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Should I Have My Baby Baptized?
That is a good question considering so many religious groups (Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.) have practiced infant baptism for a long time. What I did was check my Bible to see whether these things are so (Acts 17:11). I did not find any examples of anyone baptizing their babies in the entire Bible. There are no examples in the Old Testament of infant baptism nor are there any examples in the New Testament of infant baptism. Some think the Philippian…
Zeal
And the disciples of His, they remembered that it was written, “The zeal for the house of Yours, it has consumed Me.” (John 2:17) EWT The word zeal is defined by Webster as an “eager desire or interest; fervor.” Some words that could be used to describe zeal are: Fervor, passion, intensity, commitment, dedication, and enthusiasm. Opposites of zeal are apathy and indifference. The Book of John gives us evidence that Jesus is indeed the promised Christ and is the…
Eternal Life
At some point, everyone wonders what is beyond this current existence. There are moments in our lives which change the way we think about life and the frailty of it. For some it’s an event that occurs in their own life. For others, it’s something that has happened to a loved one. “That was a close one,” or “that could have been me” cross our mind and we wonder about the afterlife. King David had many encounters with death. During…
Deity of Jesus
Jesus has been depicted as a mythical character, a spiritual guru, a visionary, and a charismatic leader who broke off from the Jewish system to create a new sect. The identity and deity of Jesus has been challenged since the first century. During early Christianity, a teaching was permeating itself in the church. They denied the incarnation of Christ (deity of Jesus) and His resurrection. In a sense, they would elevate their own knowledge at the expense of Christ. They…
Confession of Christ
Confession is one of those words that has been redefined and altered since the first century. Religious leaders and organizations have since created the “confession of faith” which is generally a public (often extensive) statement, written or oral, of their doctrinal beliefs. If that is the case, the “confession of faith” for a Christian should be the inspired New Testament. However, a confession is represented differently in the Bible. A confession is not simply a statement regarding your beliefs of…
Belief or Faith in Christ
“Believe” and “faith” are both translated from a single Greek word in the New Testament. The Bible translators use these interchangeably. It is used to refer to: our belief in Christ – our faith (Lk 17:5, 1John 5:4), to the believers of Christ – the faithful (1Tim. 1:12, 2Tim. 2:2), the belief system of Christ – the faith (Eph. 4:13, Col. 1:13). This may be confusing at times but the key component of it all is Christ. We shall discuss…
The Bible
“The B-I B-L-E, that’s the book for me, I stand alone with the Word of God the B-I-B-L-E.” This is a line from a popular children’s song that helps teach about the importance of the Bible and that it is, in fact, the Word of God. This teaching is not just for children but for every human being on the face of the earth. God has given His word for all people to know. But what is it about the…
Baptism
One of the most confusing subjects to most people is the subject of baptism. The Bible is very clear as to what baptism is. The word “baptize” is not translated in most Bibles. The word is instead transliterated, or an English letter is used in place of the original Greek letter. If the word baptize were to be translated the word “immersed” would be the best English word used. To test this, you can take passages with the word “baptize”…
Authority
On a recent trip to Culvers for lunch, my wife and I noticed two new stop signs placed in a very difficult intersection. We also noticed three cars entering that intersection and going through the stop signs without even slowing down. The fourth person stopped where there was no stop sign and waved me through even though she had the right of way and I was stopped at a stop sign. I shook my head and waved her through. Those…