Category: Subject Index

The Bible is very clear concerning allegiances. Either one is for God or against God. This not only defines ones association, but also his eternal standing. The friend, servant, wise, who gives allegiance to God is saved; the enemy, foolish individual is lost.

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Podcast Number # 15

The twelfth chapter of Romans gives a list of characteristics, identifying the ideal for a Christian.

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Paul’s letter to the Philippians, though penned under difficult circumstances, resonates with the joy Paul had in his fellowship with the Philippians in the preaching of the gospel, and their common heritage as the redeemed. It teaches us that there is reason to rejoice in our faith, regardless of the circumstances of life.

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Christianity is in direct opposition to the philosophies of men, including the Postmodern world, the Eastern/Mysticism World, the Atheistic World, the Agnostic World and the Scientific World.

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Podcast Number #14

Humanism is a real danger to the faith of our children. It is a direct attack upon God, that unfortunately takes place too often in what many consider to be the safest of places, the classroom. Christian parents, beware!

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An article in the Tuesday, August 15th issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram carried the above title, with the subtitle: “Shopping around for a family church—when the parents aren’t regular attendees—can be intimidating, but experts say it’s never too late to start keeping the faith.” The author of the article, Gaile Robinson, related a cub scout field trip that sent herself and her son to a Catholic mission, with a group of other little boys. The site of a larger than life cross with the Christ figure upon it, with the crown of thorns complete with painted blood, led to an awed silence among the boys, but caused her son to ask, “Whoa, what happened to that guy?”

Continue reading “In The News: Choosing My Religion” →

During Jesus’ ministry, there were three main sects of the Jews that influenced Jewish politics and culture. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

Interestingly, the Essenes are not mentioned in the New Testament writings. Perhaps their tendencies toward asceticism and monasticism separated them from the common Jew, and limited their influence upon Jewish culture. (Note: It is believed that it was an Essene community, Qumran, that was responsible for the penning of the Dead Sea Scrolls).

The Sadducees were characteristically liberal and secular in their outlook. They were political animals, often affluent, and held the highest political offices among the Jews. “They were a political party, of priestly and aristocratic tendency, as against the more religious and democratic Pharisees” (ISBE, Vol. IV, pg. 2659).

The Pharisees were, as noted above, more religious. In fact, at least in outward form, the Pharisee seemed to mirror most closely the teaching and philosophy of our Lord. For example: 1) The Pharisee contended for the importance of separating himself from ungodly and worldly influences; 2) The Pharisee was very attentive to the Law of God, and careful in his exposition of its teaching; 3) The Pharisee emphasized the importance of diligent obedience to the Law of God; 4) The Pharisee was eager to convert others to his beliefs, and was active in proselytizing; 5) The Pharisee was very active religiously, and many saw the expressions of his faith.

Continue reading “Pharisaism” →

Each of us are personally accountable for our actions before God. We must be diligent to “keep ourself”. This necessitates purity in heart, tongue and action.

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Responses from a recent poll indicated that sexually addictive behaviors are not foreign inside churches, and a large number of women in the pews struggle with the same temptations as men, The Christian Post reports. According to a poll by ChristiaNet.com and Second Glance Ministries, half of all Christian men are addicted to pornography. That may be nothing new, but the poll found 20 percent of all Christian women to be addicts to pornography. Additional findings showed 60 percent of the female respondents admitted to having significant struggles with lust, 40 percent admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year, and 20 percent of the church-going female participants struggled with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis.

Religion Today Summaries – Aug. 11, 2006
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff
Crosswalk.com

Analysis:

The statistics mentioned above are of course, disturbing. “Half of all Christian men are addicted to pornography.” Of course, this article defines “Christian” rather loosely. It has reference to those in the denominational world, many of which are not only steeped in doctrinal error, but have also never renounced as immoral the lusts of the flesh. Having said that, only the naïve will claim that pornography is not a problem in the Lord’s church.

And now, we read that some women are struggling with the sin of lasciviousness as well. There are cultural reasons for this, as we are living in a society which has lost its respect for female modesty. Men have objectified women, and women have often contributed to the problem by parading themselves about in unseemly dress. One of the byproducts of such ungodliness is that more and more women have become sexually predatory and aggressive. Profanity, the objectification of men and promiscuity is common.

It seems that calling the woman the “fairer sex”, and seeking to protect the sensibilities of the female is no longer applicable in at least certain parts of our ungodly society. In the face of such crassness, the apostle Peter described the type of woman a Christian lady should be. Notice the difference: “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward–arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel– rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:1-4).

Brethren, we live in a world where immorality is the rule rather than the exception. It is a challenge to keep ourselves pure, and we must maintain diligence to present ourselves acceptable to God in our time.

An introduction to Christian Apologetics. The first lesson in an occasional series examining the evidence for the Christian Faith.

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It says in the Book of Proverbs: “Wine makes a fool of you and leads to brawling.” Friday night, Mel Gibson, Christian action hero, found that out the hard way. Tooling through Malibu in his Lexus, he was pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving, got into it with a sheriff’s deputy and wound up in handcuffs.

“Are you a Jew?” he allegedly demanded of the arresting officer.

That question alone constitutes prima facie evidence that Gibson was DUI. Come on, 30 years in Hollywood and he can’t tell the difference between a Jew and a deputy sheriff?

No wonder they booked him.

To his credit, as soon as he sobered up, Gibson apologized to the lawman, something presumably along the lines of: Sorry I called you a Jew, mate. No hard feelings.

In the process of getting arrested, Gibson shared some of his opinions with the cops. One that found its way into their report is that the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world…

…On Saturday, a chastened Mel issued a statement apologizing to anyone he had offended. He had said “despicable” things that he does “not believe to be true.” He didn’t go into details. He didn’t need to…

Still, there was a puzzling lack of logic to the apology…

…So, let’s certify that Gibson is an anti-Semite, as his critics have charged since he released the film “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004…

…Anyway, I confess to being less than shocked to read about Gibson’s Jew-war theory. The tip-off came when he denied being an anti-Semite in an interview with Diane Sawyer in the publicity run-up to “The Passion.” This is known as the Richard Nixon “I am not a crook” principle: When you get to the point you have to declare your innocence on network television, you are probably guilty.

by Zev Chafets
The San Jose Mercury News

Analysis:

While Chafets is having a bit of fun with the rather erratic behavior of Mel Gibson, a devout Catholic, the evidence indeed seems to indicate that Gibson has some anti-semitic tendencies. Evidence indicates that his father harbors a hatred of Jewish people, and while Gibson says otherwise while sober, those sentiments seem to be ingrained in him as well.

There is a great difference, however, between a drunken tirade against Jews, and accepting the Bible account of the crucifixion of Jesus. In Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, he correctly portrayed many of the events of Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. In noting the part that Jews played in Jesus’ death, he related historical fact, not an ingrained bias against Jewish people. Claims that an established representation of history is inherently biased are ridiculous.

2,000 years ago a group of Jews cried out to the Roman governor, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him” (cf. Luke 23:21). On the first day of Pentecost following his death, 3,000 of those same Jews received forgiveness for their crime (cf. Acts 2:40-41). The important question does not concern what the Jews did or did not do to Jesus. The important question is what any Jew (or Gentile) today will do with Jesus! Will you be obedient to Him as your Lord and Master? Or will you “crucify again for [yourself] the Son of God”? (Hebrews 6:6).

Podcast Number # 13

The Bible reveals the true purpose of living life. This is no secret, though many in the world do not understand that the reason for living is to, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.”

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In Luke 20, the historian records an attempt of the Pharisees to incite Jesus to say things which would get him in trouble with the Roman government. It may be that they felt Jesus would not answer them forthrightly if He knew who they were, so they sent men to Him who were to play the part of innocent, truth fearing men, to question Jesus with apparent sincerity. Luke put it this way, “So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor” (vs. 20).

Continue reading “Pretending to be Righteous” →

If we show proper respect and deference to God, (seen primarily in our obedience to His laws), we will be rewarded with His favor. (cf. Deuteronomy 10:12-22).

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We should all be careful in what we say, that we not speak harshly against God (cf. Malachi 3). When by our words we deny the power or goodness of God, we are speaking “against” God.

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