Short Bible Study

THE GOSPEL OF GOD   I wrote a post some time ago called, “GOSPEL—It Doesn't Mean What You Think!”   Be sure to read it for a quick refresher on the word “gospel”. One thing to remember before reading further is that this study is not exhaustive, or most people will not read it due to its length.   There are many gospels spoken and written about throughout God’s word.   Often people think the word “gospel” refers to salvation only, or their idea of salvation according to denominational or religious beliefs.   It seems they believe that any gospel they trust in produces salvation from hell and destination to Heaven (I’m speaking in the general sense).   This  mindset is faulty and certainly not biblical and one can know this with just a little study.   However, our primary goal today is to briefly discuss one particular gospel preached by two (I’d argue) very different apostles who had two distinctly different missions.   These two apostles pro...

Other Religions Say Jesus Was Not God!   There are many religions, even today, that do not recognize Jesus to be the incarnate God; they tout that He was simply a good man, a good teacher, or maybe a prophet.  For example, as it is understood, the Jehovah’s Witness teaches that before Jesus’ physical manifestation, Jesus was a spirit in heaven created by God called Michael the archangel.   And it was Michael’s spirit that entered Mary’s child who became known as the man Jesus.    Make no mistake; there are other religions too that have equally strange doctrines.   But even though they may think Jesus was a good man, a good teacher, or a prophet—they would actually be correct—He was all of them.   But He was…and is…also God—the Godman—the Son of the Father—the second Person of the Trinity! Nevertheless, the argument made by some who reject Jesus' deity is that Jesus never claimed to be God, therefore, He cannot be God. And I must agree, there is indeed ...

A QUICK ANSWER TO A DIRECT QUESTION! How can I be SAVED, escape Hell, and be guaranteed ETERNAL LIFE when I die? I’m glad you asked!  It is simply by trusting the Gospel of Your Salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV).  I’ll explain, but first there are a couple things you must understand. I AM A SINNER! YOU must understand and believe that you are a sinner and cannot inherit Heaven by your own merit.  It doesn’t matter how humanly “good” you think you are, whether by your own perception or by others.  It also doesn’t matter if you think you do mostly “good” things—that is, your “good” works outweigh your “bad” deeds as if in the end, the good and bad are placed on opposing scales and the good weighs more than the bad to determine your eternal destination.   YOU must understand ALL humans—from birth are born into sin and are sinners by nature (Romans 3:10, 3:23, 5:19 KJV).  Therefore, the unsaved (or lost as some say) will inherit hell upon death, and when t...

To some, it's just another day.  To some, it's a holiday they get off from work.  To some, they don't even understand what it's about.  To others, it's a day that commemorates the greatest gift ever given to humanity from the greatest giver ever! The day Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary is celebrated as "Good Friday" (even though Jesus was crucified on a Thursday if you study the scriptures). Some might think, why not call it "Bad Friday"?  Death is bad, right!?  Death does have  connotations of sadness, right? However, in this case, regardless of the other reasons out there, Jesus' death was "good" in the sense it led to His resurrection on Sunday morning which means the "believer" will also be raised in the newness of life.  This is good. In fact, the believer has Heaven as a present possession in God’s eyes but will experience it upon the death of the physical body. ( 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:6 KJV...

A SINFUL MAN AND HIS PAST A man once lived a very sinful life, even by a sinner’s estimation.  His name is not important. He had done things that I care not to say or attempt to describe.  Oddly enough, as he got to what he felt was close to the end of his earthly life, he began to recognize the error of his ways.  He began to feel remorse and didn’t know how to make these things “right” and he struggled to deal with his past. His life began to haunt him.  He was ashamed of many things he’d done—how he lived his life and the people it affected.  It caused him great anxiety, thus making him terribly depressed and emotional. This man had said, “I’m afraid to die.  I believe there’s a God and I don’t want to go to hell when I die.  I know, somehow, that I will be judged for my sinful life.  I am so sorry.  I don’t know how to make it right.  I don’t know what to do.  How can I be forgiven?  How can I ensure I go to he...

         This post is a different kind of bible study.  It is a communication through email with someone.  But I am sharing it with you simply as words of encouragement to those who might need it and hopefully will be blessed by it.                  Some years ago, a particular person and I began communicating through email, because of biblical questions he had.   Although I had never met him in person, even still, every now and then he would reach out to me, and we would discuss things of the bible.              I might add, based on our past discussions, I’m sure he’s a brother in the Lord—that is, he is saved.   He made that clear.   I will call him Bill, for anonymity’s sake.                  The following email response is to a recent question Bill had to which he wasn’t sure if there was ...