Jesus was born with the shadow of the cross upon Him. His birth was announced by the angel who said, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). As significant as His birth was, it was in His death that the power to procure our salvation (i.e., His blood) was operative. Paul wrote, “. . . While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved . . .” (Romans 5:8-9). In the shadow of the cross, he learned to walk; He learned to talk; and He learned to work.
Read MoreThe patriarch Jacob “called his sons and said, ‘Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days’” (Genesis 49;1). As Jacob addressed his sons, he said to Judah, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10, NKJV). This is a Messianic prophecy indicating the first coming of Christ.
The word scepter was “a rod held in the hands of kings as a token of authority” (Graybill 758). A biblical example involving the scepter is seen when the Persian king, Ahasuerus, “held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the tope of the scepter” (Esther 5:1-2). Esther’s touching the top of the golden scepter was an act of respect and an indication of her desire to speak to the king.
Read MoreWe call it Memorial Day. When I was a kid we knew it as “Decoration Day.” It was a day when Mom and Dad would put us in the car, and off we would go to visit the cemeteries where grandparents and others were buried. We would visit these graves, place flowers on the graves in memory of those loved ones, and pause to remember their lives. I especially remember all the flags, and the red, white, and blue flowers, as tribute to those who served our country, many of whom lost their lives while in service to our nation.
Read MoreThere is much teaching in the Bible which makes clear that God can (and does) overrule the wicked purposes and deeds of evil men to make them serve ends of truth and righteousness. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a vital link in the total chain of proof that Christianity is presently the one true religion of the one true God. But for the resurrection to have effect in the total apologetic for Christianity, there must be proof that Jesus really died—lest some say that it only seemed that He died. In order that there might be no doubt about His resurrection, it was necessary for even the enemies of Christ to pronounce Him dead. The Roman governor, Pilate, who delivered up Jesus to be crucified, admitted the death of Christ by refusing to grant the corpse to Joseph until he had been assured by the centurion in charge that Jesus really was dead (Mark 15:42-45). It was not until then that Pilate gave up the body to Joseph, who along with Nicodemus, tenderly prepared and laid the body in the tomb.
Read MoreIt has been called “the world’s darkest assumption.” What is it? It is the following hypothetical—“IF Christ is not risen” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, summarized the case for the bodily resurrection of Jesus when he (Paul) wrote about it not more than 25 years after the event had happened. Heaven had revealed it prophetically through the Scriptures that prophesied it (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eyewitnesses had verified it (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). The apostles had preached it, and the Corinthians believed it (1 Corinthians 15:11). Yet, some among them, in spite of the sufficient evidence that proved it, were denying the reality of it (1 Corinthians 15:12-13). With flawless logic, Paul addresses it, explicating the implications of darkness and doom that reside in the proposition: “Christ is not risen” (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).
Read MoreThe world does not like the biblical concept that Christianity is exclusive. In fact, some Christians do not like it either. It is argued that such a concept is intolerant and unacceptable to both God and man. Those who hold that Christianity is exclusive are considered prejudiced, narrow-minded, and by some arrogant. The tolerant argue the need to accept those from other faiths “as they are.” Any attempt to convert those from other faiths [Islam, Hinduism, etc.] to Christ and Christianity is strongly criticized. However, you cannot separate Christ and Christianity. Should Christians accept the world religions as equal to and/or perhaps superior to Christianity? Is it true that adherents to the world religions are simply serving the same God as the Christian? We ask is Christianity improved if it borrows teachings from the various world religions? We believe Christianity cannot be improved upon, but works for man as God intends.
Read More“‘Behold, the days come,’ saith the Lord, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt. . . . For this is the new covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ saith the Lord; ‘I will put my laws into their mind, and on their heart also will I write them; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. . . . For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more’” (Hebrews 8:8-9, 10, 12).
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The text of this lesson is drawn from the first sermon presenting Jesus as the Christ that was ever preached in this world. On the day of Pentecost, Peter, standing up with the eleven, proclaimed to a vast audience assembled in the city of Jerusalem salvation through Jesus Christ. When he had set forth the life of Jesus and the mighty works of God through Him, and told the story of His death and resurrection, he concluded the main arguments in the sermon by saying, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:26). What a fitting text for this sermon!
Read More Text: “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?” — Matthew 22:42.
Jesus Christ is the son of Adam, the son of Abraham, the son of David, the son of Joseph, the son of Mary, the son of man, and the son of God. Seven of these titles attest the unique quality of our Lord’s life and relationship both to God and man. This study begins with Christ the son of David, because that comes first in the New Testament.
The Pharisees were the most learned sect of the Jews, and they replied to the question raised by Jesus Christ in our text by saying, “the son of David.”
“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son of David.” These are the very first words in the entire New Testament. . . .
Read More“What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:42) Was he conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, or was he the natural son of Joseph or of some other unknown man? Did he come from human parentage? This is the crucial question. To it there have been given through all the centuries, in the last analysis, but two answers. The modernists and the fundamentalists can claim no originality for their respective answers. In the days of his flesh, some saw in him the fiery zeal of the Baptist; some, the flowing courage of Elijah; others, the sad-hearted sympathy of Jeremiah. They thought he was a great man—a man with a prophetic message—simply and only a man. Many would take him out of the God-class and put him in the man-class now. Emerson placed him on a level with Caesar, Plato, and Shakespeare.
Read MoreThe observations of an anonymous writer grabbed my attention. I read and reread the words several times. The substance, source, and seemliness of these words impacted me. A portion of the words is as follows:
“The general moral corruption of society, sin rampant in official and family life, will bring the state to ruin. The foundations are rotting, being eaten away; the canker-worm of sinful practices are growing at the heart and the whole structure will fall apart. . . . It is the truth . . . for the nations of every age. There are fundamental moral laws underlying the structure and woven into the very fabric of human society. When they are ignored and violated disintegration sets in and the structure is sure to collapse. For the confirmation . . . it is only necessary to scan the page of history. . . .
Read MoreOur belief in the deity of Christ is derived directly from statements concerning Him in the Bible (John 5:39). One of the crucial moments in the ministry of Jesus is Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus called for the confession then and He calls for it now. He knew people often talked about Him and had various opinions concerning Him as is seen by His first question, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matthew 16:13). This is quickly followed by the question, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This question confronts every man of every age so that in the end all have to give their answer to it.
Read MoreStatement of the Problem
The question to be considered in this article, stated simply, is: Does the Bible teach that Jesus of Nazareth was born of a virgin without the agency of a human father? I shall attempt to prove that the question should be answered affirmatively in spite of the fact that there are many who say it should be answered negatively. That our Lord did not have a human father is, as McPherson says, a
. . . basic doctrine that has always been believed by the Christian people, from the apostles down to the present, but that is denied today by a certain class of scholars, some of whom call themselves scientists and religious libralists, and are teachers in educational institutions and preachers, here and there, in Christian pulpits. (11)
Read MorePhillip Keller, in his book of essays titled Outdoor Moments with God, writes the following under the word “Renewal”:
According to the calendar spring is here. But outdoors in the harsh world . . . there are few signs of any seasonal change. . . . But yesterday all that changed. . . . It seemed so impossible! New life, new blooms, new leaves bursting from the earth. In spite of every adversity there was astonishing renewal. This was akin to resurrection from death and despair.
Here was hope!
I was in awe. (99)
“In awe,” in some sense, ought to describe every thoughtful person as he considers the seasons and the changing thereof. Early preachers of the Christian faith declared to their audience, “We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn . . . to a living God, who made the Heaven and the Earth and the Sea, and all that is in them. . . . He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from [H]eaven and fruitful seasons . . .” (Acts 14:15, 17, NASV; cf. Romans 1:18-20).
Read MoreChristianity is the religion of the person Jesus Christ. Christian faith is Christocentric. Its center is Christ. It certainly is the case that numerous constituent elements compose the pathway to Christian faith. However, is there not great value in giving serious thought to what one initially, primarily, and ultimately thinks of when he considers his religious faith? And, when it comes to Christian faith, should we not, in some sense, first and foremost, think of Jesus Christ? Who is He? What has He done? What is He doing now? What is He yet to do? It would seem that, in one sense, a surface reading of the New Testament would convince one of the truth of the point we are making here.
Read MoreHenry Rogers, a brilliant lawyer of a few years ago, wrote a book entitled The Eclipse of Faith, in which he imagined that some powerful hand had wiped the influence of Christ out of our civilization, as a hand might wipe the writing from a chalkboard in a classroom. He imagined himself going into his library to discover that every vestige of Christ’s life and influence had wholly disappeared. He opened his law books which had contained the legal standards protecting children, the poor, and the innocent only to find that these laws had disappeared.
Read More“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32)
Fear is in no sense a modern problem. It is as old as the history of man. It is an instinctive emotion, ranging from vague uneasiness to shocks that may stop the heart and paralyze the power to act.
It is not an evil in itself. The capacity to fear is given for the purpose of self-preservation. It rolls the soldier into his foxhole when the artillery opens up and the bombs begin to scream. It keeps people from stepping in front of cars, trying to swim Niagara, or violating the rights of others.
Some things are rightfully to be feared. A man lives longer if he is afraid to drive too fast, to become a slave to drink, to do wrong. Fearing God in the right sense is the secret of a long and happy life.
Read MoreFifty years ago (1970) Newsweek magazine asked a group of academics “What ails the American spirit?” One professor of history answered: “When a growing portion of the nation’s youth loudly proclaims its defection from everything; when even the most traditional and conservative campuses seethe with perpetual turmoil; . . . when the country is racked with fear, foreboding, and hopelessness—then we had better declare a state of spiritual crisis. . . .” (“The Spirit of ’70. . . ,” Newsweek, 6 July 1970, p. 25).
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