I was visiting with a Baptist pastor and somehow the conversation got around to baptism. He felt the church to which I belong did not baptize correctly because we did not immerse. I referred him to two passages in the New Testament. In 1 Peter 3, Peter speaks of the ark as an example of … Continue reading Baptizing with too much water
Adam Clarke
Humility: What is it?
The signification of the Greek word that is translated humility in the New Testament is “lowliness of mind.” That indicates a lack of pride, not thinking of myself as better than others, whether because of ethnic origin, economic status, education or because of anything that I might claim to have achieved. Jeremiah10:23 says: “O LORD, … Continue reading Humility: What is it?
Sins of omission?
James 4:17: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” The last clause of this verse is written in the passive voice which leads some presumptuous readers of the Bible to take it to mean that there are sins of omission which are much less serious … Continue reading Sins of omission?
She never gives up
Saturday afternoon Bianca Andreescu won the U.S. Open women’s tennis tournament. She is 19 and the first Canadian ever to win a grand slam tennis tournament. A comment made by one of her opponents has stuck in my mind: “She never gives up.” In several matches she seemed to be faltering, on the verge of … Continue reading She never gives up
Let the oppressed go free
How can any nation pretend to fast or worship God at all, or dare to profess that they believe in the existence of such a Being, while they carry on the slave trade, and traffic in the souls, blood, and bodies, of men! O ye most flagitious of knaves, and worst of hypocrites, cast off … Continue reading Let the oppressed go free
Holy violence
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12) The tax gatherers and heathen, whom the scribes and Pharisees think have no right to the kingdom of the Messiah, filled with holy zeal and earnestness, seize at once on … Continue reading Holy violence
The Christian art of soft persuasion
Jesus said: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). We want to share the gospel; let’s not get distracted into wolf hunting. That’s not what Jesus has called us to do; He has called us to demonstrate an … Continue reading The Christian art of soft persuasion
Saved through childbearing
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety (1 Timothy 2:14-15). These are Christmas verses. Here is why. In verse 14 and the first part of verse 15, the Apostle Paul … Continue reading Saved through childbearing
Flatlander Faith 