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Throughout His ministry, Jesus never once broke the fourth commandment which required that all Jews observe the Sabbath. He was after all Jew. However, He did give us a clue that a change to the Sabbath was coming. To make my point, you must first understand that the original manuscripts of the Scriptures were not divided into verses and chapters. The Old Testament manuscripts were written by scribes for the religious leaders to study. The New Testament manuscripts were letters originally written to be dispersed amongst the believers to read. They were like the letters you receive today. Just...

In a world where everyone craves “peace and safety,” they are looking everywhere else but where it is truly found – and so wind up with neither ...

Throughout His ministry, Jesus never once broke the fourth commandment which required that all Jews observe the Sabbath. He was after all Jew. However, He did give us a clue that a change to the Sabbath was coming. To make my point, you must first understand that the original manuscripts of the Scriptures were not divided into verses and chapters.The Old Testament manuscripts were written by scribes for the religious leaders to study. The New Testament manuscripts were letters originally written to be dispersed amongst the believers to read. They were like the letters you receive today. Just a document...

The ConstitutionThe Founders view of the jury as being of paramount importance in defending liberty is easily seen when examining the words of the Constitution. There are only 14 words describing freedom of speech and of the press in the Constitution. But there are 186 words describing trial by jury in the Constitution. It is guaranteed in the main body in Article 3, Section 2, Paragraph 3, and in two amendments, the Sixth and the Seventh. No other right is mentioned so frequently, three times, or has as many words devoted to it. It is plain that the Founders viewed...

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:28-29)Paul has been discussing the righteous judgment of God, warning those who “rest in the Law” that knowing and even prizing the law does not exempt one from judgment according to truth. This could apply as well to those raised in the christian milieu. Neither baptism,...

“You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Gal. 5:4-5 On the heels of Gary's incredible article The Lawless Lawkeepers, I wanted to talk about why I am so fierce and tender about the gospel of grace. About why, until my dying day or my catching away, I will stand FOR salvation by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus alone, and against Lordship Salvation, fruit inspecting, and any “being made perfect through the flesh”...

...Never before...have so many people become so deceived in such a comparatively short time of less than a decade. How could this unprecedented end-time deception have happened with such lightning rapidity? The success of this...apostasy was due, at least in part, to mass defections in the ministry, but...also partly due to the power of modern means of communicating and disseminating information. At the time of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s death in January 1986, about 130,000 members of the Worldwide Church of God regularly observed God’s weekly and annual Sabbaths, as well as other important laws and commandments of God. During...

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) In the latest issue of Sunstone magazine, Gary James Bergera has a very interesting article, “The Moniteering of BYU Faculty Tithing Payments, 1957-1963,” that involves yet another historical nugget of mirth created by the university’s late president, Ernest D. Wilkinson. Wilkinson, upon assuming the presidency of BYU in the 1950s, was outraged that some BYU professors paid only a partial tithing, and some paid none at all. (I digress here to admit that I too, was surprised that there were/are tithing shortfalls among BYU professors. I would have...

An Open Letter To Mr. Grace-Loving Antinomian There seems to be a fear out there that the preaching of radical grace produces serial killers. Or, to put it in more theological terms, too much emphasis on the indicatives of the gospel leads to antinomianism (a lawless version of Christianity that believes the directives and commands of God don’t matter). My problem with this fear is that I’ve never actually met anyone who has been truly gripped by God’s amazing grace in the gospel who then doesn’t care about obeying him. As I have said before: antinomianism happens not when we...

Here’s some honesty for you: “Children are selfish, self-centred, egotistical little monsters. They are also, and often at the same time, gorgeous, loving, wonderful creatures,” writes Irish columnist, Sinead Ryan. Nor is corporal punishment evil, or ineffective, she concludes. “Finally, it is its very rarity that makes it work. It shocks a child (and indeed, many a parent), and that is the point.” Of the don’t-smack-your-darling camp Ryan states: “Smacking has been hijacked by the PC-parenting brigade, who probably frown upon the naughty step, too. They are very possibly the same parents who regularly get notes home from teacher about...

J. Reversionism and Degeneracy. 1. Reversionism is the actual status of Christian degeneracy. This is true of both moral and immoral degeneracy. The eight stages of reversionism are a breakdown of the various facets of degeneracy. a. Reaction and distraction. In polarized fragmentation you react to people, situations, and are hypersensitive - the conflict between legalism and antinomianism. Your priorities change and Bible doctrine is no longer one of your priorities. (1) Reaction from legalism or antinomianism leads to negative volition to Bible doctrine. (2) Distraction is caused by apathy, indifference, wrong priorities, in which the antinomian believer places sexual...

There are millions of church going believers who really are confused and conflicted on central issues of the faith. Issue 1: Are you really saved? You may say "Yes" but you may not be sure because of the legal requirements of the group you joined. Issue 2: When do I receive my salvation? When I believe or when I die after a trial to determine if I did all the right things like baptism, repentance ,lived in obedience, confession , "born again", absolution from the priesthood,tithed,lived sinless and on and on. Did you observe the sabath? was your "church" attendance...

We stepped outside on Sunday for our ritual family walk. I immediately heard shouts from my kids. "Mom, the neighbor kids are riding their bikes on Sunday!" We have had this conversation a thousand times: Our family has rules that don't apply to other families. They go to different churches. All churches are good. We are in that stage with our children where we try and do the delicate balance of teaching them correct principles without turning them into Pharisees for the rest of the neighborhood. I'm sure you've all had that experience where you go out to a restaurant,...

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." — Romans 8:38-39PROVO, Utah — She was faithful, but overwhelmed. So she wrote a letter to her stake president. He, in turn, read it to his counselors: "Dear President, I want to do everything the Lord expects of me. I want to do everything the church expects of me. I decided to...

We should learn well, that God is grieved more by our bitter feelings, our lack of love, our hate and envy--than He is with little omissions in religious ceremonies and formalities. There will always be people who are most punctilious in their religious rituals--but who in practical life, are little better than heathen! The religious rulers carried their pious scruples even to the palace of Pilate. Amazingly, they had no scruples about their wicked treatment of an innocent man--but they were scrupulously conscientious about matters of mere ceremonial requirement! They would not set their feet on the Gentile's floor--for that...

Can legalism be cured? How do you deal with the problem of legalism? Here's a brief reminder of what we mean by legalism: Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance by God through obedience to God. (C. J. Mahaney)Some important presuppositions 1. Repentance is a life long work My approach to gardening is to launch a blitzkrieg against the weeds and then to bask in the victory. The weeds then gain their revenge by growing back. In my astonishment I lose heart that I didn't kill them in one go. If we attempt to deal with sin...

Q 1. Why do Christians struggle with legalism? There is an individual and a corporate dimension to this struggle. i. Individual struggles We struggle to accept that when Christ cried from the cross "it is finished" that the work of atoning for sin was completed (John 19:31). The righteousness that we need is found in him, it comes to those who do not work but trust God who justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:1-8). But within us there remains a desire to earn God's approval, to contribute something toward our acceptance with him. This must be turned away from again and...

STOP TRYING TO BE GOOD by Malcolm Smith In the last years people of all denominations and faiths have experienced a meeting with God in a personal and life-changing fashion. However, what has followed in the wake of that renewal is disturbing. As I travel the land talking to these people, I hear the low cry of despair. At times, I feel I am in a spiritual Egypt listening to the cry of God's people in slavery, crying under the whips of the taskmasters. The situation today is much the same as among the Galatian Christians prior to Paul...

Seventh day adherents might just ponder that they resolutely hold to the day which was a main mark of the Old Covenant, identifying God's Old Covenant people who placed their trust in the sufficiency of that particular covenant to save them. The Christian, on the other hand, prefers to be associated with the Day of the Lord which identifies them as followers of Jesus Christ whom they look to as Saviour, Lord and Master - and who is fully sufficient for salvation. Despite all of the above, if Christians prefer to assemble on the seventh day (Saturday) they do no...

(excerpt).... Isaiah 14(13-15) is often referred to as the chapter that depicts the fall of Satan and his coherts, who for reasons of pride rebelled against God. What we do know though, is that a significant portion of the angels who were once charged with the administration of the law of God, became evil and true to their nature, they used the laws of God to accuse God's people and curse their lives, even all of creation. This theme comes out very clearly in our passage (Colossians 2). In the city of Colosse, there were spiritual influences affecting how the...