states: “[17] But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. [18] Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” The scripture declares in verse 17, “God be thanked.” In light of this statement, we must give thanks to God for His grace, as He has offered us salvation in exchange for our sins. As the scripture states, “we were once

We are going to serve one of two masters; either God or Satan. These are the only choices we have. Romans 6:16 states, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Paul states that whoever you “yield” yourself to obey, you become a servant of. The word yield comes from the Greek word paristanete, which means to assist, bring before, command, commend, presen

Based upon our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we have been changed from sin to righteousness. Let us consider our text found in Romans 6:15, which states, “What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” The premise of this verse is that God’s grace, or His unmerited favor, does not give us permission to continue in sin after being made free from sin. Paul asks the question, “Shall we sin?” He raises this question on the b

On this Lord’s Day when the world recognizes Jesus death on the cross, burial and resurrection I want to point your attention to the the Foreshadowing and Prediction of Jesus Christ resurrection. The Bible speaks of Jesus resurrection in the Old Testament and New Testament in terms of forshadowing and predictions. Foreshadowing is often seen as types and shadows events or people in the Old Testament that point to future fulfillment. So a shadow is a silhouette of light tha

Psalm 16:10 – “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” David prophetically writes this verse. He explains the resurrection which at the time this writing had not yet occurred. He gives the writer a prophetic glimpse into the future. God will not allow the body of Jesus Christ, lying in the grave, to become corrupted in Sheol. The word Sheol is a Hebrew word. This word means grave, hell and pit. It denotes Hades

Matthew 18:12-14 “[12] How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? [13] And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. [14] Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” A summary of the

Matthew 20:25-28 KJV “[25] But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. [26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; [27] And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: [28] Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for man

When Moses became the leader of the Hebrew nation, he took on the responsibility of hearing and resolving conflicts among the people. This responsibility became too great for him to bear alone. His father-in-law observed this and offered Moses sound advice. Jethro stated in Exodus 18:17–19 (KJV): “[17] And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. [18] Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is

Mankind is confined to a sentence of suffering. Throughout life, we will suffer. We will suffer the death of loved ones. We will suffer the loss of employment. We will suffer declines in health due to illness. We will suffer broken relationships. We will suffer financial hardship. Yet all of this suffering cannot compare to the glory and wonder of an eternal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As we consider 1 Peter 5:10, which states, “But the God of all grace, who h

When a ship is sinking, no one delays in searching for a lifeboat. Every person urgently seeks safety, knowing that time is limited. In the same way, this world is like a sinking ship temporary, unstable, and destined to pass away. Scripture reminds us that judgment is certain, and when that moment comes, it will be too late to prepare. Therefore, the wise seek safety now. Jesus Christ is our lifeboat. John 3:16 declares, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only b

Judges 7:3-7 KJV “[3] Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. [4] And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall

God anointed David as King in 1 Samuel 16:1–13 when he was approximately 15 years old, while Saul was still reigning. This anointing was not the immediate assumption of the throne, but rather a divine declaration of what was to come. It was a promise made by God upon David’s life. David was not appointed king over Judah until 2 Samuel 2:1–4, around the age of 30. Even then, he did not yet rule over all Israel. It would take an additional 7½ years before he was made king over

As Christians, our call to duty is to encourage one another. This is not optional it is a priority for every follower of Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (KJV), the Bible says: “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” This passage clearly teaches that we are to comfort and edify one another. The word comfort comes from the Greek parakaleite, meaning to exhort, encourage, or call alongside. Likewise, edify comes from oikodomeite, meani

James 5:13–15 (KJV) “[13] Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. [14] Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: [15] And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” As Christians, we are called to pray in every circumstance. James makes it simple: if y