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As I've shared before, most of my life I believed in what is known as the “post-trib rapture.”  “Why should we escape?” I would ask. (In today's vernacular, it might sound like, “Why are we such special snowflakes?”) While I turned this part of me off for several years, I still believed the Church would be tested during the seven-year tribulation, face the mark of the beast, have to endure to the end to be saved, and should prepare to hide in the woods with extra jugs of water, first-aid supplies, and well-preserved food. (The movie The Road illustrates what...

Just a short walk east of Jerusalem's Old City and the Temple Mount lies the Mount of Olives, a large hill that rises to about 2,700 feet above sea level.  It's the middle of the three peaks directly across the Kidron Valley, with Mount Scopus to the north and the Mount of Corruption to the south.  The mountain's slopes were once covered in olive groves, which is where it gets its namesake, but few olive trees remain.  In their place are roughly 150,000 Jewish graves.  The graves are so tightly placed together it may be one of the most densely...

Most U.S. adults identify with a particular religious denomination or group. They describe themselves as Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, Mormon or Muslim– to name just a few... The new typology sorts Americans into seven groups based on the religious and spiritual beliefs they share, how actively they practice their faith, the value they place on their religion, and the other sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives... Sunday Stalwarts are the most religious group. Not only do they actively practice their faith, but they also are deeply involved in their religious congregations. God-and-Country Believers are less active in church...

"Stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11). Satan wants to catch you off-guard. Yesterday we saw how Satan attacks God's Word. Today we will see how he attacks God's people. Persecution, peer pressure, and preoccupation are three weapons he employs with great effectiveness. Persecution should never take Christians by surprise because Scripture repeatedly warns us that it will come. For example, 2 Timothy 3:12 says, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Yet such warnings are often overlooked in the health, wealth, and prosperity climate of contemporary Christianity. As the greed...

“To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). The Holy Spirit uses believers to minister to other believers. Right in line with modern culture’s emphasis on personal independence, it’s often easy for one to say, “If I have the all-sufficient Holy Spirit living within me, that’s all I need to live my Christian life.” That is true, but because you are not completely sanctified, you do not always allow the Spirit to fully do His work. Therefore, God needs to use other believers to minister the Spirit’s correction, exhortation, or encouragement....

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God . To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.(Romans 3:24-26)God is Holy. That means that He has an infinite aversion to sin, evil, sinners, and all that is false. He utterly hates rebellion, unbelief, immorality, in short, all forms of sin....

"Stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11). One of Satan’s most effective tactics is to challenge God’s credibility. Paul's exhortation to "stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11) refers to the various tactics Satan employs in spiritual warfare. One of his tactics is to call God's character and motives into question by raising doubts about His Word. He used that approach in the Garden of Eden, when he said to Eve, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" (Gen. 3:1). In one brief statement Satan disputed and...

“‘When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me’” (John 15:26). After He has drawn us to Christ, the Holy Spirit helps us give Christ the preeminence. In the spiritual realm it is important that our attention be kept focused in the right direction—toward the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, helps us understand what such focus is all about: “Let us run with endurance...

"Stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11). Satan opposes everything God does. The believer's conflict with the forces of darkness is rightly called spiritual warfare since Satan and his evil world system are hostile toward everything God does. By nature they are anti-God and anti-Christ. Satan is the antithesis of every godly attribute. God is holy; Satan is evil. God is love; Satan is the embodiment of hatred. God redeems His children; Satan damns his. Jesus reveals grace and truth (John 1:17), but Satan "does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him....

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:2). The moment the Holy Spirit places us in Christ, He also frees us from the power of sin and death. The third stanza of Charles Wesley’s great hymn “And Can It Be?” describes the composer’s thoughts regarding the Holy Spirit’s saving work in his life: Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature’s night. Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray: I woke—the dungeon flamed with light! My chains fell off, my heart...

As I compose this commentary, there remain segments within the American evangelical church that continue to advance and propagate the principles and tenets of the "gospel" of social justice. Increasing numbers of evangelical churches, pastors, and ministries are buying into what I consider merely a new presentation of an old soteriology: salvation by social activism. One such organization, Evangelicals For Social Action, describes itself as "a catalyzing agent for Christ's shalom via projects focused on cultural renewal, holistic ministry, political reflection and action, social justice and reconciliation, and creation care. Rather than a typical "think" tank, ESA is a "do"...

"Stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11). Keep your spiritual armor on at all times. Every battle has an offensive and defensive strategy. Paul outlines the Christian's offensive strategy in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: "Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Our defensive strategy is...

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). The unity of the church is the best proof that the Holy Spirit has come. Many people today look for some kind of evidence of reality—science and technology, New Age thought, Eastern religions, various brands of experience-oriented Christianity, or “seeker friendly” mega-church enterprises. But as I have said and written countless times before, Scripture alone points us toward a genuine, secure spiritual reality. The fulfilled promise of the...

A man once called me to talk about some very difficult problems. After he finished his story, the man said, “Please pray for me…I’m not on speaking terms with God.”My first reaction to that was, “Oh, come on now, you don’t have to be on speaking terms with God…he loves you. You just talk to him the way you talk to a friend.” While what I said was true, it is not as simple as that. One of the problems with parents is that we sometimes forget what it was like to be a child—filled with wonder and with questions,...

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might . . . . For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:10, 12). Spiritual warfare can be intense, but God’s grace enables you to prevail against Satan’s attacks. Through the ages Satan has accused, besieged, and battered believers in an effort to prevent them from living to the glory of God. He attempts to snatch the gospel message from a person's...

“‘But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth’” (John 16-13). The Holy Spirit has to come alongside believers because they can’t minister by their own strength. As a Christian, you can be orthodox and correct about every detail of theology. You might even show a certain willingness and ability to minister. But unless and until you rely on the Holy Spirit for all you do, your efforts will be ineffective. Think of a new car that has the most polished exterior and the finest of accessories but no engine. It will look...

War continues to ravage eastern Ukraine, where conflict erupted in April 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the violent actions of pro-Russian separatists. Along with forcing at least 1.6 million people from their homes, the ongoing conflict has also resulted in the persecution of Protestant pastors and churches throughout the territories that are occupied by pro-Russian separatist groups. One such group is the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). According to a new law passed on Feb. 2, 2018 (#211-II “About Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”), the LNR is permitted to discriminate against any and all non-Orthodox religious communities. While...

You’ve Seen One Elohim, You’ve Seen Them All? A Critique of Mormonism’s Use of Psalm 82 Michael S. Heiser FARMS Review 19/1 (2007): 221–66. 1550-3194 (print), 2156-8049 (online) Heiser discusses Psalm 82 and the interpretations of Elohim that Latter-day Saints and evangelicals derive from that scriptural passage. Heiser then offers alternative interpretations from his own study. "Over the course of the last eight years I have read several papers dealing in one way or another with that feature of Israelite religion known as the divine council. Anyone doing serious research in Israelite religion is soon confronted with the powerful evidence...

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;(Romans 3:24-25)How can fallen, sinful, rebellious man ever be reconciled to the Infinite, personal and Holy God ? The solution to the problem as described by the apostle Paul cannot possibly come from man himself. All have sinned and are coming short of the glory of God. The gospel is that God himself, has given us a...

We're all familiar with the words of Jesus when He instructed us to pray, "Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). But what exactly did He mean? According to a popular teaching today, Jesus was saying that we should pray that the way things are in heaven is the way they should be on the earth. Put another way, we can deduce God's will for the earth by looking at His will for heaven. Is there sickness in heaven? Absolutely not. Consequently, there should be no sickness on earth. Is there...