With the Sound of a Trumpet

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This study represents my final study in the series that addresses Matthew 24:36, which some brethren try to use to show a division in the Olivet Discourse. On one side of verse-36, according to their eschatology, is the events leading up to the Lord’s judgment upon Jerusalem in 70 AD. On the other side of verse-36, i.e. verse-36 and following, is the alleged Second Coming of Jesus, which for them is a visible, physical event. I have been demonstrating that this just isn’t so. The scriptures simply don’t support such an understanding. The facts are that Jesus returned spiritually in 70 AD to judge Jerusalem, and at that time he ended the Old Covenant by destroying the Temple in the persons of the Roman armies.

 

Who Was Paul of Tarsus, Really?

It is difficult to gauge the importance of Paul to Christianity, but, without doubt, his conversion is the most important event to occur in the early Jesus’ movement after the Pentecost blessing of 31 CE. Paul is personally responsible for at least ten epistles and fourteen if one counts Timothy, Titus and Hebrews as Paul’s work. Try to imagine what our New Testament Scriptures would look like had God not intervened in Paul’s life and called him for the work of Christ.

 

Does a True Gift Have Strings?

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I received a phone call the other day. The recording tried to tell me a company was giving away vacations. The recording told me to press a number to get a live person. I really hate to hang up on people, because I’ve been taught it isn’t polite, so I’m glad it was a recording. I’ve had phone calls like this before, and no one is really **giving** anything away.

What is a gift? The Scriptures try to tell us that God has given each of us the gift of eternal life, but are there any strings attached? One of the places we can find the promise is in one of Paul’s epistles.

 

Am I a Stepping Stone or a Stumbling Block?

In Romans 14 and part of 15 Paul is intent on telling us that we shouldn’t be critical of one another, but to become as Christ. He didn’t come to please himself, but for the very purpose of suffering under the insults of those who seem to be against God. If I am living my Christian life in such a way that I am an impediment to another’s progress in Christ, I have become a stumbling block to my brother. It is not what I know that really counts with God, but whether or not I am willing to be walked on, if necessary, for the sake of Christ.

 

Love—the Only Necessary Law!

Paul begins chapter thirteen of Romans by saying everyone of us need to submit to the authority of the government. But, if Love is the only law we need to have, what does love have to do with paying taxes, or obeying the local traffic laws? Does this make sense? Yes, in fact, it makes very good sense.

 

Is it God’s Will?

Most Christians are concerned about this very question. “Is it God’s will?” Some sincerely want to know, while others may be just curious, but how can we know for certain what the will of God is? The plight of the Christian is often pictured in the Bible as a wilderness situation and there are simply no paths in the wilderness. One needs to find direction by some other means than experience, either ours or that of someone else. When no one has gone this way before, how do we know which way to go? In a natural wilderness one would look to a compass or the sun by day and the stars by night, but in a spiritual wilderness, how do we know which direction God wants us to go? Notice what Paul says:

 

How Can ALL Things Work Together for Good?

Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 that “all things work together for good…” but how can they? How can death, accidents, personal failures and other unwanted predicaments work for my good? Fritz Rindenour uses an entire chapter in his book “How to be a Christian Without Being Religious” to respond to this very question. In it he claims that Christians love to quote this verse to other people, but how many of us are really willing to consider it or believe it works for us? Few of us really put this verse to a personal test, or better, allow ourselves to be tested by it.

 

How Do I Get Out of this Mess?

We left Romans chapter six saying that we are set apart for God’s use, and we belong to the choice we make. The problem often is, however, I keep making all the wrong choices. So where does that leave me? Well, Paul talks about this in chapter 7. I may begin the day feeling pretty good with the best of intentions, but then I hit a snag. I try not to let it bother me, but as sure as God made little green apples I blow it again …and again. If I am a Christian, why can’t I lick this thing? How do I get out of this mess I got myself into?

 

Whose Slave are You?

Now there’s a question that modern man balks at. Most Christians find it difficult to deal with as well. “What? Slave? I’m not a slave to anyone—my faith sets me free!” Well, this is true in a sense. As a Christian I am free from the penalty of sin and from its guilt, but what about the power of sin? I probably have more trouble with sin, now that I am a Christian than before I received Jesus. Why? Because before I knew Christ, I wasn’t concerned with sin at all. Nevertheless, afterward sinning became a very prominent problem, or perhaps a better word would be focus, because, before Christ, I simply wasn’t aware of the problem—or didn’t care.

 

Real Faith Brings Practical Results

What do you want out of life? You are probably no different than me and most other people. We desire love, peace, hope, confidence, happiness, security and the awareness of accomplishment—that is, that one’s life has meaning. Fritz Ridenour who wrote “How to be a Christian Without Being Religious” says we may express it in different ways, but by and large this is what most people desire out of life. In Romans 5:1-11 Paul claims the Christian who has been justified, that is, made right with God, may have all of these things. Through our faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us (Romans 5:1) we may enjoy real peace with God. In addition our new faith brings us wonderful and practical results, namely, we are given new potential, new power and a new Friend.

 

Why Should I Become a Christian?

After reading in my previous blog that God places no difference between the most immoral and the religious elite, one my wonder if there is any benefit at all to being a Christian. Well, there are great benefits. First of all, God has entrusted us with his word and to preserve it for succeeding generations, and I believe for the most part we have been faithful to this trust. Secondly, Jesus has entrusted us with reaching the world with the Gospel, and the fact that so many in the world know who Jesus was is a testimony to our faithfulness to this commission. So what, if some of us have been unfaithful, causing the world to hate God; this doesn’t mean that God will be unfaithful to us. His word is true no matter what men do or say. In other words, his promises to us will not fail. God will not allow the unfaithfulness of men to thwart what he desires to do.

 

The World Hates God Because of my Religion!

It’s true, you know, the world does, indeed, hate God because my religion. Earlier we spoke of the “bad guys” who pushed the truth away and with it God, himself, but Paul poses the question: “…am I any better?” According to the Scriptures I am just as guilty as anyone else. You are, too, whoever is reading this. There is no escaping the fact that we all have something to hide. We all have those dirty closets we like to keep locked, so no one sees what is in them.

 

Shouldn’t a Christian be Religious?

Over forty years ago I had come out of a church that told me how to live in just about every circumstance of life. Suddenly Upon leaving, I found myself in a kind of wilderness where there were no neatly defined paths. It was the first time in my life that I really felt “on my own” so to speak. Yet, looking back, I understand that I was never really on my own. I am sure just about every Christian has read the poem “Footprints in the Sand.” God is there—he is always there, sometimes it is very evident, but often he works behind the scenes helping his children find their way through this wilderness experience.